I'm not feeling particularly bloggy tonight. In fact I'm a little grumpy. But, I still had to show off my "new" old carpenter's desk. I found it at a little flea market by my house and I'm very excited about it. I didn't actually love it at first glance, but the more I walked by it the more it captured me and I had to have it. Now I can't wait to paint it and put a cute little knob on the drawer.

The only problem now is that I actually have to decide on a paint color. I can't even decide what kind of ice cream I want when it's my birthday. Ugh! Any suggestions?

Samm's cute dance...too bad I'm not very bright

Samm had a little in class performance last night at her dance class that was so cute. She absolutely loves going to class every week and talks about her big performance all year long. These little in class ones aren't quite as big of a deal, but the kids still love that they get to perform for all the parents.

Waiting for the music to start

Posing with James afterwards. Oh how he wishes he could dance too.

So, why am I not very smart? There are so many things that could be said here, but I'll stick to the point of this post. I video taped the whole dance so I could post it for you all to see, but I had the camera turned side ways and apparently you can't rotate video clips like you can pictures.

I was going to go ahead and post the video anyway, and tell you all to just tilt your heads, but I've tried three times now and something is wrong with blogger so I'm giving up. Sorry

I'm a real Mom!

Today was the last day of fall break, so Samm and I spent the day knee deep in tulle making her Halloween costume. It's the first time I've ever made one of my kid's costumes and I feel like I've gone through some right of passage into real motherhood.

Usually I just buy the ridiculously over priced costumes from the store because I'd rather pay the money instead of spend my time being frustrated. But this year since Samm wanted to be a pumpkin fairy I figured I could save some serious cash and make the costume myself. Ironically, the one she wanted from The Children's place was thirty bucks and I think I spent close to that making it myself.

We had a good time together though, and I have to say I am feeling rather proud of myself. James was pretty happy today too, because I finally let him try on his over sized Star Wars suit that he has been begging me to wear for the last two weeks.

This is just a sneak peek at the costume. I don't want to ruin the surprise for my Halloween pictures. There is also a pumpkin wand, (hence the pumpkin fairy) and a tiara. And no I did not make the wings. I was going to, but then I saw these at Wal-Mart and the temptation was just too great.

We also had a fine display of artwork today from James

Wearing nothing but his skivvies.

Painting is pretty serious business around here!

Then he got a much needed haircut.

He even swept up his own hair afterwards. (I'm a big believer of child labor.)

And if your wondering where Macy was during all of this...well, the poor kid had to play by herself most of the day, but she was quite the trooper. She did have on big melt down...

But all she really needed was some food to fill up that big belly of hers and she was happy again

Don't worry, she got lots of luvin' once the craziness stopped.

Times when you wish a video camera was rolling

It went like this...

Josh swinging the broom at a mouse.

A scared little mouse running frantically in between my feet.

Me jumping up and down screaming.

James on the couch laughing.

And the fat lazy cat snoozing away on the fireplace.

Sick day or Play day?

At 6:00 this morning Samm crawled in bed with me complaining of a stomach ache. Macy has been sick for the last few days so I wasn't surprised at all. I let her stay home from school and figured that James should probably just stay home too. Apparently this stomach bug does cause some "issues" but does not affect your energy level at all.

This is what our living room looked like by 12:00!



I think it will be back to school tomorrow.

Finish what you start

I read a magazine article once about how to keep your life organized. Their golden advice was Finish what you start. That entails everything from big projects like painting the outside of your house (I think I bit off more than I could chew on that one) down to closing the cupboard door after you open it.

It seems like the most simple idea in the world. One that everyone already knows. The problem is that we know it, we just don't do it. For example. Everyday day I go out and check the mail. Instead of opening, sorting and filing it though, I do a quick scan of the pile and throw it on the counter. Once again failing to finish what I start. And adding to the huge pile that is always lurking on the end of my counter, which I hate!

As a matter of fact, I happen to be the queen of starting projects and never finishing them. Feel free to bestow this title upon yourself also if it applies. I'm always looking through magazines and reading design blogs to get fun ideas. I get really excited about an idea, buy my supplies, maybe start on it a month or two later, and then get frustrated and put it back in the closet.

So, this coming week has been declared as finish what you start week.

I actually started today by finally framing and hanging these pictures that I've had for two months now.


These pictures were drawn by my Grandma. Apparently she was quite the artist and I had no idea. Or at least I forgot. And what I really didn't know is that in the seventies she drew adds for J.C. Penny. Back before they used live models. I have three of those drawings that I need to get framed, but I missed the half off custom framing last week at Hobby Lobby, so I will have to wait until it comes around again. In the meantime, here is a little teaser of the very cool pictures that I got.

I know, it's OK to be jealous. And don't forget...Finish what you start!

Forgive me please while I vent

Since James is my only boy, I don't have anyone to compare him to directly. However, I do have four brothers so I think I know a thing or two about boys. And as the saying goes "boys will be boys." They instantly turn sticks into swords, their capacity to sit still is limited to about 2 minutes tops, and they all know how to make those really cool noises with their mouths.

So, I've met a few boys that sit quietly by their mother's sides and never hit the other kids, but come one, something is wrong with those kids right? At least that's what I like to tell myself.

And James is a typical boy. He is wild, but not wildly out of control. He does hit from time to time, but he's only 3 1/2 and he's still learning. And has been doing much better the last few months I might add. Unfortunately, just like his father, he has been marked as the problem kid in class.

A few weeks ago his preschool teacher called to inform me that he had had a little pooping accident at school. Well, first of all he's only been fully potty trained for the last 4 months. And, they told me when I signed him up that it was OK even if he wasn't fully trained and that the teachers would work with him. Second of all, instead of just calling to tell me that he had an accident, she pretended like she was calling to find out if he had extra clothes.

Yes he has extra clothes. They are in his cubby with his name on them!

OK so it wasn't that big of a deal until the next day when she called to inform me that James hit one of the little girls on her forehead so hard that it started to swell up and they had to put a cold compress on it. At first I just took her word for it, but after school James insisted that he didn't hit her with his hand, but he was swinging his head around. So, I called the teacher and this is how it went.

Me: Did you actually see James hit her with his fist?

Teacher: No, but that is what Chloe said happened. (Chloe is a 3yr old)

Me: Well, James said he accidentally hit her while he was swinging his head around.

Teacher: Well, Chloe said....You get the idea.

Let me just say. If you have a 3 yr old, you know that it is not physically possible for them to hit someone so hard with their hand that it swells up.

So, fast forward to today. Samm has had a runny nose for the last couple of weeks and now James has one to. My initial thought was that it was just a cold, but I'm actually thinking that it might be because of the cat. Josh has looked at both of them and said they were fine.

However, once again I get a phone call from the teacher in the middle of the day.

Teacher: James has mucus and a low grade fever.

Me: Oh, do I need to come get him?

Teacher: No, he can stay, but you need to take him to the doctor and make sure he isn't contagious.

Me: (a little bit confused) OK I'll call and make an appointment for him.

So I make the appointment for tomorrow and when I pick James up from school the assistant teacher hands me a paper that I need to have signed by the doctor. It says. James has yellowish mucus and a low grade fever of 97.6 degrees.

I'm sorry, did you go to college? Do you really have a teaching degree? 97.6 is not a low grade fever. It's not even a fever at all! Oh, and that yellowish mucus. It's called snot. Kids have that sometimes. Good thing someones tax dollars are going to be paying for that doctor visit tomorrow.

But here is the real kicker. During our conversation she actually said to me "I know he is sick because yesterday he stayed in one center all during center time and I usually have to tell him to just pick one. Then today he has been sitting and listening to me all day and usually he is bouncing off the walls."

So, because my son was being good he must be sick!

I don't know if I can handle this for another 7 months. I'm thinking about just pulling him out. After all, it's not like the kids not going to get into college someday because he didn't go to preschool.

One in a million

This morning as usual, I was exhausted by 9:30 am, so while my baby took a gloriously long 3 hour nap I took a little nap right along with her. Then after I picked up James from school I had the daunting task of taking him and Macy with me while I had some blood drawn. I should have done it while James was in school, but I wanted that nap pretty bad. Shockingly, it went fine. James didn't knock over anything and Macy never cried once.

Normally I wouldn't have pressed my luck any farther, but I must have been feeling adventurous because from the lab we went to Target to do a little grocery shopping. And you know what? There were no tantrums, no James running around crazy, and no screaming baby. I didn't even loose my temper once. In fact, I left the store feeling a little bit like superwoman.

And the rest of the day went like this...

Macy took another nap, Samm came home from school, I folded laundry, Josh called to tell me that he was coming home early, and we took the kids down the street to play at the elementary school while Josh jogged around the track and I pushed Macy in the stroller. Throw in a good hair day and a crock pot dinner and it was just about perfect. Too bad Mary Poppins didn't come by and snap her little fingers for me. As it stands, my house looks like a pack of wild Indians ran threw it.

I'm not going to complain though, not one little bit. This one in a million type day was an answer to the prayers of one very tired, overworked and underpaid mother. A small piece of Heaven to remind me why I keep plugging along day after tired day.

Happy Birthdy to my little Sambolina

(Lindsay, I thought about using your nickname in my title, but I didn't want any comments from crazy people accusing me of being racist! So I went with one I used to call her when she was little.)

6 Years Old!

She actually has to use both her hands now to show her age.

I know it's a little redundant to hear about how fast time goes when you have kids, but seriously it does! Samm has always been very mature for her age, and incredibly smart, so she has always seemed older than she really is, but now I feel like she really is older. And she is even more beautiful than she was last year, which I didn't think could be possible!

I have to admit, Samm and I didn't start out so good. She was a HORRIBLE baby. I actually remember sobbing one night when she was only a few weeks old because I felt like the worst mother in the world. At that very moment I actually wanted to take her to the hospital and give her back. She eventually grew out of her colic though, we began making her cry to sleep (the best thing we ever did for her) and we discovered that she was allergic to milk. So, after a couple of "what was I thinking" type months, Samm and I started over with our relationship.

Things are still rocky from time to time. We have very different personalities. Usually if we are in the car for more than fifteen minutes I have to enforce a no talking rule because the kid seriously loves to talk. But overall, she is the best kid anyone could ask for. She is so eager to please and really does tell me all day long how much she loves me. She hugs me throughout the day for no reason at all, and last week she folded an entire load of laundry for me just because she likes to be a good helper.

We love you Samm! I hope you liked your unicorn bash! It was fun for me, but now I'm exhausted and the house needs a serious scrub down. I think I've dug at least 7 sucker sticks out of the carpet already.

(I just got a random hug and kiss)

Making unicorn horns.

Unicorn Samm. I actually cut out, rolled together and glued those horns. Then I poked holes in the sides and tied on the elastic. It was a huge pain and so not worth it!

This pinata was very sturdy. I think all the kids had four turns before Josh finally just ripped it apart.

I waited until the last minute (literally) to get a cake, so my choices were limited. I'm pretty sure Samm didn't notice that the unicorns didn't match the frosting though.

We even had a few of the girls spend the night. This is Samm and her friend Savannah. I think the last one just finally fell asleep so I will be soon to follow.

And check out that adorable apron that Samm is wearing. It's reversible. Yes, I am actually jealous of a present that my 6 year old got. My friend Joni is just too cute. Check her out here.

And thank you Kory and Jeanette for all your help, I really appreciate it. And Josh too, you were awsome!

Doctors orders...you may want to keep your distance

I'm having a slight skin problem right now. OK so slight is putting it mildly. Basically my entire stomach, back, and chest (and by that I mean my womanly chest) is extremely dry and peeling off like after the worst sunburn you've ever had. Except, no sunburn.

So, after two months of exfoliating, baby oil, and lotion, I finally decided to go see the Doctor. Her initial reaction was "Huh! Wow!" Obviously something she had never seen before. I guess most people don't shed their skin on a regular basis.

So sorry if this is grossing you out.

Anyway, her gut feeling is that I'm allergic to something. Very possible. So for an entire week she told me to go without using any soaps, oils, or lotions. Yes, you read that right, no soap. I'm on the rinse cycle only right now.

She didn't say anything about deodorant though so I'm hoping I don't smell that bad. Please be a true friend though and let me know if I do. I would sure do the same for all of you!