Brothers

I absolutely love to watch the relationship between my boys. The two oldest boys share a room and the two youngest boys share a room. At night I hear the big boys talking while they drift off to slumber land. They share secrets, giggle, and give each other advice. When they get home from school they immediately head to the backyard for a game of kickball, baseball, or football. Sometimes all three!

But last night events took place that I never could have imagined as a mom and I cried at how happy I was that God chose me to be their mom.

A little background on my boys -
T-man, 10 years old, first born son, loud, really believes he's the coolest kid in the world, has a heart of gold, loves everyone, but can cry at the drop of a hat, frustrates easily and will give up before he starts, loves to cuddle, extremely social, wants to please and not let anyone down, but has to try 10 times harder than other children at school and sports...

Bubby, 7 years old w/ an old mans sole, hysterical, but is our quiet child, shy until he gets to know you, extremely gifted at school and all sports, AWESOME baseball player, very sensitive, HATES all vegetables, looks up to his big brother, loves to hang out w/ dad on the ball field, but loves his quiet snuggle time w/ mommy, is the middle child and is often just along for the ride...

So a little observations I've had lately....T-man is a little jealous of Bubby b/c he does not struggle in school and really shines on the baseball field. And last night I became very concerned. T has had an extremely rough week at school...and after several e-mails and phone calls w/ his teacher...I have realized I cannot protect my baby all the time...and is makes me very sad. He's trying and unfortunately he needs a lot of patient people...and Ms. Not Nice is not very patient and has led to many crying evenings this year.

Well, last night T's team did not have enough players, so #1 coach puts in the younger brother. I begin to cringe and get excited at the same time. I love watching them play and am excited they will get to play together. However, I'm nervous b/c I don't want T to feel as if little brother steals his light. The game starts off by T striking out. Oh crap! And then Bubs gets up to the plate and belts it out past 2nd and gets 2 RBI's. He then steals all the bases one at a time and makes his way home. In the field, T is catcher...and he is totally awesome at this position...and Bubs is playing 2nd. Bubs get 2 outs in that inning and I am so excited for him. Back to bat...T strikes out again, Bubs gets on base, T still great catching, Bubs is totally rocking 2nd base and not letting those boys 3 and 4 years older than him get anything past him. But I see T getting a little discouraged b/c all of his team mates are not chanting for his brother.

But then something really cool happens - He follows his team mates. I hear him yelling "Come on Bubby. You can do it." He whispers to him on his way out to bat. I would pay a million dollars to have been a fly to hear what he said. He cheers and cheers...even though his whole team is cheering for him and saying how awesome he is. I hear T say, "That's my little brother. He Rocks!" And each time from then on they hi-5 on the way to the field, whisper before hitting and I see such a great bond.

Today I tell T how really great he is as a big brother. And how all his little brothers are looking up to him. And how they will follow his lead. And what a great example he is setting for them. And he says, "Mom, I had no choice. I wasn't doing much w/ my hitting, but that little guy was doing an awesome job. He was showing my friends on my team and the other team how awesome he is...and he's only 7. He wasn't even intimidated by them. Even though he's weird he really did great."

I was so proud!

Happy, Sad, Stressed, Giddy, Blessed, Frustrated, Excited, CRAZY!

These are just some of the emotions that I have had as a parent lately.

Happy - These children bring me such joy as a parent. To know that I am capable of making such gorgeous, intelligent, witty, and humorous children. I love being their mom!

Sad - Because they are growing up too fast. I took Princess shopping this weekend for her 8th grade formal. After all the short dresses, I highly considered visiting the Amish community and having one made for her. I also received her schedule for next year...HIGH SCHOOL! On that very same day I registered my little Tooker for kindergarten.

Stressed - T-man is extremely smart, but is easily frustrated. When he doesn't understand something right away I believe he completely tunes out. Which is why he stressed all weekend over a project they are working on at school. Being the protective mommy that I am I e-mailed the teacher to let her know how frustrated he is. Of course it was a misunderstanding, he didn't listen to the directions b/c he thought it was too hard, and so no work was done in class. Thank goodness she gave him and extra day so he can finish tonight...and of course I have to fit that in with his chores, other homework, and baseball game.

Giddy - These kids make me laugh so hard. Princess made a card last week for our anniversary and she drew crazy pictures of her dad and I and let us know we are getting OLD. My Bubby is super crazy lately...he has asked me every night to scratch his back and give him a massage...just like his dad. So each night I've gone into the big boys room they've started laughing before I even come near them. They love for me to pound on their backs and bang their legs w/ my fists. Listening to them laugh and watching them squirm makes bedtime fun!

Blessed - Because I am amazed to have 5 healthy children. I could have never even dreamed how wonderful my life would be. They are truly awesome!

Frustrated - My Monkey keeps me on my toes...ALL DAY! Last week he decided he wanted his toe nails painted and while I was cleaning the downstairs he went in Princesses bathroom and proceeded to paint his entire foot and floor hot pink. Two days later he dumped out the entire bottle of nail polish remover on my bathroom floor trying to clean as I had after his nail polish incident. He never stops...ever...even in his sleep.

Excited - That summer is coming in 5 weeks and my kids will be home. No more bus in the early morning, no homework, baseball all-stars, swimming, picnics, hikes, museums...I can't wait!

CRAZY - 5 kids will do that to you! From getting up, dressing, eating...to ball games, homework, picky eaters, tired and whiny...to cuddle time and story time...to making sure all the necessary hygiene and doctors appointments are taken care of...to more love than you can imagine yet not enough time to sit and enjoy it.

I love being a mom, but holy moly I'm tired!

How We Met

Today I've joined Kelly's Show Us Your Life...


I was 19.
He was 23.

I had a daughter.
He had a daughter.

I had a good friend that I worked with.
He had a good friend that he worked with.
They were married.

They set us up on a blind date.
We met up in a group at the 3 Dollar Cafe.

I walked in and looked over at the bar. "Which one is he? That one there with the hat turned backwards w/ the super cute body? No? Ummm that one...over there with the arms and muscles I'd like to touch? No? Well I don't think he's here then."

"Yes he is...right there."

"WHAT? That guy? He looks like a DORK! Are you sure that's who you are setting me up with? Come on? Really? White button up shirt, black tight jeans, and black high tops? And a hair cut from 1985 (we met 1997 so he should not have had that hair cut!)? Are you sure?"

And so the night went...we all sat together outside on the patio. Everyone in the group (all 8) knowing we were supposed to be on a "date". We spoke....very little. Because, after all, I thought he was a DORK! We spoke about our daughters, the beer he was enjoying, me going to school and work...

Then someone got the bright idea to go bowling. Sounds like fun right? NOT! As I'm walking in I see him...pulling something. What the hell? It's a bowling bag (more like a suit case) on wheels. Are you kidding me? He pulls his bowling "suit case" in and gets his ball out. His own fitted, perfectly sized to his fingers, bowling ball! And his own shoes. This was my cue if I'd ever had one. RUN...RUN FAR...VERY VERY FAR!

I actually ended up "hanging" out with another guy who was out with us. We hit it off for some reason. I was not looking for a relationship. I was actually in the middle of a divorce... at 19... and raising my daughter on my own...with no help from her father. So, I was really looking to just have a good time and enjoy a little freedom of not being tied down.

The next week I met my blind date at the grocery store where he worked. I was with my friend who was taking her husband lunch. My "date" says, "So what do you do all day? Just hang out with friends?" Ugh what a jerk! "No", I replied, "Actually I work and go to school." He says, "Why are you off in the middle of the day?" "Ugh because I work part-time b/c I go to school the rest of the time and I happen to have a day off."

He sounded so full of himself...and made me sound like a bum! My next response was, "At least I'm going college. You work in a grocery store! What else are you doing with your life?"

Fast forward a few months....My "date" calls and says, "I don't think we got off on the right foot. Let's hang out and try this again." I hung up. He is persistant. We become friends. Hanging out with our "group" and get to know each other. Only as friends...

Next thing I know we are hanging out a lot...like almost every night. He comes to my house, picks me up for dates, brings me flowers, we introduce our girls...and 13 years later we have 6 children together.

Funny how one blind date with the dorkiest guy I've ever met can turn into the hottest dream boat of a man whom I have all these children with. And quite often I remind him of what a dork he was. And how awesome it was of me to come along and save him from himself. And now...I find him extremely sexy and find myself drooling over him even...and I love how when he holds my hand he still makes my heart skip a beat.

Who knew?

1 pound at a time...1 less snack day

This whole weight loss thing was really starting to get to me. The first 2 weigh ins were so exciting! Over 2 pounds the first week and almost 3 the second week. Then. It. Was. Only. A. POUND! And then weeks 4 and 5 were .2 of a pound. And then...week 6 NOTHING!

But I did realize after looking over my workouts and food journals that I was eating normal...not cutting calories...and I was working out once maybe twice during those weeks. At that point I realized that it was okay that I wasn't losing. The best news of all was that I had actually lost the 10 pounds...and it wasn't coming back. So what I know now is that I can maintain it. I can eat mostly healthy 80% of the time and have sweet treats ocassionally and eat out once a week if needed...and not freak out!

What I have also come to realize...which I've read over and over again...is that losing slowly is really the key to keeping it off. That's the problem I've had in the past. I have done a lot of "Lose 15 pounds in 3 weeks" type diets and workouts that help you lose fast. But for me after the three weeks I completely burn out...and stop. So the weight might go away fast, but it creeps back up and usually a few extra pounds tag along.

I am really excited about this eye opening experience. Even thought I am doing this 10 Week Biggest Loser Challenge and I pledged to lose 15 pounds I am okay with it going slowly. At this rate I won't be down to 135 at the challenge, but the fact that I am so close to being out of the 140's and the scale hasn't crept back up is more exciting. I also knew that I wasn't going to win this challenge b/c the majority of the other people had a lot more weight to lose than 15 pounds.

I also know that I can only fit in so many workouts a week and am not willing to do more to really push myself. That's why I am afraid of the P90X type workouts b/c I know I won't be able to keep doing them for long amounts of time. I need a healthy weight, but also LOVE spending time with my family and enjoying their evening activities. I know that there are some weeks I can fit in more, and I know that some weeks I'm lucky to get a walk out to the mailbox.

I wish I was that kind of person that could get up and exercise in the morning...but 5:00 is way to early for me to drag my butt out of bed. The summer will hopefully be easier because I really do like early morning workouts, but I like them after a full nights sleep and when the sun is coming up. And as much as I love my Zumba class some nights are just impossible to make...and with 5 kids I just can't get through everything I need to at night to get a run in. But there are only 6 weeks left of school...so I'll keep going at this pace and just be excited with each little bit that goes away.

Happy Monday!

We did it! We did it! We really really did it!

So I would totally buy my house...oh wait I already did. But now we've out grown it! Imagine that...5 kids, 2 dogs, an in-home daycare, and a mom and dad. There. Is. No. More. Room.
So for the last two weeks while I've been away from bloggy land...I have cleaned...
reorganized,
repainted trim,
(hubby surprised me with new dining room furniture as we had none)
scrubbed base boards and painted,
packed away the unnecessary,
had a garage sale and will have another one at the end of the month,
stressed over keeping it clean,
continue stressing over how I will keep it clean.
But for now
it is listed and ready to go
and I'm ready to sit back and enjoy all of my hard work.
It doesn't feel like home b/c we've done so much...

but maybe that's God's way of letting me know it's time to go.

No I haven't been abducted by aliens!

Although my kids are on Spring Break this week so it does feel a little foreign to me to have them home all day....and me not working...but so much to do so not much fun is being had. Maybe aliens would have been a better solution.

Anywho, we have been super busy getting the house ready. I had no idea how much work would go in to this. But the boys have helped me work in the yard. I have completely gutted the kitchen and prepared many boxes of garage sale items. Hubby has taped off the entire downstairs and upstairs so he can paint the trim and freshen it all up. Painters came and painted the outside of the house so it's sparkly new. Today I have got to finish all the kids rooms. It's super difficult with an almost 2 year old who seems to destroy whatever room I am not in which makes for another clean up.
I am trying to go through boxes of summer clothes at the same time to see what fits and pack up winter stuff. Ahhh it's crazy! I'm not sure I could ever survive a complete make-over or re-do an entire house. The mess is killing me...as I look around I think we will never be done. But we must push through as there is officially a sign in the yard and people are hopefully going to start coming to see this place.

I am also restarting WW today...I know you didn't even know I stopped right? Well, I didn't either until I got on the scale today and saw a 2 pounds gain from last week:( I guess I just have been putting things in my mouth as I get through these hectic days and not even realizing it. And the Easter candy doesn't help. But anyway I'm getting pack on track and will prevail!

A few pics. to leave you with just so you know I'm alive:)



After uploading the pics. I realize this is the first Easter I do not have a family photo or even one of just the kids all together. And I didn't take pictures of coloring eggs, hunting eggs, or finding their candy. I won't get mom of the year this year...oh well...