RTT: Tired, school and tv shows FUN FUN

 

 

Stacy’s continuing to hold down the fort for RTT. So here’s my foray into it today…

 

Gah! I can’t believe school has been in session for 5 days. Well technically today is the 5^th but whatevs. So far Leo has enjoyed it and said that his new (new-new, just graduated from college new) teacher is the best in all his (4) years of school. So that’s something. I’m glad. Plus he’s had his homework completed every night before he gets home. I like this new 3^rd grade Leo. :)

 

I am in desperate need of a vacation. One where I don’t go anywhere and just enjoy some time at home but still able to take care of all the nitty-gritty that apparently I have lost the will power to do in my skimpy nights and weekends that I have available. Seriously. The house is a mess and I am exhausted. It’s a struggle to stay awake until 10.

 

And because I’m exhausted and can’t even stay awake until 10 it’s made me realize how much I wish shows on TV were no longer than 30 minutes. When I slide into bed at 9:30 or 9:45 I don’t want to stay up for another 40 minutes to watch a show that I have DVR’d. (In real terms there is no possible way I can stay awake for 40 more minutes). 20 minutes I can handle though.

 

Speaking of shows that I’ve been watching…I just binge watched Season 3 of American Horror Story. It was the witches one. The hubs watched season 1 and it looked too scary for me and season 2 was a lot like the first so I just skipped those and went straight to season 3. But now of course season 4 isn’t on Netflix yet and season 5 is about to start on real tv. I guess I’ll just tape all those and then watch once I’ve binge watched season 4. And since season 4 wasn’t available I went to the next show in my Netflix queue… Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. I’m two episodes in and love it. It’s hilarious. Jane Krakowski is amazing.

 

That’s all I have for now. Hop over to Stacy’s and visit her and the other RTTers.

Movie Roundup

Summer is a time for movies. And I LOVE going to the movies. Unfortunately since having kids the amount of movies I’ve seen in the theaters has dipped tremendously and if we make a diagram of movies I’ve seen in the theaters in the past 7 years has a probably skewed number of kid to adult movies. BUT…just because I don’t get to watch movies doesn’t mean I never see them. So here is a list of some of the movies that are coming out this summer (or some that have already came out) through this fall that we are wanting to see.

Already out:
Jurassic World. Dinosaurs and boys. Duh.

Minions-Looks super cute and the minions may easily have been the best part of Despicable Me 2. Not my favorite story line to date…

Pitch Perfect 2-It took me awhile to see the first one, and even then it took me a few times watching it to warm up to it. My expectations were too high for what I was seeing. Anywho…I think this one looks good too and the hubs liked the first one so it would be a good date movie.

Coming soon:

Ant-Man-Anything Marvel I want to see. Throw in Paul Rudd (one of my favorite Kansans!) and I’m sold! (July 17)

Trainwreck-Amy Schumer is hilarious. Judd Apatow is hilarious. I heard Lebron James is hilarious. Two out of three ain’t bad! (July 17)

Pixels-I haven’t heard much good about this, but again, big names rule box office. And I love me some Adam Sandler. I think Leo would appreciate the video game references even if he has no idea what Pac-Man is. Haha. (July 24)

Fantastic Four- Again, Marvel movies are my go to. So this is on my to-watch list even if it seems like it hasn’t been long enough since the last reboot. We’ll see. ( Aug. 7)

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials-Is it bad I want to see this movie but haven’t seen the first one yet? It’s on my to-rent list but I really liked the books so I’d be interested to see how they portray it on film. (Sept. 18)

Hotel Transylvania 2-Again, Adam Sandler and a kids movie. The boys both want to see this! (Sept. 25)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2-Yep want to see this one because of the book. Loved it. The movies have definitely lacked for me where the books did not. But we’ll see how they finish the franchise. (Nov. 20)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens-I feel like this one has to be on my list because it’s Star Wars. We’ll see… (Dec. 18)

So there is my impossible list of movies to see between now and the end of the year. If I have any guesses and if I were a betting woman I would say that I will see 11 at the theater. The rest will be seen (hopefully) at home. Only time will tell.

RTT: Convenience Fees, Hot Days and Girls Trip

Back to the bloggy world! I am here! And it’s Tuesday so it gives me an easy way in with RTT! So here. we. go.

 

Why does convenience cost still? Pretty much they are making everything convenient these days, so really convenience isn’t an added value. Or at least what these people consider convenience. Case in point…I went to buy Marvel Universe tickets online for a show that is coming in April {side bar: why must I buy tickets 9 months in advance? That is NOT convenient because I don’t want to lose them. Ahem.} I go online, and the seats that say are going to be available are not. So I call (not convenient) and they tell me that those upper bowl tickets won’t be available until the lower bowl is sold out. Seriously?! I just want my 3yo to be able to see so I wanted front row but in the upper level. Ya know because front row on the lower level is $100 and I REFUSE to pay that for a child’s activity. Anyways. So lack of convenience number one. But then I still want tickets so I continue to buy the tickets online and they want to charge me a service fee of $30(!!) by ordering online. So…on my lunch break I will be going to buy the tickets in person {and not be lazy} and not be charged an extra $30. For being able to buy something online. Not a convenience because I can buy EVERYTHING online!

 

Here are a few things I would pay for the convenience:

~Grapes that are already washed and de-stemmed. That crap takes me extra time and with gapes as expensive as they are I shouldn’t have to work so hard to eat them.

~Delivery of good food…I’m not talking pizza here, but steak. Possibly even Chipotle.

~Children who can bathe themselves. Oh wait, I don’t have to pay for that. Just wait a few more years!

 

Ok rant over.

 

It finally feels like summer here. The heat index has been between 105-108 the past few days. And I’m already over it! I’ll take those 70 degree days in July thank you very much!

 

Does anyone else feel like they spend WAY more money in the summer? It doesn’t help that I’m paying three times for child care what I was during the school year. I just feel like it’s so much easier to spend money. I’m on a budget train but no one else seems to be.

 

I just booked our Girls Trip 2015 condo and I am so excited! Last year I was a little anxious about it because I hadn’t really spent much quality time with some of the girls that were going for some time but when we got back together it was so much fun!  October can’t come soon enough!

Ok…that’s enough random for you today. Head over to Stacy’s and check out the other randomers. It will be fun!

Half a summer recap

Wow. It’s July! How crazy is that? I can’t believe we are already one month in to our summer vacation. I say our but really it’s Leo’s. He’s the only one that is really doing anything different. Our evenings are still crazy busy with activities and meetings and our days are filled with work and daycare for us and Jacoby. BUT…it seems our weekends are even more full than usual. Here is a recap of what June has had in store for us:

We did get to take one whole week off (9 glorious days!) as a family and it was AWESOME! We went to see the in-laws for the first 4 days, came home for 2 ½ days and then left again for a quick trip to KC to visit my aunt and uncle and watch the Royals and Sporting KC. It was the first MLS game that any of us had seen and it was so much fun. We really thought Leo would be interested in it with as into soccer as he was but really it was fun for the whole family. And it didn’t hurt that Sporting KC won on a last minute goal. So fun!

Leo also started playing baseball again in June. His team so far is 5-1 and his last game he hit an inside the park homerun. Granted this is rec league and all the kids hit better than they field…but still exciting for my little baseball star! ;)  Soccer tryouts happened also  and he was selected to be on the team again. And practices start this week. Holy cow! Thankfully baseball is over this week too so we only have one week of overlap of baseball and soccer.

I’ve been wanting to take a roadtrip to either Omaha or OKC with the boys to just visit some places we haven’t been. So my mom and I took a Friday off and we packed up the car and took the boys to OKC. I have (another) aunt and uncle that lives there so we stayed with them. We hit a water park and the science museum and had so much fun!

Then this past weekend was the 4^th of July! WHAT?! So we of course spent the whole day being patriotic! We went to the local parade, shot off fireworks and grilled out with family. Pretty awesome!

I feel like every week we are busy 5 or 6 nights a week but we have been spending lots of time as a family and that is the best way to spend our time! I hope so far all of your summer’s have been excellent!

PTO blogging and a mea culpa

If you want to read about how I feel about PTO (love it) and how to join (be willing to volunteer your time!) then catch me over at Wichita City Moms Blog!

We start vacation tomorrow, although it's more of a staycation. I'm hoping to catch up on this blog then! Don't lose hope on me! I will catch you all back up with the glorious going ons of our life 😜

RTT: Police Questioning, Meal Plans and Allergy Testing

It's Tuesday and I'm off work. Hallelujah! Actually I'm off work but it seems my days off are far more busy than my days working. I have a First Communion breakfast for Leo, have to go to the police station and then taking Leo for allergy testing. So exciting.

This is very random...I got a call from a police detective on Friday asking me to come in to the police station for questions about a crime I might have witnessed. I incredulously asked him where I might have witnessed this crime and he told me the KFC. I kid you not. So I proceed to tell him that we hardly ever go to KFC but that the last time we went I went through the drive-through. He was like, but you've been recently? So I tried to get more information out of him but he told me he couldn't interview me over the phone. So I have to go in today. So the jury is out on what's going to happen. From what I remember about the last time we went to KFC we had just come from soccer and I had two kids in the backseat. The picture of an ideal witness. Ha!

Speaking of KFC let's talk about meal planning (see what I did there?!). I love a good meal plan. And I am usually pretty good about sticking to them. At least I had been until last week. I have gotten into the (almost) summer funk where nothing sounds good to eat. All the foods we normally eat seem too heavy for the hot-ish weather we've been having. So if you have any good ideas on summery recipes shoot me a message or leave it in the comments!

I am also taking Leo in for allergy testing today. I'm pretty  nervous only because I've had it done several times and I know how uncomfortable it is. He's been having a lot of health issues lately and this is the next thing the ENT wants to look at. The last two things he's said I just keep thinking that this is what's wrong so we'll have some answers and now we're on number three and again I hope that this will answer our questions. So say a quick prayer, throw up some happy thoughts, whatever you want and we'll keep them close when we go!

Hope you all have a very random Tuesday! Stop by Stacy's and enjoy your Cinco De Mayo! I will leave you with this. Haha!

picture found here

Weight Watchers Weeks 7 & 8

What a few weeks. I really felt like I was giving up on the whole Weight Watchers thing. And then I saw a picture of myself and really thought twice about giving up. It's really hard though. I am having a really hard time finding the motivation to get up and move. All I want to do is come home and go to sleep. Not that I ever get to but meal planning has sucked majorly and I want nothing more than to shove my face full of the most convenient food I can find. Which is not healthy foods let me tell you. So I am going to really try to dig deep and keep going. Because I don't want to be fat. And that's honestly the bottom line.

Numbers:
Starting weight: 160
Last week: 155
Week 7: 156
Week 8: 157.8

Weekend Blur

It seems like lately life has been moving at a speed I can't even quantify. I blink and my boys are inches taller than they were the second before. Go to sleep and the differences between them is enormous. I don't know how to stop it but I need to document it. So here is what happened this weekend!

Saturday was Leo's First Communion. It's a pretty big deal in the Catholic church. And he's been prepping for this since the beginning of the school year and it was FINALLY here. He was a nervous wreck all day. I think it's funny because that is so me. I am nervous over things I have no control over. Also, during mass he kept telling me how much his stomach hurt and he thought he was going to throw up. I always have a nervous tummy even over the most minuscule things. So I thought that was another thing we have in common!

We had a party that afternoon before mass and invited family. It was so nice that people came in from out of town and the localers took time out of their busy weekends to spend it with us. After mass we went to go see the Avengers movie. It was SO good! I love a good action movie--it's probably my favorite genre so I guess I got lucky for having boys! And our party of 18 took over half the people in the theater! We live in a small town but I figured there would have been more people on opening weekend. But it was fun and we could be a little rowdy before the start of it without feeling like we needed to settle!

On Sunday we went out to lunch with the inlaws. It was nice to spend a little one on one time with them. Then we ran the usual Sunday errands and ended with a little fun at the park. It was such a busy weekend but filled with so much love! I hope you all had a great weekend!

RTT: Hair, hummus and GofT

I got my hair cut and colored this weekend. I feel like a new woman! I cut about 6 inches off and went back to my (almost) natural color of a dark brown. My original hair color is a nice poop-brown color. My stylist laughed when I said that but agreed and said that we both have a similar natural color and while it’s not terrible it’s not a  color any normal person would ask to have. The funny thing is, neither boy made mention of the fact that when they saw me after I got it done that anything was different. Not surprising about Leo but Jacoby would have really only known me as a red-head and to see me with brown hair and not say anything was surprising to me. Aw well. I shouldn’t be surprised…they’re boys!

 

I love hummus. The only problem is my stomach does not love hummus. It makes me incredibly gassy and the smell is AWFUL. But I can’t quit eating it. I will for a while because I’m embarrassed by what my children say to me when I *ahem* fart, but then I’ll pick the habit back up. Like today I downed a bunch of it. I can only imagine the ridicule tonight. (holds head down in shame)

 

Did anyone see Game of Thrones this weekend? What. The. Heck. I’m all for storylines changing every once in a while to further the story but come on. Making major plot changes just to include characters in a story instead of bringing in new ones? Driving me insane. Also, it’s so strange to me that the ages of these kids (literal children in the books) have been aged up so dramatically that I feel really awkward watching the end of sex scenes with what I’m remembering from the books as he was 8. 8! So yeah. Gross.

 

There have  been a ton of people at work retiring lately. I work in a company with 800+ employees and so when I say a ton I mean like 3 or 4 but it has really got me thinking about retirement. I have been reading a lot of retirement articles and looking at what I’m contributing to my 401(k) etc. but it just concerns me that with the way the economy is and has been that I won’t have enough to retire. Ever. I don’t want to work forever. I want to work for max 25 more  years which would put me at 55. But for reals. 25 years is so far away. I’m just going to cross my fingers and hope that in the next 10-15 years I will be debt free and contributing the max amount of 75% in to my 401(k). Haha. Or at least like 20%!

 

That’s all my random for today. Go see Stacy and join the random rebellion.

Weight Watchers Week 6

So I’m a month and half in. And while last week I said I was going to try really hard and get myself motivated again…welp it didn’t happen. I did focus on portion control but didn’t really track as well as I should. BUT we’ve done much better about eating out and when we do go out I don’t go extremely overboard as I am known to do. I also did go to the library and check out a workout video…but I still haven’t used it. So, another week, more things to work on. I can do it.

 

As for the numbers:

Starting weight: 160

Last week:          155.2

This week:          155

 

So down .2 pounds. A loss is a loss! I’ll take it!

RTT: Jacobyisms, manicures and insurance

Time for another bout of random brought to you by the erratic thoughts in my head and Stacy. Because she rocks and lets me get these out.

 

-I got a manicure with my mom the other day. I love getting manicures. But…I feel like what we get for them is going down or staying the same and the price is going up. Is Shellac really that much more expensive to apply? Or is it because they know it will last longer and you won’t have to come in more often to get it redone that that is why they upcharge? #Thingsthatmakeyougohmmm

-I applied to be a blog correspondent/whatever you call it for Wichita’s City Mom’s Blog. I think it would be cool and while I don’t know that everything I have to say would be worthwhile blogging material I feel like I have some insight. You know, since I have two incredibly cute boys who like to say the most ridiculous things…

-Which leads me to the latest Jacobyisms—he has started telling us when he *ahem* farts that, and I quote, my butt farted. Oh Jacoby. My little 3 year old verbal wonder.

-Leo has a make-up soccer game on Wednesday night which is abnormal. Usually games are on Saturdays and Sundays and so it is really throwing a wrench in my weekly menu plan. Thursday night I will be out of the house and that usually always means that the boys will go out because god forbid the hubs is able to scrounge up anything. But with his game being at 6:30 and me not even getting home until 5:30 there is no way we will have time to eat before which means we will be eating dinner around 7:45-8. Which means I will need to be uber-prepared and/or we’ll be going out two nights in a row. Which a) is gross and b) is expensive. Because those two growing lads won’t settle for kids meals anymore.

-I HATE insurance companies and doctor’s office billing departments. It just drives me insane that they can’t work together but when you have a question they each tell you to go to the other department. It is a mess and I feel like I’m always overpaying or that nothing is resolved unless I am the one to push on. If there’s a mistake/overage on a statement you would think that the doctor’s office would catch it. Because you know dang sure that if there was a shortage they would be demanding their money. But when I bring something up then it’s always well, we should have caught it but I’m not sure why we didn’t. Ugh. Drives me crazy.

 

That’s all the random today. Enjoy your Tuesday and hopefully the sunshine!

Just Write: PTO Mom

Just write. That’s what Ginny told me to do this week for the Spin Cycle. I don’t always have a lot to say that I think you’ll care about. Sometimes I just blog to be scrapbooking by words. I used to blog a lot and now it’s very sporadic. I’m trying to get back into it more. But sometimes it’s like…blah. Empty space. So for the sake of a blog post that you may be interested in reading here is what’s been going on lately in my life:

 

I am the PTO President-Elect. I will be the President next year. And we have been soooo busy reinventing our PTO. Maybe other people don’t see it like that but we are trying to get new blood in and keep the old blood but let them let us make things better. Last weekend was our annual spring carnival and I was a co-chair. Which means that I have been balls to the walls busy for the past two months. We’ve been begging asking politely for donations, picking up said donations (which thankfully one of the other co-chairs…there were 3 of us…is a SAHM so she could pick them up easier), recruiting volunteers, figuring out decorations and putting together raffle baskets. Then last weekend I was at the school from 4pm-9pm setting up, back on Saturday from 11-1 making sure things were pretty much ready and then back at 3:30 until 9:30 that night. Holy cow. That’s a lot of time spent, stress stressed and sweat shed. I was running around like a chicken with her head cut off. But all in all things went off successfully and we made over $2000 for PTO and $500 for the 7^th grade class! Woo hoo! This isn’t our major fundraiser and is more a “fun night” for families to get together and have fun. I think it went as planned!

Now that the year is almost over we still have Teacher Appreciation coming up (which thankfully a parent/PTO Board Member) has taken that on and that will happen the first week in May and an end of year BBQ for parents in PTO to get together. We have a few smaller things happening but those are our main events. We also want to grow our PTO and are trying to plan more events for the upcoming years to get families together. Our school is a Preschool-8^th grade Catholic school and so our principal’s goal is to create a more friendly environment for families to come together. He said he’s seen a shift from where we once were considered a “family” to now and everyone is so busy with their lives that they don’t participate. I don’t know that you are going to be able to get a large number of families to participate and I think we’re always going to have a core group of people who will involve themselves but we’re going to try.

 

So…that’s what has been going on in my life. And let me tell you…being a working mom, with one kid on a competitive soccer team and the other a 3 year old hooligan we are BUSY! But I wouldn’t have it any other way because it’s all family oriented and we get to spend time together!

Weight Watchers Week 5

 

This week was bad because of the choices I made. So I will own up to them, kick myself and then move on. Because if I want to keep losing I have to keep moving. My main thing I need to work on is getting myself moving more. I go to spin twice a week but other than that I haven’t been getting moving. So I need to get back to working out in the mornings on the off spin days to a video I have at home. Maybe I need to hit up the library this weekend to see if they have anything I haven’t tried to re-motivate myself. I also need to make sure my “cheat” days don’t turn in to “cheat” weeks like this one did. Woof. But that ice cream from Freddy’s was just too good to pass up… :)

 

Stats:

Starting weight: 160

Last week:           153.8

This week:           155.2

 

Total lost is still at 4.8 so I’ll think positively. Hopefully this week I can get back on the wagon. I now have formal motivation in that our now-traditional girl’s weekend has been set for Columbus Day weekend (October 9-12) so I have 6 months to lose the additional 20 pounds to get to my goal weight of 135. I can do this!!!

Jacobyisms, Baseball and Soccer Moms

It’s Tuesday. Woot woot. Not Monday. Woot woot!

Another day another funny thing Jacoby said. Lately he wants to eat breakfast at home before we go to school (where he gets to eat second breakfast. Like a Hobbit). So he usually gets a little cereal in a baggy or a cereal bar to “tide” him over for the 10 minute drive. This morning Leo had a waffle so of course Jacoby wants a waffle. I quickly toast and butter it. He also is crying for a blueberry so I grab a cereal bar as well. We are settled in for our drive and halfway there I look back and his cereal bar is gone and he has butter all over his face. And he’s just holding the waffle. I ask him why and he tells me there’s no butter on it…ummm dude just licked it off. So I tell him that the butter has melted on the waffle and he needs to eat it. He looks at me like I’m crazy, yet continues to demolish the waffle. We get to daycare and Boom. He sits down to eat his cereal. I think someone is growing…

 

And just for good measure (and so you know what I’m up against) here he is last night at the park wanting to do the monkey bars by. him. self. He would have probably made it most of the way by himself but he made it all the way with the help of my hand holding up his tushy. He is a cute daredevil. I’m in trouble!

 

Have y’all seen the Royals playing this year? Huh? They are 7-0! We are planning on heading to KC in June so we are hoping to snag some tickets to a game while we’re there. Unfortunately the tickets have gone up ridiculously since their MIRACULOUS run to the World Series last year. But I think we can still manage one game. I can’t wait!

 

We had a parent’s meeting last night and the gist of it was that parents were unhappy with our coach because A) playing time was not equal and B) he was too much of a yeller and not a pat-on-the-backer. Now, I understand that these kids are 8 and 9 years old. But at some point they will realize that not all of them are as good as the others. And we have stressed to Leo that if he wants playing time he has to knock off the shenanigans at practice and prove it. Since we had that conversation it seems that he has had more playing time and less screw-ups at practice. He understands. I know not all kids get that, nor am I saying that Leo is perfect. Believe me. He is far from it. But they will learn at some point that they must prove it to play. Whether that be in sports, careers, life. As for the yelling I get. But again, I wasn’t brought up in a “everyone wins” house. We didn’t get baseless recognition and if we needed to do something better we were told. That is how I am raising my kids. I do give them the “You’re doing  a great job” every now and then but most of the times they hear criticism (sometimes constructive…other times not so much). That is something I am trying to work on but I definitely want it to be in the form of a job really well done and not just participation trophy type stuff. Maybe I’m too competitive but I think that’s better than some other things.

 

That’s all my random musings for the day. Go see Stacy and random up with her!

Weight Watchers Week 4: Slowly but Surely

Slow and steady wins the race. Amiright? This week was tough on a number of levels: Lent ended so sweets were available again and the weather has been crappy which makes me feel crappy which equals less exercise.

 

But! I had a loss this week so I’m not going to complain. I will just try better this week and get back on the wagon.

 

Starting weight: 160

Last week: 156.6

This week :  153.8

 

Total loss in 1 month: 6.2 pounds Woot woot!

RTT: Weather Report, Working and GOT

Another week, another Tuesday. What what! So let’s get to randoming…

We are supposed to get severe weather tomorrow. With no basement for my Kansas-living self I always have to be a little more prepared than others. Thankfully in this day and age we usually have a pretty good amount of time before the storm “hits.” But because they’ve been warning us about this system that is supposed to move through tomorrow afternoon I am wanting to be extra prepared. So I think I’m going to see if my mom will be home and just go take the boys and chill over there. We can play games, eat dinner and watch TV. Then, if the storm comes, we can head to the basement. Win-win. 

Every year around spring I get this urge…to not go to work. Not so much because I don’t want to work, but mainly because I could find so many better other things I could be doing. Like sitting outside reading a book. Or not working. I just need to get past this hump so I can get my mind back in the game.

Game of Thrones starts this Sunday. *squeeeee*

Bobcat Pawlooza is this weekend. Hallelujah! I am co-chairing the spring carnival and it is finally here. I am so ready for it to be done with. Not that it hasn’t been fun. Just time consuming.

Why is it so hard to stay on task when dieting? I mean, really. It shouldn’t be this difficult. And yet it is. Come on body. Work with me!

That’s all my random today. Throw down your random and link up with Stacy. It’ll be fun. I promise!

 

Home Sweet Home

This week's spin is about how you make your house a home. And to show pictures. I could show you the mess that resides in my house but I'm sure it looks just like all yours right? Right?! Please just go along with me on that one so I don't feel like a cleaning slacker! 

So instead of showing you my mess, I'll show you what I love. First my (year old) pictures of my sweet boys. I have majorly slacked on this and not printed the last pictures we had done of the boys last October. So these are from a year ago. BUT I still love them (the pictures AND the boys) so it's all good. Plus I really don't need proof that my baby is not a baby anymore and is starting to look like a real boy! Also, in the middle of my boys is the picture I painted at my *cough* 30th birthday party at the local wine and paint place. I chose the "Family Tree" and I love it.

Next is my wall art that I got on my 29th birthday trip to KC to visit my aunt. We went to a women's fair and I saw it and had to have it. I think it is an awesome saying. Accompanying it is artwork done by Leo. I love having their artwork around the house.

And then outside we have our KU flag (ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!) and the basketball. If you can't find us inside we're probably outside enjoying family time and watching the boys hoop it up!

What makes your house a home? Join us in spinning about it and visit Ginny and all the other spinners to see their homes!

Hoppy Easter

Easter this year was pretty darn good! The Easter Bunny came and went. He left a few treats for the boys and went on his merry way. Jacoby got a "big boy" Lego and a bubble wand and Leo got a Minecraft zombie novel (yeah-they exist) and a Skylanders trap. And they each got a few eggs filled with jelly beans.

Leo lost electronics for the month earlier this week and the first thing he says to me when he sees his basket is that the Easter Bunny must have known that he lost them. Haha.

We headed to mass and then attended the Easter egg hunt that the Knights of Columbus hosts. Jacoby hit the jackpot and Leo ever the drama king was crying because he ended up on the bottom of a big kid pileup trying for the golden egg. Luckily his ankle wasn't broken ;) and we kept moving our day along.

After the hunt we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house for lunch and another hunt for my cousin's daughter and my boys. We also played a rousing game of Sorry. Or perhaps the longest game ever because we played with a 3, 5 and 8 year old. Yeesh!

All in all it was a pretty great day. I hope you all had a great Easter too!

Momma Don't You Worry--Book Review

I was approached by the author of a children’s book to read and review it. I’ve never been asked to do something like this and so I was flattered! The author is Louie Lawent and the book is titled “Momma Don’t You Worry.” It’s about a little boy (who’s almost 6 :) and his mom who he thinks is over protective. It’s basically a short story of little boys who think they are too big for their britches. The little boy and his mom go to the mall, he wanders off and then can’t find his mom.

Now being an expert seasoned mother of 2 boys I know how it goes. One day you’re giving birth and the next minute they think they’re hot stuff.

I thought this book was cute and had a message that I think most kids face at some point in their life. They want to be big kids but then realize their parents only want what is best for them. I thought the voice of the little boy was realistic too as it sounded much like what I hear on a daily basis. It also was a pretty quick read so on those nights that you just want to get to bed (or drink some wine and/or watch Netflix) you can still get a quick story in with the kiddos. If you are interested in checking out the book you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I think this book is great for parents who want to discuss independence with their little ones. 

Week in Review

Yesterday I said that our week was hectic. And while it was crazy busy I had a really good week. It started last weekend with my nephew visiting from Missouri. We don’t get to see him very often so that was really nice. We did a family breakfast, had a mid-day break for Leo’s soccer game (they lost) and then got back together for dinner and a fun evening out. We ended up going to The Alley. I can’t believe on such a nice night out the place was PACKED. Just to bowl would have been a 30-45 minute wait. So we decided to just do go-karts and play games. It was so fun! Jacoby got to ride with my dad and Leo rode with my sister-in-law. They had a blast!

Sunday was uneventful thankfully because the week ahead was packed. It’s so crazy how busy we are. I don’t even want to imagine our future when Jacoby is also involved in sports! Monday was soccer for Leo and Jacoby and I played at the playground. Tuesday the hubs and I got to go on a DATE(!) and went to dinner and to see Fleetwood Mac. It was so much fun. The music was good and so was the company.

Unfortunately the show was long and the next day I was dragging. Wednesday was soccer again. Thursday I had a random day off because Leo was out of school for Holy Week but we were full that day too. Because I’ve had to miss quite a bit of work lately for appointments I scheduled Leo’s dentist appointment for my day off. On top of that I had planned to get together with my school carnival co-chair and we did that for over 6 hours between the whole day. My day also started ridiculously early (4:50) so I could make it to my spin class that starts at 5:30. We also got to see a friend’s son get the save for the Derby baseball team. Go Panthers!

Sometimes I forget what it’s like to not have anything to do. This weekend I’m looking forward to soccer and Easter and that’s it! Can’t wait to do an update on Monday of my cute boys and all their Easter haul!

Weight Watchers Week 3

Blah. This week was a little rough. We ran out of fruit at our house and my week has been chock-full of chaos and no time to go to the store. Needless to say that I didn’t fully stick to the plan. I will say that I did stay within my weekly points using all of my “allowance” points and used none of my exercise points that I earned. But I think that is why I only lost a little and not more. I’m not going to complain too much though since I did lose a little!

 

Starting weight: 160

Last week: 157

This week: 156.6

I Can't Even

I’ve been seeing a lot of Scary Mommy posts lately and one that stood out to me was a mom’s I Can’t Even’s. After reading it I felt like I could add some of my own.

 I can’t even…walk in the door without being bombarded by someone asking me for something. It’s usually the kids and their dad is right there. WHY?!

 I can’t even…go to the bathroom in peace. Ok…so that was on their list too but come one. I just want to pee without someone barging in. Or taking a shower without someone having to drop a deuce. I seriously only take a 5-7 minute shower. You can hold it.

 I can’t even…go to the store to buy a new top or something fancy without worrying about how much money we have. This one can be blamed on my kids because of all of the money I spend on them. All. The. Time.

 I can’t even…change my clothes without being interrupted. And it’s always when I’ve dropped trou that the boys seem to come in. And then it’s all hilarious because they see mom’s booty. Very funny.

I can’t even…cook a meal without someone complaining about something. They don’t like this or that. I don’t care. Eat it!

I can’t even…plan a vacation without thinking “Will we all enjoy this? Will the 3yo be able to keep up with doing all this? Is my husband going to want to tag along to all these children related events?” It’s so overwhelming!

I can’t even…try to exercise in the house without one of the boys asking me a) if I’m exercising and b) why I don’t look like/doing exactly what the girl on the video is doing.

I can’t even…remember what my life was like without kids without feeling slightly guilty. I’ll see a post of a friend’s awesome vacation, or just remember the days when I could take a nap when I got off work and get up at 8 and not worry about anything else. But then I feel guilty.

I can’t even…imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t have my two little devils. I love those boys so dang much and would give up all my “I can’t evens” to be their mom!

Weight Watchers Update

Week 2:

Week 2 actually went pretty well. We are having a group competition at work where you need to eat 5 fruits and/or veggies a day and exercise for 30 minutes to get points. So since I’m on a team I am motivated not to let them down! So I’ve been able to eat more because fruits and veggies don’t count for points. Woot woot! I also decided that I was going to start drinking less pop starting with trying not to drink a pop at work. So this week I had a pop on Sunday and then didn’t have one again until Wednesday for lunch when I went out with the hubby. Then I had one last night at home but no others. I’m pretty proud of myself. Pop is a hard thing to give up! I also started a spin class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. So all in all a pretty good week. So here are my stats:

 

Starting weight: 160

Last week: 158.2

This week: 157

 

So down another pound! Yay!

Weight Watchers (Again)

Weight. It’s a touchy subject. But one I want to get out there so I can hold myself accountable. And you all can help! My weight has been a struggle since high school. I was heavier than the other girls but looking back…I would love to look like that again! After high school and the constant moving due to cheerleading the weight started to come on. Gradually of course, but it came on none the less. Then I got married, was still in college and working full-time. I felt like there was no time. Looking back I had nothing but time!  Then came the first kid and on came the pounds. I ballooned up over 200 pounds when I was 38 weeks pregnant. On a 5’2” frame that’s a lot of weight. Thankfully the baby weight came off pretty quickly after Leo but I was still left with the original weight. I had tried fad diets and then decided to really try Weight Watchers when it became available through work to get reimbursed. I did really well on it and lost the rest of my baby weight and got down to about 150 pounds. Then came baby number 2. I didn’t gain near as much weight and since I didn’t have as much to begin with it didn’t quite add up as much. Again, thankfully with nursing and 2 little guys the baby weight came back off but then still left with more than I needed. So I decided I needed to rejoin Weight Watchers. I lost almost 30 pounds and weighed what I did in high school! It was awesome. That was 1 year and 3 months ago. I have now managed to gain all the weight I had originally lost back. It was gradual but they discontinued the WW program at work and I was lazy. No more than that. I didn’t change my eating habits terribly, but with the small change plus not working out as I needed to it all came back. So there I was. Back at 160 pounds. It seems like that’s my number. But this time, the weight has settled in my stomach, butt and thighs. And I. Don’t. Like. It. At all. And I had to do something about it. So 5 weeks ago I signed back up for WW. And for 4 weeks I did nothing. Except waste my money. And then last week I was like, ok. This is the week. So I really started back up last Thursday. And in the last week I have already lost 2 pounds! So. Thus begins another weight loss journey. Thursdays is my designated weigh-in day so I will try to update as I go along weekly. I will give you my tips I’ve managed from the week and I will relate my troubles. So here’s to 2015 being the year of the loss!

 

Starting weight: 160

Today’s weight: 158

 

RTT: Tuesday Tee Hees, sickness and mouthy kids

Hello Tuesday randomers! I’m so ready for Friday it’s not even funny. But it’s only Tuesday so let’s get random.

 

Jacoby has been quite the class clown lately. The two best things he’s said in the past two days:

Me: Jacoby, it’s time for bed.

Jacoby: I don’t want to go to bed. I just want to shoot the bad guys.

Me: Well it’s time for bed. Let’s go.

J: Hold on mom. Let me shoot this last one (aims Star Wars gun at wall and shoots said bad guy…then gets in bed.)

 

Driving to work in the car:

Jacoby: *mumble mumble mumble*

Me: What did you say?

J: What did you say mommy?

Me: No, you said something. Did you need something.

J: I just said Gangnam Style (and proceeds to sing the song)

 

He is such a knucklehead!

 

The sickness has been all around our family. I had what I self-diagnosed as a sinus infection about two weeks ago but I used my mommy immune system and was able to kick it. The hubs and Jacoby weren’t so lucky and had to go to the doctor. Both are finished with their medicine and I got hit like a truck on Sunday and now feel like crap. Again. But I am refusing to go to the doctor. The unfortunate part is that I use my sick leave for when the kids get sick (or have a ridiculous amount of surgeries between the two) so I hate missing work for myself. So then it’s a vicious cycle since it’s not like I get to go home at night and rest/relax. Thankfully my mom took the boys for a few hours on Sunday to get them out of my hair and a I got a nap in. But it didn’t reverse the sickness. Ugh.

 

Leo has a case of the mouthies. You know, when a kid just won’t shut his mouth. And argues with everyone/everything in sight. He thinks the world is against him and if he doesn’t get his way it’s the end of the world. Yeah. It’s super awesome. He has lost all forms of electronics, including his TV, and can only watch TV if it is something we are watching as a family. I’m hoping this week he’s doing without will help him realize that he needs to talk to people nicer. If not, it’s going to continue to be long days for him without electronics. Especially coming up on Spring Break. Lucky him!

 

Ok that’s all. Go visit Stacy and the other randomers. See you next week!

28 Things

Ginny's Spin Cycle prompt is to list 28 things. It can be any 28 things to commemorate the 28 days of February. So here are my 28 things. First 7 will be just random things going on.

1. I have given up sweets for Lent. I teeter back and forth between sweets and pop but this year I did sweets. I'm hoping that it will spur me on to better eating habits and lose some weight! We'll see. I'm one week into it and not down anything.
2. I'm also participating in The Best Lent Ever. It's a series where they email you scripture, a thought or a video every day to make you think about your faith. It's been really good so far. If you're looking to grow in your faith (even if you're not Catholic) this is a good place to start.
3. I started selling Premier jewelry at the beginning of 2014. It's been one year and while last year was good, I have been completely overwhelmed with the rest of my life that I haven't been able to devote any time to it. Which makes me want to do even less with that. Which does not create very good vibes towards it.
4. I've been  binge reading the Heroes of Olympus series. I'm on book 3 and so far they're really good. I'd already read the Percy Jackson books and enjoyed them so I figured I would like these too.
5. Our microwave broke on Sunday morning and we had to replace it the same day because we use it so much. Even though I've been cooking more we have been eating the leftovers so we need it to warm them up in addition to quick meals/snacks for the other days.
6. I wish everything wasn't so expensive. We're looking to replace our fence and it's looking to be over $3,000. What?! That's insane. We also want to fix a few things around the house inside and out and we would like to have a new driveway repoured. I think we're going to have to divvy up the list.
7. I am so tired of this winter weather. Both the boys are super tired of being cooped up and I'm tired of their attitudes because of it.

My most favorite shows on TV right now:

1. Game of Thrones (duh)
2. Gotham
3. The Following (when it come back on)
4. Bones
5. Under the Dome (when it comes back in the summer)
6. New Girl
7. Expedition Unknown
8. Modern Family

Places I'd like to visit (or visit again): 

1. Seattle
2. New Orleans
3. Disneyland/Disneyworld and all of the other Disney related theme parks plus Harry Potter world!
4. Cayman Islands-it was so beautiful and peaceful when we stopped there on our cruise
5. Italy
6. London
7. France
8. Anywhere else tropical!

And finally, because of all the sports Leo is in or has been in, here is my list of my top 8 favorite sports!

1. Major League baseball - Go Royals and Cardinals!
2. College basketball - Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
3. Professional football - HTTR!
4. NBA basketball
5. Gymnastics
6. Soccer
7. Cheerleading
8. Couch surfing...that counts right?!

So that is a lot you've learned about me! Go visit Ginny and see all the other spinners and their 28 things!

RTT: Cartoons, dinners, weather and birthdays

Since I've been gone for so long I've missed Random Thoughts Tuesdays with Stacy! I've missed it because it gives me a place to just release a few of the randoms running around my brain!

I am so glad that Disney Junior comes out with new cartoons every once in a while. While Jacoby is still hooked on Mickey Mouse and has recently come to like Jake and the Neverland Pirates he has really enjoyed the new shows Miles from Tomorrowland and the 7D. It's nice because I swear even though Mickey Mouse Clubhouse has been on for at least 8 years I'm pretty sure my TV is programmed to play only the ones I've seen (which is all of them).

I am so tired of cooking dinner. I saw a meme I think the other day on Facebook about how even people who enjoyed cooking before kids/families they despise it now. I never loved cooking and I don't despise it now, but it is so difficult to come up with meals that everyone will enjoy on a day where we are all home to eat. We've come into the time where Leo has multiple practices a week and with working until 5 evenings are always hectic. The only meal I've come up with that pleases everyone is spaghetti. There are a few other meals that I can usually get 3 out of the 4 of us to eat but hardly ever 4 for 4. It gets really frustrating.

The weather here has been out of control crazy. We had rain and 45 degrees on Friday and then we had a super nice day on Saturday where we probably got up to 60 and then around 11 Saturday night we had snow and it continued to snow all day Sunday. We didn't have much accumulation but then Monday was FREEZING and it would snow sporadically. Again with not much accumulation though. Thankfully!

Today is my little baby's birthday. Happy 8th birthday LEO! We've gone between angel to devil and now it's like we've surpassed his middle years and we are dealing with straight teen angst. But we love him through it all and this upcoming weekend his birthday party is at the local dodgeball joint. I can't wait to post about it and pictures!

Well that's all the random I have for now. Check out Stacy and the other random revelers!

Time Marches On

There's a segment on the local radio station (which is actually syndicated but whatever) where the hosts talk about things that have happened to them lately that makes them realize that time is marching on for them. So here are a few of my cues that make me realize that my time is marching on.

Yesterday I didn't do anything strenuous and after I woke up from a quick nap and hanging out for a bit my neck was really sore. I hadn't done anything and I just couldn't shake the stiffness. I ended up having to put Icy Hot on it and took some Tylenol. It feels a bit better today but still is sore.

I'm one of the middle school cheerleading coaches and on Saturday we had a game the girls were cheering at. A few of the girls were being rude and disrespectful. There was even a point when I told them something and they blatantly did the opposite. When I said something they were like, well we wanted to do it. I had to stand my ground and tell them that they weren't in charge and I was the coach. Then I thought Oh lord. They probably think I'm a fuddy duddy...which brought up another feeling of time marches on for me even thinking the term fuddy duddy! :)

My friend posted a TBT picture of myself and her at our first job working in a music store. And of course her brother teased and asked what CD's were. It reminded me that when I first started working there we sold cassettes. Now there are hardly any actual music stores that sell CDs.

There's just a few of my recent run ins with Father Time. What are some of yours?

Game of Thrones Annonymous

My name's Kendra and I'm a Game of Thrones-aholic. Is there such a thing as GoT Annonymous? If so I need it. At the end of last year I finished the Century Trilogy and needed a new book to read. I'd started Game of Thrones on HBO Go and had gotten through the first season and thought, "hey I might like to read these books." I threw it out there on Facebook and had a few people tell me how good it was. I found all 5 books for my Kindle for $20 and thought I'd try it out. Holy cow...I'm now addicted. I read all 5 books in 6 weeks. And I also finished the series on HBO and am impatiently patiently waiting season 5 to start on April 12. Not like I've Googled it a few times to get my date correct and that I don't miss it. I'm not sure if it's the action, the love stories/sex or the suspense of who will win the game of thrones that draws me in. Or maybe it's all of the above. Here are just a few of the plot points that I can't wait to find out about in the next books (that book 6 is supposedly coming out in 2016...which can't get here soon enough.) Also...spoilers ahead:

• What will happen to Jon Snow on The Wall? Will the Wildlings ruin it for everyone or will they be able to keep the peace so the Others don't eat all their faces?
• What is going to happen to Arya and Sansa. For real. They're seriously just little girls in the books so it is really strange reading all their escapades.
• Same goes for Bran. That whole storyline is just really strange.
• And where did Rickon go?
• Will we see Zombie Catelyn in the show or will she turn back up in the books?
• What is Melisandre up to? And why does she always need to take off her clothes and seduce everyone?
• Does anyone care what happens to Stannis, Reek/Theon and the rest of the Iron Island people? That was a storyline I could have done without. I'm not sure how it ties together but I could have skimmed those chapters in books 4 and 5 and not missed anything.
• Why did the HBO series change some of the storylines? It was very odd seeing certain characters do things that I had read other characters in the book doing. Some of it I understand due to time restraints but overall I thought it was strange.

Ok so I could go on and on but I'll leave you at that. And just know that I have binged on it and now am waiting to find out what happens. Unfortunately Season 5 on HBO covers books 4 and 5 so I already know more or less what will happen.

To see more spins on binging visit Lemon Drop Pie. And hopefully I'm getting back into the blogging state of mind and will be joining in more often!

From the Mouths of Babes

Things are never boring around here. In the first hour after I got home from work and had the boys picked up here were a few gems I heard:

• You want to do this? Let's go. (from Jacoby...he's 3)
• Can I eat my pepperoni now? (after remembering it was meat and today was Ash Wednesday) Pepperoni's not meat. It's just pepperoni. (Leo...age 8)
• You don't get me. I'm going to stomp your head. (Jacoby to his Hulk hands)
• I don't eat those Ninja Turtles. I eat the chocolate. (Jacoby)

Ok so maybe not the funniest but the context, facial expressions and actions all make it a lot funnier than it may seem. My boys sure do keep me on my toes!

One to remember

As I was laying in bed last night frustrated that it was 10pm and Jacoby had just come in my bedroom I had a moment. I had been snippy because he’d been in and out of bed for almost 2 hours without going to sleep. I’d cleaned the entire house because we have a babysitter comingtonight and had been by myself with the boys since I’d gotten home from work because the hubs had a meeting. So at 10pm all I wanted to do was crawl into bed, by myself, and watch a few episodes of Game of Thrones. Of course with Jacoby in there that wasn’t going to happen. So I was snippy. But then, in all about 3 minutes he had fallen asleep. And he was so flipping angelic. And at that point all I wanted to do was snuggle and kiss him. And I did. But very quietly and gently because I did not want to wake him.

I don’t know what it is about those boys but they make my emotions and moods run extremes. One minute they are demon children and moody teenage-wannabes and the next minute they’re hugging me and telling me how much they love me. It. Is. Exhausting. I am a moody person in general and having two moody children and a moody spouse…yikes. Our house is chaos. And after last night (and all the other nights in between) I think about how much I need to make a little more effort to just give myself to the boys. Just a little more compassion. A little more sympathy. Because their feelings are REAL. As hard as it is for me to remember that when Jacoby asks me why his name is in the trash (I threw away his papers from school) or when Leo is all in a huff because he thinks I’m a liar because I didn’t specify one little thing to him and now I’m the worst mom every. They feel this. They feel the love and the snuggles. But they don’t always feel the compassion. Because it’s not always on the surface. It’s buried beneath hours of work stress and home stress and PTO stress and money stress. I’m going to add it to my list though. It needs to be at the top. Because they are the reason that I do what I do. And I will succeed and they will feel it.

50 Shades of Drama

Hello. Remember me? I know. It’s been over a year since I’ve written. I’ve been busy. Not that you all haven’t been, but yeah. I’m going to leave it at I was busy. I always had blog posts running through my head but never had took the time to write. But today (well actually yesterday was when I composed this in my brain) I have something that compels me to write. And that is 50 Shades of Grey.

It’s funny how it is the most ridiculous things that draw me back to this. I’ve been perusing Facebook lately and it seems like every other sentiment is Ban 50 Shades. 50 Shades is pornography and porn ruins marriages, 50 Shades demoralizes women, 50 Shades makes people want to abuse women. Ok so maybe not that last one but I’ve read posts about how it glamorizes domestic violence.

I just want my opinion out there since the only voice seems to be the one that screams boycott.

This is not porn. This is an R-rated movie. The amount of sex that you will see in this is not even close to what you would see if you even turned on Cinemax at 2am on aSaturday night. It definitely is an erotic movie and the themes will be there even if you don’t see it though. I’m all for that since I don’t really like to have sex shoved in my face. I also don’t see that it glamorizes domestic violence. It sheds light on a sector of the world that enjoys S&M. Personally, not my thing. But who am I to tell someone that if that is what they like that they can’t do it. In the privacy of their own home (or in Christian’s case his airplane, his yacht, his vacation home, etc.) But another side to this coin is the attention that it is not giving to movies like Magic Mike. How is that not demoralizing to men? These are men who are made to go work in an industry (stripping) and they get locked in and can’t get out. We’re not hearing any of that. Not that I agree with that either. There are sides to every story and for every stripper, porn star and Hooters Girl that got sucked in to a horrific sexually deviant lifestyle because of that there are others who enjoy the money and like what they do. So if we’re going to holy roll for women we must do the same for men. And let me tell you, after reading these books it did not ruin my marriage. If anything it spiced it up for a day or so. Then back to the usual stuff…you know, taking kids to school, doing dishes, etc. Get your mind out of the gutter!

I will give these critics one thing. These books are not the best written books I’ve ever read. But there are a lot of books out there that once I’m done I just go meh. And the same goes for movies. So to me I just want everyone to realize this is just a movie. Nothing more, nothing less.