I'm Thankful:: Parenting in a World of Sanctimommies

Every other day it seems like another horrifying situation happens relating to children and their parents. Between a toddler falling into a gorilla enclosure and a sweet boy's life ending too soon after an alligator snatched him out of a Disney freaking resort the news is overrun with stories that don't always have happy endings. Those stories are followed up by articles on all platforms of social media and then ripped apart by all the parents out there who think they are doing a better job. I'm here today to tell you how thankful I am that my family has never been in a situation where my skills as a parent have been ripped apart in the media. I am also here to say that I am one of those moms that put only the good* on my social media accounts. I, for one, don't want to remember how horrible of a parent I have been, so I'm sure my kids don't want that reminder either.  {*mostly}

Here are some of the things that I am thankful haven't been caught up in the limelight of all the sanctimommies out there.

~I am thankful that my parents never had to deal with the side eyes from parents as they took a toddler into the donut shop at 3 in the morning. What the other parents didn't know is that after all ER trips for asthma I was treated to a donut. And that is pretty much all I remember from those ordeals. #worthit

~I am thankful that no photos of my parents were ever snapped as they bought cases of baby aspirin and put on blast for "drugging" their son. What wasn't seen was a toddler who couldn't even get up and walk because he was in so much pain from Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and the aspirin was the only thing that eased the pain.

~I am thankful that the day I thought I left my toddler in the car no one was watching. Thankfully I had, but I could not for the life of me even remember dropping him off.

~I am thankful that the day I had to drop a screaming, maniacal child into a shower fully clothed no one documented it. Free spirited children are for the birds y'all.

~I am thankful when my youngest had another ear infection the hounds were not called in because "breast is best" and "it wouldn't be happening if you were nursing." Even though I was...

~I am thankful that those who don't personally know me have had the common courtesy to not delve into my past and dig up all my secrets and determine whether or not I am a fit parent.

I could go on for days on my flaws but I'll stop. Parents out there please stop passing judgment on things you know nothing about. We can always one-up another parent but it isn't necessary. On the worst day(s) of their lives it is even worse. The old adage is true, if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all.

Knock Knock (Is anyone there?)

Holy mother. It's almost been a full year since I've blogged (on this blog). And that makes me sad. And a little anxious because wow. A lot has happened in the past year. Nothing major, but a lot of little things that make life crazy and busy and oh so enjoyable.


A few things...I'm still blogging over at Wichita Moms Blog and I love it. I do an article a month and sometimes an extra one here or there but it's manageable. I love the camaraderie I get from the other mamas and the extra benefits that are thrown in here and there (hello cotton candy martinis at Moms Night Out).


Jacoby is now 4 (!) and a big kid. It's crazy to think he's the last baby I'll have. Seeing as I only had two but ya know. He still loves his snuggles and his Brown Bear. And I just want to keep his "little" bottled up to keep forever. He just started Blast Ball at the DRC which is the thing before T-Ball. It is a hot mess but after one game he seems to enjoy it.


Leo is 9 and is a rock star. He still has the tendencies of a needy, emotional kid but overall he seems to have moved past all the negatives that he was dealing with. There are still some moments where "bad Leo" likes to shine but his goodness shows in more ways than one. He is a loving brother most of the time and seeing him last night with Jacoby after his Blast Ball game showed me how much he cares for him. He plays soccer and baseball competitively and is extremely athletic.


Leonard is still an avid ghost hunter and now is the owner (?) of Everyday-Legacy Paranormal. They've been working with a producer from Kansas who has worked on shows on TV to try to get a show of their own. Not sure that it's going to work out but still cool for sure.


I think for the purpose of this blog there is no way I can ever document everything I want so I am going to try to photo-document from here on out. I'll try to add pictures and little quips as I go but a photo-documentary will be easier to manage than full-fledged lengthy-worded posts. Hope some of you have stuck around, but if not I completely understand!

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!