A Moldy Situation

First up, let me say that the constant rain is wearing on my last fragile nerve. I mean, enough already with the free-flowing water! I know God promised not to flood the Earth again and all that jazz, but...sheesh! This is getting annoying. {insert annoyed grumbling sounds here} I need a good sunny day to dry out my house. Yeah...I said house. Now you might be asking, "Why on earth would you say 'house', Jessica?"Well, it seems that we have a bit of a mold issue. These aren't exactly the things you foresee when you buy a house. There were no tale tale odors of mold or must when we first moved in, so apparently it is a problem that has developed over our time here. Of course, I am at home all day, so I've developed a bit of an immunity to the smell. But when Josh gets home from being gone all day, he says it's really bad. Slap you in the face kind of stench. Great. Lovely. FANtastic. And the real kick in the head is that poor Alex has a pretty severe mold allergy. The kid just can't get a break now. Inside the house used to be a nice escape from the horrid spring allergies outside, but now the disgusting mold smell has permeated our house. I'm just waiting for him to get worse the stronger the smell gets. It's just making me realize that our house is not a healthy place to be living right now. Isn't that wonderful? *sigh* At least we have a roof over our heads. The good news? We located the problem...for the most part. It is in our room on the wall to the outside of the house and the rotted siding on the same wall. The bad news? We have no idea how to replace it all. Now, we haven't ripped off the wood paneling inside to see just how far the damage goes. Truth be told, I'm afraid to do it in fear that I will see mold so bad that my stomach will do back flips over my butt. But it has to be done. And soon too, because I fear that this may worsen Alex's asthma and possibly cause some problems for Abby (who has yet to show any allergies). I also firmly believe that this is also affecting all of our health just by breathing it in. So the first non-rainy weekend we have, we will be taking on the task of ridding our house of it's nasty mold smell. Yuck. So...uh...know any good workers that are willing to work for a cheap price? (And by 'cheap', I really mean free with a side of soda pop, meals, and eternal gratitude.)

Spring Has Sprung

I'm not entirely sure if 'officially' is the right word, but using the weather purely as an indicator, would mean that spring is officially upon us. Up until the past couple of days (rain, rain, rain), the temperature has made it especially beautiful outside. And all I can say is: It's about time! Do you have kids? Well, if you do, then I'm quite sure that yours were also going ga-ga with the whole stay-in-the-house-and-do-nothing-until-we-go-crazy phase of the year. I think you will agree with me when I say that outside playtime is essential in keeping the sanity of your children in check. Now that the weather has been agreeing with my terms of acceptable outside temperatures, the kids are more than thrilled to expel all of there bottled up energy in more appropriate manners. Bring on the swing set and sandbox! Here are some pictures of my monkeys enjoying some sun.




Of course, with the joys of fair weather, comes the much awaited opening of garage sale season. I've saved my pennies and this past weekend, was the first of my annual city wide garage sales. I woke up early, passed the kids off to Josh (for the first time in...well...way too long) and headed into town for four straight hours of rummaging through other peoples unwanted treasures. Of course, I rarely get anything for myself these days. It's all about the kids now. Toys, toys, and more toys. And boy howdy! Did I ever get a lot of stuff! I've never seen my mini-van packed so tightly. Honestly, I don't see a point to buying things new anymore. I'm not sure what my best find was, but it's definitely between my wheelbarrow for $2.00 or the FisherPrice parking garage for $.25 cents (biggest hit for the kiddos). It was fun and I can't wait to go out again. I'm an unstoppable force, I tell ya. But I've got my fix for the moment. I think I can safely go another week or two before heading out to get more stuff to fill my already too small house. But isn't the old adage 'One man's trash can fill up another man's house during garage sale season'?

The Results Are In!

It's official. My pregnant friend, Mandy had the sonogram today and I'm thrilled to hear that...


I am so excited that Abby will have a little girl buddy to get into all sorts of trouble with. Growing up was always interesting with Mandy and I. We weren't the worst kind of trouble makers out there, but we definitely did a few things that were a wee bit on the stupid side.(i.e. throwing rocks at bull's heads, shooting a bow & arrow at each other (don't ask), and putting lemonade and hamster poop in dollhouse toilets) So It will be interesting to see if this new little one and Abby will become bosom buddies in the future. Alex and Wesley (her first little kiddo) are really takin' a liking to each other so it is possible. So congratulations Mandy and Sean! I'm so excited for you both!

A tad of this...a tad of that

The attack of The Lazy Blogging Mama strikes again! After the big birthday bash, I kind of went on a bit of a hiatus as far as my responsibilities to the blog goes. But, hey...can you blame me? Not only did I have the stressful week prior to it, but to add insult to injury, (injury being my exhaustion) I caught the lovely cold that swept through the household. So here I am, well enough to feel like updating you all and I really have nothing very exciting to report. So today it's going to be a tad of this and a tad of that. First up, let me just say thank you to my wonderful inlaws for the nice weekend away. The kids had a lot of fun for the two days that we went to Josh's parents house. We got some down time with them and his grandparents. So you might ask me next, "So, did you get any good pictures with that fancy new camera you have?" Where in, I would reply, "Nope. Took the camera and totally spaced it off." Nice, huh? Maybe next time.

The weekend was great save for the night following our return. Apparently my children do not handle change very well. Abby has been finally sleeping through the night due to random factors. She even cries herself back to sleep fairly quickly. But after one night away from routine, she became a very angry baby. She decided to scream in her crib for just over two hours last night before I answered her angry beckoning. (I too was very angry so we both ended up sitting in the rocking chair complaining in our own special ways.) Hopefully tonight will go better.

Next note. I am a free bird again! Woo-hoo! Yes...ladies and gentlemen...I have a weaned one year old. I am officially off booby-duty. The shackles have been unlocked. I plan on merrily burning my nursing bras. Okay, so maybe that's a bit overboard. It wasn't really that awful. But it really does feel good to not have to worry about that part of my life anymore. One year is where I draw that line.

And for my last bit of fun stuff, I shall post a nice little video. I think, with a little more research on the subject, I may have discovered the hidden reason to my children's sleeping disorders. And before you can ask, I will tell you that Josh told me to post this because it is so incredibly funny. Honestly, I've never heard Josh laugh so hard he was crying. So let me prepare you for the snoring event unparalleled by any another.

*The noises you are about to hear are in no way modified and are real despite what you may believe. Due to the nature of this video, ear protection may be required. I am not liable for any damage to sensitive eardrums. (okay...so i'm exaggerating...a bit.)



*Please note that no husbands were harmed in the making of this video.

Happy Birthday Abby!

Okay, okay...so I'm two days late with the birthday wishes. Let's just blame it on pure, undiluted, and totally mind numbing exhaustion. Yeah, nothing wears out a mother like a birthday party. And not really the party itself, so much as the preparing for the party. The week before the party, I was, yet again, a 'single' parent. Josh was sent out of town...again... for work due to the lack of things to do around town. (thank you economic crisis) Better than no job at all, I say. So, needless to say, the week was a long one and I had to get all of my ducks in a row for the party. On to the purpose of the blog...

Saturday was a smash! Abby was this amazingly perfect little party girl. It was as if she knew exactly what she was supposed to be doing and was extraordinarily efficient in doing so.

Alex & Abby donning a set of birthday party glasses...mama's little Elton Johns!

We started off with the opening of gifts to get the ball rolling. She plowed through them without so much as a distracting thought. Honestly, I've never seen a one year old open presents so easily. I blinked, and it was over; a pile of new shiny things now lying strewn about in front of us.

Then it was time for lunch. I went all out (insert sarcasm here). Sandwiches with a side of chips and dip. Spared no expense (once again...insert sarcasm). Next on the agenda, we were ready for the big easter egg hunt. In my head, this part involved miss Abby's first easter egg hunt. That didn't go exactly to plan. She passed out cold after filling her belly with the tasty lunch goodness. Poor thing was drained. (she's not exactly a socialite). We let her catch some zzz's while the rest of the kiddos zipped around our backyard, desperately seeking the candy filled treasures hidden in my already over-grown lawn. It really was a blast. They all had so much fun. Alex was in his element this year. He did great and was more than thrilled to find his fair share of the loot.

Alex was havin' a blast looking for eggs!

All the kiddo's with their baskets full of treasure. (The only one missin' is Abby)

(Left to right: Kate, Linsey, James, Lauren, Linda, Alex, & Wesley)

Abby awoke from her birthday slumber to find that she was once again ready to fill her tummy with more birthday treats. Cake and ice-cream. Or for those avoiding the dairy, soy-ice-cream. (though I fail to see how you can put the word 'cream' in something where there lies none) She, once again, was the little pro. I would swear that she did this while in utero. She plowed through a generous helping of the chocolate cake that I had decorated into the wee hours of the morning before.

My graphic design skills put to use. The flower and butterfly are actually a second layer of cake.

She probably could have eaten about three times more cake than I gave her.

After all was said and done, the party was over and the guests were on their way. Thank you to all who came and joined in the festivities. You made it a special day for Abby and the rest of us. It's already been a whole year and a spectacular one at that. As much as I'd love to drone on about every little detail, from the gifts given to the color of the now trashed crepe paper streamers, I really must make myself go back to mothering. I hear silence...which as a mother to a 2 year old and a 1 year old...can not be good. So if you will excuse me, I'm going to go attempt to not pass out from residual exhaustion while I entertain my monkeys. I'd never make it as a professional party planner.

Eggcellent Easter Fun

Easter has almost come and with celebrating our Lord's resurrection, comes the kid-friendly fun. Actually it's kind of fun for adults too. I don't know about you, but decorating eggs can be truly rewarding. There is something oddly satisfying about seeing white eggs turning brilliant shades of blue, pink, and green. Perhaps that is just the artist in me. Regardless, it's fun fun fun! With Easter this year, also comes the celebration of Abby's first birthday. I still can't believe it's already been a year. But it's general knowledge that time doubles in speed once you have kids. Her birthday is tomorrow, so we are having a cross celebration between Easter and Birthday. Tomorrow we will have lunch and presents, followed by an easter egg hunt in our backyard. Then what kind of party would it be without cake and ice cream? And what kind of cool mom am I if I can toss the easter theme in with these tasty little treats?


Milk allergy, schmilk allergy...my kids are having chocolate easter bunnies! Yes...I made them. And yes...they are milk free. I don't like to toot my own horn, but am I awesome or what? Anyhow, after whipping up these bad boys, we got down to the real business of decorating two and half dozen eggs. Did the entire lot of eggs survive the toddler decorating fest? Um...no. But we only had four casualties. Not bad, if I do say so myself. Here are my disastrous duo designing their perfectly cracked eggs.

Alex is lovin' this fun stuff!

Abby wasn't really in to the whole decorating thing. She was in to the whole eating thing.

And daddy joined in the fun to. Surprising because he claims to hate this kind of stuff. And funny thing, I do believe he decorated more than me...and it was MY idea!

Abby got to play with all of the extras, but she wanted the finished products pretty badly.

So everyone enjoy your Easter this year. I know that we will!

Birthday Bug

Naturally, true to form, a lovely little cold bug decided to attach itself to one member of our family just in time for the birthday celebrations. Josh brought home a nice little cold last week. Apparently working on a rooftop in rain and cold temps can lower your immune system. It's not a bad cold...yet. (anyone have some wood to knock on?) So, of course, this nasty little germ spread itself through the house. Well...not all through the house because it hasn't hit me yet. Abby got it first and Alex followed suit within half a day. So now snot is free flowing in from my little monkeys and it couldn't come at a worse time. Alex was sick on his first birthday. He actually was in the hospital with brochiolitis/RSV. So Abby is just following in suit and getting sick on her first birthday. Poor thing. I hope it doesn't make for a bad party. Hopefully by Saturday, the worst will be over. I'm just hoping that Alex doesn't start wheezing. His asthma isn't kind to him during colds. Oh well...that's that and so without further ado, I give you a couple of pictures to enjoy.

Don't you wish you could eat chocolate marshmallow cereal too?

Alex being his cheezy self

And don't you wish you could sleep as comfortably as a cat?

Mama-me-time

Being a mom can be incredibly frustrating at times. Now, now...don't misinterpret my words. I do so love being a mom. Better yet, I love being a stay-at-home mom. It's rewarding in many ways on many days. Then you have a day from H-E-double hockey sticks, and realize how incredibly hard it can be at times. These type of days are the ones where it is imperative that you have mama-me-time. If this...well, sort of word...had a definition, I believe it would be as follows:

Mama-me-time [mah-muh-mee-tahym] : The time allotted for any mother during a day to unwind and otherwise relax for the soul purpose of keeping one's sanity in check. (i.e.: Reading, watching movies, random hobbies.)


Now, of course, the only way to fully appreciate mama-me-time is to remember that in order for it to really count as personal time, the time must be spent doing something completely, totally and without a doubt, selfish. And by selfish, I mean you really have to enjoy it. If you are watching a movie, you can't fold laundry at the same time. Put the laundry down and grab a box of chocolates in it's place. If you are reading a book, you can't be expected to prepare tomorrows dinner in the middle of a good chapter, so grab a twinkie and mug of hot cocoa instead. I've just recently realized that a lack of mama-me-time made me a very agitated mommy/wife/homemaker/superhero. (You choose the right word for you.) So each night, I make it a point to do something totally and completely selfish. As soon as the kids hit the sack, I actually look forward to sittin' back and doing something for me. I've come to understand, that when you become a mom, you can easily forget other parts of who you were prior to children. Don't get me wrong again, I don't long for my old life before Alex and Abby. In fact, my life wouldn't be complete without them. But before they came along, I was an obsessive nerd hell-bent on collecting as many cheaply-made-miniature-busts of movie characters and cheezy posters while watching the movie for the hundredth time just so I could break my last record and beat my brother-in-law at Star Wars Trivial Pursuit. Say that ten times fast. So I tuned back in to my geekier side and have been watching my movies, reading my books, and enjoying my alone time every night now for well over a month. Josh says he has noticed a change in my attitude because of it. I enjoy it. And I think my family enjoys the happier person I've become. I thought for awhile that I had to say goodbye to my old friends; Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, Harry Potter and Jack Sparrow. I am happy to say that all of my old friends are now back in my life and I've even added a couple of new ones, Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. So if you you're a mom and haven't given in to your guilty pleasures. I shall just say this: Ahhh...Mama-me-time...tis a grand and beautiful thing.

Let me introduce you to...

My good 'friends'...see anyone you want me to introduce you to? A Jedi, a Hobbit, a Wizard, a Pirate, and a Vampire...hmmm...I keep good company...he he he

Sweet Success

It's official. I found the secret to sleep. Or at least the secret to getting my kids to sleep. If you have followed along with my many sleep related posts, then you will know of the many struggles I've had, for quite some time now, of getting my kids to sleep. This includes naps and bedtime. I wasn't going to count on it being a success until at least a few weeks had passed and now that time has come. The secret to both of the monkey's success is to cut out Alex's nap. Believe it or not, he is only 2 1/2 years old and has officially given up his naps. Now, there are the occassional times when he will catch a quick cat nap in the afternoon if it was a really crazy day and the timing is right. And by timing, I really mean having him in the car and in motion to knock him out. He has only fallen asleep three times or so in the last three weeks. I guess that is averaging out to one nap a week that lasts at the most, one whopping hour. So he gets up at a decent time in the morning (between 7:30 and 8:30) along with Abby. They both wake up together and go to bed at night together. By kickin' the nappin' habit, he zonks out by 9:00 or 9:15 now at night. It takes, at most, 5 minutes for him to pass out for the night. He has replaced nap time with quiet time. He gets to watch a movie and sit on the couch. I'd like to say that he is actually quiet too, but I think that is asking a bit much. He does so well now. He's happier and I'm happier. Abby is happier too. She goes down in her crib for her beauty rest and catches a nice long 2 to 2 1/2 hour nap per day without the noisy and nutty Alex waking her up too soon. She goes down at night just has wonderfully. I tell ya...it was a crazy time trying to figure all this out. They won many battles...but I won the war! Tis a good good thing to have my evenings to myself now. My new battle is purely Abby related. It's the battle of the boob. It's weaning time. One out of four feedings down, and three to go. Wish me luck.

Here are those pictures I was promising you. Not great ones, but with the big birthday party for miss Abby (one year old already? How did that happen?), I hope to have a nice cute blog this weekend sometime.

Sock time! Thanks again Aunt Heather!

Just call me Mr. Potato Head. (yes...those are Mr. Potato Head's glasses).

Applesauce time! My first time with a spoon...hmmm...pretty!

It is quite tasty and i'm so good with the spoon already.

And I do believe the spoon tastes better than the applesauce!

Hey, I like applesauce too Mom! I even turn my bowl upside down to indicate I'm done.

My Twilight Void

*sigh*

It appears now, that I have a void in my life today. As you may know, I've been engrossed in the Twilight series for about a week and a half now. It has consumed my every spare waking moment. Alex has given up his naps (for the most part) and so I also get to read during his quiet time, but in the end, it doesn't really feel like the time I had added up to enough to get me through an entire book series in such a short time. But, alas, as of last night, I have completed this most compelling saga that has greedily taken over the minds of the many women (moms being a large part of that number) in the world. I have fallen prey to the books. I finished the fourth book around 2:00 a.m. last night and went to bed with visions of vampires and werewolves dancing through my dreams. I woke up this morning in a slightly off mood. I wasn't aware of the reasoning behind this until speaking to my friend Mandy. She said that I am now experiencing the Twilight void that so many others are also now enduring. What will I do with my spare time now that I have no Edward-Bella drama to keep my mind fascinated? I have no other way to put this but to simply say...I want...no no...I need more. So now that I've read the final words of the story, I must do what I can to keep myself busy until the next movie, Twilight: New Moon, graces us all with it's shining moment in the theaters. November can't come soon enough. I'm sure though, that my children will be more than happy to have the full, undivided attention of their mom back. Obsession can be so annoying. And just a little shout out to my sister-in-law Heather, whom I was happy to hear has fallen prey to the series as well. Enjoy your time with the books. You shall miss them when you are done. You've been warned. (hee, hee)

(and I promise to get some pictures of the kids up here soon. I've been a bit...um...distracted. :-)

And the Verdict Is...

Well...the verdict is in and the jury finds our house to be a danger zone for dairy. Our sentence is to be dairy free for at least another year. Naturally. I really don't feel like going into massive detail, but I suppose that I could humor my readers. I'm a bit miffed as is, so recounting the events again is a bit of an annoyance to me. Call it frustration, call it anger....call it whatever you want, just don't call us to borrow a cup of milk.

Basically, they told me that if things went south after Alex or Abby drank milk, that they needed to be prepared. They checked for good veins and got the meds all measured out. Abby went first and took her 2 teaspoons of chocolate milk well. Alex was SO excited. He wanted to try the chocolate milk too. 2 teaspoons of milk later and all the hopes of eating celebratory ice cream cones went straight out the window. Within one minute he coughed once. I knew as soon as he coughed just that one cough, that it was gonna end badly. 10 seconds later came the tongue itching, 10 seconds more and it was ear pulling and coughing more, then he started crying and drooling. It was a very long minute indeed. They gave him benedryl and he started to get better pretty quick. I'd like to say I was jumping the gun and didn't give him enough time to see where it would go, but when they checked his vitals, they said his oxygen dropped and his pulse rocketed. His body was fighting it pretty bad for such a small amount of stuff. Feeding him that little dixie cup of milk was literally like feeding him poison and as I made him drink it I felt as though I was giving him a cup of bleach to drink. *sigh* It was all I could do to hold my internal struggle together and not scream at myself for essentially poisoning my baby boy. Abby turned out fine. One and a half ounces later and no signs as of yet, but she needs to be watched for later intestinal problems in the 24 hour critical period. But the doc said no milk for her either to avoid any cross contamination for Alex. Poor thing has to live a life of allergy even without one for now. So soy will be filling her soon-to-be-weaned sippy cups. They also are having me get a medical bracelet for him to wear outside of the house in the event he is separated from me. As much as I had convinced myself otherwise, I guess I had a little hope deep down that we'd be stopping by Dairy Queen on the way home. But alas...until the day they start selling Soy-Ice Cream there, we shall avoid that place like the plague. Good thing I'm a pessimist. Otherwise, I could have been twice as disappointed. Dang...this sucks...

Here's that other video I promised y'all in the last blog. Listen in the beginning for Alex's adorable comment about Wesley. Enjoy...

Buddies

This will be a fairly short entry, as I am still engrossed in the Twilight series. Book four and lovin' it! Yeah...this may rival Josh's World of Warcraft obsession yet! Anyhow, really just an update for anyone interested. Tomorrow I'll be dragging the monkeys into the doctor's office to be tested for milk. They are both getting a milk food challenge so wish them...us all...luck. Needless to say, I'm not optimistic in the slightest bit. But who knows...

I shall leave you with a video I took today. Wesley came over and they got to be a bunch of crazy kids. I actually have two videos. One of them I will post tonight, the other tomorrow (if I'm not too lazy). Wesley and Alex really are going to be good buddies down the line. Cute.