The Driver on the Bus

One of the toddler's games is to "drive" us places while we hang out in the hot tub.
He sits on the edge and we go to all sorts of places.


The other night he asked me where I wanted to go and I said the mall. His response "oh no, that's just too far"
"Where else would you like to go?" I answered "Well, lets just go through the car wash".


He responded "IT'S NOT A CAR WASH MOM, IT'S A SCHOOL BUS WASH"

I stand corrected!

On another note, he went to the dentist last week and did great! He asked for a sucker when he was done and the nice receptionist told him that they didn't give out suckers, but he scored a new toothbrush and toothpaste. He was satisified with that :). I forgot my camera for the landmark moment! UGH.

jonas brothers

I have recently grown to really like these guys. What can I say? I'm sittin on the edge of the teeny bopper bandwagon with my feet hanging off.
I'm becoming a Taylor Swift fan as well. Keep on rockin! HA.
Goodbye Britany. Hello Taylor.
Maybe I'll even get a fancy ipod soon and the Commander can show me how to use it.
I remember when Solar wanted to be the last person around who didn't have a cell phone. We had to reach her on her home phone. Funny.

The bachelor!

OK PEOPLE! For the first time, I'm clueless. Who do you think he's going to pick?
I can't wait to watch next Monday night to find out. I like Molly and Melissa. I'm really hoping he does not consider DeAnna.

senior moments..

This is going to be a post without pictures. GASP! (you'll thank me in a minute)
I just had a senior moment in the shower! Since it wouldn't be very appropriate to put a picture of me having my senior moment on the blog you get a picture-less post. (I told you so)
I couldn't remember putting soap on my shower puff and washing my arms and legs so now I'm either EXTRA clean or just normal clean.
All of that got me thinking. I've been having lots of memory impairments lately. (read previous blogs)
Does anyone else have senior moments? If so, what are yours?
If you don't have them, then how are they prevented?
(Please don't say cross word puzzles...I can't work those without cheating if the answers are in the back.)

Caden 10 weeks

I had visitors at work this week.




The big guy hung out and enjoyed ice cream while the little guy topped the scales!


I'm challenged when it comes to reading those growth charts, but according to my very broad estimation he falls somewhere between the 5th and 25th percentile for weight. That means if he's in the 10th percentile then he's only bigger than one out of every 10 kids his age. Thats OK because I'm pretty sure his height works more in his favor.
We'll find out in a few weeks at his 8 week checkup. NOPE, that's not a mistake. The title of the post is "Caden 10 weeks" and we still haven't gone for his 8 week check up. Turns out...I scheduled it and then forgot about it! I called to reschedule and was reprimanded by the receptionist. She told me they allow 3 no shows and then they "request that you find another physician". (cough, cough) WE WILL NOT MISS ANOTHER APPT!
For the record, I've never done that before! I have it written in 3 different places this time. I'M GETTING OLD!

Workin' 9 to 5..what a way to make a livin'

Today was my first day back to work.
Get up at 5:45 to attempt a non rushed morning.
Shower. Wash hair. Rinse.
That's more than I accomplished on some days at home so I'm feeling pretty good.
The toddler greets me at 0615.
So far so good.
Feed baby.
Get everyone dressed.
So far so good, again.
Empty trash. spills in floor because bag rips. Note to self..buy hefty bags and start my personal oath to think nice thoughts on my first day back to work.
Parents arrive 720 (10 min early) kudos!
Grab a bagel and diet coke then start to work.
Forget something...head back to house.
Grab a Hershey bite (shame on me...its not even 9am, but I figured I have worked it off by now)
Attempt to work again.
Forget to leave car seats so toddler can go to library.
Back up in driveway.
Wrestle car seats. They are winning.
Scoop crusty M&Ms from under car seat in driveway.
Off to work (again). Reminding myself to think good thoughts all day.
8:05 Open email (210 messages).
Filter for about 5 min and decide to close email.
Glance at schedule and decide I'm on it too much :)
8:35: Realize that I forgot to put on deodorant. Probably because I messed with new, fancy hair cut too long.
(sorry coworkers).
11: head to NICU..8 babies on IV's. (I'll be there awhile). I wonder if I'm stinky yet!
1130: Don't want to be Mary Katherine Gallagher by noon so decide to pick up deodorant and lunch at Chick Fil A. (always love their free refills and customer service)
1230 Feeling overwhelmed at the masses of piles laying around the work area. Convince myself that I'll get to them eventually.
Remind myself to continue thinking good thoughts and breath!
2:30-Coworker RN tells me I look tired.
Want to tell her that is like telling someone they look FAT, but that goes against my oath to self for thinking good thoughts. Smile and keep going!
530 head home to a full cooked meal! Dodo cooked. YAY
Not too bad for a first day back to work.
(Not sure how I'm going to get out the door any earlier when I have to drop the kids off at the sitters...will definitely have to figure it out by next week)
I'm off to prop up my feet, kiss the kids, Watch Earl and start over tomorrow!

Macaroni-Cheese-Beef casserole

I'm embarrassed at how easy this is! Really, I am. I found this in one of my Southern Living cookbooks and thought the toddler would eat it right up.
It didn't go quite like I thought it would.
Me: Riley eat your supper
R: But it's too yucky!
Me: why don't you try it before you judge it.
Maybe I fixed something really good!

Anyway, let your kids be the judge and enjoy your evening because it takes all of 15 minutes to fix!
(I didn't say it looked pretty and my kiddo is all about presentation)

The cast and crew:
1 package of macaroni and cheese dinner
1 LB ground beef
2 cans stewed tomatoes, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

prepare macaroni and cheese dinner according to package directions; set aside
brown beef in a skillet and drain
Combine macaroni and cheese dinner, beef, and tomatoes in a lightly greased baking dish
Bake 350 x 15 min. Sprinkle with cheese and bake additional 5 min

(i added 1 tsp of chili powder to give it a little kick)
NEWFLASH: The toddler is eating his supper!

9 weeks old

Where does the time go? Really, it just seems like last week that I was having my Ambien party for one in the hospital.
Did I forget to blog about that? I requested an Ambien for my second night's stay in the hospital. I have NEVER taken that before and am very sensitive to medications so I ended up having myself a party all the while seeing double. I don't recommend 10mg for a first timer to Ambien. The story made the rounds to all of my coworkers. LOVELY! I was sending text messages and making phone calls that I did not remember the next day. It was an experience. At least I stayed in the hospital this time around. With Riley, I went home to get my phone charger. That was my first stint in the hospital and while it is common sense to most to stay in the hospital when you are a patient, I decided to go for some fresh air. They never even noticed. I told them about leaving about a year later.
So, Mr. Caden is 9 weeks and officially has sky miles under his belt. He's quite a good traveler as was his big brother.
Here are some of Riley's recent quotes:
"This airplane sure is flying"
"Does this airplane have a mouth like Dynaco?"
"You've got to turn all these lights on so I can see on this airplane" (referring to the overhead plane lights)
"Goodbye chocolate plane, goodbye tractor tippin, goodbye other planes" "I got to go get my white car now".

He played with his "truck-ses" and "color-did" during his downtime.
He could also be heard saying 3-2-1 BLASTOFF during takeoff and "drove" the plane from his seat.

Caden just hung out and arched his back to look at the overhead lights. Apparently, they were telling him jokes because he laughed at the airplane lights.

By the way, look at his new car seat cover. It's adorable and completely reversible.
I ordered it from Kate at the sassy stork on etsy. You can view them here.
You pick out the material and she works the magic. I love it!

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me..
There's snow up to my knees..
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to me!

We're having cake and snow ice cream for my party.
Good times.

snow basin day 1

Today was Riley's first day in the snow. He introduced himself and made friends with everyone on the mountain.


He's dangerous with a snow ball! I found that out the hard way. :O



He ate lunch on the mountain...


Here's the sequence of events from the shuttle ride home with Grandaddy.





Grandaddy carried him from the shuttle to the bed where he slept for 2 hours!

In the meantime, Dodo taught Caden not to eat yellow snow.

I'm going to eat Dodo's yummy chili while Riley looks out the window with his "noculars"...so fun!

The toddler can stay

I have no idea what this stuff is, but it's working. I picked it up at the dollar store a long time ago. It would not get the chocolate out of his white shirt, but it gets ink off leather.
Yes, I really made him help me clean it up. Child labor laws do not apply around here in these situations. (He did ask for more stuff on his towel).

I'm counting to 10

I should have known something wasn't right when my house was exceptionally quiet this morning.
I just discovered this.



If anyone else has experienced pen on leather please help! What gets it out?
I'm off to find the pen.

ice storm aftermath

My MIL came over yesterday so I could clean up the storm damage. Today..I'm pooped! This city looked like a disaster zone with the ice storm aftermath. Mom and I drove around around campus and couldn't believe all the trees that were down. Everyone has taken advantage of the 60 degree weather and the sidewalks are covered in brush. The commander has been busy working with FEMA and the FIL with the electric company. I think they are both on work day 12.
Tomorrow, we head for the slopes.
Here are some campus pictures from last week.




We saw this house driving around.
How scary would it be to walk out and see this on your house?

My brain is mush!

I was not prepared or aware of the post "condition" 2nd child effect. No one warned me about it so I hope it's not just limited to me. All common sense, logic, and decision making skills are obscured after a second child.
SO, if this blog doesn't make sense or lacks logic then I hereby declare it to be a result of my post condition (or that I am multitasking by holding a child in one arm while blogging with the other). Throw in a little (no a lot) of sleep deprivation and I'm done! Stick a fork in me! I guess it benefits the toddler because I let him continue drinking the "root beard" out of a two liter when he was caught this morning. If he went to that much work to get it, then it can replace juice on one day..right?
Some people have noticed my lack of brain power and brought it to my attention. I thought it should be mentioned for those of you who might be wondering what the heck is wrong with me or have politely noticed and not brought it to my attention. Maybe "normalcy" for me will return soon!

I got a bad hair cut a few weeks ago and instead of doing something about it, I just continue tucking, thinking, wishing, and hoping it will grow into something great on its own. Clearly, it's not and I've got to take action!
I did manage to push the bangs out of my eyes this morning and capture this....Caden's 8 week photo (yes,I had to look at the calander to determine what week he was)

*He makes adult sized body noises...so bad that I was hoping he wouldn't do it in church. That would be embarrassing.
*He quit sleeping most of the night and stays up most of the night now. That's not good for someone who has self diagnosed, early onset, Alzheimers. It's just not good for the brain and I had a hint of a full night's sleep so to go backwards hurts my feelings. ;)
*He exploded his diaper at the promenade...the one time i didn't have a change of clothes. I took his pants off and covered him with the JJ Cole bundle me ( a must have for new moms). At least I had an extra diaper and wipes. WHEW!
*I may have discovered how to get 2 kids out at once with this Maclaren double stroller. It reclines so Caden can use it now. Have I been brave enough to put two kids in it in public? NO.

This is great! I just discovered the baby bjorn. Maybe I'll use it to get both kids out sometime.

When I don't have to type with one finger I'll post some UofA storm damage pictures.

A confused little bird...

So that's why the little guy always has a confused look. He can't figure out what the big guy is up too.
You would look like that too if your idol was wearing a combination of church clothes and ski apparel.
(The lil guy does like it when the big guy screams his songs to him).

Love ya award

Thanks to Nanny for giving me this award.

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find friends and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly- written text into the body of their award."

I have only been blogging for two months and I have grown to love the entire process. I look forward each morning to see what all of my family and new friends are doing on this day. My day then has a new meaning, I look at everything as a moment to share with you. I love all of my new found friends and wish you all Good Days.

As I have said before, I love keeping up with my old friends through their blogs and have recently enjoyed meeting new blog friends. Thanks to everyone for sharing all the fun information about what is going on in your lives.
I pass this award to
Amy's little ladies
The James five
Molly's mom
Rowdy Rogers
The Sample Family happenings
26 dresses and counting
Solar Powered
Southern L

Precious, little Fighters needing prayers

I came across several blogs requesting prayers for babies Harper and Brayden. I started following their progress and continue to be amazed by these families every day. Please remember them and lift them up.



Read baby Harper's story here


Read baby Brayden's story here