Kid Nicknames

So recently (or maybe not so recently) my sister told me that my names for the kids on here were pretty boring and blah.... Girl, Boy 1 and Boy 2.....

And I figured they were better than the nicknames that they have in real life.

So what are their nicknames in real life you ask?? (Come on play along!)

Girl - Knucklebutt. Which has unfortunately for her been shortened over the years to Butt.

I know it's horrible but that's just what it's been and she answers to it!

Boy 1 - Fatboy. We no longer use this name for him though. When he got old enough to start calling other people fat we decided we had to stop.

We have changed it slightly though. We now call him [his actual name]boy.

Boy 2 - Dudey (pronounced Doody). I'm not sure how I started that one and I'm really the only one that does it. And no it's not like doody - poop. It's like little dude - I just put a "y" on the end.

So there you have it. I'm sure by now you're all probably pretty happy that I use Girl, Boy 1 and Boy 2 instead!

What do you say when.....

What do you say when you're 4 and 7 year olds ask you about this song?

Boy 1: Ewww....she said she kissed a girl.

Girl: Sooooooo.

Boy 1: Girls can't kiss!

Girl: Yes they can.

Boy 1: No they can't.

Girl: Ya-huh. I kiss Mommy and Grandma and G all the time!

(You don't know how glad I am that I didn't have to get involved in that conversation and it worked itself out!)

Bloggy Giveaway!!

They are having another Bloggy Giveaway Carnival and I'm so excited.

I'm a little late getting my giveaway posted but that's because I've spent so much time visiting other sites and their giveaways that I almost forgot about my own.

I have for one lucky commenter a $15 gift card to Wal-Mart!

Now I know some of you are saying WAL-MART??? What you love Target and won't shop at Wal-Mart!

Hence the reason I have this gift card to give away. I happen to have just gotten it recently and figure why not give it away to someone that would use it.

The only thing I ask is that to enter you not only leave a comment here on this post but you also leave one on another post as well. And not just a "Hi" either - I want something thoughtful. And if you're already a regular commenter here than you of course only need to leave a comment here on this post.

The only other rules I have:

1. You must have a U.S. or Canadian mailing address.
2. You don't have to be a blogger to win - but I do need a valid email address.

The contest will end at 11:59 on Friday August 1st. I will draw the winner using random.org on Saturday or Sunday (depending on our hectic schedule for the weekend). I will email the winner and the winner will be posted here sometime on Monday.

If I don't hear back from you in 4 days, I will be forced to pick another winner.

And don't forget to go back to Bloggy Giveaways and check out other great giveaways going on now!

From the Mouth of Boy 1

Preface: Shitface is sitting at the table on the computer. Boy 1 is standing in the kitchen close by. I hand Shitface a beer out of the fridge and set it on the table.

Boy 1: Oh, this is for me right?

Shitface: If you can open it you can drink it.

Boy 1: Ok. (As he tries and tries to open it....)

Boy 1: I need help.

Shitface: No, I told you if YOU can open it you can have it.

Boy 1: (He continues to try....)

Boy 1: Can I have a straw when I get it open?

Boy does he have a lot to learn!!

Our "Fun" for the Week

Ok, so I'm sure by now your thinking - didn't you do anything "fun" with the kids last week! You said you were going to do something "fun" with them every week while you were in Virginia.

(Alright, so you're probably not saying that - just humor me though!)

Well last week I took the kids to the Peninsula SPCA Exotic Sanctuary and Petting Zoo. I should of just let the kids look at the website because it was ten times better than the actual place! I figured we could spend at least two hours there - try just under an hour! And that was including lunch, which we ate in the parking lot because they had no where else to sit.

The only exotic animal that we got to see was the Tiger and she was sleeping anyway. None of the other animals were in their cages. (I'm not really sure where they were but they weren't there!)

As for the petting zoo portion of it. That wasn't horrible and it was neat that the kids actually got to walk around with the animals and not feed them through a fence but they tried to molest the stroller! I had to take Boy 2 out of it for fear of what they would do! And instead they just knocked him over into little pellets of poop!

Anyway here are a few pictures if you're interested:

Boy 2 chasing pigions.

A close-up of the llama.

Here's the goat attacking the food machines.

I guess we'll just chalk this up to one of those places NOT to visit if you're in the area unless you're only looking to kill 30 minutes of time.

And this week there won't be any "fun" times to be had because Girl and Boy 1 will be in camp for the week! Yahoo!!

Last Night's Dinner

I made enchiladas for dinner last night. Ok, let me re-phrase that.... I attempted to make enchiladas for dinner.

This has become one of my favorite dishes to make and I normally make it from scratch. Last night though, I figured I would be lazy and just use the Old El Paso enchilada kit. I prepared them and put them in the oven for 20 minutes as the directions said.

However, when I took them out of the oven they looked like this:

I sat there baffled as to what happened. I followed the directions on the box!

Me: I just don't know what happened.

Shitface: Well you didn't cover them up.

Me: The box said not to cover them.

Shitface: No it didn't.

Me: Are you sure? (As I find the box in the trash)

Me: Oh yea - it says do cover them - not don't cover them.

Shitface: Oh well, I guess we have to go out to dinner tonight.

So instead of enchilada's, which is what I really wanted I had this from Chili's:

Southwest Cedar Plank Tilapia

And it was good! Much better than my burnt to a crisp enchilada's! I guess burning dinner isn't always a bad thing. (And the kids were much happier to not eat burnt food too!)

Friday Fill-Ins #82

Here is the next edition of Friday Fill-Ins.

1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

2. If you're good at something, try something else to be good at other things too.

3. Why so frantic? I'm trying feed the kids breakfast and pack up so we can get on the road.

4. Something is out there, it's nothing to be scared of - it's called LIFE!

5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled Life in the Military.

6. Sitting on my back porch [if you don't have one, use your imagination] I see a pool, trees, toys, my dog and the kids running around.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to driving back to Maryland, tomorrow my plans include relaxing with NO kids and Sunday, I want to pick the kids up and drive back to Virginia!

For more Friday Fill-In's visit here.

Happy Friday!

When They Grow Up.....

The other day I was over visiting Bonnie the Boss at The Zoo and she had asked her kids what they wanted to be when they grew up. So that got me to thinking about my kids. Over breakfast this morning I asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Well I asked Girl and Boy 1 as Boy 2 only told me dadadada...da...daa.dada...

Girl. Well she says she wants to be a doctor.

And I can honestly see her doing something along these lines. She is the type of person who is always trying to help other people - even if it means she can be overbearing at times. She truely has a good heart and is only trying to do good.

Now whether or not she'll be a doctor or something else will have to wait to be seen. Other ideas I have for her are a veterianarian, a nurse, a teacher or basically any job where she can be helping others.

Now Boy 1. I asked him and his response.....

Boy 1: A Boyfriend

Girl crazy already and he's not even in school yet!!

And then his next response:

And then I'm going to be Spiderman and Batman and Superman to save everyone!

So I have to say that I don't believe he will be any of those when he grows up. I think he will be the one that follows in Daddy's footsteps and joins the military. He also has a kind heart in wanting to help people but he wants to fight the "bad guys" and I honestly think that will carry over into his adult hood.

I'll have to do this again in a few years when I can figure out Boy 2 a little bit better and see how much Girl and Boy 1's reponses have changed. It will be interesting to see how close or far off I am when they do actually grow up.

As a 1930's Wife....

So I've recently seen on some other peoples blogs this test. It seems that everyone else would be a much better 1930's wife than me as I only got a :

57 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

Beck got a 110!! (Very Superior)

Bonnie the Boss got a 59!! (Superior)

Take the test and let us know what you get. Would you make it in the 1930's? Oh yea and for any of my male readers - they have the same test for husbands as well!

Give Away

Jubilee over at Notes of Jubilee is hosting a great give away. She has three Chico Bags to give away. If you want to read her review of them, you can find it here.

So go on over and check her out. Make sure you enter to win too! (Or maybe you shouldn't because that lessens my chance..... oh alright you can enter too!)

P.S. You have until August 14th to enter too!

From the Mouth of Boy 1......

So as always - Boy 1 always has something to say these days. And when he speaks you should listen because it normally contains your comical relief for the day!

Scenario 1

Boy 1: When I'm old enough to be a boyfriend - I wanna be her boyfriend......

Who you ask? Well who else besides the super model from Giorgio Armani that he found on the back of a magazine.

At least he has good taste.

Scenario 2

Boy 1: Look!! Look!! Mommy!! Look!!!

Me: What......

Boy 1: It's a, it's a....monkey climbing in the tree!!

Me: A what?!?!?!

Boy 1: Oh, I mean a squirrel. Never mind.

He has quite the imagination - and then **POOF** it was gone!

Water Country

As I mentioned we took the kids to Water Country USA on Saturday. And while we didn't spend half of the college savings like we anticipated; we did spend about 1/4 of it!

But it was well worth it. The kids had a blast and much to our surprise Boy 2 was able to hang in there until 8 o'clock when the park closed.

We got off to a late start of the day because we decided we would let Boy 2 nap as long as possible for his morning nap - which took way longer than normal this time. And then we still had to go on base at Langley to get our discounted tickets. And then it was after lunch time so we had to stop and feed the kids. And then we were finally able to get on our way there. Of course it was about 1:30 or so when we got to the park. But we figured it was open until 8pm so we would have plenty of time.

I didn't get any where near as many pictures as I had anticipated getting - but then again we were at a water park - with water everywhere! Water and digital cameras - not so good together. So the camera spent most of the day in the diaper bag attached to the stroller - which sat unattended most of the day just waiting for some one to steal it.....which luckily no one did!

So here are a few photos from our adventure:

Here is Boy 2 - all suited up in his life jacket!

This is Boy 1 demonstrating his newly learned swimming skills.


Here is Girl pretending to take a shower at one of the kiddie areas.

This is Boy 1 and Girl after a water slide - however Girl threw Boy 1 off the raft before I could click the picture! (You can kind of make out his head...)

Here they are both on the raft. I know - not a great picture - but it's not like you are allowed to actually see their faces anyway (in steps paranoid husband!)

And here is Shitface and Boy 2 on the water slide! And yes, I said Boy 2. His 1st water slide at 12 1/2 months old! And he LOVED it! (Shhh - don't tell Shitface there are visible pictures of him!)

My favorite attraction there would have to be Hubba-Hubba Highway. It was similar to that of a lazy river, but moved at speeds much faster. And it was something that we could all do together and everyone enjoyed it.


Of course there are no pictures of this because I was actually participating. You would think that I wasn't really on this trip but in actuality Shitface just forgot how to use a camera!

There's Deals to be Had Today....

So if you're going to be doing any bargin shopping online today here are a few deals for ya.

Me on the other hand - I'll be spending half of each of my kids college savings on taking them to Water Country USA today. But at least I'll have pictures to show them when they grow up. (See - see this. This is what we did with your college savings!)

Macy's not only has their clearance going on now of 30-50% off but you can also use promo code 99cents and get your shipping for only 99 cents. (DUH) And while that's not free - it's a hell of a deal with gas prices the way they are! (Expires 7/20/08)

Deep Discount has a promo going on now of buy 1, get 1 free on select DVD's. Of course there aren't any new movies in there but there are some great old ones. And if you have a kid or know a kid that's really into Thomas the Tank Engine - those are all included in this deal too! And as always - they have FREE shipping! (Expires 7/29/08)

I seem to have an abundance of E.L.F. (Eyes, Lip, Face) codes this week. So here they are:

• use EGPOLIAR to get a free nail polish when you buy 2.
• use EGHYDAR to get a free SPF 15 Tint with any $20 purchase.
• use EGBROAZ to get a free sun kissed bronzing powder.
• use ECBROBZ to get a free warm tan bronzing powder.
• use ECBROCZ to get a free luminance bronzing powder.

The last time I shopped there I was able to stack coupons so it wouldn't hurt to try. Although I doubt they'll let you do it on the bronzing powders. (All Expire 8/1/08)

And last but not least, at REI you can use promo code THNX2U8 for 25% off these select items. (Expire 7/24/08)

Have a happy weekend and look forward to some pics from Water Country!

Friday Fill-Ins #81

It's that time again.....

1. If I could be a fly on the wall I would rather not be - I'd probably end up on the other end of a fly swatter!

2. Jealousy is the root of all evil.

3. When I see a shooting star my wish would be that my children grow up to be successful.

4. I'd rather be relaxing by the pool with a good book than working any day!

5. Certain songs when I hear them make me wanna get up and dance. (Even though I don't know how!)

6. If time were in a bottle I would have enough hours in a day to get everything done.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to going to Shitface's softball game, tomorrow my plans include taking the kids to Water Country USA and Sunday, I want to relax!

Please visit Friday Fill-Ins to read others.

Rants and Raves - Baby Showers

For what ever reason I seem to be invited to a million baby showers during the summer months. I'm not really sure how that works out but for me it does. (Of course Boy 2 was during the summer too.)

Right now one of my biggest rants are items on some people's baby shower registry. I don't know if some people just don't know or what - but come on really. Why would you ask for two cribs or two pack n plays or two of any of the same item for that matter? I could understand if you were having twins but these people aren't! It's like they were so indecisive they just decided they'd ask for it all.

I've seen people ask for an exersaucer and even this Bounce & Spin Zebra thing! Or how about the shopping cart covers and the walkers? Last time I checked all of these things were for babies that ranged from 9 months to 2 years. Why would you ask for it for a baby shower gift? And the best ones I've seen - what infant needs a step stool potty or a booster car seat? You know these kids are going to have birthdays and Christmas' that they could receive these items for!

Now there are also those items that I think are completely worthless. And I'll be honest - I did ask for several of them - but soon realized that it was a wasted purchase. Take for instance this bottle warmer -piece of crap. I thought it would be cool but it's not! Or this insulated bottle bag - I guess would be nice if you were breast feeding - but I didn't and it was never used! And the wipes warmer - I had wanted one but I'm glad I never got it. I never would have used it as I never changed diapers in the same place. Or the diaper pails. Again, never had one but never would have used it either! (I know some people that swear by them and others who think they don't work.)

So onto the items I loved! This little item. Absolutely wonderful - I still use it today! And this space saver high chair - I wanted this one from the beginning but didn't get it until recently. I love it and it'll be coming back to MD with us. And this thermometer - a little pricey, but totally worth it! Oh yea and our stroller. No, I've never actually jogged with it and yes, it's a little large but the large all-terrain tires are perfect for pushing the stroller across sports fields, playgrounds, etc - which we do a LOT of!

So are there any items you've seen on baby registries that you thought were ridiculous or just couldn't believe they were being asked for? Or are there items that you think are completely unnecessary? What about items you absolutely love and couldn't go without? I'd love to hear about them as I seem to be doing lots of baby shopping recently - and not only for my own but for others as well!

Randomness

I can't seem to stay on topic or complete an entire thought here recently - let alone an entire post. So this post is about a bunch of stuff - none of which is related. Hence randomness!

Boy 1

As we were leaving to go to Target (have I told you lately - that it's my favorite store) today here was my completely random conversation with Boy 1.

Boy 1: I want a new mom.
Me: Yea - Ok. Well I'll leave you at Target and you can find a new one there.
Boy 1: Ok. Never mind.

And I wasn't even being "mean" during this. Just completely random.

Girl

Girl is completely freaking out over second grade this week. I don't know where all this anxiety has come from but it's starting to drive me crazy!! Here are her fears and my answers:

• How will I know what classroom to go to? The same way you knew last year.
• Who is my teacher going to be? No one knows yet - we'll find out August 15th.
• Who is going to be in my class? No one knows yet - we'll find out August 15th.
• When are we getting school supplies? Where have you been? We already have more than half of them!
• What if we don't get them before they run out? They're not going to run out.
• When are we going home to MD? It'll be before school starts right? Yes - for the umpteenth time - we're going home the weekend of August 15th - 10 days before school starts!
• Are we going to the thingy where I can "meet" my new classroom? We've done it every year before right???
• Are you going to back to school night? We've done it every year before right??

Do you see the redundancy of this? Nothing is different from last year! We're doing everything the same way we've done it the past two years! Get over it already.... She can be SO over dramatic.

Although on a brighter note. I guess this fear is more rational than her recent fears:

• of tornados (even though we live in an area that hardly ever has them)
• of pirates (even though we don't have a boat on live on the water for that matter)
• of monsters - specifically Randal - from Monsters Inc.

Boy 2

Boy 2 has discovered the joys of being able to remove his own diaper. When ever he wants!

I knew he was up from his nap yesterday but I had a conference call and was hoping he would keep himself occupied til it was over. And occupied he was! After 30 minutes and I hadn't heard a peep from him, I figured I had to go investigate.

And that's when I found him - with no diaper on - playing with himself!! (yea - I know kind of personal but he's only 1) Now I know that little boys do these things - but he's only ONE! I thought I had a little more time....

And since this - he boy won't keep his diaper on unless we have shorts on him. No more running around in just a diaper.

And I guess that is all the randomness I have for today.... though reading over it - maybe it wasn't so random - but maybe - oh never mind!

P.S. I know you people are reading this! But I still don't see as many comments as I know there are readers! Come On. All I ask for is for you to leave a measly little comment. I don't care if you don't like me or my writing. Just let me know you were here - because I already know you were! And if you don't like me than just don't come back. It won't hurt my feelings - Promise! Just comment already!

Air Power Park

Yesterday we stopped in at the Air Power Park. Unfortunately it wasn't a planned stop so I didn't have my camera with me. But than again, there wasn't much to it so a camera probably really wasn't needed!

Driving by it every time we go to Langley; it seems like a nice place. Until you stop up close and realize that there is practically no maintenance done anywhere. The grounds are all over grown and the planes and stuff are all pealing and just short of falling apart. The kids kept wanting to touch them but I was afraid they would crumble on top of them if they did!!

I guess the kids had fun looking at them - they ran from plane to plane yelling, "come here, come here" and by the time I got Boy 2 there they had lost interest and were already off to the next one.

I found a few pictures of the exhibits. Like this one and this one and this one. You'll just have to use your imagination to see what it actually looks like now though - over grown grass (that practically swallowed Boy 2!), pealing paint, flat tires, etc, etc.

They also had a small playground that I let them play on for a few minutes before they lost interest in that too. I think we spent a total of 45 minutes there. Glad I didn't have this planned as a day trip - I would have pretty unhappy!!

Finally - The Zoo!!

Now that I have built up this whole zoo trip like it was something special - I'll try to let y'all down easy and let you know that nothing really special happened...nothing funny, nothing out of the ordinary...nothing!! Just another day!!

Now I haven't been to the Baltimore Zoo or the DC Zoo in quite some time so I really don't have much to compare it to - but overall I thought the Virginia Zoo was fairly nice.

It was an enjoyable day (well until 3pm when Boy 2 started to get REALLY cranky) and we all had a good time. The place wasn't overly crowded and the exhibits were nice too. And for just $16 to get in -after our military discount of course - I thought it was well worth it!

Here are a few pictures from the day:

This was one of the snakes in the reptile house. I thought he was pretty cool because he was looking right at me. (I read the sign to tell you what kind of snake it was - but of course I've forgotten by now!)

This is Boy 1 playing with one of the cutest monkeys. He sat there at the glass and let people come up and bang on the glass (ok, maybe only Boy 1 was banging) and stare at him and he never moved!

Here is Girl with the monkey (note she's not tormenting it like Boy 1 was!)

Here's a meerkat - just like the ones from the discovery channel show - Meerkat Manor - isn't he cute!

Here are the kids running away from me!!

These are some of the African Safari animals. (Elephant, Giraffe, Rhino) You can see how much space they had to roam!

Me: Look, Boy 1 Boy 2 a Rhino.

Boy 1 Boy 2 : Where?

Me: Right there.

Boy 1 Boy 2 : That's not a rhino, that's a rhinoceros

Me: It's the same thing

Boy 1 Boy 2 : No it's not Mom!!

Me: Ok, you're right.....

At the entrance to the zoo they had this cool water exhibit. I didn't know it was there so the kids really didn't get to enjoy it too much. I should have let them play in it first so they had time to dry before getting into my truck!

In the end - I think we had a good trip. The kids seemed to have fun and they were 100% better than they were the day before!! (Who ever said bribery didn't work!?!?!?)

The Zoo!!

NOT!!

I swear I tried to have our zoo outing posted today. I really did! And if blogger wasn't SO freakin' slow uploading pictures - it would have been done!

I PROMISE!!

Now, lets just hope that I can get it up tomorrow morning!!

In the mean time you can read some of my favorites if you're bored. They all seem to have time like good bloggers to post something funny and every day!! Maybe I'll get there one day!!

Vintage Thirty

Notes of Jubilee

The More, The Messier

Naval Gazing at its Finest

Friday Fill-Ins # 80

It's the next edition of Friday Fill-Ins.



1. Oh, I can't wait until I have a whole 24 hours to myself.

2. Milk, Water, Soda, Juice is the first thing I see when I open my refrigerator. (We really have to go grocery shopping - we're low in the "food" department)

3. I never leave home without my keys. ( I really don't carry much with me -not even a purse anymore!)

4. If I were a condiment, I would be mustard because my kids don't like it and I would be left alone!

5. Closing the shower curtain when you're done is really high up on my list of pet peeves. Ummm.....but really how can I pick just one?? (Thanks to Dad that is!!)

6. The last thing I thought of before I went to bed was I never did post about the zoo.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to working, tomorrow my plans include working and Sunday, I want to finish working! (I've been extreamly busy this week and really need to get caught up. Going to the zoo yesterday didn't help either!)

With any luck, I'll find a few minutes today to post about the zoo. Happy Friday!!

My First Award!!

I was having writers block this morning so I figured I would just post after our trip to the zoo later this morning. Since I wasn't using this time to post like I normally do, I figured I would read some of my favorite blogs!

And you wouldn't believe my surprise when I went to one of my new favorites, Notes of Jubilee and saw that she awarded me Peep of the Week!

Thanks Jubilee! If all goes well, I should be back later with more about the zoo!

Deals & Follow-Up Wednesday

Follow-Ups

Swim lessons are finally over and the kids did fairly well. Boy 1 has NO fear and so of course he did sligthly better than Girl did. On their certificate's they are rated on a 5 point scale, with each number having several bullet points of activities to complete. Boy 1 got all of them through 3, while Girl got all but one of them through 2. They were both supposed to go back into the next class but we got a call last night that classes were being pushed back a week which interferes with the day camps that I signed them up for. So we're not sure what we're going to do now.

Since swim lessons are over I was going to take the kids to the Virginia Zoo today but after the day they had yesterday I decided I'm not taking them anywhere out in public until they can show me they know how to behave at home. Hopefully we'll make it there tomorrow. The zoo seems to be pretty nice with quite a few animals. Hopefully I won't be disappointed this time too.

Please excuse me for this brief emergency: Boy 1's head is stuck under the bed!!

Deals

I'm sorry I've missed posting several deals over the past couple days that are now expired. So here are the few that I still have left:

Over at Old Navy you can take an extra 20% off of already reduced prices using coupon code EXTRA20. Hurry as this expires tomorrow July 10th.

Shop now through July 21st at New York & Company and use coupon code 9078 for $25 off your purchase of $75 or more or use coupon code 9067 for $50 off your purchase of $150 or more. (And they have some great clearance items right now too!)

Alright, well I have wasted enough of my precious work time this morning - so I'm off to work. (Well not really off but you know what I mean)

Happy Wednesday!

Would you like some Wine?

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth after my son's 1st birthday! It's just been one of those weeks already and it's only Tuesday night! The past two nights I have spent working until 10 pm trying to get work done and unfortunately it looks like the rest of the week may be like that as well. So if my posts are sparse then you'll know why.

Of course the older two children have not been helping much with my mood either. Both of them spent most of the day in their room today because they just couldn't behave. And of course when their punished its even harder for me to get work done because Boy 2 is reaking havoc by himself!

Shitface knew that I was having a rough day so he brought home a bottle of wine for us to enjoy after I got my work done for the night - or in this case - halfway through my work :-)

When I went to get the bottle - I couldn't find it. I eventually found it in the fridge which wouldn't have been bad - we generally get a white wine - but this time it was merlot. Here was the rest of our conversation:

Me: Honey, next time you buy merlot you shouldn't put it in the fridge. It's generally should be room temperature when drinking.

Him: Ok, you'll have to remind me of that next time I buy it.

Me: Ok, well next time you buy any red wine - don't put it in the fridge.

Him: Ok, you'll have to tell me which one is red because if I can't see into the bottle, I can't tell what color it is.

Me: Ok, well if the bottle is dark - it's generally red - and don't put it in the fridge. If you can see through the bottle you should put it in the fridge.

Him: Ok. Now that I may be able to remember.

Did I forget to tell you that my husband is definately no wine-o!! I'm not claiming to be either - but I am trying to pass my little wine information down to him. One day he'll learn - MAYBE!

Happy 1st Birthday Boy 2!

Congratulations to me! Congratulations to me! Congratulations to meeeeee, Congratulations to me!!

(hint: sung to the tune of Happy Birthday)

So I did it. I have managed to keep Boy 2 alive for an entire year!!! Minus a few scraps and bruises - all of which weren't MY fault!! But he is alive and just the happiest little guy!

A year ago I couldn't imagine having to care for yet another human being and now I would be lost without him! He has made me who I am today - a stronger person!

It's been a roller coaster of a ride - with Shitface being gone for almost 6 months of his first year and me being a "single" mom to not just one kid but three! And then there were the reactions to every formula I tried except Nutramigen (the most expensive around) and ear infections (that I didn't know he had) and late night crying episodes (again from formula).

But with the rough times there have been many, many good times and memories. Like when he rolled over for the first time at 3 months old and his first tooth and his first foods and when he learned to do the army crawl at 4 months and he learned to sit by himself and he learned to pull-up at 6 months and started walking at 9 months! And his first word was Ma (Shitface will even tell you) - even though he has refused to say it since than. And his first sentence just recently- I wuv eww - AKA - I love you!

His personality is really starting to show now too - while he can be loving and give lots of kisses, he can also have a temper when he doesn't get his way (we can thank Daddy for that one!). He is also very independent and can entertain himself for hours.

Girl and Boy 1 have been great older siblings too. Girl loves to help take care of him (bathe him, feed him, entertain him) and Boy 1 loves to play around and rough house with him. (It took him a little longer to come around to him but once Boy 2 starting moving he was all about it.)

Our life is complete with you Boy 2!! So Happy 1st Birthday to you! We love you!

Friday Fill-Ins # 79

Friday Fill-Ins. To see others visit here.

1. Holidays in the summer are great (well before I had to plan a birthday party they were).

2. Hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken (ok - pretty much anything) are my favorite things to grill.

3. My thoughts are consumed with things that need to be done for Boy 2's party this weekend that I haven't had a chance to do anything for since I've been in Virginia.

4. Boy 2's 1st Birthday is what I'm most looking forward to this weekend!

5. My favorite book so far this summer is .... who has time to read when you have 3 kids at home and trying to run a business!!

6. COFFEE (preferably iced but hot will do) is the best way to begin a day.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to preparing for Boy 2's party and watching fireworks, tomorrow my plans include Boy 2's 1st Birthday and Sunday, I want to drive back to Virginia (well I don't want to but I have to!)

Happy 4th to everyone!!

Is the Tooth Fairy a Girl or Boy?

This was one of the questions floating around our house over the weekend. Along with:

- Will the tooth fairy know where I am?

- How will the tooth fairy find my tooth?

- How much money do you think I'll get for my tooth?

- Can you call the tooth fairy to make sure he knows where we are?

- Will the tooth fairy come if Boy 1 is still awake?

- Do you know the tooth fairy's phone number?

In case it isn't obvious - Girl lost another tooth Saturday morning and every time she looses teeth we go through these same questions over and over again for days - even after the tooth fairy has come!

This tooth fairy story is different than the rest though because -

Mom and Dad forgot to put money under the pillow Saturday night!!

Lucky for me during a conversation Saturday afternoon I said, "Hopefully the tooth fairy will bring your money here and not back at home." I'm still not sure why I said it - it just kind of came out.

Sunday morning as I'm laying in bed - I hear the kids - and my eyes immediately fly open and I look at Shitface and say, "Oh SHIT - we forgot to put money under her pillow!!"

We laid there for several minutes working out our "story" and making sure we were both on the same page. We were going to say that obviously the tooth fairy didn't know she was here in VA and not in MD so she'll have to check back at home when we get there next weekend.

So Shitface gets out of bed and walks out of our room and is immediately bombarded by Girl!!

Girl: The tooth fairy didn't come

Shitface: What do you mean?

Girl: Well I couldn't find my tooth when I woke up but there was no money under my pillow either.

Shitface: Well maybe he put the money at our house in MD

Girl: No daddy because than I found my tooth pushed down between the wall. He didn't take my tooth either.

(After a short pause....)

Girl: Well I think the tooth fairy couldn't find it so he just didn't give me any money!!

Shitface: Oh ok.

Girl: So we can try again tonight - RIGHT??

Shitface: Sure.

So after our elaborate plan on how to correct "our" mistake - she came up with her own. Go Figure!!

So Sunday night we made a "fake" pillow (a couple sheets rolled up in pillow form as we're a little short here on pillows) at the end of her bed so that the tooth wouldn't be lost again. (And it would be easier for us to get in there without disturbing her) And she wrote the tooth fairy a note :

Oh yea - and did I forget to tell you how greedy she is?!?!? Asking for $100!!!!

And another thing - I'm still baffled as to how this past Christmas she was questioning Santa Clause and if he was really real - but still to this day she hasn't questioned the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy!!

Coming Out of the Blogger Closet

First and foremost I have to say that I didn't come up with this title. I "borrowed" it from The Girl Next Door. I recently discovered her site and spent way to many hours reading her blog from the beginning. (Luckily she only started 3 months ago!!) It was one of those that I was sucked in to - as I'm sure others have found those as well.

Anyway, after reading this post I decided that I too had to come out of the blogger closet. If she could do it after only 6 posts - I thought I could surely do it after 36!

I'm not really sure why I never told anyone about my blog - it's not like there are stories on here that my friends and family haven't heard already. I guess it was just easier to start blogging and sharing with complete strangers than people I know. (I know - sounds kind of odd)

So this is to welcome all my friends and family that have recently received an email from me confessing my secret!

WELCOME!!

P.S. Please feel free to leave me a comment and share my blog with others.

Our Latest Excursion

Obviously I never got around to posting yesterday. By the time I finished working last night it was a little after 9pm! Hopefully though it makes for an easier week.

Anyway, we decided to do our "adventure" for the week on Friday (originally we were going to do it Saturday but long story short - that didn't happen) and we went to the Virginia Aquarium. And quite frankly - it sucked!! Shitface was all - I've heard it's the best one on the East Coast, blah, blah, blah. But no it sucked!!

Now I haven't been to gobs and gobs of aquariums (I think actually only 2 or 3) in my life or maybe it's that I've been spoiled over the years by the Baltimore Aquarium. But needless to say the Virginia Aquarium is not a place of interest I would recommend unless you are only trying to take up an hour of time.

In case you haven't figured already - Shitface and I were not impressed but the kids had fun and that's the whole reason we went anyway.

Anyway, here are some pictures from our outing:

Here are Girl and Boy 1 looking at some fish. (Duh - we were at the Aquarium after all!!)

These were a couple of cool frogs.

(Sorry about the flash - I forgot to turn it off and I don't have time to photo shop it.)

And here is Boy 2 playing in the little play area.

(Which was kind of neat but had nothing to do what so ever with fish or sea life or anything Aquarium related!)

And that was pretty much our trip. I know kind of boring - huh??? On our way home we decided to drive through a little bit of Virginia Beach before we got back on the road. And here is the best picture of our entire excursion:

Wait - what does that say???

Yup that's correct - NO CURSING!!

I for some reason got a kick out of this most of the drive home. I didn't know that wasn't allowed in VA Beach - but I guess I do now and I guess I won't be visiting there anytime soon if that is the case!