Gloria Estefan was RIGHT

BEFORE YOU KNOW IT..........

THE RHYTHM IS GONNA GET YOU!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Saturday morning, the Dad-O and I spent the lot of the am in the backyard with the sun bunnies. Once lunch was over and nap time was upon us we decided that a swim was in order as soon as they woke. The Dad-O looked at me and said, "I think I will go take a shower, even though I will need another after the pool"

I did NOT look at him and have to say OUT LOUD that I HONESTLY had NO IDEA when the last time was that I had showered!

YES, THAT is the kind of week I had.......

There is NOTHING ELSE to say........don't you agree?

Ring Around the Rosie

Ring Around E's Rosie

ing awoun da rosie

ocket pulla posie

ashies, ashies

E all fawl down!

The Great Hair Debate...the saga has ended

I tried to cut it on my own,

but it somehow ended up looking like a reverse mullet (ouch!)

So, the Dad-O whisked him away on Saturday, and he got a "Big boy" haircut

I was certain I would hate it, but oh how wrong I was

The only thing that makes me struggle to love it?

It has added 2 years to his already quickly fading babyhood

he is officially my boy...

but don't tell him that....

he will ALWAYS be my baby!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Play Dates

We had play dates 4 of the 5 days last week. I am just as guilty as any other Mommy with having that worry that I am putting out another Mom that offers to watch my kids. I hesitate to say yes because I don't want to mess with their schedule, or make the Mommy have more work. I have discovered that, aside from the pantry raids, having other little souls in the house is a nice change of pace. I need to remember this next time I am offered a break from another sweet mommy, and I need to keep offering breaks to my mommy friends too.

Having other kids in our home

means

having a chance to watch my son learn how to put his tracks together in a whole new way from an older "new friend"

watching my daughter parallel play with a sweet girly-girl that is more that happy to teach her the ropes on "ALL things feminine"

getting to witness pure joy on my friend's daughter's face in happy anticipation

Laughing with a great friend about our children being really angry with these pictures 10 years from now (and hoping that we are all still great friends and can hold these pics over there heads laughing in a decade)

Dear friends, let us continue to share our sweet babes with each other!

NOT Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was

created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing

this week.

If you ever have the chance to walk into our home, you are bound to see a perfectly put together dwelling, where everything has a place. The air is scented with a sweet yet, intoxicating smell that forces your eyes wide open and a smile on your face. You will hear

children laughing and playing and some soft classical music playing in the background. At any given moment in the day, you will witness this if you enter our perfect home.

You will NOT find dirty clothes, dress-up clothes, matchbox cars and tracks sprinkled across our floor with a bit of carpet peeking through here and there. Our home absolutely does NOT smell of B's poop-filled diaper from the night before, because he has figured out that if he just holds the BM until bed time, he can fill his diaper as soon as we put him to bed so he does not have to use the toilet. Then proceeding to sleep ALL night with the poo in his diaper so that the smell literally infuses itself into the entire room putting us to our knees when we open the door in the morning. That is not a smell you will witness in our home!

The noises will always be pleasant, NO screaming, fighting, shouts of MINE! MINE! or MOMMY!MOMMY! NOT here in this home!

You will hear a MomBE singing songs to her children and reciting nursery rhymes, never shouting NO, or BECAUSE I SAID SO!!! NOT in this house.

And of course, after long days outdoors, covered in sunscreen, eating meals and snacks and spilling portions on their bodies, picking up frogs, digging in dirt, picking their noses, touching their 'private areas', letting drinks slide down their chins, rolling in the grass and on the dirty floors, walking barefoot outside and in the garage. MomBE would NEVER, NOT EVER, cover these cherubs in sweet smelling lotion, wipe hands with a baby wipe, brush teeth, and put them to bed considering them clean, NOT ME!

Happy Dad-O Day!

Walk a Little Slower

Walk a little slower, Dad-O

Said B and E so small.

I'm following in your footsteps

And I don't want to fall

Sometimes your steps are very fast,

Sometimes they are hard to see;

So, walk a little slower, Dad-O

For you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up,

You're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child

Who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,

and know that I was true;

So walk a little slower, Dad-O,

For I must follow you.

HAPPY DAD-O DAY!!!!!

The Fairest of them ALL

A few nights ago, I had a date with this sweet babe. We went to Princess Night at our local Chic-fil-A. It was such a fun experience. Dad-O and B went out and did some "guy" stuff while we got in our princess gear and headed out to have some girl time.

I even got in front of the camera for once. The people of Cfa did it up right. There was a salon to do our petite princess nails and hair, a horse-drawn carriage for the sweet beauties to take a ride, and a delicate castle backdrop that begged us to have our picture taken in front of.

E was over the moon.

Mommy all to herself, surrounded by "girly" stuff, no B to compete with for all the attention, wearing a precious snow white gown

and, of course, the best chicken nuggets ever! (what do they put in those things?)

She was the Fairest of them ALL.......NO QUESTION!

Wouldn't YOU agree????

Splish Splash

I have issues....

Water has always made me a bit nervous

I am not a jumpy and nervous person, unless my kids are swimming

I say my husband's name over and over again to make sure he is watching the kids while swimming, even when he is feet away, or IN the pool with them

I have issues.....

I was a lifeguard for 3 summers in a row

One would NEVER believe it unless they actually saw me patrolling a pool from age 16-19 because to see me poolside now, you would wonder if I could even dog paddle

I have issues.....

I deliberately did not get my camera out the first several swimming adventures in the backyard for fear of.....well, I dont want to even say my fear, BECAUSE

I have issues......

Luckily, the Dad-O is a FISH....no really, a FISH I tell you!

So I will do everything in my power to see that these water issues DIE with me and I do not pass them to my wet and wild wee ones.

So far.....So Good.....Don't you agree??????

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

New Life

I was so excited to show B and E the new life in our garden over the weekend. So far, we have munched on the cilantro in a wonderful bean salad (recipe from MckMama) made a basil pesto for pasta and pizza, and MomBE has noshed on a few spicy arugula salads. This is a learning experience for everyone in the family. I am thrilled that we have been able to keep all that we planted alive and so excited that we have tasted a bit of it already. But all that happiness does not compare to now having the knowledge that my three year old will begin to understand that we do not, in fact, get sandwiches and pretzels from our garden.

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. Youcan head over to her blog to read what sheand everyone else have not been doing this week.

This last week was a wonderful week in our house. As the MomBE, I was sure to see everything ran smoothly in our household. Nothing but picture perfect all week.

First of all, I did not post a picture of my three favorite things here just because I like the picture and, let's face it, posts are more fun with pics!

I folded every load of laundry as soon as the dryer beeped. Unloaded it from the dryer, folded it neatly, put all piles in their proper place right away. I did not let one load sit in the dryer long enough for the second load to be ready to dry, only to stuff both loads in the dryer together and hit the refresh button no less than 10 times. Those two loads are NOT in the dryer as I type this. That would never happen in this house.

In this well oiled machine of a family unit, I always make a hot meal for dinner. All food groups are represented without fail, and we never snack in between meals or eat dessert right before bed time. So, of course, on Friday night I did not get a 3 dollar lunchable with turkey, cheese, crackers and an oreo cookie to boot, split the contents down the middle, and feed it to my 2 little munchkins and call it a day. I would never consider that a meal, nor would I bribe them to eat it all with an oreo cookie that I then give them right before bed. That would be insane.

On my ten year anniversary, the sweet Dad-O left town to spend the weekend golfing with friends in St. Louis. I honestly was fine with him going, because it is an annual thing, he has no control over the date, and he really needed the time away with his friends. That is the honest truth. So, I did not tell everyone we came in contact with that he was celebrating OUR anniversary by golfing with his friends just because it was necessary to give him a hard time. That is, after all, my job.

And the Dad-O did not send me any flowers for this special day either.

Nope....he is not at all good at that kind of thing.

10 years ago

my hair was longer and you still had side burns

my tummy was smooth and pretty darn flat and you,well, who are we kidding.... your body looks better than it did then

we called each other 'baby'

I was a teacher and you were a businessman

neither of us knew if we ever wanted to live in Missouri again

a great night involved hanging at a local bar or having a great dinner at a fancy restaurant

Our amazing collection of music ranged from Bare Naked Ladies and Sarah Mac to John Denver

we lived in a 600 square foot apartment and most of the time had plenty of space

I felt full-filled and wondered at times what else do we need in life to be any happier?

10 years ago I looked to my uncertain future with a smile and acceptance of what may come

10 years have gone

I am growing out my hair and you have probably pulled a bit more of yours out

My tummy has a pooch and stretch marks and you have a six pack

we are often Mommy and Dad-O even when speaking to each other...alone

You are the educator and I stay home

We live in Missouri proudly surrounded by family

a great night is "The Best Dinner...EVER" and jumping on pillows and dress-up clothes

Our music collection now includes veggietales, disney, and kindermusik

Our home is 1400 square feet and we are constantly stepping on toys

AND

I still feel full-filled and wonder at times what else do we need in life to be any happier?

You are my rock,

I love you MORE today than the day I said in front of all our friends and family that I would always be your wife.

You are my best friend, my provider, my love

Happy Anniversary 'Baby'

10 Years!!!

Not to EVER forget this guy.....

On our special day, one more celebration is in order.

The day this man came into the world

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POPPY!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

The Great Hair Debate

What do we do? I mean, he looks like he just waltzed off a beach somewhere...too cute! But, truth be told, it is starting to look a bit "girly" and it is a pain to wash and comb. I am struggling more than usual to make a decision about cutting his hair because everyone has an opinion, and most of them are to leave it LONG. I just don't know! ARGH! PLEASE leave a comment and tell me what you would do................

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Dress You Up.....My LOVE

Last week, E hit PAY DIRT in dress-up clothes! Everything you could ever want in dress up.....and then some! At any moment, she can waddle into her room and reemerge as dora, snow white, a bride, a fairy, "binker bell" (tinker bell), and several different princesses I have failed to learn the name of as of late. Per my request, all who asked about what she needed for her birthday, this is what she was given. She officially has her "girlie-girl" dress-up and toys. It has been so much fun watching her dainty tendencies come out as she applies her sleeve of bracelets, pretends to do her hair, or twirl like a princess. A favorite moment.....Putting E down for a nap in her regular clothing, then opening her bedroom door when she woke up only to see her thumb-sucking hand lined with bracelet, after bracelet, after bracelet......WHAT A LOVE!