A Hip-Hip-Hooray kinda-a-day

Ok, you might think Momma has fallen off her rocker for this post. I like to celebrate the simple joys within life, so I must share why I came super close to breaking into a celebration dance right in the middle of an aisle at my local Costco this afternoon. For any mom that has a family member that has a food sensory issue, you just might relate to my joy. My sweet Pirate boy has the most, I really mean THE MOST, acute sense of taste and smell. Some day this little guy is going to make millions from his taste buds & sniffer. His ability is truly amazing and continues to blow us away. I sure hope he remembers (I will be sure he does!) when he is older, all the grief he puts us thru now with this 'ability'. With the millions he will make from the sniffer, he can treat his mom to a house with a hot tub in her old age!

By now I am sure you are quietly saying to yourself, "what does this have to do with Costco?" Ok. Back to my story. 

Since last August, our two local Costcos stopped carrying Skippy Extra Crunchy aka... the blue lid peanut butter. At first, no big deal. I bought the Kirkland Old-fashioned Crunchy instead. The next day I packed Pirate his Cheezits (I know- not super healthy! Remember I am dealing with a super skinny little man that won't eat hardly anything) with the new peanut butter slathered on the Cheezits to make cute little cracker sandwiches. I was extra careful that he did not see me make the cracker sandwiches in the morning because he would know I didn't use the peanut butter with the blue lid. Right after school that day, he came out of class and told me something was wrong with his peanut butter and it wasn't what he likes. Geez! What the heck. I had just spent $10.00 on 2 large jars of this new peanut butter and he won't eat it. Great... but not surprised. Pretty much the story of my life with him. 

Since that day, we have had to shop around and buy his Blue Lid peanut butter where ever we can. Since Pirate only eats about 5 things, we go thru lots and lots of PB and it gets quite expensive if you buy it someplace other than in bulk at Costco. Every month since last August during my monthly shop at Costco I look for the blue lid and they don't have it. I also complain to them each & everytime as I am checking out thru the cashier too. They just look at me like "seriously?".

So I did my usual swoop thru the PB aisle today while planning in my head which store I would have to stop at to pay the big bucks for a super small jar of PB. But today I had to blink twice becasue there it was.... Tah-dah! An entire pallet of 48oz Extra Crunchy Skippy. I could have cried. Yes - no exaggeration. 

Once again, another simple little joy to my day - the blue lid peanut butter. And if any buyer from Costco ever comes across this post - this note is to you: Kids like Skippy, they don't like the oily old-fashioned peanut butter. I know it is more natural but kids are kids and most times they dictate what the parents buy on a regular basis. So please don't ever stop carrying Extra Crunchy Skippy peanut Butter again. Amen!

Becoming a Backyardigan

I started this blog entry shortly before taking a break from the blog. I had saved it in my 'drafts' and think it is so cute, so here I share it now.....

Today (1/18/10) was raining cats and dogs and we took the kids to Barnes & Nobles this afternoon. They were told on the whole ride to the bookstore that they were not buying anything and only Daddy was buying something. We would "look" at the kids section though. Bad Idea!

I left Dear Husband, Princess, and Pirate in the kid's section while I went to the complete other side of the store to check on a book. The next thing I hear is Pirate screaming. (Only a mother can recognize her own child's primal scream.) I immediately head back to the other side of the store to see what could possibly be causing Pirate to have a fit. My sweet little Pirate LOVES the Backyardigans! I truly mean LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! He found every stuffed Backyardigan and had them all bundled in his arms. (There's 5 in case your not familiar: Pablo, Tasha, Uniqua, Austin, Tyrone). Dear Husband was in the process of telling Pirate that we were not buying any of them which was throwing Pirate into a panic.

Call me a softie for the little creatures (the Backyardigans, not the kids) It is very, very hard to ever find any toys that have the Backyardigans on them. We seemed to be behind the times a bit. The Backyardigans were the HOT thing a few years back. Not now, which is why it is hard to find merchandise with them on it. This was my rational when Pirate headed to the cashier at Barnes & Nobles with his arms overflowing with each Backyardigan (Ya can't just by one, they are a team!) $50.00 later we were in the car with the crew to introduce them to their new home.

Over the hills and thru the woods, puking all the way...

Well, that's how this story begins. This has been the week of Dear Husband's major back surgery and what a week it's been. This will be a trilogy blog entry since there are several stories to tell.

We chose a doctor from Napa. The closest hospital, to our home, that the surgery could be done at, was St. Helena Hospital. We had to go over to the hospital on Thursday for a pre-op appointment to make sure Dear Husband was healthy enough to go under the knife. An EKG, blood tests, urine test, etc. were planned. We decided to take Pirate with us, since we didn't have childcare for him. We traveled over Mark West Springs Rd and Pirate began to complain about being hot. Ah oh! He has a history of getting carsick, so panic began. We did all we could to prevent the vomit. We made it down the hill and onto Hwy 29, headed toward St. Helena. I, of course, opened my big mouth and said, "whew.. he didn't puke. That was a close call" Not 30 seconds after the statement came out of my mouth, Pirate puked and puked all over himself, the car seat, and the back of the driver's seat. It was 8:30 in the morning. We had no change of clothes or towels. (I know, we should know better. Shame on us)

After trying to clean Pirate's face with a baby wipe on the shoulder of the road, while commute traffic whizzing by... we headed on. We knew that Pirate couldn't enter the actual hospital since the H1N1 issue is going on. No children under the age of 16 allowed in the hospital. We were told that Pirate could come to the Pre-Admissions Office though. We arrived and parked the car. We took Pirate's shirt off and put on his sweatshirt that avoided to the puke. Into the building we go with our smelly little boy, who was being such a BIG BOY! (we were so proud of him) I had Dear Husband go up to the 3rd floor, just to be sure Pirate was still invited. Nope! We rec'd miss information. Him and I had to sit in the waiting room chairs at the entrance of the hospital while Dear Husband went ahead with his appointment.

What was I going to do to entertain a 2-year old covered in vomit for an hour? I pulled out my secret 'bag of tricks'... aka 'my purse' and started letting Pirate play with anything that occupied him. Our hour wait for Dear Husband flew by and before I knew it, Dear Husband was coming down in the elevator to meet up with us.

I must have had my guardian angel sitting on my shoulder or my little Pirate turned into an angel for an hour. Whatever it was, I am eternally grateful.

One Tall Tale

I have to share a tidbit of my life yesterday. It is just a sampling of what I have to work with everyday.

I had been eyeballing a new cheap haircutting place that was opening yesterday. Princess needed a trim and I just couldn't bring my self to spend $18.00 + tip to a 10 minute haircut. I figured the new haircut place might have a grand opening deal so I called them in the morning. They didn't have a opening deal but the kids haircuts were only $13.00. I couldn't beat that! So off Princess and I went to get her hair cut. We left Dear Husband and Pirate at home napping. The haircut didn't take long (will be going there again too!) so we decided to run over to Kohl's to make a quick exchange on a present for Pirate for Christmas. [That's a whole other blog entry: trying to Christmas shop when you always have at least one kid tagging along]

We didn't even get out of the parking lot into the store and my phone rings. It's Dear Husband in the background of a screaming Pirate. He is trying to get me to calm Pirate down over the phone. Yeah right! Since this has been happening a lot lately, I know the drill.... get home as quickly as possible. More for Dear Husband, not Pirate. Dear Husband is not able to deal with the kids when they cry and tantrum for Mommy so I get these wonderful phone calls while I am trying to get something down by myself or be by myself.

Princess and I rush home and as soon as I walk in Pirate calms down. Dear Husband doesn't even look at me, as if I did something wrong! He tells me Pirate has been like that since Dear Husband went and got him out of the crib after nap. Okay, I was going along with the story for a few minutes and then I discovered the truth. Dear Husband made the slight comment that he was so out of it during his nap (Must be nice!!!), that he slept through the phone ringing. Hummm.. made me start thinking. Pirate had been probably playing in his crib when he woke up and nicely calling out over the baby monitor that he wanted out of his crib. Dear Husband was so crashed he didn't hear Pirate until Pirate became outraged and scared that no one was coming. How long did it really take, I wonder? By the time Dear Husband staggered into the room with only one eye open, Pirate was pissed and Daddy was the last person he wanted to see. Can't I say I blame him. Oh, the joys of motherhood and wifehood!

Help! I am being held hostage......by a 2 year old!

My dear friend Angela called me a week ago to make sure I was okay since I hadn't blogged in awhile.(We are currently playing phone tag, I'm it!) I know this statement is overused but I have been 'so busy', mostly by a my sweet little Pirate who is 2. I like to say that he is holding me as a hostage. While I love spending time with him, once in awhile I would like a break and I am just not getting any these days. I am going to the gym at least 5 times a week now, for 1 1/2 hours in the morning just to get some peace and quiet. Pirate LOVES the kids area at our gym. I am sure your thought is... 'wow, she must be in great shape now'. I can do pull ups and run for quite a distance and a bit toner but you probably won't notice anything different with me. Since I am now putting myself 'first' as I am always told I need to do, the time I am taking at the gym is just setting me back on all the other things I need to do during the day. Another challenge I am facing with my little guy (and Princess, the two days she isn't at school) is that I am not able to hold any type of phone conversation. It is further isolating me. It really sucks.

As I have mentioned in previous blog entries, being a stay-at-home is great but can be tough if you don't get some kind of daily break.

Halloween

Princess was Cinderella at her Preschool Halloween parade and party. I love this picture because the little boy in the picture is Princess' crush, Jakey. She is IN LOVE with him. I love the look on her face. I know she is thinking, "come on Mom, you are embarrassing me in front of Jakey" He is clueless on how Princess feels.

For Trick or Treat, Princess decided to model her Sleeping Beauty costume and Pirate was a Pirate, of course. The vest came off within seconds of this picture being taken and the hat was put on his head at each front door as the doorbell was being rung. We didn't trick or treat for long. Princess had trick or treated during her Preschool parade the day before and was a bit burnt on the concept by this point. Pirate loved it and would have kept going if we let him. He had major tears when we had to take the bucket of loot out of his hands at the end of the night.

Happy Birthday Pirate!

My sweet little Pirate turned 2 the day before Halloween! He received a pirate hat & vest as a gift. How perfect! Pirate didn't really get what was going on at first. He is one that loves a party so he was happy when all his family started arriving at our house for dinner. I don't think he realized everyone was gathered for dinner for him until present and cake time. He began opening presents and became so fixated on the first toy that we had to egg him on to open the next present. Then he became fixated on the next toy and so on. Princess began opening the gifts for him to speed things along. She also had an ulterior motive. She was VERY jealous and envious of one of Pirates' gifts from us. She knew in advance about the gift and had already put it in her head that it was hers. It is a little animal carrier with dodads in it such as a little doggie, doggie dish, play food,etc. That one gift has caused so much grief between Princess and I. She has hogged it all weekend. Dear Pirate saw how attached Princess was and just let her pretty much take over the gift. I was the one that kept on reminding her that it was Caden's and he needed to be able to play with it once in awhile. Many tears over the damn doggie carrier this weekend. I told her she can put it on her Christmas list if she loved it that bad. (oh, how I am looking forward to Christmas- not!)

When it was time for cake, we put Pirate in front of his Backyardigans themed cake and luckily my brother had quick reflexes because little Pirate was getting tired and saw the Backyardigans figurines on the cake and lunged to rip them all off. We say 'Happy Birthday' so fast while he kept on trying to demolish the cake. I blew out his candles and said a little wish for him. He ate cake and then off to bed for the little Pirate!!

Tender Moments

Pirate is turning 2 years old in 2 days but still loves to be rocked to sleep at night. If I am home, he insists that I rock him & not his daddy. I just love this time with him. He typically isn't the cuddlies little boy during the day because he is always movin' and grovin' and in his sister's business but when night comes... he is a little teddy bear.

We have a little routine at night for him which includes a playing a certain cd. Princess and Pirate have both been listening, at nap and bedtime, to the same cd since their births. I calculate I have heard the cd over 2,500 times and I still enjoy it.

Pirate is an excellent sleeper. I have been blessed with two kids that love to sleep through the night. On the rare occasion that he wakes and needs me to rock him, I jump out of bed to see him. Since it is so rare, it's not a chore for me but a wonderful and snuggly time with him. I love how he tucks his head under my chin and gets as close to me as possible. He never falls asleeps in my arms, he always motions to me to put him in his crib. I then slip out of his room, while the cd music is drifting over the baby moniter and fall back to sleep myself.

The picture above is how Pirate sleeps every night. He has been doing this since birth. I can't imagine it is too comfortable.

Keep your germs to yourself

Today I took the kids to get their H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination. Princess got her's but Pirate wasn't able to get one because he's not 2 years old yet. Apparently they don't have a vaccination for the babies yet. The (nasal) shot clinic told me I could bring Pirate back in a few weeks when he is actually 2. I guess they need to be that rigid but I don't see what difference two weeks will make. Oh well... we need to go back anyways because the kids need two doses of the vaccination this year.

I am still trying to figure out who is paying for these vaccinations because at our clinic today through Sutter Medical Group, they didn't take any insurance information or even double-check that we were a patient of a doctor within the Sutter Group. I asked if I needed to pay a co-pay and was told "nope". Humm.... I am sure a bill will catch up to me at some point. Nothing is free these days.

Shoot, who knows when I will get my H1N1 shot. I'm still waiting to get my seasonal flu shot. I had an appointment with my doctor two weeks ago and they canceled because they ran out of the seasonal flu shots. They have more on order but have yet to receive their shipment. I call every few days and they don't have any type of ETA. I know my age group is last on the list to receive the H1N1. I just don't want to get sick like I did a few weeks ago. Not only does it suck to be sick, it sucks to have to take care of two little kids when you are sick.

Curious George

Hummm... Which one is my child??

Parenting a 2-year old boy is a completely different parenting handbook than a girl at the same age. I didn't get an owner's manual for either child upon leaving the hospital after their births. It's amazing that I received a 100 page instruction manual for my brand-new printer I just purchased but zippo, nothing, for a real live baby.

My little Curious George is all boy! Right down to climbing, hitting, pushing, tantrums, not sharing, and wanting to be a mommy's boy. We love him but Dear Husband and I feel like this is the first time we have been down this road. Princess was a breeze child. If she had been like her brother, she would have been an only child. We are doing all the classic things that we shouldn't be doing. Super Nanny would be ripping us apart if we dared ask for her advice.

I was trimming Princess' hair the other night while Pirate was watching. The thought actually crossed my mind that I shouldn't be demostrating how to cut hair with scicssors right in front of him. He will show me sometime in the future that he saw me cut hair, and that he can do it too. Unfortunately, I am sure it will be after he is all done creating his masterpeice.

But isn't he cute???

One sick dog

Yesterday morning I woke up sick as a dog, fever and all. I was putting on as many clothes as possible to stay warm. Even little Pirate came up to me and touched my skin and said "hot". It was truly a miserable day. Dear Husband went off to work (happily, I am sure) and left me home with two kids who had no sympathy for my condition. Princess was scheduled to go to Preschool yet I told her she could stay home. I didn't tell her that Mommy had selfish reasons as to why she could stay home. First one being, then I didn't have to get out of my pajamas and brush my hair and teeth to drive her and walk her into preschool. I was so out of it, I am sure I should not have been driving a motor vehicle anyway. The second selfish reason was that she could play with Pirate and I could try to just lay on the couch.

The kids were good for the most part. I had to break up a few squabbles. We watched way too much kids television. Luckily I was so feverish that I could stand watching Backyardigans for the 6th time in a row. When Pirate's nap time came, I told Princess that I was taking a nap too. She was down with that and let me get all settled into bed and asleep and then she decided she needed my help with something. I never fell asleep again yet she did, just as Pirate was waking up from his nap. I got jipped!! (gosh, is that even a real word or just bad slang?)

Trying to be the noble one and keep my germs to myself as much as possible, I decided to sleep on the couch last night. Note to self for the future: Never disclose to Princess in advance, of my plans to sleep on the couch, because she will take up residence in our bed, on my side, right away. I don't think I really slept all night. I couldn't breath each time I tried to lay down. Pirate kept waking up every 1 1/2 hours because he is cutting his last set of molars. I had to go in each time and sooth him back to sleep. The two cats thought the camp out in the living room was fun and decided to join me on the couch. They seemed to sleep great. Finally, at 3:30 am I went to my bedroom hoping that there was a bit of room for me to squeeze myself into our queen size bed. I found Dear Husband and Princess, snoring and grinding teeth respectively, both oblivious that I had been up countless times with Pirate. There was no room for me. I went back downstairs and sat on the couch and waited until Dear Husband's alarm went off at 4:10 so I could at least claim his side of the bed and try to catch a few zzz's.

The hardest part of being a mom to small children is when I get sick. They don't understand and still expect me to do 'mom things' for them. Dear Husband tries to compensate but there are times when they insist that I do something for them and will stand for nothing less. Oh, how I wish I could check into a hotel room when I am sick and suffer in silence with a bottle of NyQuil and a nice dark room.

Charades

Today I played the game of charades all day with Pirate and not 'for fun'. His speech is coming along but some of it I just don't understand, no matter how hard I try. He has full comprehension of what I say to him but not vise-versa. It was a tough day for us. He was very cranky and quite insistent too.

He has a new habit of wanting to climb into his own carseat all by himself. I am all for him doing things on his own but not when we are in a crowded parking lot and someone is waiting for our parking spot and it takes him a few minutes to accomplish his task. He would take no help from me to speed up the process. I have learned to pick my battles, either let him get in his carseat all on his own or put him in his carseat and listen to him have a fit for 15 minutes while I am driving. I swear I am going to end up in a car accident one of these days because Pirate has me so twisted and stressed while driving.

I cut my errand list in half today because I just couldn't see myself having to deal with Mr.Cranky getting in and out of the car each time. We did have one errand that we had to do. The Sonoma County Humane Society called us last night and said they finally had room for our two little kittens. Pirate and I had the task of taking them there. I know they will be just fine and find great homes but it was sad to say goodbye. We had grown attached to the little guys. Pirate came into good use at the Humane Society. He had me running all around and talking my ear off, that I didn't even have a moment to cry (which I would have if I were alone). Also, he allowed me no time to look at all the animals that were up for adoption. That would have made me cry even harder.

If anyone has room in their home for a sweet cat or dog, please go to the Humane Society and adopt one. There are so many animals there that need a home.

Another sad story...

Our 21-year old nephew has just buried his second friend in the past two years, who has died as a result of driving a street bike. We knew both of the kids. They had been in our home over the years . One of them we had taken camping with us a few times when he was twelve or so. The other worked for Dear Husband for a period of time.

It makes me very sad for the mothers of these boys. They have to live with the horror for the rest of their lives because their sons thought that they were invisible and never thought it would happen to them. I keep on playing it over and over in my head. What will I do if and when the day comes that Pirate buys a street bike? He's only 2 but it has got to be a mother's worst nightmare when their baby (a young man who has only legally been driving for a few years) buys a street bike. I have years to prepare for this but are you ever really ready for that day?

My hearts and prayers go out to these two mothers. I can't even imagine their pain.

The Hampster Wheel called "Mommyhood"

When I became a mom four years ago, I dreamed of how life would be if I didn't have to work and could be a stay-at-home mom. I used to envy my friends that had the 'luxury'. I used to think, "how stressful can their lives be?" I envisioned going to Mommy & Me groups, long walks with my child in their stroller, time to invest in my friendships, being skinny, cooking wonderful dinners, not having to pay a housekeeper to clean my house, not being stressed, etc.

How does the saying go?... 'The grass isn't always greener next door'

I am going to stop for one second and put in my disclaimer. By no means am I not thankful for my life at this very moment. I actually am loving being a stay-at-home mom! It just isn't not what a working mom might dream about.

Okay back to my point... My life is crazier now that it ever was when I work full-time in a very highly stressful job. I am more disorganized and have even less time for myself. Stress just shifted from one stress to a completely new type.

I have been off work for 8 months now and am finally getting myself on some type of schedule. My husband suggested that perhaps we might need to bring our housekeeper back at least once a month. I don't cook dinners. I really don't have the time. I have less time for 'me' than I ever did before. I don't get a 15 minute break nor a 1/2 hour lunch. I am lucky to go to the bathroom by myself these days. I can not have any type of phone conversation while the children are awake because I will be constantly interrupted. My chores take longer now. Maybe it's because I don't feel the intense pressure of time to get them all done in the evening or over the weekend or maybe it's because I have children following me around all day long.

My current daily schedule is broken into four different segments: Morning consists of getting the kids up, fed & clothed, dropping Princess at school and then running to a dr. appt, errands, chores, KinderGym, or my gym if Pirate thinks it will work for him. The next segment begins around 11am when Pirate takes is nap. I do chores that can't be done with Pirate underfoot (most all these days), I take a shower, return a phone call when needed, check email, look for a job, etc. The third segment beings when Pirate wakes form his nap. I feed him and then run back up to preschool to pick up Princess, feed her a snack and begin carousing the fridge for ideas for dinner. The fourth and final segment begins when Dear Husband comes home from work. We prepare dinner, get the kiddos bathed and to bed, and then watch an hour of reality television and hit the sack to start our day all over again the next morning.

My days are so regimented now that I am finding there is no beginning and ending. Everything just runs together. I am going 24/7 still - just like when I worked full-time yet now I don't have a 'hard' beginning and ending to segments in my day. Before, I would change hats as I went through my day depending on what role I was in. I am always wearing the same hat now.

Dear friends that are full-time employees along with being moms, please know that life isn't easier when you stay home. Life isn't less stressful. It's just different. It has it's pros & cons just like everything in life. I wouldn't change the life I have right now yet I would love a few perks and benefits I had when I was a working girl. BTW... I didn't even mention the closet full of clothes and shoes I don't get to wear now.

Back to School Night

Tonight I went to Back to School Night at Princess' preschool. I couldn't figure out why exactly the Preschool needed to have back to School Night since I am at the school two times a day for pick-up and drop-off.

As I assume you know, I can't just drop Princess in the parking lot each morning, give her a kiss good-bye and tell her to have a nice day and eat all her lunch. Nope, I have to get out of the car (looking hideous since I haven't showered yet, I might add), get Pirate out of his car seat, get Princess out of her car seat, put Princess' jacket on because she refuses to wear it while sitting in her car seat (it sucks big-time for me when it is pouring rain outside - she takes no mercy on me!). Then I have to gather lunchbox, kids and any misc. items and walk into preschool and directly into the classroom, along the way greeting all the teachers and other parents. Oh.. and I don't dare put Pirate down because he will take off on me and get comfortable in some classroom and then I have one screaming child who wants to stay and can't.

I follow the same routine in the afternoon. The only difference is that I have showered and put some type of coordinated outfit on (my summer uniform: double layer of tank tops and knee-high shorts & flip flops) I swear parents who see me in the AM and then in the PM, don't know I am the same person. Typically, the afternoon pickup take three times as long because all the preschool kids want to 'high-five' me and the teachers get chatty with me. Typically, I end up having to put Pirate down and he takes off to play in one of the classrooms and then Princess and I have to peel him away from some play kitchen or train table.

Tonight I went to Back to School night very curious as to what I would learn or see that I already don't know or don't see on a twice-daily basis. Dear Husband backed out on me at the last minute, using the excuse that it would be easier if Pirate stayed home. He also didn't get the concept of the event and wasn't one bit curious. It was important to me to go, no matter what. I have made a promise to myself that I will be as involved and interested in the kids' school, as humanly possible. My mom didn't make much of an effort in that regard when I was a kid. She worked in San Francisco and used the excuse that she was too tired after work to go. It really sucked as a kid to have to tag along with the next-door neighbors to Open House. I will not do that to Princess and Pirate.

So Princess and I headed to school this evening and got there a few minutes early. I was shocked to see that most parents were already there. It was a packed house. Maybe they were as curious as me or had also made a commitment as a parent to be involved every step of the way.

It was a nice evening. We learned about the policies, the two upcoming field trips, the swine-flu issue and precautions (I am sure that will be a future blog for me) from the Owner and then we met within the classroom with the teacher and parents of the kids in the class. It wasn't a waste of time and it was nice to know that all the parents cared enough to come. Princess thought it was sooo cool that we were at the school in the evening. I can also see the point now. The Owner and Director had the opportunity to pull all the parents together and facilitate a group meeting with the parents, outlining all that was expected from us as parents. We can't say that they didn't tell us or warn us, when an issue does arise.

Oh Man... More Kittens

So my little Pirate has learned a new phrase that I just have to share. He walks around the house and when somethings tips, spills, or doesn't go quite his way.. he says "Oh Man!" It is the cutest thing. He always says it perfectly in context. He doesn't say a lot of multi-word phrases yet so we giggle every time he says it. We are now trying to figure out who is it in our family that says it so often that Pirate has picked up on the phrase. I never realized how often I say "God Dammit" until Princess started saying the phrase in perfect context a few years ago. I was shocked the first time she said it and then began observing how many times a day I actually said it. I had no clue.

We have another batch of kittens in our yard. They are from the same mother cat that our sweet little Sake is from (See Sept. 10th blog entry). I think there are two kittens and they run so fast, I can't tell what colors they are exactly. Every time I go into the backyard they run into a small hole under our fence and up between the double layer of fence boards. We don't want to block off the hole because we can't tell if the kittens are in there or not. Tonight, I am hoping, Dear Husband is going to take apart the fence a bit to see exactly where they are going. I will post their cute little photos once I finally capture them. Anyone interested in a cute little kitten?Just one more thing to add to the craziness of our lives.

My next life... I am coming back as a cat

We have a colony of feral cats in our neighborhood. It all started around about 5 years ago when our former white-trash neighbors moved and abandoned their pregnant black, female cat. After she had a few litters one summer, we finally caught her last batch of kittens and got her spayed. She had to recoup for about a week in a dog crate after her surgery. When the day came to set her free, she wouldn't leave. Can't say that I blame her!

Her name is KitKat and she is now our outdoor, microchipped, black cat. We believe a few of her kittens became what we now call "The Backyardigans" - four feral cats that show up at our house twice a day for food. We have named them for our own convenience since they all look alike (Blue, Biege, Beauty & China - There is also Bart & Bear but they aren't backyard regulars) We refuse to take ownership of them but we have spayed and neutered all but one. The elusive one, Beauty, was caught once in the cat trap but Dear Husband moved her to the dog crate without realizing he had to get he back in the trap to take her to be spayed. Needless to say, she freaked and Dear Husband ended up at Urgent Care getting a tetanus shot. She will not get anywhere near the cat trap now.

So far this summer, Beauty has had two litters of kittens. We found and caught the first batch of three kittens. Since they were so small when we found them, we kept them for a few weeks to allow them to be adoptable. BIG MISTAKE! Don't let a cat-loving family with two small children bond with a kitten and then plan to give it away. Long story short... we fell in love with the tiger-striped male but knew in our hearts our house was too crazy for another cat. We found a home for him and were very sad to see him leave. A week later, his new adopted mom couldn't keep him due to her living situation. We jumped at the chance to get him back.

His name is Sake Beau (Sake:because our family LOVES Japanese food) (Beau:because Princess for some reason wanted to name him that). He is now 5 months old and is living the life of luxury as an indoor cat. We got suckered in, our house is now overflowing even more with chaos, but it was the best decision. Princess and Pirate just love their kitten and he is sooooo patient with them and I love that he is the biggest cuddle cat in the whole-wide world. I am happy to share my pillow with him each night. Neka, our other indoor cat tolerates Sake though she sure seems to enjoy it when he cleans her. She doesn't want to let on but we know she loves him too.

The morale to my story... please spay & neuter your animals but also sometimes there is just a bit more room for one more. (I'll keep you posted when I finally find the current batch of kittens in the yard, just in case you have room in your home & heart)

Little toes and big memories

I just couldn't resist to post these pictures of Princess' & Pirate's little feet. I think the pictures say so much, other than that they just have clean feet. The photos remind me of innocence, summer days, and just being carefree. Summer is now beginning to wind down and I have to say that I have had the best summer of my life. We didn't go on any fancy vacation. Shoot, we never even left town yet we had so much fun in our yard and at the pool and just hanging out. I cherish the memories from this summer. Sometimes it's the simplest things that make for the best of times.

I'm on a roll

I have made it to the gym so many times this past week, I actually have lost count. My little adorable Pirate is no longer holding me hostage on a daily basis. He went through a 8-month phase of freaking out when I left with him with someone he didn't know - so the gym has been out of the question up until now. He also refuses to ride in a stroller (How did we get so lucky with 2 kids that hate strollers?) so long walks have been and still are out of the question but at least I can go to the gym.

It is so cute how he gets so excited when we pull into the gym parking lot and struts his stuff walking into the gym. We are making it a routine each morning and he is becoming a 'regular'. When you add up the expense of his Kids Gym fee each day, it's not cheap, which is even more incentive for me to pedal away for longer on the elliptical trainer so I can get my money's worth each day. I have been timing it perfectly to coincide with my two favorite morning shows which keeps me entertained.

Since I stopped working, I have wanted to start taking care of myself yet having a young one below the age of 2 with me constantly, that has been tough. Now that Pirate is venturing out on his own, I am getting an hour plus of time just for me. It is just what the therapist ordered and I am feeling great! Thanks Pirate!

Relationship Vacation

Have you ever had a relationship with either an old friend or family member that you just need a vacation from? You still love or care about the person but each person just needs a break.

My brother and I took a vacation from each other for about 6 years. There was no big blowout fight to tell about or no long talk. We just needed a break from each other to transition into new roles in our adult life. My brother and I were latchkey kids and he often credits me for raising him. We ended up as roommates when we were young adults for about 4 years. Ever try living with family for a long period of time? Your business becomes their business. There is a very murky line between personal privacy and family. When the time came for me to move, the rental house was in my name, I am sure he wasn't too thrilled with me since he had to move too. Needless to say, that began our vacation from each other. We both went on with our lives without each other part of it. I can't speak for my brother, but for me there was a lingering sadness but I was okay with it too. I knew we needed the break. Two years ago our vacation came to an end. Once again, no long talk or dramatic family situation. It merely ended one evening at a pizza parlor to gather for a visit from our dad. From then on we have slowly become part of each others lives again. It's different this time. We have both stood on our own two feet as adults without relying on each other. Our relationship is based more on an adult friendship rather than relying on the old brother & sister roles we had as kids.

Just because someone is family or an old friend doesn't mean that a relationship can't be redefined on new terms and appreciation over time. Sometimes a little space does everyone a world of good. If the relationship is meant to be, a new common ground will be established. Everyone just needs to know that it is okay and not always a negative thing to take a relationship vacation.

The reason I bring this up today? I just spent the morning with my kids, Princess & Pirate and their Uncle A. We had a great time. I am so happy that Uncle A and I felt okay enough to take our vacation from each other for those 6 years. It made a world of difference.