Mommy.... It's my favorite name

Wow, it has been far too long since I have had a minute to sit down and write.  I don’t think I really have that much time now but I am making the time.  Yesterday, I was busy scurrying around trying to get last minute items for the boys and for family along with stopping by the grocery store to get the ingredients to make the dishes I need to prepare for the family parties I am reminded how buys this time of year is.   I was not with my smiley, happy….sometimes crazy little boys and I was actually able to concentrate on what I needed, I was able to take in what was going on around me and wasn't zeroed in on the two little boys in the cart. However, surprisingly, what I realized is how much I wished the boys were with me. (For moms of little kids I know this sounds crazy) but when they are with me I don’t have time to see or realize the ugliness that this season can bring. When I have the boys with me the ugliness that can come at this time of year becomes so over sha

Is it time for a drink? Oh wait; it is not even 8:00am yet. This was my thought today after getting both my boys and then myself ready for the day. I always wonder as I am going through mornings of complete chaos if other moms out there are doing something similar or if I am the only one who has kids that make me run from one end of the house to the other like a crazy person. Some of these crazy mornings wouldn't be AS crazy if I could leisurely get up from a great eight-to-ten hours of uninterrupted sleep.  But that is NEVER the case, I hit sleep one to many times mainly because sometime in the middle of the night my four year old got scared of the monster that comes into his room at night from under his bed and has crawled into MY bed to sleep with us/lay on top of me. (I am so used to it now that I am hardly fazed by sleeping with another human lying on top of me.) His little brother however has slept in his bed all night by himself and decided to get up at 5:15am. Thankf

During the fall my schedule at work picks up quite a bit, that just so happens to coincide with two very special little boys birthdays.  It makes for some busy weeks preparing for birthday parties, and some tiring weekend with lots of celebrating and little sleep.  Birthdays were always a big deal growing up, so despite my schedule I plan to make sure that my boys feel the same way.  A birthday IS special; it is a whole day, dedicated to you!  I know that I hype up the boys birthdays more than they may understand at this age but it is also very special to me. In fact their birthday is possibly more special to me then to them. Growing up I loved that I was showered with attention on my birthday, I liked the special birthday treats and the school parties, I loved that my mom always made what I wanted for dinner for a week straight. I still love my birthday mainly because of the memories that I had about it growing up and how special I felt on that da

Event-filled weekends always sound like a fun time but when I factor in that I have a two year old and an almost-four year old situations can go bad just as quickly as they started.  We planned a busy weekend in St. Louis and had many different attractions to go see, but after being off our “normal” schedule for almost 24-hours the boys started to hit a little bit of a wall. Our Saturday brunch went well, and we were going to go back to my sisters to take a nap, well…this didn’t happen.  No naps after a VERY busy night/day proves to be the start of a downward spiral for my little munchkins. The rambunctious-ness started that only happens when they are so tired that they are looking for things to do or ‘get-into’ to keep themselves awake. This usually isn’t ‘good’ things and when corrected they are so over-tired that a small “NO-NO Jimmy!” or “Jacob, I already told you once!” turns into a stage five hurricane sized tantrum. So instead of staying and resuming fun activiti

I will start this by saying that I had an incredible childhood, I could have wished for more dolls, or wished for more clothes but I never needed to wish for more love. My parents gave us the love and attention that I hope my own children feel.   I knew we were never the “rich kids” but my parents worked hard to make sure we were well into the “middle class.”   We were not surrounded my 5,000 square feet of antiques and priceless paintings but we had our great-grandmothers china and other inherited pieces, and the sentimental value was far more than any price tag. My Dad works in the construction trade. He doesn’t wear fancy suits to work every day and he doesn’t come home smelling clean. He had never needed “gym-time,” his work-out is at least five days a week for eight hours or more. There is no polish and shoe shines, instead its new laces and knocking yesterday’s dirt off. His hands are calloused and his shoulders are sore, but loves what he does.   His skill set is exqu

It is hard not to associate fall and school starting with being another year older. Even if your numerical age doesn’t change until spring you still feel older.   You are no longer that little ten year old in 4 th grade, but now you are a “grown-up” ten year old in 5 th grade. I used to love the first day of school, riding the bus to my new class, I was full of anticipate, excitement and anxiety for what was to come. My Niece on her first Day! Today I see countless pictures of all my friends and their little ones with the “First Day School” pictures I can’t help but feel nostalgic. This is one year closer to my baby going to the ‘big-kid’ school. One year less that he doesn’t have to worry about the homework and school pressure. I will be excited for him to go to Kindergarten and slightly heartbroken at the same time. He starts in his 4 year old room Monday and continuously reminds me how big he is, how much he is going to learn in his new ‘big-boy 4-year old” room, and how

There are so many moments that I look at my sweet little boys and think “I am doing something right.” Moments when they stand and hold the door for a lady to walk through before coming in the door themselves, When they tell each other “you’re my best friend Buddy!”, When they climb up on my lap to give me a hug or kiss out of the blue and tell me they love me, all of these moments they are MY boys. Then there are the moments, and moms of boys may understand what I am talking about, The moment that they pull a stunt or say a phrase that you look at your significant other to tell them “HE IS YOUR SON!”….. Because I do not know how in the world he thought of that, so it must be my husband’s doing. (Obviously kidding, most of time we are both flabbergasted). After talking to a man that I work with who has three boys he continues to enlighten me on the fact that little boy “tick” different then little girls. My little boys say what is on their mind and they mean every word of i

We recently took our first family vacation. We went to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina….Well actually Surfside Beach, South Carolina (It is a little more family friendly) but for less geographic explanation, Myrtle Beach. The drive from Central Illinois to Myrtle Beach is about 16 hours. For this reason alone I could not even focus on how great it would be once we got to the beach because I was so preoccupied thinking about how the boys would do on such a long car ride.   Well, like they do time and time again, they exceed all my expectations and were the best little car riders. We had two melt downs one on the way there and one on the way back, both just because Jimmy was hungry. Honestly, I think they might have been better behaved then mommy. (I was so ready to NOT be in the car any longer) We arrived around dinner time on Saturday to the condo, which is just a couple blocks from the beach. We decided to get settled into “home” (for the next week) and unpack and get baths a

Our first family vacation is right around the corner, I am beyond excited to have a week full of family time.   I can’t wait for my boys to see the ocean for the first time and witness the enormity of it and I am so eager to have them see the endless sand that surrounds the water.   We talk about the ocean and our vacation but until you see the ocean for the first time yourself, it is impossible to describe.   Even with my lack of affection, they LOVE sand and playing in it, but have not played in any other sand than the one in a small mid-western sandbox.   My husband and I have been to the beach and on vacations but this is the first one with the little boys. It will be amazing…..right? I am going to stay positive however I am not naive to the fact that traveling with two little boys who are not-quite four and not-quite- two for 16 hours in the car could get dicey at times.   We have the iPad, we have a DVD player in the car…. But what else? Our goal is to have dinner, baths