So I think we can just go ahead and scratch "Blog More Frequently" off my new year's "To Do" list because, obviously, that ain't happenin'. Yes, I said ain't.
I don't feel like my life has been blog worthy lately and I just haven't been feeling very inspired. I'm also a little lazy. OK, a lot lazy. I can't even remember I took a real picture of the kids. The kind you take with a real camera and not a phone or Ipod. Fail.
Our lives have been tickin' along lately with no major events happening. Declan is registered for Kindergarten, which, I can't even speak of. I will be a mess the day I have to put him on that bus. On the other hand, I am counting down the seconds until Eva starts preschool Not that I won't miss her, but that little girl needs some new outlets. And that would be an understatement.
I know that God is not supposed to give you more than you can handle, or at least that's the saying, but I can confidently say that, that phrase is bullshit. Because I cannot handle Eva. She is just too much for me. I didn't think it was possible for a 32 lb human being to have so much energy and persistence. We have finally worked through some of the sleep issues we were having with Miss Eva. She still gets up 1-2 times a night but now will (usually) go back to bed without too much of a fight. Getting her to bed is another story. Last night I spent almost 2 hours getting her to bed. And trust me, I've tried it all. We have a routine that we follow. I keep the lights dimmed and the TV off after dinner. We do bathtime, teeth, story and cuddle. Once in awhile it's a success. Most of the time? Not at all. I walked that little devil child back into her bedroom at least 15 times last night. Each time she would scream for 3 minutes and then walk right back downstairs. By 9 pm, I was in tears and halfway through a bottle of wine praying to every God I knew to please HELP ME! Those evenings are typical for us, and usually follow a late afternoon of Eva slowly dismantling the house one closet and/or cupboard at a time. I clean up one mess, she makes 3 more. And with Thomas working evenings you can imagine how much fun it is for me.
So, in the interest of my mental health, I am installing locks on her door this evening. She needs somewhere safe to be when I have reached the end. I don't care if she spends hours kicking the door, screaming bloody murder or jumping on her bed, she will be in LOCK DOWN. Wish us luck.
What else has been happening? I have been working my tail off doing this, in addition to workouts at the gym. It's been a great way for me to deal with the stress Eva has been causing me and right now I am feeling really motivated. The workouts are killer tough, but only 12 minutes long so super easy to do on a busy day. In addition, I've been doing lots of running and elliptical work. The only setback is the fact that I am now dealing with tendonitis in my shoulder. It's always something with me. Right now my goal is to complete a 5k in under 30 min. I am currently at 32:23. And if I could rock a bikini this summer then even better.
We are also super excited for an upcoming trip to NYC. My cousin is getting married and we decided that we just couldn't miss the big event. It's being held at a castle on the Hudson River and promises to be very swanky. We will be flying out with my parents and brother Jeff while my sis babysits the kids. We are spending one night in NYC and then heading up to Westchester County for the big event. It's a short trip, but I am so looking forward to going! Now I just have to figure out what to wear. Yay for shopping!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Five
My little monkey turned 5 last week. It's the oldest cliche in the world, but time really does fly. We've celebrated the big "5" several times over and have yet another party planned for this Saturday. Declan finally got his first "Friend Party" as we took some of his besties out for bowling, arcade games and pizza. I was pretty proud of myself for pulling off a party with 3 days notice!
Here's a little bit about my favorite little guy at "5":
Here's a little bit about my favorite little guy at "5":
- His favorite food is cheerios with a banana and honey (just like Lily almost!)
- He loves broccoli! And I have no idea where that comes from
- His favorite "toy" currently is either Mario Kart or Angry Birds (As a mother I am horribly embarassed to admit that, but there it is). He also loves his bouncy ball (the one you sit and bounce around the house on), his remote control "monster truck" and his Transformers.
- He is both very protective and loving towards his little sister as well as her worst enemy.
- He doesn't want to be 5, he wants to be 6 so he can ride the bus to big kid school.
- His favorite snack is pretzels.
- He LOVES Scooby Do. Or, as he calls it "Spooky Doo".
- He insists that mommy lay in bed with him before he goes to sleep and rub his back and "cuddle".
- He is learning to ice skate.
- He wants to drive a bus or a monster truck when he grows up.
- He loves to tell mommy that he loves her "More than...." and we go back and forth until someone gives up. Currently, he loves me more than eightyhundredhundredeightyeightyninetymillion earths....
- His favorite song is "Pumped Up Kicks".
Happy Birthday little stinky! Mommy and Daddy love you SO, SO MUCH!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2012 "To Do" List
It's that time again. January! Time for a blog on my new year's "To Do" list in lieu of resolutions, because who keeps those anyway? About this time last year, I blogged my "To Do" list as well as a year in review. It's fun to look back and see what I had hoped to accomplish and whether I reached any of my goals.
Do I use my time more valuably? That's debatable. I am definitely more conscience of how I am spending my time but it's still a work in progress. I am far busier than I was in 2010 so by default I am spending less time being "wasteful" and the time I do spend being "invaluable" is well earned IMHO. Pinterest anyone?
Am I spending my money wisely and more carefully? No. I struggle with this. A LOT. However, I am becoming much more conscientious of how I spend and how frivolously I spend. Credit cards are my worst enemy (especially the Target card!). I have started making lists and sticking to them. I no longer go to the mall for any reason other than to run a specific errand. I have to be better and work harder at this though. I really need to stop spending money before I have it.
I HAVE gotten treatment for my ADD. I am currently seeing a Russian psychologist who scares the hell out of me. I swear he used to work for the KGB. He's got me taking concerta which is helping me SO MUCH. We are still tweaking the dosage though. I really do love me those drugs ;) I am much more in control of myself and don't feel so scattered all the time. Thank god for stimulants!
My back is also MUCH, MUCH better. I'm not 100% yet, but I no longer have to visit the chiropractor regularly. Thank god because that was getting really, REALLY expensive! However, now that I have gotten my back somewhat healthy, I now have tendonitis in my shoulder. I swear to God it's time to just put me out to pasture. I am seeing a physical therapist though and should be on the mend soon!
As for the house, we have put all new floors in on the main level and gotten most of the house repainted. All that is left is the two upstairs baths and the laundry room which is still a disgusting rust color with the floral border. We replaced all the hardware on the cabinets (and they are still ugly) and repainted the exterior shutters and front door as well as did some landscaping in the garden. I don't think a deck is going to happen anytime soon. At least not until the floors and fence are paid off. Yes. We are still paying off that damn fence. AND we also found out that the roof had to be replaced ONE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS so now there's that bill. Tell me again why I wanted to buy a 2nd house? GAH. Thank God for low interest credit.
As for speaking up for myself....let's just say I succeeded at that 110% and I can't say my life is any easier. My husband doesn't like it one bit. In fact, he signed us up for marriage counseling at the VA. He says we have a "communication problem". I say our communication is just fine, it's his receiving of the communication that's the problem. Anyhow, we've only had one session and it sucked. I hate talking about personal things with a stranger and Tom doesn't like to hear negative things about himself. Nor do I. But, after 9 years together it can't hurt to go in for a tune-up so we're going to stick to it. I don't think we have problems that every other couple doesn't have but it's nice to have a neutral 3rd party referee that can give us better tools to apply . Will keep you posted on that front.
So, what were the highlights of 2011? I had a FABULOUS girls weekend in Miami. That needs to happen again soon, although it is in direct conflict with my goals for saving money this year. I got to visit Colorado twice! We spent a lot of time at the lake this summer making many great memories for the kids. My husband received his college degree! My sister got engaged to a really great guy and my brother and sister-in-law announced a pregnancy. I am going to be an aunt! All in all it was a good year.
Looking forward to 2012. Here is my "To Do" list in no official order.
1) Rehab my shoulder so I can get back into weight lifting and yoga. You can't believe how much you can't do with one gimp shoulder. Even running makes it hurt.
2) I want to run a 5k in under 30 min.
3) I want to do 10 REAL pushups. Not the girly ones. I was doing these prior to my shoulder injury. Perhaps I should say 20? Maybe.
4) I want to lose 15 lbs. My back won't be 100% until this happens, especially since I carry all my extra weight in my belly. Definitely not good for them low back. I hate losing weight and I'm really bad at it.
5) I am going to read 15 books, one of which is considered a classic.
6) I am going to save money, spend less and pay down our debt. I don't want to get into specifics but I have numbers in mind. We'll leave it at that. ;)
7) I am going to spend more time with my kids. Declan will start kindergarten in the fall and Eva will go to preschool part time. Time is fleeting.
8) I will carve out more time to spend with my husband. We are strangers passing in the night who never see each other. That does not a healthy marriage make.
9) I will make a concerted effort to have a better relationship with my sister-in-law. I am going to be her child's aunt and she is my brother's wife. I want a relationship with both of them!
10) I don't have 10. I feel like my list isn't complete without 10. OK, here it is. I want to organize my closet. A family of raccoons could be living in there and I'd have no idea.
11) I THOUGHT OF ANOTHER ONE! I want to blog more. I don't do it enough and it's fun to go back and read all of my own ones. So, to be really, really specific I am going to blog 4x a month. OMG. What have I just committed to?
And I will leave you with that my friends. Happy New Year!
Do I use my time more valuably? That's debatable. I am definitely more conscience of how I am spending my time but it's still a work in progress. I am far busier than I was in 2010 so by default I am spending less time being "wasteful" and the time I do spend being "invaluable" is well earned IMHO. Pinterest anyone?
Am I spending my money wisely and more carefully? No. I struggle with this. A LOT. However, I am becoming much more conscientious of how I spend and how frivolously I spend. Credit cards are my worst enemy (especially the Target card!). I have started making lists and sticking to them. I no longer go to the mall for any reason other than to run a specific errand. I have to be better and work harder at this though. I really need to stop spending money before I have it.
I HAVE gotten treatment for my ADD. I am currently seeing a Russian psychologist who scares the hell out of me. I swear he used to work for the KGB. He's got me taking concerta which is helping me SO MUCH. We are still tweaking the dosage though. I really do love me those drugs ;) I am much more in control of myself and don't feel so scattered all the time. Thank god for stimulants!
My back is also MUCH, MUCH better. I'm not 100% yet, but I no longer have to visit the chiropractor regularly. Thank god because that was getting really, REALLY expensive! However, now that I have gotten my back somewhat healthy, I now have tendonitis in my shoulder. I swear to God it's time to just put me out to pasture. I am seeing a physical therapist though and should be on the mend soon!
As for the house, we have put all new floors in on the main level and gotten most of the house repainted. All that is left is the two upstairs baths and the laundry room which is still a disgusting rust color with the floral border. We replaced all the hardware on the cabinets (and they are still ugly) and repainted the exterior shutters and front door as well as did some landscaping in the garden. I don't think a deck is going to happen anytime soon. At least not until the floors and fence are paid off. Yes. We are still paying off that damn fence. AND we also found out that the roof had to be replaced ONE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS so now there's that bill. Tell me again why I wanted to buy a 2nd house? GAH. Thank God for low interest credit.
As for speaking up for myself....let's just say I succeeded at that 110% and I can't say my life is any easier. My husband doesn't like it one bit. In fact, he signed us up for marriage counseling at the VA. He says we have a "communication problem". I say our communication is just fine, it's his receiving of the communication that's the problem. Anyhow, we've only had one session and it sucked. I hate talking about personal things with a stranger and Tom doesn't like to hear negative things about himself. Nor do I. But, after 9 years together it can't hurt to go in for a tune-up so we're going to stick to it. I don't think we have problems that every other couple doesn't have but it's nice to have a neutral 3rd party referee that can give us better tools to apply . Will keep you posted on that front.
So, what were the highlights of 2011? I had a FABULOUS girls weekend in Miami. That needs to happen again soon, although it is in direct conflict with my goals for saving money this year. I got to visit Colorado twice! We spent a lot of time at the lake this summer making many great memories for the kids. My husband received his college degree! My sister got engaged to a really great guy and my brother and sister-in-law announced a pregnancy. I am going to be an aunt! All in all it was a good year.
Looking forward to 2012. Here is my "To Do" list in no official order.
1) Rehab my shoulder so I can get back into weight lifting and yoga. You can't believe how much you can't do with one gimp shoulder. Even running makes it hurt.
2) I want to run a 5k in under 30 min.
3) I want to do 10 REAL pushups. Not the girly ones. I was doing these prior to my shoulder injury. Perhaps I should say 20? Maybe.
4) I want to lose 15 lbs. My back won't be 100% until this happens, especially since I carry all my extra weight in my belly. Definitely not good for them low back. I hate losing weight and I'm really bad at it.
5) I am going to read 15 books, one of which is considered a classic.
6) I am going to save money, spend less and pay down our debt. I don't want to get into specifics but I have numbers in mind. We'll leave it at that. ;)
7) I am going to spend more time with my kids. Declan will start kindergarten in the fall and Eva will go to preschool part time. Time is fleeting.
8) I will carve out more time to spend with my husband. We are strangers passing in the night who never see each other. That does not a healthy marriage make.
9) I will make a concerted effort to have a better relationship with my sister-in-law. I am going to be her child's aunt and she is my brother's wife. I want a relationship with both of them!
10) I don't have 10. I feel like my list isn't complete without 10. OK, here it is. I want to organize my closet. A family of raccoons could be living in there and I'd have no idea.
11) I THOUGHT OF ANOTHER ONE! I want to blog more. I don't do it enough and it's fun to go back and read all of my own ones. So, to be really, really specific I am going to blog 4x a month. OMG. What have I just committed to?
And I will leave you with that my friends. Happy New Year!
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