Christmas Wish Lists

Translation & links:
1. R/C 4-Wheeler (similar to this)
2. BMX bikes great for playing on the tech deck ramps!
3. Wipeout is Izzy's #2 show. Should bring the giggles.
4. Nerf Lazer tag. Mommy likes this idea because I don't have to search for bullets!
5. Playmobil gym set found here. He would also like the school, if we feel like spending $100.00

Translation & links:
1. Imaginext make everything my kids want. Find their latest must have here.
2. BMX bikes same as Izzy's request. They love those things!
3. Flashcards. He especially loves these.
4. Trains. He will take any kind, he is slightly obsessed! Choo Choo!
5. Puzzles, same as train. He loves anything that takes focus. Simple kid, I love him.

I was hoping Izzy would write out his list for the first time this year. That didn't work out so well. While he enjoys writing, he is only in Kindergarten and their writing skills are only a couple of words at a time. You would of thought I was asking him to write a novel and he was complaining of hand cramps and finally I gave in and wrote it for him. Maybe next year! Still, cute and funny to see how after a day at Toys R Us, what items really stuck out in their minds. Also, happy to see that the little things make them happy.

Quiet Weekend * Updated*

This may have been the quietest weekend I have ever had. Friday I was still feeling pretty yucky. I finally made it to naptime, shut the door to Ashers room when I got the call from Izzy's school saying that I needed to pick him up. 101+ fever and a horrible headache, poor guy. My dream of a sweet nap faded away and the realistic ideas flooded in of taking care of another sicky all weekend. Hrmph.

Those selfish thoughts quickly faded when I saw my sick little one. His face was flushed and his eyes were weepy. I practically had to carry him to the car because the weight of his own body seemed too much for him. He went straight to bed and slept for 4 hours. All of those selfish thoughts for nothing...I got a nap after all.

We spent the next two days in our pj's doing crafts, having nerf gun fights, watching movies, making yummy snacks, making our Christmas wish lists and napping when needed. I had plenty of time to prepare for the week and the house (maybe for the first time ever) was clean when I woke up on a Monday morning! *cue Angels rejoicing*

Asher decided to take what seemed to be a sinus headache for Izzy and turn it into a full blown cold for himself because now my little lovey has quite the cough and warm to touch. I am so over the cold/flu season already.

Today is going to be another quiet day for me so I have decided that since I will be home anyway I should take full advantage of the time and get myself organized. I like to think of myself as a pretty organized lady. My kids are scheduled like they are in an Army bootcamp and my days run pretty smoothly. My closets have a spot for everything. I have a label maker and I am not afraid to use it. There does, however, always seem to be one cleaning project that is just out of my reach on a daily basis and no matter how much I have accomplished, it leaves me feeling a sense of failure for the day.

Then I came across a cleaning spreadsheet that you can view here.
Brilliant! Now, I do have my cleaning routine in my head, but I am a total list person. If I write down a list of 40 things to get done in a day, I can cross that stuff off like nothing. I have certain days that are more heavy cleaning than others, like for instance, Tuesdays, which is when I start my laundry. I start my laundry at 7:30 a.m. and normally by Wednesday night everything is folded and I start putting everything away. I know in my head I am normally home on Tuesdays and I arrange playdates and errands for other days. My idea is to print of my cleaning schedule and put it in one of those plastic slips and put it in a clip board to hang in my laundry room. Add a dry/erase marker and each day I can cross of my list as I go making my time as efficient as possible and hopefully adding much more quality time with my sweet boys.

This whole idea gave me flashbacks to my childhood, because growing up each Saturday my Dad would write a list of To-Do's on a yellow legal pad and he would work on that list for the weekend. His favorite quote when we were little was "If you fail to plan, plan to fail."


My goal today is to print of my personal cleaning list and start my week off right with planning that hopefully ends up with a lot accomplished! I can't wait to see the look on Dad's face when he sees my clipboard! All of those inspirational quotes worked, Dad! :)

*Update*
So my link didn't work, and that is okay because Hubby challenged me to make my own spreadsheet and make it more personalized to how I would use it. So I did. I am super excited. I just have to find a clipboard and I am ready to go.
Here is my list hanging up and ready for me to start crossing off items! I have it in a plastic sleeve and that way I can write in my menu and grocery items each week! Fabulous! And below the list is a closer shot of the first column.

Yay for organizing! Feeling much less overwhelmed already.

Blah.

Sorry for the absence. You probably think I have nothing to blog about, but it is quite the opposite. I have TONS of blogging stories, and yet I haven't had a moment to sit by myself to get them out of my head. Then Wednesday night, it was like a storm exploded in my head. Suddenly, right at dinner time I could barely open my eyes, the light, the noises everything made me feel like I was going to melt into the floor. Migraine. UGH!
A couple of days later, and while my head is slightly less dramatic, I feel puny. I think I can blame this on a sinus infection. Major annoying and energy zapping.

I hate being sick, but I especially hate being sick on the weekends. I like to go. I like to have plans. But, this time, this weekend I am so tired and drained that a rainy weekend in bed sounds wonderful to me. Just hoping that my kiddos are understanding that a couple more days of quiet play are needed and I am also hoping my creative juices kick in to provide them with ideas. This weekend also happens to be Daddy's study weekend so he needs quiet too.

Right now, Asher and I are snuggled warm in our pj's and enjoying a Toy Story marathon. The original TS should take us right to lunch time and then nap where I can muster the energy to pick up Izzy from school and pray that 7:00 comes quickly.

I love Fall, but I hate the yucky colds and flu's it brings with it.

Blah.

Like an Herbal Essence commercial...

I have a super-duper talented friend Katie. She can cook ridiculous yummy food, she can bake anything and she is super crafty. As if that isn't enough, she used to be a hair stylist. Whenever my hair turns into something from the Lion King, she has me over for a night of relaxation and works her hair magic on me.

Monday night was one of those nights. Hubby is on break and after we put the kiddos to bed, we headed over for a night of delicious food and I got a makeover! Needless to say, it was like a perfect night. Hanging out with our friends, eating from what could have been a buffet of food-we had our choice of Italian, Mexican or her Famous Spicy Beef. I believe Hubby indulged in all of the food choices as well as dessert pumpkin bars and oreo balls...you can see why we are such great friends, right? ;) It is impossible not to love them.

While the guys were eating to their belly's content, I was off getting pampered and had some good ol' girl talk. Isn't it amazing how something like a hair cut can do so much for how you feel about yourself? I feel like a new woman!




Didn't she do a great job? Please excuse this "myspace-ish" picture, Hubby is out for the day and it is difficult to take a good picture of yourself, it doesn't do her great work justice. I should have taken a before and after photo so you could see just how gigantic my hair gets. It was all one horrible thick mess of a layer and had no style to it. She put a rich glaze on, which deepened my color and made it ridiculously soft and trimmed and gave my hair its body back! It feels so great!

Thanks so much to my sweet friend Katie for making me feel like getting my hair out of the Mom pony-tail and breaking out the styling products again! :)

This is where I complain....

Feel free to skip this post if you don't want to hear me whine... :)

We had a beyond fantastic weekend, which I posted about. Sunday we went to church, had a nice lunch, we all took a great nap and enjoyed a quiet night in playing as a family. Monday, I wake up at 6 am to Izzy running up the stairs in what I can only describe as a vomit coughing fit. He never actually puked, but it sounded like it all the way up the staircase. By the time he reached us, he was choking and crying hysterically. I jump up and try to gather myself to put the puzzle together and figure out that he has gotten sick overnight with a cough I have never heard before, had no fever, but was screaming about how badly his head hurt. I took him to urgent care and they tested him for strep and pertussis. :( Strep was negative, and we are still waiting on the pertussis results, but they treated him for it anyway since his cough was so distinct. Every minute that passed through the day, he progressively worsened. While at the doctor, his fever grew to 101+ and his body weakened so much that he could no longer walk or lift his head. Drastic difference from the energetic happy boy I had all weekend. This is considered an infectious disease if that is what he truly has, so he can not be exposed to anyone until day 3 of medication (today) and no fever for 24 hours (also today).
The medicine he was prescribed is super strong, and he was given a large dose the first day. He made huge improvements by Tuesday and was able to eat and walk around without help and his coughing fits were down to a handful.
Today he was even better than yesterday, and with no fever and all of the medication, today is the day to disinfect, clean and do about a million loads of laundry.

Here is my complaint list:

I am exhausted.

I still have a broken rib, which seems to refuse to heal. Over it!

For 3 days, I have checked on Izzy every 10 minutes. Sometimes unnecessarily, but the nurse freaked me out a little when she said, he should come back if he suddenly stops breathing. :/

Keeping a 2 year old away from his big brother makes for a very cranky toddler.

Keeping a 5 year old in his room and containing his germ spreadage...difficult.

Keeping my Hubby happy during finals week with all of this going on...also difficult- crying kids, dinners late, and Mommy looks like she walked through a tornado.

Now Grandma is sick, so not only did I have to keep Izzy and Asher separated, but I also have to keep him away from her room. Can someone loan me some caution tape?

I can barely sit up because my back is so jacked from my car wreck, so this whole week isn't helping. Hoping I can make it to the kids bedtime...


My work list for the day:

Woke up at 7:30 to a pumpkin spice latte and breakfast from my loving Hubby.

Started laundry. 7 loads to go!

Stripped Izzy's room of all bedding, trash, dirty laundry.

Cloroxed his entire room, every. single. toy.

Rearranged his furniture.

Vacuumed.

Cleaned Ashers room.

Stripped the boys bathroom, bleached everything and mopped the floor.

Folded 4 loads of laundry so far....

Hubby gave me a chance for a quick break to feel the beautiful sunshine and have a few moments to myself while running a few errands. Bank, Sams Club, Grocery Store. Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! (Meanwhile he fed the kids lunch...do you see why I love him?)

Put Asher to nap.

Cleaned the kitchen.

Started dinner in the crockpot.

Cleaned the kitchen again.

Unloaded the dishwasher.

Played Playmobile with Izzy.

I still have to finish dinner, do the last 7 loads of laundry, clean up before bed, bathe the boys and put them to bed, clean my bedroom and bathroom and find a heat pad for my back so when it is all done I can turn my phone off, turn the tv on and check out until 7 am!

Vent over.

Signing out,
One Wiped Mommy from Missouri.

Super Duper Fun Weekend!

It is Monday and I am surprised I am able to get out of bed today because this weekend was so jam packed with fun!

FRIDAY

After school, I took the boys for a picnic dinner at the park!

We sat on a bench and watched the other kids play while we ate our dinner and talked. We ran all over the park and played until dark. They had a blast and were completely ready for bed by the time we got home. Perfect night.

SATURDAY

Finally the Walk for Life!!! I had been waiting and working on donations for a few months and we made it to the big day. I set my goal at $500 and through the love and generosity of my friends and family I was only $100 short of that goal! This walk was so important to me because my life could be very different right now if I had made a different choice six years ago. I would have missed out on holding my sweet son, bonding with him, having picture memories, I wouldn't know his new baby smell, I would have no memories and only heartache. Every life matters and it just broke my heart to read the statistics that most babies are aborted due to social reasons. It was a beautiful day and we met up with my sweet friends and walking partners Katie and Bella. The babies snacked and giggled the whole way. It was precious. I can't wait to hear how much the walk raised for the center, as soon as I hear I will be sure to pass it on. Thanks to everyone who helped support my walk!






While Asher and I were walking, Izzy was off at his weekly Saturday breakfast with Papa and Grandma. He always has a great time, and gets lots of attention from the waitresses. I mean look at him, he is adorable how could you not give him a free cookie every time? :)

Look at that PANCAKE!

Our day just kept getting better when after the walk and Izzy's breakfast, we met up at a friends farm where they have a pumpkin patch, mums, corn, a hay maze and hay rides! The boys picked their perfect pumpkins and just had fun being boys running through fields. It was Ashers first time at a pumpkin patch and I am pretty sure that was the most fun he has ever had.

Stranger Danger!

After school today, I took the boys out in the front yard to play with their dump trucks. They love to sit and load our landscaping rocks into their trucks and then push them around and dump them into a messy mountain. You can't get much more boy than that!

I decided it was a good time to practice a little something we all call "Stranger Danger." We have talked with Izzy about this before, and he has heard it at school as well, but I wanted to see him act out what he would do. I didn't prompt him at all, I just simply said, "Go in the grass and show me what you would do if a stranger pulled up and asked you to come look at his new puppy?" He giggled nervously and said a quiet, "no." Hmmm...I can see we have a little work to do. He knows the right thing to say "Yell. Go. Tell" (that is the anthem at school) but he was too shy to do it in front of me and Asher. That made me worried that if he was scared to yell and scream in front of me, how would he ever fight off an attacker? So we practiced over and over. Finally, by the end of it he was yelling "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" and showing me how fast he could run away. Then I stepped it up a notch and asked him what he would do if someone tried to take Asher and he was the closest to him? Without a word he grabbed Asher by the arm and took off like a flash of lightening and Asher not having a clue as to what was going on ran just as fast! He did great. Izzy then decided it would be great to pretend Asher was the stranger and he would yell No and run away. I think you can guess that game ended up in two boys just giggling and chasing each other. :) Either way, I feel a little more confident that Izzy will not speak to a stranger and if someone gets too close he wouldn't be embarrassed or scared to get into trouble. He also told me he knows how to fight someone if they tried to take him. Izzy hasn't hit anyone in his life, so I thought it would be interesting to hear what he thinks he would do. #1 Bite. #2 Punch in the "peanuts" lol #3 Poke them in the eyes #4 Kick them everywhere. Yep, I think that pretty much covers it.

Izzy had a super dramatic moment while we were outside as well that didn't have anything to do with our super acting skills. Somehow he got a splinter in his forearm. It was barely stuck in his arm and I could pull it out with my fingernails without even touching his skin. Izzy didn't seem to care about that small fact and begged me (picture more like hysterical screaming, the kind with enormous tears and snot running down his face) to get him a band-aid. Side Note: Why do kids automatically think a band-aid fixes everything? I explain a band-aid won't do the trick this time and ask him to be brave and just let me pull it out. I can't describe the completely crazy crying that happened in those few minutes. I get the splinter and one nano second later all of the tears and hysteria ends and he says "Thanks Mom." This whole situation got me to thinking about how a few of his friends have already started to lose their baby teeth. OH. MY. WORD. How will we cope if this is his reaction about a splinter? Really this is all my fault. I was the same way as a kid, so this is totally pay back. Good thing Daddy is going to be a Doctor, I can start passing this kind of stuff off on him.


A little time outside before dinner: educational and fun! Bonus: TONS of running made for two very tired boys. ;)