He-Man

Ryan found a ton of goodies from his past that have been slowly infiltrating our house "for the boys" to enjoy. Miller and I have been expecting a box of new He-Man arms to arrive to repair an old one. I come home and find a rather large box by the door. It clearly contained more than one set of arms.

Miller and Ryan couldn't wait to open it. Inside was probably another 15-20 He-Man "action figures." Some were missing a few body parts but there were certainly enough to now warrant another toy bin of their own. FML! They certainly have more toys coming in than I do knick knacks, clothes, or shoes.

Mind you, we recently had a conversation about spoiled children, no more toys, watching the excess buying, etc. Clearly me buying dollar bin socks as surprises is not the problem.

To all my parent friends with daughters, I am going to come play Barbies with your girls. I want to brush Barbie's hair, put on new outfits, and set up her house. After that I want to play dress up with fun silly outfits for us. Finally, I will need a shopping trip for fun girly things. You have been warned. Oh, and an afternoon of dancing or skating to music.

To the grandparents, aunts, and uncles I will only allow you to spoil my kids with contributions to their savings accounts or babysitting time where I can escape my day to day camo colored life. Yep, I think I am boyed out for a while.

I love them dearly but can't get into all of their interests no matter how hard I try.

Decision Needed

We had new neighbors move in a few months ago. They have two very large dogs (pit and German Shepard). They leave them out in a very small fenced area next to our yard (about 4x8 is my guess). They bark ALL OF THE TIME.

At first, I figured it was them getting used to the new place. Annie barks at passers by too so I didn't think much of it. They look like they could come over the fence at any second since they are so large and crazy. Ryan thinks they are good guard dogs and discourage thieves. I am ok with this thinking to an extent.

Now, after a week of those damn dogs barking for what seems like hours in the middle of the night and waking me up; I have had it. I want to approach them and ask them what the situation is. I want to say I understand barking but when it gets my dog riled up and she starts barking at 2 or 3 am and then wakes up my kids, that's the end of the line. She needs to keep them inside.

Of course, Ryan thinks this is going to cause massive drama and is afraid they will retaliate on us. I want to make it very clear, I am not reporting them to the city at this point.

One other thing I should mention. They had the German tied up on a short rope the other day for a couple hours. He whined the whole time. They tip their dishes of water over and honestly, it's 90+ degrees out. I find this cruel. I did make a promise that if I see that dog tethered again, it's straight to animal control.

So, do you think I let it be and continue to be a crab being woken up in the middle of the night or say something?

C25K Status

I have completed week 3 of the 9 week program. So far, I am surviving. No complaints about the clothing situation. Now I need to work on the squinting (need decent sunglasses) and I might have to be super uncool and get a sweat band or something. My eyes burn from the sweat that keeps dripping in them.

I did put a battery in my MP3 player but I am not keen on the arm band and my headphones suck. I didn't even use it. Tried it on, decided the current music stunk and it was uncomfortable. I can wait a little longer in this department because I am still content "counting" in my head.

Next week I am breaking out the new watch from Ryan. I think I have proven that I can stick with it a little longer. Plus, I am going to find it fun to start checking my route and distance. I am sure I will be shocked how little I go but eventually I can post a few stats.

Mason Pics

I rarely remember to take photo's of the kids before school (especially since every morning seems like a whirlwind) but today I got some of Mason.

 Practicing flying...he had all 4 off the ground right before I snapped this.

 "What? I didn't do it. I am not up to trouble."

Uh Oh!

Mason's favorite word to utter at this moment is "Uh Oh!" He clearly knows when he drops something to say it. And...that it's like a game. Mom, Dad, Miller, heck even strangers think it's cute and respond to it.

We also decided we need to get him used to liking and wearing shoes since they will be required at the new daycare. I put a pair on this morning and sent him to school. Of course I forgot socks since I was just trying them on. He left them alone and next thing you know, he was out the door. I wonder how he did with them today?

I am going to have to buy him a few pairs. I had saved some old ones of Miller's but they already had worn toes from crawling and tripping. I figured they were a good starter. The rest I saved...mostly too small.

As for Miller, I swear he got new shoes less than 3 months ago. He has already outgrown them. We are going to make the leap of faith and buy a little bit better brand this time. He actually wears the soles out and the toes along with outgrowing them. Hopefully a more expensive pair will hold up a little better. The hardest part is going to be convincing him he needs to wear more adult looking ones. The super heroes and velcro don't always come in his size now. There are a few brands but I am not spending $50 on tennis shoes he will outgrow in 3 more months. Wish us luck!

Customer Service...Just a Little Please

When I first moved to Florida, I was appalled by the terrible customer service. Over time, I have become accustomed to the lack of service and honestly, become somewhat rude myself. Today, I have to applaud myself for controlling the desire to be a bitchy customer.

I ran over to Kolh's to return something. *I have to caveat this with normally, I do not run into issues with their staff or store. If I did, I wouldn't shop there no matter how convenient or how many "deals" they have. I waited for over 3 songs worth of time while the one and only clerk waited on another lady around the corner. In that time span, 2, yes, 2 people came behind the counter and neither acknowledged I was standing there. Next, the actual service rep walked over, did something and went back to helping the other person. All I wanted was a quick "hello" or "someone will be with you in a bit."

My 30 seconds of time to return my item was followed with a little shopping. When I was near checking out, I headed back to the jewelry counter. Ryan need a watch and I knew what I wanted to see/purchase. I stood there. I walked around the counter. No one in sight. Finally, I spot 3 clerks talking amongst themselves. I make the eye contact and nod that says "yes, please come help me." They turned their back before I could utter a word. This is where my self control came in. Instead of being a bitch and busting up their tea party, another employee passed me by. He had unfortunate timing because I asked "who can assist me at the jewelry counter?"

This poor fellow who was clearly on a mission looked over at the 3 tea party members and shook his head. He said something to them and the crabby old lady came over to help me. She proceeded to disregard my request to look at the watch I wanted, tried to sell me on another, and then made some comment about one being very large. I replied with "It's for my husband" to which she replied "well, obviously."

My blood began to boil and I had to pause and remember how much patience I have with the kids. I proceeded to use the "Damages" approach...smiled, asked something else politely, and wanted to stab the woman to death.

I checked out and considered complaining to a manager but I had a feeling it would have been the first employee I started with. I don't expect a whole bunch of things when I shop. I just want to be acknowledged and greeted politely. When you finish ringing up my order, please tell me the total. I don't mind waiting for the other shoppers and their drama if someone will just tell me it will be a few minutes. I have been on the other side and understand how things go.

After this; I found myself at Publix. I had the opposite experience. A nice young boy was returning some items. He asked if I needed help finding a wine and even offered me a pamphlet on wines. I politely declined and thanked him for the great service. I think I shocked him with a polite reply.

Cheeky

What can I say? Isn't that the cutest little pudge butt you have ever seen? Not so sure how I feel about those sloppy thighs and knee rolls though. :)

Snippets

I have planned on blogging a few times since my last post but have gotten sidetracked. Here's the snippet version.

Running-survived week one and have one run left to do to wrap up week 2. So far, not too bad.

Work-I got a new boss and so far, I am loving it.

Mason-Grandma Jean helped me butcher his hair; I mean, trim it. We didn't want to buzz him so cutting his hair with scissors by two people who don't know how to cut hair while trying not to slice open a wiggly 10 month old...he's lucky he looks as good as he does.

He also learned how to pull himself up and stand. I forgot how cool these babies think they are when they master a skill like this. He tried to skip out of nap time, going to bed, and then of course, having to wake up early to show off.

Miller-I think he's basically kicked his thumb sucking habit. It's been over a week without doing it at night time (or nap time at school). He's been a pretty good big brother and asked us how he can earn money to buy toys. Guess it's time to initiate an allowance and some age appropriate chores.

I bought Miller two new pairs of pjs (Batman and Superman). I won the best mom award. He put them on mid-afternoon and played until bedtime in them!

Weekend-Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jeff were here this past weekend. Thank goodness, Ryan and I both had to put in some hours at work. They also blessed us with babysitting so we could actually go out to dinner and a movie without having to rush or pay an arm and a leg to a sitter. It was great.

We also squeezed in some quick shopping and some swimming. It was a good weekend with lots of play time with both kids.

Erin Has a Hobby?

Many of you know that I have wanted a hobby for a long time. I have also wanted to get in shape. I figured I may as well make getting in shape a hobby so I finally made the decision to join the crazy running cult. Yes, I said I started running.

Before you get too excited here's the low down on my approach. I figured if I was going to do this; I need to do it right. I read a few articles and found the Couch to 5K training plan. It's been cited by many people who have found the idea of running daunting and are out of shape. I figured what the hell; if they can do it, I can do it.

Next step-proper running attire. I have new running shoes and a few pairs of decent socks. Shorts and sports bra were next on the list to procure. Since I am not too picky at this point, I picked up some shorts at Target and a cheap sports bra. It's cute but it doesn't work without a regular bra underneath. Even my old good ones didn't do the job with the girls so I have come to the conclusion that until they drop a few cup sizes, two bras will be the norm.

The program is interval training which requires the alternating between running and walking for a set amount of time for 3 sessions a week. Each week changes by increasing time running. The 9th week should have me running the distance of a 5K in under 30 minutes. I thought about registering for a race but really, I just want to be able to go on a run with Jess (yeah, I probably should have called you about this first) and keep up with her without dying. I also would like to be able to stick with this and run the Turkey Trot at Thanksgiving rather than watch and cheer her (and Andy) on.

With the training plan, I decided it's not going to fly unless I had a watch with either a timer or at least a digital display. I headed over to Kohl's on my lunch break this week and picked up a cheap watch (more to come on this topic).

I now had the basics and was looking forward to my first torture run. I had made the decision in my head that I wouldn't post about running until I had actually followed through. In a similar frame of thought, I will not buy more running supplies until I am fully committed and demonstrating it.

I ran Monday evening and it felt pretty good. Tuesday, I was a little stiff but nothing too bad. Wednesday I got up and ran before the kids left for school. Ryan has been super supportive. In fact, this is where the watch story picks back up.

Ryan loves a hobby and will fully commit and not spare a penny when getting started. He came home from work Monday and made a snide comment about me purchasing a watch. I thought he was mad I bought one but he mentioned he had gotten me one for our anniversary. In my normal distracted state I was thinking he meant last years gift to which I replied "I doesn't have a digital display." My bad, he walked out to the truck and brought in a FANCY running watch. Since I hadn't even had my first run I told him to keep the receipt and I would try it after I felt I was committed.

Tomorrow will be the last run of week 1. I am looking forward to it. I have a couple more weeks of short intervals that I think I will keep doing with the cheap watch. After that, I will probably bust out the old MP3 player (maybe that's my next new purchase) and possibly the new watch since the intervals will be longer and easier to track (along with mileage).

Yes, I admit I said I would never run especially in FL weather but I do agree with runners. It is a great way to wind down or ramp up for a hectic day and I do feel better I am out doing something. I will never be thin, I will never stop drinking, so for now, this is as good as it gets. If 9 weeks from now I start focusing on a 10K program, remind me I have sold my soul to the running devil. 

Booster Seat Update

After a quick question on FB, it appears that universally Graco is what everyone uses (I kind of assumed that since it's in every store) and none of my friends have killed their kids or complained about it yet.

Miller and Mason pulled up after an outing with Daddy. Ryan rolled down the passenger side window and there was Mason, sitting in Miller's old seat. So far, no love or hatred from him. I am sure that will change once he realizes the benefits to sitting forward and looking out the window.

As for Miller, he's pretty pumped about his new booster. I am glad my kids have not had massive arguments about safety in the car. It's enough work getting them in and out without having to battle them about buckling up.

In other news; Mason is a turd. He has started screaming and crying (a lot). He screams when he's hungry (which is about every 1.5-2 hours these days), he screams when he doesn't want to be left alone, when he wants to be alone, when he's tired, when he's wet, when he's getting changed, etc. I do not remember Miller being such a cry baby about everything. I am chocking this up to Mason being on antibiotics and those darn teeth bugging him but if not; he's going to have to come around quickly. I can't take the crying / screaming fits and him waking up throughout the night.

Booster Seat Shopping

What we thought would be a quick trip to Buy Buy Baby resulted in 3 stops and no booster seat. You would think that something so basic and required would be easy to find. Instead, we found ourselves amazed at the little selection and how uncomfortable these seats were. Now, don't get me wrong, I have very little criteria for a booster seat.

• It must be semi-pleasant on the eyes. Neon colors need not apply to my car or Ryan's truck. 
• It should be padded. Most seats are so hard, no wonder kids hate riding in the car.
• It should be convenient.

We quickly found out after we returned home that those three criteria are almost impossible to find. Miller doesn't need a booster with a back. That right there cuts our selection down from hundreds to about 4. It shouldn't be rock hard...well, that one we may need to relent on. As for convenience, when we got home we did a little research. There are only a couple brands that strap/connect into your cars safety clips. Of course, no one carries them in stock and most online are out of stock too. For all others, it states they simply sit on the seat and you should buckle them in when not in use to prevent them from flying around in your car. Well, that right there just defeated the convenience piece. I do not want to have to play the belt/unbelt game.

So, if there are any parents out there with boosters that they love/hate, let us know. Part of me thinks I am over thinking this but I also don't want to have to look at a butt ugly booster and have to hear about how uncomfortable it is for the next couple years.

4th of July Festivities

Sean made a stop in south Florida while on his road trip. His timing was perfect for me because after the first two days, Ryan left for MN for a week. It's been fantastic having a second set of hands and eyes to help watch the kids.

Our annual 4th of July party has changed hosts over the past couple years. The party has clearly been impacted by the economy and kids. We had a small group (Jess, Jerry, Norah, Caleb, Amy and Pete) over for some pool time, food, and some fireworks.

The party started after nap time. The kids played a little and then it was swimming time. After about an hour in the pool we cleaned up and ate. Believe it or not but we actually were able to get everyone to sit down for a minute and eat together. It was short lived but we all noted it.

Then it was time for a few small fireworks (aka sparklers and tanks). We put the babies down for bed and let the kids watch Toy Story while we waited for it to get a little darker. Then it was time to head back outside for some fountains and a few other fireworks. Considering the display we have had in the past, this was just a tiny sliver of what we used to blow up. It was long enough for the little kids but the big kids (Pete, Sean, Jerry) all wanted more! I allowed them to light off one bigger one. It was a nice finale to the evening.

We had the house cleaned up and everyone was on their way home by 8:30pm. Not quite the same party as past years but it was just as fun. We always know how to have a good laugh and eat lots of good food.

*Jess was the official photographer. You will have to check her blog for pics.

The New Sexy

As I passed the mirror this morning this is what I saw through my hazy glasses:

A dirty, out of shape t-shirt with antibiotic drips, snot, and spit up which was covering a very out of shape body. Mix in a little sweat, a shiny face, and wild hair.

I laughed to myself and thought this is the reason I don't always feel so sexy. Then I decided to take a shower. Usually cleaning a person up helps some but midway through my shower I was interrupted by a kid who should have been napping. Miller had to poop. Not only poop, but carry on a conversation with me while I tried to shave my legs and finish my shower.

Finally I got him back in bed and proceeded to put on some makeup. I composed this post several ways in my head but the same message I came back to...regardless of how I look, I know my boys love me and they don't care if I jiggle when I laugh or if I have spit stains on my shirt. That my friends is the new sexy.