You know your getting old WHEN...

• you find yourself signalling like, 4 blocks before you need to turn
• you said "DARN KIDS" at the teens running and jumping through puddles (Ahem...Brett)
• you can't tell if it's a vein or hair when your shaving your legs

When I was thinking of this, I was like...hey, a lot of these are also "you know your a parent when...". Well, except the DARN KIDS comment. That just means your a grumpy old man! See:

Old or Parent: you find most of your ADULT talk is related to poop. BUT:
Old: your excited when YOU poop
Parent: your excited when your BABY poops

Old or Parent: Your ready for bed at 8pm, because:
Old: your just old!
Parent: cause your up every 2 hours with the baby or toddler through the night

Old or Parent: your excited to shower, because
Old: it's shower day! (ahem, Bob)
Parent: no kid is coming in with you!

Have a "you know your old/a parent WHEN..."? Please share!

AHHHH Bugs!

I am NOT a bug person. But bugs love me. I shudder at the thought of them. I can normally deal with a fly here and there, or a bug near me or flying past me when out and about. But the last week has been bug HELL!

Wednesday, I had the worlds biggest dragon fly hitch a ride downtown with me. ***By the way, if I was driving near you on Wednesday-I am not a crazy driver. I was a little sidetracked by the dragonfly in my car!*** I was stopped at a light and I thought I saw something fly in my car. Looked around quick, and didn't see anything. I start driving and catch this movement in my rear-view mirror. The dragonfly was in the back window behind me. Luckily I didn't have Eric with me, as it would have been right above him head had he been in his seat. With the windows open, I created enough of a breeze that he stayed fairly motionless. As soon as I stopped at a light though (LOL and turned around to take a picture...),

 he flew to the rear driver side window. Ya, he was RIGHT behind my head, flapping away against the window. I have never heard such a noise! FINALLY I get to my destination, and get the back door open, and the thing just sits there. I poke it with me phone. Nothing. I poke it again, knowing at any second it's going to fly up in my face (cause that ALWAYS happens!). I finally had to put my phone under it and kinda push it up. Of course it flys towards me and I scream like the wussy girl I am! Luckily the dragonfly stayed away from the baby...

I have been stalked by wasps, had mega webs built on the deck (covering a deck chair), had a bazillion flys in my house! AHHH I just can't stand it.
I do love grasshoppers though. Eric always gets startled by their sudden jump and fly. We chased one down a street the other day, and I loved watching Eric stalk closer and closer to the grasshopper, only for him to shriek and run the other way when it jumped. Repeat about 10 times, and that's some great entertainment.

 He would only hold the grasshopper with a glove on.

(these are from a few weeks ago, but still) Eric and I with a grasshopper

A sign of things to come?

Brody will be 6 months in two days....where did my baby go?

He's been hitting quite a few milestones lately, and driving me crazy along the way!

He started sitting on his own about 2 weeks ago. I was very happy that the period of "beached whale" was short lived (beached whale: not happy to be on his back on the floor). He has been rolling for a good month, and can wiggle and roll his way to pretty much anything he sets his sights on.

Last weekend, the little monkey pulled himself up to a stand on one of his toys. He hasn't really done it since, until Saturday when I ran downstairs to switch over laundry. I come up and he's giving me a dumbfounded look....he was standing, but really unsure as to what to do next (well that was to look he gave me). Now he's a pull up machine!

Brody has got a tooth (maybe 2-3 weeks ago?), and is working on it's neighbour. I can see the tooth, but it's just not coming up yet....teething babies SUCK, by the way!

We started solid foods a bit early, and he's had a decent variety so far. Cereal, prunes, green beans, squash, applesauce, peaches, pears. He's liking everything so far. But I have to really watch his tummy. Nothing is more frustrating then a baby with an icky tummers.

He's also started babbling. Mamamama, Dadadadada, Babababababa. LOVE it!

He's starting to get his knees under him, and rocking, He's trying to army crawl (this kid is amazingly strong!), and he's working on trying to get to a sitting position from laying down.

Eric was fairly early in all of these milestones as well, and I am certain by at least 9 months, he was zipping around everywhere, getting into everything...and hasn't stopped! I was hoping Brody would be content to just watch his crazy big brother, but I have a feeling it's not going to be too long until Eric is going to have a shadow!

SHHHHHHH!!!! We're huntin' wabbit!

(This really has nothing to do with hunting. Or rabbits. Just a random thought!)

Lately, when I put Brody down for a nap, or bed, or when we come home, and he's asleep, it seems like SOMEONE tries their hardest to wake him up.

Like the other day when I FINALLY got him to sleep, and Eric and I wandered downstairs to switch out his train tracks for car tracks. OF COURSE the dogs have to start playing and barking, and wake him up. GRRR WOOF WOOF, WAH WAH

Or heaven forbid, a dog walks past our house. WOOF WOOF, WAH WAH

Or Eric, who has been quietly sitting playing or watching TV, waits until I close Brody's door to yell at me. Or the dogs. Or himself. Or play with the loudest most annoying toy ever. Right outside his door. WAH WAH.

Or tonight, when we got home really late, and boy kids were asleep. Much hushing and quiet hellos ensued with the dogs, who apparently where really bored as we weren't around for, heaven forbid, 4 hours! ARR WOO WOO WOO WOO. Eye's open. Big smiles. Fuck.

These days, I'm lucky if Brody can get through a nap without being woken up, and, gasp, sleep for more then 20 minutes straight.

Luckily, Brody can get by mostly happy with these annoyingly frequent wake-ups. And seriously happiest baby EVER at, well, any time of the night. Which usually translates to an "it's PLAY time!!!" battle. (for what it's worth, I won the battle tonight, and had him back asleep within 30 mins. Is it that hard to get home and just put sleeping kids in their beds! ARG)

Some of my favorite blogs/websites

Bored? I highly suggest checking out these sites!

http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/ the pictures are such a great addition to her great blog!

http://thebloggess.com/ seriously one of the funniest things I have EVER read.

(specifically this post. MUST READ! http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/)

http://www.tellingdad.com/

http://damnyouautocorrect.com/ (I want my mom to get a phone with auto correct)

Toddler Tidbits

This is new for me: Driving down the road with my two kids in the back. One is snickering, the other giggling. I look in the rearview mirror, and see Eric shaking his head, and Brody giggling up a storm at him. Love!

Knock knock. Whos there? My friend...My friend who? Ummmm...my friend Duke.
Silly boy! LOL

(overheard, sorta...online) "Baby doesn't want to eat! Baby wants to play!" "the leach on my boob suggests otherwise" (while a toddler is trying to play with their nursing younger sibling)

I swear I am really not that cold hearted

You know when you child does something so stupid, that you can't help but laugh...but at the same time you feel like a cold hearted B cause your laughing? I hate to admit that it's happened a few times.

We went to the zoo last week. What was the most exciting thing for Eric? The train! (of course! DUH). OH, and the planes that pass over every 30 seconds. So we are sitting on the grass waiting for the train to come around. The "train station" has a small patch of grass that is higher up, so it has a wooden half wall. and along the top of the wall, there is a decorative rope along it. Brett and I are sitting on the wall talking, and Eric is playing on the grass. A plane flys over head, and Eric gets so excited, and runs after it, completely forgetting about the rope and half wall. This is one of those times that I wish we had a camera trained on him at all times! He clotheslined himself on the rope (right at his nose), feet kept going, over the half wall, and he fell, catching his head on the half wall. I know, it sounds mean that I laughed. but MAN did I laugh. I picked him up, hugged him, kissed him, and laughed. I laughed as I cleaned up his bloody nose, and wiped away his tears. In my defense, there where other people that were sitting there that saw it too and looked sympathetic, but with a smirk on their face.

I fail at life today

First off yes, I know fail is not a proper...whatever noun/verb/thingy its called. But today is THAT day.

Second, be warned...there is all sorts of nastiness to follow...I just have to share...I warned you! :)

Eric and I were doing laundry this morning and the ever independent child he is, needed to have the baby gate going to the basement open, instead of being lifted over. Well, lets just say there is a reason we lock the dogs upstairs. Fat dog decided to eat cat poop. This is one time I wish I could understand what the dog is thinking (mmmm, smells like cat crap! yum, crunchy!). At the time I just thought he did, but didn't see it happen, so I wasn't sure.

Fast forward a few hours, and I'm sitting upstairs on the floor folding laundry. Duke starts whimpering beside me, and I start to get concerned. I notice he's awfully drooly/foamy. I poke and prod, but nothing seems off. I text Brett, saying I think something is wrong with him. Maybe he has an upset tummy, so I think of getting up and letting him out. I swear he read my thoughts, because he stands up suddenly. And then the noise...you know. The tell tale sign that they are about to puke. I push him towards the stairs and nastiness explodes. Great...And Brody just woke up crying. There is now puke on three stairs. I have pictures, but I think you all get the visual! :)

Baby can wait so I (facebooked! LOL) grabbed bags, towels, and paper towel. Called Brett (please tell me your in the way home). He laughs at me, and tells me "maybe that's why the dogs aren't allowed downstairs..." I am sure you can imagine what I said him about that. He also deserved a picture of dog puke for that comment! >:(
I have a three year old BEGGING to let him help me...UM NO! I finally get up the courage to tackle the mess, which, by the way, not only smells like dog puke, but cat crap as well! And lets just give another visual here....it was like trying to clean up raw eggs....freaking nasty. I wiped up as much as I could *barf!*, and spray it with vinegar and water, and cover with rags, hoping to keep the smell down until I can borrow my mother-in-law's carpet cleaner.

We decided it was outside time after that.

Brett gets home early (yay), and Diesel's outside just standing there....Great....
I think he felt left out, and ate some grass so he could puke, just to make my day. At least that one was outside! (I know he didn't get into the cat crap...so we are good there.)

After supper I headed into town to grab the floor cleaner from my mother-in-law. She had it outside, and was showing me how thing work and all that. I locked my door at some point, but had my window down. We got the carpet cleaner put into the trunk of my car, closed it, then I realized I didn't know where my keys were. I either had them in Brody's car seat or put them in the trunk. Whew, good thing I left my window open. As soon as I opened my door, OF COURSE my alarms starts going off (duh!).  Mother-in-law runs in to see if the keys are in the car seat (brother-in-law took Brody in while mother-in-law was showing me the cleaner), while I attempted to get my trunk open. Apparently, when you set off your alarm, it disables the manual trunk opener button. *BEEP BEEP BEEP* And, of course, there are a bunch of people outside. *BEEP BEEP BEEP* One lady told me to put the key in the ignition...thanks tips. Not really gonna work when I don't have the keys! *BEEP BEEP BEEP*
OK, so how do I get the keys? My back seats fold down. *BEEP BEEP BEEP* Damit, car seat is in the way. I can get the seat down on Brody's side, as it's just the base. BUT the carpet cleaner is in the way. I would have put the keys right at the back (front?) of the trunk. *BEEP BEEP BEEP* Take out Eric's seat. Pull the back down, and squeeze as far in as I can....no beep beep beep? Grab the keys, and push all the buttons to make sure the alarm is deactivated. Start the car to make sure I am not screwed... Well, that was an adventure.

The rest of the night goes by pretty uneventful (except the baby that is STILL awake at 11pm, thinking I could feed him and he would go right back to sleep, and I might get a bit longer out of him...sigh...)

Other things that I failed at today:

• I burnt Eric's waffle. Eric didn't WANT a waffle. Even though he specifically ASKED for a waffle. BUT he finally ate it...at 11 am, then asked for a snack. SIGH, such is the life with an emotionally insane three year old. (and guess what he asked for for supper? a waffle.)
• The laundry I have gone downstairs 5 times to rinse/wash/rinse is still in the washer....cloth diapers kinda suck sometimes...
• Remembering what else I failed at...I know there was something...

At least the night will end on a good note. I just put Brody in his crib, awake, and he is now asleep. YAY

**EDIT I knew there was something else. This isn't my fail really. But it was REALLY funny. The other day, Brody puked on Eric. I laughed. Hard. This morning, Eric was holding Brody, and the position, well it just allowed for the worst (best) pose for getting puked on. Pretty sure that Brody may have puked in Eric's mouth a little. (OK I might be the only one who thinks thats probably the funniest thing that happened today). I think Brody got a taste for puking on his big bro. And Eric was NOT impressed. (haha, taste. Get it?!).

Reflections

In June, I turned 28. I graduated high school 10 years ago. The 9/11 attacks were 10 years ago. And this New Years Eve, I will have been with my husband for 10 years (dating, we celebrated 6 years marriage in May).

For what ever reason, this kept me awake last night. Is this what I thought I would be doing 10 years after graduation? I can honestly say I have never been one to "look to the future", so i can't really answer that question. But I will be the first to admit, I am pretty freaking happy with how things have turned out. No, I'm not a rich millionaire, or own my own company, or have some amazing career.

But I have a very happy healthy marriage. I have 2 amazing kids. I have a beautiful house, cars that run, animals that add to the happiness of our lives, amazing family all around. I have never wished I had done things different. Being a mother is the most rewarding, tiring, wonderful job in the world, and I think my kids are pretty awesome.

But some days, my mind just wanders back in time. Not that I miss it, but it's fun to remember. Like the first time I went to the bar, or where I was when the 9/11 attacks happened (I will never forget waking up and wondering what was going on. Then watching all day long, the footage over and over again in disbelief). Meeting Brett at the all ages dance, the time and things we did together. I must admit, the year I turned 18 was a great year! The friends , the family, and everything that came of it.

I'll never forget my first experience at the bar, drinking with Niki, and hanging out with guys that had daughters our age (visiting town, never tried anything, bought us drinks all night, and won us Nickelback tickets). I still laugh at the stupidity and completely weird but incredibly fun evening!

Some days, it's hard to remember how far we've come. Kids, Marriage, Life, Responsibility, they are all hard. Some days they all suck. But some days, I wonder how we ever got along before everything that is in our lives. Especially when you walk into the living room to see your baby asleep in your toddlers arms:

This, to me, is perfection, and would never want it any other way!

My bad...

I have a puker. Brody spits up after every feeding, mulipule times. He's even on medication for it. So really, the following was just plain funny, and really I am more surprised it hasn't happened before.

I was playing around with the kids, talking about how I just can't wait for Brody to be able to chase Eric. Eric LOVES his little brother. I put Brody on Eric's shoulders (I was holding him), and of course, Brody felt the need to spit up at that very moment. Right on the middle of his head, so it ran down his head, on his arm, and a big SPLAT on the ground.

Best timing EVER! Eric got a bath tonight. LOL

Our weekend

This weekend was one of those picture perfect summer weekends. You know the kind when the days are hot, there is just enough breeze, it cools down JUST enough in the evenings, and there is NO bugs pissing you off.

Friday, Eric spent the afternoon with his Granny. That gave me a lot of time to declutter my kitchen and give it a great scrubbing. Brett got off work early, and we planned out the dog run, and got some cleaning done. I attempted to clean out Eric and Brody's room (well, Brody will ONE day be in there...), but Mr. B was fussy so I did a quick tidy and snuggled with grumpalumpalous.

Saturday I had a nice morning walk with the dogs, and then took Brody with me to go do some coupon shopping. I think I did pretty good for my first good couponing trip:

Tide on sale for 5.99, plus a buy 2 get $3 off, so I got 2 bottles of tide for $9 (basically 1 free from original price of $8.99). I also used my "buy a tide detergent and get $2 off tide stain release product", which was on sale for $2.99. I figured I would try it out for a dollar (I have kids = good investment). and you can use those coupons together.
Arm and Hammer cat litter was on sale for $4.99 and I had a $2 off coupon.
Jergens hand soap: 2.49 each, coupon for buy 2, get $2 off
Windex is BOGO, plus I had a $.50 off
All in all I spent 47.30, before sales and coupons would be $79.63 (coupons were 15.24 savings)

Ran to a few more places (damit, forgot to pick up my prescription!!!), and headed home. Eric had been outside with Brett digging. They were having a blast. Is there anything more perfect for a 3 year old then hanging outside with Daddy and Uncle JamieKris (as Eric calls him), digging in dirt and doing boy things? I think he was in heaven! The boys ran to Home Depot, and I took the kids to the dollar store. While I was there, I got a phone call that a family friend, my mom's best friend, was in town. Last time I saw her, Eric was a month old.... I ran over to go visit for a while. It was wonderful to catch up, I can't believe we lived with her 20 years ago!!! She is expecting her second grandbaby in a few months, which is hard to believe that her baby has babies (B is a few years younger then me, but I still think of her as just so young!!!). Ran home as we had company coming for supper (crockpot lasagna). Eric had a blast playing with A. They play a lot in the sand and in the dirt, and with the way our house faces, it was great that they could play in the cooler shade. J and I sat on the deck after supper with the babies in the perfect evening shade. Couldn't have been better. Even the stupid mosquito's decided to give it a rest.

As company was leaving I noticed a bunch of pricklies starting to grow on our lawn, so Eric and I picked "flowers" as company left. We found a grasshopper and played with that poor thing for about 45 minutes. Eric cracks me up with his "AHHHHHH" scream as he runs away. Silly boy is "scared" of bugs (and seagulls, apparently!). The hopper was a good trooper, and we left him completely unharmed. In fact, I am pretty sure that we found him again tonight, and this time he endured 4 kids "holding" him! LOL he's going to be one tame hopper if he sticks around here!

Today (Sunday) was a busy day again. Brett and I bought blinds last week for the kitchen and front window, so we got the kitchen window blind up. I had to run into town, and decided I was going to get my clothes line finally! it's a bit jimmy-rigged, but it's up and functional, and doesn't look...horrible! (a retractable clothes line attached to the house, and a hanging flower stand attached to the deck. Perfect!). The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent relaxing on the deck and relaxing inside. I discovered that Brody has finally pushed through a tooth...he's still pretty fussy though. I think he's SO close to sitting on his own, so I hope thats the fussiness...

I couldn't have asked for a better weekend! <3

Only Human

Some days, Eric can send me over the edge. Scratch that. MOST days, Eric DOES send me over the edge. He's strong willed, independent, and stubborn. And while I view these as good qualities, they are hard qualities to deal with as a parent.

Yesterday, I was reminded by good online friends to not yell, use patience, and PLAY with our kids.
Is it sad that I needed to be reminded? Well, I am only human. I am not a good play-er. It's not my favorite thing to do (never thought that, until I had kids that required that I play with them all day!). Having two small kids, my patience is def not there either. And it's so easy to be busy, cleaning, cooking, taking care of babes (or playing on the internet), that I do forget that Eric LOVES playing with me. So I am making a STRONG effort to not yell, use my patience, and play with Eric.

The hardest place to use patience in our lives is with eating. Eric is picky, and I have been to numerous people for help with him. He's gaining weight, and about once a week, or every other week, he surprises me and eats everything I give him. but most of the time, it's a struggle all day long. And the most frustrating thing? He asks for snacks all the time, but will not eat healthy ones. (don't worry, I don't give in. If he's actually hungry he would take the veggies/fruits/etc). Usually it's a compromise. eat this and you get this.

What area of parenting do you have the hardest time being patient about?

Do you ever get the feeling?

That you are that guy from the 6th Sense? (you know, the guy that walks around, interacting with people, only to realize that he's dead on only the creepy boy can see him. If I just spoiled the movie for you, too bad, it's been out for like, 20 years!).
I swear I almost get in an accident every day. and it's never (well, rarely) my fault. I sometimes feel like I am driving, and no one can see me. Yes, I have totalled 2 cars, but they weren't my fault! :) And the snowdrift I hit last winter totally jumped out in front of me!
And to top off the feeling that your invisible, it's usually those days that I can call 10 people and no one will answer their phones (again, no accidents are my fault! and I have never been close to an accident when on my phone! LOL)

F'ing Drivers

Yesterday, my mom and I were driving with the kids. A stupid driver pulled out in front of me, and I slammed on my brakes so hard the ABS kicked in....on dry pavement. As I looked at my mom in shock, I hear from the back seat "fuckin drivers". I try my hardest to not swear infront of my 3 year old as he does copy everything you say now. I KNOW I have never said that in front of him. I about died! And of course I then heard the rambling of the back seat driver "stupid drivers!" "did you see that car?" "stupid drivers!". I really try hard to not say bad words, but I guess they must slip out now and then! OOPS! LOL

My Shop is OPEN!!!

As I sit here with a baby on my lap, and a toddler snuggling with me under a blanket in +30* (celcius), I am working on adding products to my Etsy shop!!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/SewnStuffbyMeg?ref=pr_shop_more

Which means my dishes will sit a little longer, the laundry will stay in the hamper, and dinner remains on hold!

It also means I need to work on getting my supply built up!

any suggestions on what I should have in my store (felt food)?

i have carrots, pea pods, strawberries, straight pasta, bowtie pasta, popcorn, peelable banana, and oven mitts.
fyi, no cupcakes! they sucked!

Texting 1

my hubs has the option on his texting that it finishes the word for you. i often get really weird texts that make no sense, but he never realizes what he actually sent to me.
Today:

Me: are you across the street?
Him: now

well, what the hell does that mean? LOL (he meant no). I wouldn't put it passed him to write back "now" as a response to a question. (one day i will write about his wonderful "yes and no" answer)

Leave a comment and let me know what oops or odd texts you've gotten.

Off Topic 1

online mommy group random, totally went in a different diewction then originally planned, conversation.

Friend 1: holy shit....is there an easy way to roll out pizza dough? This sucks!!

*i skipped this post, as i had nothing to add to it. until:

Friend 1: all it's doing is mushing back into itself...doesn't matter if I use a rolling pin, my hands, use my hands with the dough in the air instead of the surface..doesn't matter. all I know is that this blows goat balls and I gave up and gave the kids PB&J because otherwise this is going to take me forever. horrible :( I now have a much greater respect for pizza makers.

Me: hahaha! LOL sorry. Best line ever: This blows goat balls! LOL

F2: Did you oil up your hands/rolling pin? That helps when DH makes pizza.

F1:it rolls back into itself and looks like a wrinkled nutsack. nice.

Me: lmao...thanks. i totally needed that visual!

F3: You should bake it anyways, and tell dh you made him a nutsack pizza

F1: LMAO!!! I actually managed to bake three of them (recipe said 6) and they smell and look delicious. In process? Notsomuch

F3: ‎"Honey, what's for dinner?" "Oh, just some nutsack pizza. Enjoy."

Me: hahaha, classic! (note: i had just watched The Hangover 2 the night before)

F1: LMFAO

Does he appreciate my artwork?

At 4 months postpartum, my shedding is rival to the dogs (FWIW, we are able to make an extra dog or two at any given time right now, with the extra hair floating around). If I don't manage to shower every day, I can make AWESOME hair art in the shower. I hate letting it go down the drain. it grosses me out. but I have no issues will pulling all those loose hairs, and seeing how I can get them to stick on the shower wall.
I don't think Brett appreciates that my hair on the shower wall artwork is for him. I know he must just LOVE waking up in the mornings and climbing into the shower having some abstract hair doll staring at him (the same way I know he loves it when we leave all of Eric's toys in the bathtub after we drain it, just in case he needs to play before he can get in the shower. He's started picking them up extra loud in the mornings, and i snicker when it wakes me up.).
He hasn't said anything about them, so he must smile when he sees them before he rinses them away...or throws them away. He's not one to let something that annoys him just slide....or is he? (now I am confused! LOL)

Possibly camping

Last year, we decided to go camping last minute with friends. This year, we made a plan to get our campsite reserved early. Ya, never happened! so once again we are panickly* hunting for somewhere to camp. My brother, us and the kids, and Brett's BFF and family (so, it will be 2 - 3year olds, a 1 year old, a 4 month old, and 4 large dogs...).
I talked to a family friend that has property an hour away, and we are hoping to possibly camp on her property in her river bottom (assuming it doesn't flood in the next week). last night, I was thinking how fun this is going to be! and now panic starts setting in. are we CRAZY?  I think yes, just based on the 4 dogs!!! then adding in 4 young kids, and boys (Brother, Hubs, and BFF) that are, well, boys when they get together. I am starting to think this is going to be insane!
What do we need to bring? when we went camping last year, we brought an INSANE amount of stuff we never used. but I can't even think of what we did or didn't use, except the Tums! LOL
***side story from last years camping adventure:
Eric got put in the camper for a "nap", and I went to check on him. I am not sure how much was originally in the bottle, but it was half empty by the time we figured out what he was doing. for what it's worth, that amount of tums is not harmful to a 2 year old. at least i haven't seen any lasting effects...yet.


*Apparently PANICKLY isn't a word, but i stayed up till 2am last night reading random blogs on the internet last night, so I can't think of any other word to use. Panickly it is!

And this just in: K&J should bring their cats! Cause it would be awesome to add to the craziness! Oh, and there's cows at this place we may be going camping. A lot of them (with awesome baby cows!). AND a cow you can RIDE!!! how cool is that? and why have I never thought to go camping there before? Brilliance comes in a sleep deprived haze!

This may be too much information...

There is a down side to big boobs. It creates a perfect target for spit up! I can't tell you how many times I have been puked on, that has gone RIGHT down my shirt. Luckily my sports bra is a perfect catch all (you wouldn't believe the things I find in there at the end of the night!). It's sometimes a good thing though, when my "lovely" husband stands there and laughs and takes his time to take the baby from me so I can go change. There has been more then one occasion when I haven't been wearing a sports bra, and the puke travels like hot lava!
The most annoying part? Yet again, Brody has managed to not get a speck of puke on him! That kid has impeccable aim!

Experimental cooking

There is a recipe that my husband loves that I make, but its a lot of finicky prep.( http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/foil-pack-taco-chicken-dinner-88772.aspx )
I decided to try it in the crockpot, we will see how it turns out. I cut up 6 potatoes, put that at the bottom of the crockpot, put in 6 chicken breasts, topped with a packet of taco seasoning and half a jar of salsa. After some research, I saw somewhere to leave the lid off for the last half hour to allow some moisture to evaporate. I will top with cheese in the last half hour. I'm cooking it for 4 hours on high. I hope it turns out...otherwise it might be pizza for supper! lol
I will update with results after supper! :)

*UPDATE: It turned out reasonably well. potatoes were perfect, flavor was awesome, but chicken was dry.

Eric's Riding Adventures

So, a few months ago I got a brilliant idea - start giving Eric riding lessons on my mom's horse, Kwest. Well, it's been a fun thing for Eric, my mom, and I to do together. Kwest is just the best trooper.
My mom has been really busy working at the race track, and dealing with getting ready for an annual horse show we work at, so Kwest has not had a lot of ride time. Every Thursday, he gets a good loose in the arena, and Eric cools him out/rides.
Last week, Eric figured out how to "play" with Kwest when he was loose. Today, he dove right in. I think Kwest thought that a little green monster was chasing him (Eric was wearing a green shirt). I tell you, this idea of Eric helping loose Kwest is the best idea EVER!!!  The arena is huge, especially for a 3 foot green monster! and horses run fast. green monsters fall a lot. I don't know how Eric was able to run as much as he did, but he put miles on in that arena today!
After Kwest had enough and we convinced Eric that Kwest was tired (and convinced Kwest that Eric was not a green monster), I threw on a saddle pad, surcingle, and Eric's stirrups. Trying to get Eric to  sit up straight, we decided that it must be really uncomfortable on his boy parts, and came to the conclusion that we should put the saddle on next time (sorry buddy!).
 After we were done riding, Mom and Eric gave Kwest a bath. All I heard for the next 10 minutes was "HEY!", apparently Eric's new way to say, "I wanna" (glad that stage is over, but still not cool). Oh, and Kwest (along with every other animal), is FUNNY! Yes, we get told a LOT that "he's funny!". How nice to be so easily amused.

June 23 - A Note To...

Note to self: When the recipe calls for 4 small mashed bananas, don't use 6 large ones.

Note to stupid driver in little car: you do not need to enter my lane to turn right! I promise the light standard won't jump out at you!

Note to self: Other people in the grocery store don't think your insane laugh is as funny as the 4 month old does.

Note to husband: the chicken post was fricken funny. don't end your read with a half hearted "haha". it deserves respect!

Cooking FAIL

So, I had read on line about steel cut oats in the crockpot over night. sounded awesome. so I bought some. Last night I was all excited, got my crockpot out, got all the ingredients in (as Brett gave me the sideways glance, asking questions).
When I was looking for recipes online, everyone kept boasting about apple cinnamon oatmeal. I LOVE apple cinnamon oatmeal. when I bought the steel cut oats, I also bought a cinnamon stick. I have NEVER used one before and asked 4 people on how to cook with it, do I break it, can I reuse it, etc. I am sure they were glad to see me leave! LOL
A particular comment had me hooked "I love waking up to the smell of this cinnamon apple oatmeal in the mornings!".
When I woke up this morning (for the second time), I didn't smell any cinnamon apple. I cautiously walked up to the crockpot, thinking to myself "did I forget to turn it on?". nope, I could see thru the lid it was cooked, and there was that cinnamon smell when I lifted the lid.
Well, my next task was to get the bowl I had cooked it in out of the crockpot (I read on one recipe where the girl hated having to clean the burnt oatmeal out of her crockpot, so she put the ingredients in a glass bowl, filled the crockpot with water and put the bowl in the cockpot in the water. Genius!)
well, the water was boiling hot, and the glass bowl was too. and I fill the water right to the rim of the bowl.....so how the HELL am I going to get the bowl out? two plastic spoons looked at me! I put one on each side and lifted....but I knew the instant I did that, it was a BAD idea! if the bowl slipped off the spoons, it was going to fall in the very hot water....BAD idea.
Well, I managed to get the bowl out of the crockpot without dropping it. So much work for this oatmeal. it smelled so good!
spoon some into my bowl, this is going to be so good! I took two bites and moved it away. it's NASTY! I can SMELL the cinnamon and the apple, but I sure can't taste it. and it's kinda sour...I don't get it. time to look up new uses for steel cut oats! (and I love how spell check doesn't like the word Crockpot...I LOVE that word! haha)

What I have been up to lately

Aside from my chaotic dealings of a three year old and an infant, I have been trying my hand at a few new things.

• I decided to switch Brody to cloth diapers.
• I am trying out couponing. Not too easy in Canada, but I have found some good deals.
• I am making Felt Food, and have sold 1 "package".
• I am cooking and baking a ton. I have never done much of either in the past.
• We are working on potty training Eric. It's been a long and frustrating journey, And I can't say that he's potty trained yet. I pray he doesn't start grade 1 in diapers still. He just doesn't care. Right now we are taking a break.
• Budgeting. This has been an especially hard one on us. It's not getting any harder....but not any easier either.

It's funnier at 2AM

Eric walked into his door last night. I think he kind of deserved it, waking us up at 2am.
I made Brett go put him back to bed, as I was busy nursing Brody. I heard a HUGE thump, and Brett snickering. Eric was not impressed by us laughing at him. I took me a while to fall back asleep after that, as I would have random fits of giggles just thinking about it.
It doesn't seem as funny today, as I am hounded by the ever changing emotions of a 3 year old. (whoever coined the "terrible twos", never obviously knew a three year old!).