BABY BABY BABY OHHHHHHH

Yes, that is a total Justin Bieber reference in the title. It is also the only song that Kai really sings on his own...except he's actually never heard the song, he just enjoys singing "baby baby baby" over and over again. But before I get off onto a tangent about how hilarious my first born is, let me just dive right in. Baby #2 is on it's way...well not literally...in a literal sense that sucker is cooking up a storm in my uterus. Awesome. But nonetheless, we are excepting #2. Yeah yeah yeah I know most of the people who read this already know because I cannot keep a secret of my own to save my life. Hello, why would I want to keep such great news to myself and from the people I love? I wouldn't, so I didn't! Annnnnd not to make excuses, but that is also one of the reasons I haven't been blogging. Apparently I forgot how much energy growing a human took. And let's face it, I got just a tad bit lazy with my blogging...and laundry...and dishes...and keeping the house nice and clean. Seriously, my first trimester all I wanted to do was lay around and play with Kai, so that's pretty much all I did. When he took a nap, I would take a nap and when he would sit and read (not very often) I would sit and read. I mean, don't get me wrong, the house wasn't in total chaos. It's not like one of those houses they show on Hoarders or anything, I just didn't do my daily routine and MAN has it been hard to get back into gear. Slowly but surely I'm starting to feel "normal". Though I will admit that my first trimester was quite a breeze (I apologize to all those who have had horrible first trimesters, I am in no way trying to brag...okay, maybe just a little). I felt nauseous every so often, but it really wasn't that bad. My main symptom was being tired and even then it wasn't as bad as when I was pregnant with Kai. I had nights that I would be in bed by 8:00, but a majority of my exhaustion would hit me between 1:00 and 4:00. There was one day I took Kai into his room, popped in a movie on our little portable dvd player and took a nap in his bed while he watched Finding Nemo for the millionth time. Hey, judge all you want, but it was better than the day when I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to Malachi sitting in the kitchen sink spraying water all over the kitchen with the hose. Awesome...yeah...not so much.

So here is our little story about this pregnancy. Well first, a little background: most of you know, well those who actually read this, that Malachi was not exactly planned. And by not exactly I mean, we didn't want to get pregnant for another 2 or so years. So clearly he was quite the surprise. Thankfully, God knew what he was doing, as He always does, and blessed us with this bundle full of energy right when we needed it. And looking at the calendar and when Malachi was actually conceived...well, let's just say it really shouldn't have been scientifically possible. So anyway, I always wanted to have my kids about 2 years apart and Brian kept saying "we're not ready yet...we're not ready yet...we're not ready yet..." and I just about wanted to rip my hair out. And as much as I hate to admit it...he was right. Dangit. So finally around March or April of this year I put my foot down and said, "August. We're going to start trying in August" Now to give a little more background information, we really want to have summer babies. Not that we're biased to how great our first summer baby turned out (which is pretty much perfect ahem ahem), but because of Brian's work schedule. The summer time is the most flexible time in his schedule and we wouldn't have to worry if he was on the road for a game or anything. Boy would that be the pits!! So anyway, we went along with our merry little selves and didn't think about having another kid...until August.

August. Hello "let's get knocked up" month. I am already a psycho. I have completely mapped out my month on when I am ovulating and when the best times would be to get pregnant. I have them in my planner on the counter and I have them cleverly scheduled into my phone to remind me every hour. Complete psycho. In the back of my head though I am thinking, "well shoot last time I got pregnant I'm pretty sure Brian just looked at me and BAM I was knocked up soooooo this should be a breeze." I'm already calculating when the baby would be due, when we'll tell family (immediately duh) and when the family would come into town and so on. So August comes and goes...and I am not pregnant. WHAT THE HECK!?! This whole "try to get pregnant" thing is a rip off. I worked really hard this month and received NO reward. HELLLLLLLO?! Good I didn't want a baby anyway...but wait, I was just kidding, I still really want a baby. Everyone around me is announcing they are pregnant or having babies and this is so dumb that I can't be one of them. I hate this. I'm not trying anymore. I hate losing at my own games. NO MORE BABIES FOR ME.

September. I REALLY WANT A BABY!!! Psycho me is still on a roll. Seriously, the calculating, buying a basal thermometer, ovulation cycle, the works. IT'S GAME TIME. CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE (Friday Night Lights reference...if you haven't seen that show, go rent the whole series now. Seriously stop reading this until you've rented it) Where was I? Oh yes...so ovulation dates come and go. This sucks. I just know I am not pregnant. I have been way too stressed about this game and I don't like it. No way, no how am I pregnant. I glance at the calendar: "home pregnancy test should work today"......oh what is this? I just happen to have a home pregnancy test just sitting there under my bathroom sink waiting to get peed on. "Don't waste it this month you are not pregnant...yes but I need to pee anyway, I may as well put this sucker to use"..........a few long minutes later. WHAAAAAAAAAAAT THE.......Brian is this positive? "I don't know it's kinda light"....20 minutes later I am back from the store buying a different pregnancy test (or multiple different tests). BAM. It's positive. I don't even feel anything. I can't feel my legs. I can't feel my hands. What else do I do? Pee on another test to make sure...DUH. Yep, it's positive again. Okay...okay...breathe.

Next day we call our parents. Brian to his dad, "so....uhhh...Lyndsey MIGHT be pregnant" Hmmmmm not sure I would have put it the same way, but it works. Finally it starts to sink in and I start getting excited. I call the doctor and they have me come in to do "their test" followed with a "okay see you in 4wks" Ummmm what? 4 weeks? I have to wait a whole month to see the doctor? Is this a joke? This is going to be the longest month of my life...

HORRAY I am 8 weeks and have my very first appointment! Just the typical run of the mill stuff: pee in a cup, family history, medical history, yearly check up. "Fun" stuff. And of course I told a little tiny fib about not knowing when my last menstrual cycle was because I was told by a reliable source that if I "forgot" that type of information I could get an ultrasound. For some reason this place ONLY gives you an ultrasound at 20 weeks unless you weren't sure when you got pregnant, so of course, I FORGOT!! Which actually turned out to be correct...I was a week further along than I thought (always welcomed news right there)...or I just have one huge baby. Either way, we were able to see and hear our little "bug" moving all around. Kai went with me (at this point I was 11 weeks) and when I told him it was his brother or sister all he kept saying was "BUG!! BUG!! BUG!!" Can't really blame him there.

So here I am holding strong at about 15 weeks. Just waiting to find out if we're having a little boy or girl. I really really want another little boy, but after much thought (and LOTS of prayer) I will be excited to have a little girl. I guess we'll find out in about a month!!

Here's to hoping I can stop slacking on this blog posting. No promises though...

Lazy Muffins

Seriously if you have 10 seconds you can whip these up. Okay, you got me on the 10 seconds, but would you believe a few minutes? Yes, they are made from a box, kind of, but they are magically delicious (not to be confused with the Lucky Charms slogan)! All you need is a box of spice cake mix and a can of pumpkin, but make sure it's not pumpkin pie mix, has to be just plain ole pumpkin. Then ALL you do is mix these 2 ingredients together (yep nothing else just the dry mix and pumpkin) spray your muffin tin, plop some mix in there and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Big bang BOOYA SUCKERS they are done and phenomenal. I mean, I'm no food critic but I thought they were yummy. And yes you can get all fancy with your glazes and frostings, but I'm a simple gal and just made plain old glaze free pumpkin muffins. Deal with it and enjoy.


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Flutter Kick

So I have this whole big "Colorado Trip" blog post that I will get to in a few (or so) days, but for right now let me just give you a glimpse of my sleeping arrangement. Now whenever I'm at home and Brian is out of town a thought always crosses my mind, "wouldn't it be great if Malachi slept in my bed and I could just snuggle him a little bit like when he was teeny tiny?" Wellllllllll let's just say this weekend confirmed my theory of why I never actually let him sleep in my bed...ever. I do NOT sleep. Now my eyes will be closed...correction, AN eye will be closed but ding dang does that kid twist and turn over the WHOLE bed, no matter the size of the bed. Now I will say that his whole routine was completely messed up (no nap all weekend when he usually naps for 3hrs) so he may not normally sleep like that but WOW. Seriously?

Let me paint you a picture. It's 7pm (or 8 or 9 or 10...what? We were on vacation!) and my mind starts letting me think, "Malachi will be asleep soon sooooo relax" and so I get Kai all ready, bathed, dressed, teeth brushed, fan on, story read, lights off, tucked in and he should be fast asleep right? Especially after not having a nap? Yeah, right. Not a chance. Now normally when we're at home I won't lay with Kai until he's asleep but since we're not at home he tends to get out of bed a million times so to save my sanity I lay with him. And lay with him..and lay with him...and lay with him. As I'm laying there I can tell Malachi is overtired and completely restless. Suddenly his legs literally start doing flutter kick. And it starts escalating. The kicks get faster and faster for about 10 LOOOONG minutes. Now 10 minutes doesn't seem long and it typically wouldn't be BUT when you're laying there waiting for your kid to sleep it feels like an HOUR and I can't tell him to stop because as soon as I acknowledge him he thinks it's funny and does it even longer (learned that lesson Friday night). So after 10 minutes his legs suddenly stop and he is completely OUT - like deep breathing, body relaxed, a fire alarm could go off and and he would not budge OUT. He did this every.single.night when we were there. Then he would sleep soundly until about 2am and then would become a restless sleeping fool. Literally all over the bed...one minute I'm a pillow, the next I am a kicking/punching bag. Insanity. Needless to say I was glad to be back in my own bed last night...even if it was at 2am. And just to be fair, I'm pretty sure Malachi was happy to be back in his own bed too. Love that kid, despite the craziness.


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Seriously, is this normal?

It was one of those moments that I turned the corner and thought, "WHERE IS MY CAMERA" instead of worrying about him smashing his head on the floor. Seriously, I need to buy this kid a harness...or maybe just his own personal rock wall that he can climb because all this climbing is getting out of control. And I mean OUT.OF.CONTROL.

Bath

So today Malachi may or may not have taken an hour long bath because 1. he would NOT stop asking me to watch Finding Nemo all day 2. I needed to get my load of laundry folded without being unfolded a million times and 3. when I said no to watching Nemo (he had already had his "tv time" for the day) he would NOT stop asking me to go swimming. Well guess what, it's a whopping 70 degrees out and is really not ideal swimming weather so I went for the next best thing...a nice long bath time. It seemed to do the trick: got my laundry folded, he got to "swim" and he didn't ask for Nemo...until he got out of the tub, but hey after an hour long break I was all rejuvenated and had no problem saying no a million more times. Sometimes a mom has to do what a mom has to do in order to keep our sanity :o)


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Mi Familia.

Okay, I know you probably read the title of this post and thought, "oh great, she's going to do some sobby sappy post about how great her family is blah blah blah", but guess what? You're wrong. It's about how NOT great they are. Kidding...totally kidding. They are AMAZING, but that is not what this quick little diddy of a post is about. That post would take FOREVER to write, and let's be honest, I don't really want to write about that right now. I just wanted to say that having family live close by has been THE BEST. I would say "bomb diggity", but that saying is SOOOO 1990s. Pssssh.

Since Shanna and Aaron have moved to Overland Park, we have seen them pretty much every weekend. A couple of sleepovers and a couple of day trips and I'm pretty sure we saw them almost every weekend in August. It's been my favorite. My friend Lori, who lives here in the Burg even admitted, "I'm getting sick of those people"...she said it jokingly, but I'm thinking there was a little truth to that ;o) Anyway, they live about an hour away, which is just far enough where we (or they) can stay a night or two or go home. They've stayed with us a couple times and we've stayed up there...once. Yep, only once. Want to know why? Of course you do you little blog stalkers. Well it was all going great - Kai fell asleep in a "big boy" bed without me having to lay down with him, without getting up and without any tears. Big surprise there...no, seriously, not being at all sarcastic (rare for me, I know). So I'm downstairs fist pumping and doing my little celebration dance when 11:oop rolls around. Clearly I am not still fist pumping after 5 hours. I know I can get a little out of control, but come on! Shanna, Brian and I are in the kitchen having a good heart to heart conversation when we hear, THUD. Now I'm going to be honest, I really didn't think anything of this overly loud thud, but Shanna said, "Ummm I think Kai fell out of bed" I wanted to say, "Ummmm no he didn't let's just fist pump", but instead we fly up the stairs (we are both light on our feet clearly) and peeked in the door. Now I can't say for sure if Malachi actually did fall off the bed, but he was awake and staring at me like a deer in headlights. So I waltz over to the bed (seriously, I'm light on my feet) and lay him back down, tuck him in, make sure he has his Jelly (his little lamb) and glide over to the door trying to creep out, hoping he'll just zonk out. No such luck. The kid starts crying and crying and in fear of waking any of her girls up I throw in the towel and go to bed. Or so I tought. Kai had other plans...this bugger is wide awake and ready to play. I try to lay with him, get him back to sleep but he is tossing and turning, wiggling all over and continues to lay horizontally kicking Brian in the kidneys ( so Brian claimed). So 1:00am rolls around and Malachi is pretty much having a dance party in the room. At this point I've given up all hope and just turn on the light. He's spinning around, playing with a couple of toys from his bag, eating fruit snacks (also found those in his bag) and just having a blast. On the other hand Brian is passed out on the floor (he moved from the bed to the floor so Kai wouldn't permanently injure a kidney blah blah blah) and I have holding my eyes open to make sure I don't fall asleep. Lord knows what Kai would have done with both his parents OUT. Needless to say it was a VERY long night, which is why we have only stayed up there once. I think our next time up there we are going to do a little rearranging and stick Gillian in a pack n' play (Malachi will NOT sleep in a pack n' play - straight up refuses) and then stick Kai in her crib. We are hopeful that this will work. But I guess we'll see on our next adventure up there.

As I was saying, before I was completely distracted by my story about why we have only stayed up there once, as if it needed to be justified, I just LOVE LOVE LOVE having family close. I love how Kai will say "Gillian" (he pronounces it G-ian) and "Melanie" (pronounced May-AH-nee) when he sees their pictures, how his face literally lights up when I tell him we're going to see them, how he runs around the house screaming at the top of his lungs chasing the girls, and how he takes their baby dolls and walks around with them whisperings "shhhh shhhh" and burps them. I just love watching him play with them; getting rowdy with Melanie and being gentle with Gillian. I LOVE IT! And of course I love being able to visit with Shanna and Aaron, but that's a given. We're not sure how long we'll live this close so it is my personal mission to take advantage of it as much as possible and I think so far I have definitely made the most of it!!

Picking blackberries.

A little cousin pool time.

Snuggles watching Tangled.

Cupcake cone envy?

Painting Kai's fingernails (Brian was thrilled...)

Lunchtime on the porch.

How to Train a Dragon (I think.)

Brian pushing all the kids to the park.

Racing up!

Getting dirty.

DIGGER!!

Finding Nemo

Today was the first time Kai has watched Finding Nemo. There isn't really any reason of why he hasn't seen it before other than he asks to watch Buzz every.single.day. So today I went and switched it up on him...and this is how he sat for a good 40 minutes straight, which is pretty much a record for him sitting still. Kid cracks me up...


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Climber

Okay, so Kai has always been a a climber. Always. But lately he's been taking climbing to the extreme. Well, as extreme as you can get with climbing at te age of 2. The other day I caught him attempting to shimmy his way UP the door frame to his room...later that same day I caught him successfully shimmy his way up the same door frame. I mean, he was only a couple of inches off the ground, but still! Then when I thought he was quietly playing in his room I go searching for him...he had climbed up the book shelf in the office. And when I was feeding Tristan he climbed up our dresser. Yes, our whole dresser that is 6 drawers high!! He had gotten the bottom one out just enough to make it an easier climb. You know the things that go through your mind when you're watching your 2 year old try to pull himself up onto your dresser? Well, my first thought was, quick grab your camera, but then it was, "this kid is going to break his neck" soooooo for once I chose safety first and got him down. Last week he climbed INTO his crib, laid down and took a nap. And the one thing he has been climbing repeatedly is his bathroom sink. Another time I thought he was being nice and quiet playing in his room and suddenly I realize that the water is running...I instantly ask myself if maybe I just had a "mom moment" and forgot to shut the water off until I notice the light is on and hear a burst of laughter. Yep, it was Kai splashing water all over the mirror and laughing at himself hysterically. That is until he saw me, shot me a look like, "Uh-oh am I in trouble?" But once I smiled he went right back to splashing and laughing. This kid....





-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Snuggling Sunday.

I just love these boys so much and it just melts my heart when Kai gives big snuggles to his Daddy. We love when Brian is home and are taking advantage of every day in these next few weeks!


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Buzz Lightyear

The other day Kai and I had to run to Wal-Mart for a couple of unnecessary items. I mean, why else do you run to Wal-Mart except to buy things that you really don't need. You go for milk and end up spending $100 and when you get home you realize you bought everything in the store except milk. Dangit. Now i have to go back. It's a vicious cycle, really. Anyway, upon arrival at the glorious Warrensburg Wal-Mart I run straight to the toy aisle to let Kai pick out a ridiculously over-priced toy that I know I will never personally buy him. Why? Because I'm the most loving, caring mom ever...AND by letting him play with this toy it gives him the sense that I am the best mom ever since I always put his needs first and get him toys, though they never actually make it out of the store and into our home. See, it's all mind games! And I can be pretty good at mind games. What?!? No I don't let him play with these toys for my own shopping sanity. How dare you assume that! Excuse me?! No I don't let him play with these toys to avoid judgmental glares from all the people who do NOT have kids and think I should be able to control the 2 year old in my cart, who may or may not be mine, that happens to be having the world's biggest melt down over a gardening tool I won't let him carry throughout the store because I don't want to end up in the ER later because he has aerated his leg. You have some nerve to assume that. I let him play with these toys because his little mind is like a sponge and playing with new things helps build his creative thinking. It's all about thinking outside the box isn't it? One day when he's accepting some major smarty pants award I'm pretty sure in his acceptance speech he'll say, "and I'd like to thank my mom for carting me around Wal-Mart and letting me play with all the toys she never actually bought me..." See? I do it for his OWN good so I am done defending myself...now where was I? Oh yes, the toy aisle. So we're walking down the aisles and I'm waiting for the perfect squeal from him so I know which toy will keep his attention the longest. Suddenly I hear, "Buuuzzzzzzzz I wuv you!!!" I literally slam on the cart breaks. "Buuuzzzzzzzz I wuv you!!!" I hear again. Ding ding ding folks we have a winner! I grab the $40 Buzz and watch as Kai's body starts to convulse with excitement. I immediately whip out my phone and send this picture to my mom, Rachel and Brian.

No, you cannot tell how excited he is in the picture, but this was followed by a video of him confessing his love to Buzz throughout the store (I have yet to figure out how to download videos from my phone to Blogger...) Seriously for 20 minutes while I went from aisle to aisle getting my unnecessary items all I hear is "Buuuzzzzzzzz I wuv you!!!" and "toooooo the rescue" and a fairly good attempt at saying "to infinity and BEYOND!", which came out as more of a "mumble mumble mumble AND BEYOND" - seriously so cute. So I start heading to the check out line. In the beginning of my love affair with Wal-Mart I would put the toy back in it's appropriate place before heading to the checkout, but then I would have to make a mad dash to keep freak-outs to a minimum. So now I just bring it to the check out and make the employees put it back. Some may consider this rude, but I'm trying to keep judgmental glares to a minimum, so I think it's actually quite genius. So as I approach the counter my Mom texts me that I NEED to get Buzz for Kai, Grammie's treat. My mind went back and forth: Get it? Don't get t? Get it? Don't get it? Then I go to take Buzz from Kai's hands and the little bottom lip starts pouting out and I see tears starting to form in the corner of his baby blue eyes. That's when the words fall out of my mouth, "could you just scan it from the cart?"

Now let's talk about the drive home. We live literally 5 minutes from Wal-Mart and the whole ride home "Buzzzzzz ouuuuuut! Buzzzzzz ouuuuuuut!" holy cow why didn't I pack my Swiss Army knife?!? No! NOT to gouge my ears out so I could not hear the screaming, so I could get Buzz out of the adult proof box. Maybe I should have bought a knife at Wal-Mart because Lord knows they sell them there. When we get home Kai makes a drop dead sprint for the door, Buzz in hand and screaming "Buzzzzzz ouuuut!" He was kind enough to stop in his tracks and smile for this picture, but then quickly got irritated that I was taking his picture instead of getting Buzz out of the box. Shoot kid, when will you learn patience?

Finally after a full out battle with that box that not even a rabid raccoon could get into if there was a raw piece of meat in, Buzz was released into the hands of one very very VERY EXCITED 2 year old who immediately started flying Buzz around "TO THE RESCUE!" I seriously smiled for an hour straight watching him play with Buzz.

So Buzz is now just a part of the family. When Kai took a shower Buzz sat on Mommy and Daddy's bed so Kai could see him. He was the first thing he grabbed after the shower, still soaking wet and then flew around the house "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!" butt ass naked.

And when Kai had to go nigh-night, he had to make sure Buzz was all tucked in first...on the extremely comfortable wooden stool with a spit-up cloth as a blanket.

And when he woke up the next morning he screamed "BUZZZZZZ" as he ran to get him. Then played with him all morning, gave him some snacks and lots of cuddles.

And then later Kai insisted we bring him on our errands...thankfully NOT to Wal-Mart otherwise we would have probably walked out with Woody...

And with every meal Kai insists that Buzz have a small portion, he even wipes his face when he's done. Space Rangers need to be strong and healthy too...right?

So yes, Buzz is now a part of our family and honestly I would have known that Kai would have this much love for Buzz, I probably wouldn't have been such a cheapo and bought him the ding dang toy a long time ago. Thank goodness Grammie came to the rescue! Without Grandparents I'm starting to think Kai wouldn't have any toys. I'll just blame Brian ;o)

-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Music and Memories.

Okay, you know when you're driving around town running errands, or in my case driving all the way to freakin frackin Kansas City to run errands, and you have your iPod/iPhone on shuffle and a song comes on that INSTANTLY reminds you of a person? Now whether good or bad, you just think of that person the whole time the song plays and then you remember how much you love that song and make a mental note to play it more often. Unless of course it's a song that brings back bad memories, then you make a PHYSICAL note to delete that song immediately off your ipod because you never want to hear it or think of that person again. No, I do not have a specific example to this one, just throwing it out there for all you haters. Anyway, I digress... Been there? Yeah, well it happened to me the other day and I just smiled from ear to ear listening to the song on repeat literally about 7 times. This got me to thinking how often this happens, so I started making a list over the next couple of days. Pathetic? Yes, probably, but I love music, listen to it every day, almost all day and so I thought it would be fun. So here it goes...along with a brief brief brief part of their stories, in no particular order...

1. Brian: Take Me As I Am by Wyclef. This was our wedding song - the song makes us dance, makes us smile and it just happens to be in one of my favorite movies of all time, Love Actually. And did I mention I love Wyclef too? Because I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSzx2SaEgvo&ob=av3e

2. Kula: The Promise by Tracy Chapman. Kula lived with us for the summer after her freshman year and listened to this song over and over and over because she had just broken up with her boyfriend. To this day, I love this song, though it is somewhat of a sad song...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvC77iWO648

3. Alyson: Somebody Told Me by the Killers. Going to be honest, I do not remember exactly how this song became such a long running joke for us, and I have lots of songs that remind me of Alyson, but this one is still used as a joke...and quite often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5fBdpreJiU&ob=av2e

4. Lori: The Climb by Hannah Montana. I'm just going to leave this one alone... :o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs

5. Rarr: Don't Kiss and Don't Tell by G-Love. Oh my my my. I can't thank this girl enough for introducing me to G-Love. Seriously, LOVE him and all because of her. Any G-Love song that comes on I instantly think of her. G-Love and Pat Green. Amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipPmklBJ6Es

6. Katie Peck: Walk on the Ocean by Toad the Wet Sprocket. So one summer, Peck, Kula and I all decided to drive a million bajillion miles north to visit our good friend Schneider up in Canada. This was on a mixed cd that Peck had made for our many miles. I think they got annoyed that I wanted to listen to it on repeat...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcHB060NKYo

7. Rinny: Everything by Lifehouse. At training camp one year, I think it was training camp, Rinny and I listened to this over and over, ranting and raving about how great the lead singers voice was. There is this one part where his voice squeaks and ohhhhhh did we love it. For real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjDojEOiMcE

8. Fiona: Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells. Back when Jr High was called Jr High and not Middle School, Fiona and I would literally lay by the radio trying to catch the extended version so we could record it on our cassette tape. WOW, that was a long time ago. We also used to call the radio station, Oldies 100.9, a thousand times just to request it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpGEeneO-t0

9. Mom: Cherry Bomb by John Melloncamp. On one of our many family road trips to who knows where, my dad had bought the John Melloncamp's Greatest Hits cd so we listened to this cd quite a bit during our drive, but my mom put this song on repeat for about 5hrs straight. True story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF0gsbQKhD8&ob=av2e

10. Sisters: Stuck in the Middle by Mika. Now I honestly have a different song for each of them BUT the one song that always reminds me of all us is this song. It's so fun and makes me smile every time. Miss them. TONS.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0soIRsrjLXo

11. Angela: I'll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy...at least that's what he was going by when I loved the song. I remember sitting in my room listening to this with her in the 7th grade with my awesome cloud wallpaper (seriously, who let me do choose that wallpaper?) For whatever reason it stuck with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM0-ZU8njdo

12. Amber: Champagne High by Sister Hazel. Honestly not sure where or when this song or this group came into our life, but I remember listening to this song and their cd 'Chasing Daylight' with Amber all the time. I need more Sister Hazel in my life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oLcDhIWxuY&ob=av2e

13. Michelle: Yellow by Coldplay. Freshman year dorm roomie!! We listened to this song every.single.night while we fell asleep. We had some good times in Parmalee #383

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwjX4dG72s&ob=av2e

14. Lindsay Thomas: Any Celine song. Yep, we're obsessed. We went to her concert, sat right near Jerry Rice and were in awe of how amazing she is. Seriously, make fun of us all you want, but Celine in concert is unbelievable. Lindsay and I even joked about trying to be one of her back-up dancers...except I wasn't joking.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNwiSx_JkMM

15. Lindsey Williams: You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon. I can't tell you the number of times we would hear this song when we went over to the Williams. Every time we were over there Matt would play this song and this is not a complaint because I love it! This and Fleetwood Mac remind me of Lindsey. I miss our card nights. What happened to Australia 2010? Kids happened...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq-gYOrU8bA&ob=av3n

16. Melissa: Yeah by Usher. This song was always always always playing during volleyball game warm-ups AND Melissa just also happened to love this song. As did I and the rest of the United States. But now when I hear it I think "Warts" and volleyball. I miss this girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXbRBS5Z58

17. Adam: Are You That Somebody by Aaliyah. For whatever reason this was "our song" in the 7th or 8th grade. Adam loved the part with the fake baby crying. This song and any MJ/Jackson 5 or Red Hot Chili Peppers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M9BgfSHowg

18. Schneider: Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen. Though she's Canadian, I always thought this should be her "walk out" song for the 100 back for Finals. Unfortunately I don't think she ever listened...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZD4ezDbbu4

19. Dad: Wild Thing by The Troggs. My dad used to play this song all the time and then act like a crazy man when it was playing. At the time it was annoying, but now I think it's hilarious. Have to admit, when I hear I still play the air guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qHX493bB3U

20. Carlaw: Escape by Jimmy Buffet. This was one of those songs that was played ALL the time during swim practice. One morning us freshman took the girls to breakfast in the dorms after morning practice and Carlaw was singing this song, except she said, "in the dooms of the cake" - we died laughing. I'm sure no one else remembers this, but I do and I love it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVdhZwK7cS8

21. CeLes: Pump It by Black Eyed Peas. In the beginning of this song there is this "surf-type" music (for lack of a better way to explain it), so whenever this would play CeLes would jump up onto the diving blocks and "surf" until she busted out her dance moves. Funniest girl ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaI2IlHwmgQ&ob=av2n

22. Fischer: Escape by Enrique Inglesis. All I really have to say is that Fisch talked about how Enrique was her boyfriend every day until the day she graduated. Now she's married...Enrique in disguise?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mQJaXwGPlg&ob=av2e

23. Marcy Barrows: Iris by the Goo-Goo Dolls. I remember one morning when this came on right before morning practice and Marcy refused to start warm-up until the song was over. This song and any Dave Matthews or Bare Naked Ladies song - she's responsible for my love for all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYWuo9OFAw&ob=av2e

24. Woody: svefn-g-englar by Sigur Ros. Summer after my sophomore year I was going through a bit of a hard time and had major insomnia. Woody gave me this cd to try and help me sleep and I fell in love with them and this song. To this day if I can't sleep I whip this song out to help me relax.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWiJWLiSKro

25. Abi Iler: Your Body is a Wonderland by John Mayer. One morning after practice this song was playing and Abi asked our coach, "Hey John, when you're in the shower do you sing this?" and then burst into song "MY BODY IS A WONDERLAAAAAND" - I have never laughed so hard. I think I peed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5EnGwXV_Pg

26. Eliza: Not an Addict by K's Choice. I remember listening to this song during our many sleep overs and watching Robin Hood Prince of Thieves. I still have the mixed cd we made with this song and so many others on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cklb7L0OA1c

27. Joey: Ignition by R. Kelly. "I'm about to take my key and stick in the ignition..." Those lyrics pretty much sum it up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6y_4_b6RS8&ob=av2e

28. JT: Fix You by Coldplay. The summer that Brian and I got married we drove to Louisana with Brian's roommate, JT, to spend the 4th of July with his family. Probably one of the greatest trips - JT's family is amazing and we had so many laughs, tons of fun and lots of swimming. I had this cd in the car and we listened to this song every time we drove from his grandparent's to his cousins, where we were staying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI-o25K6B-E&ob=av3e

29. Robert: Buddy Holly by Weezer. No big story here, just introduced me to Weezer with this song and ever since then I have loved them. Even if my dad didn't let me buy their cds back in the day (can you say STRICT?) I could always count on the Thomas' to let me listen to theirs :o)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4&ob=av2e

30. Piepes: Over the Rainbow by Iz (Israel Kamakawiwo'ole). This was her wedding song and I remember thinking how much it suited them - such a beautiful song and such a beautiful couple. This song still makes me smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1bFr2SWP1I

And yes...I actually did watch every single video and listen to every single song. I love music, I love the memories and I miss everyone. Lots. And yes, I might be slightly crazy with this post. Slightly...

Rough Nights.

Why is it that whenever you think things are going well something will happen to make you check yourself? Seriously. This past weekend Brian and I went shopping for big boy beds for our little man. He has been sleeping like a champ for a solid 12hrs and taking good 2-3hr naps so we thought now was a good time to pull the transition. And then last night happened...

Now I'm not going to lie, Brian and I have been staying up WAAAY too late watching Friday Night Lights. I know, I know, we are WAY behind with the times seeing as the show just ended, but now it's on Netflix and we can watch it episode after episode after episode. Monday night we stayed up until almost 2am watching it. Those are like pre-kid bedtime hours! No joke, we have issues here! I know you're probably wondering what this has to do with Kai's sleeping habits...well let me tell you. Since we stayed up so late Monday night (or Tuesday morning, depending on how you want to look at it) we decided to show some adult discipline and go to bed early. Yes, early is all relative and we actually didn't get to bed until 10:30 or so, but compared to 2am that IS early. So it's 10:30ish...okay probably closer to 11...and we are all snuggled up in bed when I start having a coughing attack. I have been sick lately and have had this cough for about a week and though I tried to keep the coughing to a minimum, at least minimum noise, I was very unsuccessful. You know when that itch in your throat just creeps in and gets stronger and stronger until you can't stand it? Yeah, that was me. Finally the coughing ceases and I am on the brink of falling asleep when I hear Kai stirring in his room, which instantly makes my ears perk up. I can hear him through the baby monitor tossing and turning, heavy sighs, restless sleep. I know it's only a matter of time before he actually wakes up. He starts doing little whimpers for a few minutes but then is quiet. I allow myself to relax again when he suddenly starts screaming, which is totally uncharacteristic of him. Normally I am not so jumpy to go get him, but since I was sick, I instantly think that he's probably not feeling well and am eager to make sure he doesn't have a fever. So I get up and go get him, check his temp (no fever, thankfully) give him some milk and bring him in to see his Daddy. Though he did see Brian briefly last night, he did not see him RIGHT before bed AND when he doesn't see his daddy before nigh-nights he tends to not sleep well, so in my state of sleep deprivation, I think that by seeing his daddy it will fix the problem and he'll go right back to sleep. WRONG! He starts screaming and screaming and screaming. So, again, I go get him and he runs to the living room, full of energy and ready to play. I decide to let him play for an hour or so, which brings us to about 3:30a. And I thought staying up until 2a was late. Oh joy. However, he was perfectly content playing by himself so he didn't require me bring my "A game" to the table. Phew.

So 3:30a rolls around and I ask him if he's ready for nigh-night. He literally stands up, puts his toys away and walks to his room. Hold up!!! This never happens without me asking! Am I dreaming or did my kid turn into a zombie? Both? Yeah, that's what I thought. Either way I drag, better yet, I stumble into his room and lay him down, thinking "ahhhh finally I'm going go get some sleep." I shut his door and SCREAMING begins. Are you flipping kidding me? I go into our room to consult Brian, who is definitely NOT with it. We do the one thing we swear we'd never do...put him in bed with us. I know, I know, I already feel your harsh judgment. But let's ease up a little bit, I WAS sleep deprived here people! I can't say I'm proud of our decision, but I will tell you it definitely didn't help. Kai literally laid there talking to himself, playing with my hair, playing with the blankets, patting my back when I coughed, faked his own coughing attack, giggled, sat up, laid down, sat up, laid down, sat up, laid down. Suddenly it's 4:45a. I am going to rip all of my hair out if Kai hasn't already done it. Brian finally "threatens" Kai with having to go into his own room if he's not going to sleep and literally 2 minutes later he is sound asleep...taking over the whole bed and taking names. So much for any sleep whatsoever. The funny thing is, he woke up bright eyed and full of energy ready to go.

Hopefully this was a one night ordeal because Brian and I both agreed that if it happens again tonight we're going to have to let him cry it out, which is never a fun experience...EVER. I do have to give Brian a "shout out" because he did indeed offer to get up with Kai from his very first whimper. He's pretty great like that and most of the time, when things like this happen he is the one who actually gets up with him. Sooooo pretty much what I'm saying is, that if this happens again tonight, I'm going to play dead and let Brian deal with it. Boom. :o)


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Name Brands

So lately I've been trying to be more wise with money and my spending habits. Since Brian and I have been married I have openly admitted that I don't really understand the value of a dollar. I always think $100 can get me a lot further than it really can. So, since we moved into our house Brian has put me on budget lockdown, which I surprisingly didn't fight. I admit I like to spend. Because of this major "lockdown" I have started really paying attention to what I'm spending at the grocery store and how I can save money. This brings me to my point: goodbye name brands, hello Great Value Wal-Mart brand! Now I admit it has been a slower process than I would like, but it's kind of a trial and error type thing. I have to try the off brand to make sure it tastes like the "real deal". If I can tell a major difference I won't continue to buy it and will typically make Brian finish it (shhhh don't tell him!) I first started noticing the price difference with Coffeemate. The Great Value one is a whole $1.00 cheaper, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up, especially with all the other products! Of course there are my things that I just cannot bring myself to buy the off brand version of. These include: soda of any kind, Bounty paper towels, Dunkin Donuts coffee, pickles, chocolate chips, Ranch dressing, and Honey Nut Cheerios...just to name a few. Recently I have converted to the off brand with Coffeemate, yogurt, milk (including the organic milk for Kai), cereals, cereal bars for Kai, spices and seasonings, frozen waffles, frozen and canned veggies, apple sauce, juice, canned fruits, trash-bags and a lot of others. And I have always used the off brand of medicine thanks to my brother in-law who told me that's what all the hospitals use anyway and are ten times cheaper.

So if you are a name brand snob like I once was (and still kind of am) bring your own stuff to our place because we're all Great Valued out!! Judge all you want ;o)


-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

Big Brother

No I am not pregnant, but it makes my heart happy watching Kai with Tristan. He just loves her to pieces. He always wants to help with everything. He wants to hold the bottle when I'm feeding her, burp her when she's done eating, gets so so so so excited and giggles when she finally burps and when I change her diaper he says "ucky ucky mommy!" and then runs to get his stuffed monkey, shoves the monkey butt in my face screaming "ucky" and then insists on wiping and putting a diaper on the monkey. It seriously makes me smile from the inside out to see how much he loves her...except when he wants to play with her and attempts to lift her up by the arm and when he pegs her on the head with a ball. Gotta watch that kid like a hawk. When she starts crying he'll run over to her and say "shhhhh shhhhh it otay 'ristan" and then rubs her belly and gives her kisses. And when she wakes up from her nap and is crying, he'll sprint down to my room and say "NO NO! 'elp 'elp!" Gosh he is going to be the best big brother....whenever that will be!



-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old

A Typical Day

I am going to give you a quick glimpse of what my day looks like, in picture book form...

Kai woke up and immediately started looking at the Buzz Lightyear costume in the new In-Step catalog. I guess he's getting a jump start to making his Christmas list...

Then Tristan showed up (the new baby I started watching last week). Shortly after she came they both went down for a nice long nap...sort of...

After Kai woke up we ate some lunch. Today was a special day because I let him eat while watching Toy Story 3. Its not every day he gets to watch TV in the afternoon AND eat his lunch at the same time! Lately he has been obsessed...and I mean OBSESSED with Buzz. He asks to watch it every 30 seconds, seriously. And it is the ONLY movie he will sit and watch the entire time. Good thing I like that movie, though Brian has forbidden me to watch the end because I cry like a baby every time. Literally go into weep mode. Don't judge, I'm sensitive!

After lunch we have some art time. Lately I have been bringing this activity into the garage, but the music was playing in our "office" and Kai found a nifty place to put the paper he wanted to color on. We had lots of fun coloring and dancing, but Kai only wanted to use the green marker. Good choice kid.

There were sirens in the song and this was the face I got...hilarious!

He does not take his art work lightly! Very focused.

I tried to give him a blank piece of paper to color on but he insisted he use the post office "how to change your address online" sheet. Anyway, TAAAA DAAAAA, finished product.

A little pool time of course (twice a day, every day).

Gymnastics off the couch...everyday activity, obviously.

Gotta have at least one solid singing performance a day!

And then come the faces...

My favorite of the day...

And then of course dinner, more arts and crafts, more pool (in our jammies...unplanned), bath time, brushing teeth and nigh-night, but tonight was not one worth taking picture of. He was one cranky kid and I was one tired mama. Maybe tomorrow :o)

-blogging on the go chasing my 2yr old