Microblog Monday: Monday Blues

It's definitely been a Monday! For whatever reason, Tony wasn't able to sleep much last night. I finally ended up moving out to the couch, only to have Ayden come out a short while later because he'd peed the bed (of course hubby was sleeping then and missed the fun of middle of the night pee clean up). The kids ended up sleeping in this morning, which is a rarity, and we ended up having to rush out the door to get to preschool. This included me losing my shit after the 5th time of telling them to put their shoes on. In full disclosure, the 3rd and 4th time I wasn't exactly saying pretty please, but by the 5th time, I'm pretty sure all the neighbors heard me. Being late to school is unfortunately a regular occurrence, but today we were REALLY late. Sigh.

After dropping them off at preschool, I went grocery shopping. As I was putting my groceries onto the conveyor belt at the checkout stand, I managed to drop a bottle of juice on the floor, and of course it poured all over. I offered to pay for it anyway, the employees said that wasn't necessary and offered to have someone run back to get me another one, which I declined.

After that the day was mostly good except for the never ending arguments between the kids. And the tattling. How do I get them to STOP tattling over every little thing!? We ended the day with Rylee refusing to eat the dinner I made, and preceding to be whiney, cranky, and over sensitive.

I'm glad today is over.



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Friday Five

I'm stealing the Friday Five idea from my friend, Stacie. I always have so many ideas for blog posts and little things I want to share, that I get overwhelmed and then not post anything! Here's a little recap of a few of the things going on in our neck of the world...


The kids are becoming quite the little artists. Ayden used to have very little patience for sitting down to color, draw, etc. Now he is constantly asking for paper and wants to draw all. the. time. And of course they have to hang ALL their artwork on their bedroom walls. They will soon run out of space.

His drawing of Pete the Cat riding a skateboard.

Rylee's drawing of Pete the Cat.

I got these new paint sticks for the kids and they LOVE them!

Their visions of our upcoming January trip to Mexico.

Ayden's picture. The airplane that will take us to Mexico, the sun, birds, an octopus, and the blue lines are sharks jumping up out of the water.

Rylee's picture. An airplane taking off from the ground and an airplane in flight above it, a purple octopus, sun and clouds, trees, and the orange thing with a face is a bird with a "mouth AND a beak."

*****

Speaking of those paint sticks, they also work great on pumpkins! Hallelujah, because I don't really care for the mess of carving pumpkins. Ayden LOVES carving pumpkins, but he's now also fallen in love with painting pumpkins. We did carve pumpkins already once this season, so we aren't completely depriving them.

*****

I found a Big Wheel for $5 at a garage sale over the weekend. The kids LOVE it! I looked online to see how much it would cost to get a second one. The cheapest I could find is $50! I had no idea they were that expensive. Makes me really appreciate my $5 find!

*****

I've jumped on the essential oil bandwagon. I'm still not 100% sold on them being much more than a placebo effect, but I know of way too many really smart people that believe in them wholeheartedly to not at least give them a valid try. I've been trying to cut out the use of so many chemicals in our household, and this is just another way to do that. I've also started using Norwex products, another company that is all about being chemical free.

*****

The kids had a field trip to the pumpkin patch with their preschool class this morning. I love seeing them interact with all their little friends from school. I feel so blessed that I had the opportunity to go with them.

His collection of pumpkins. He only got to take one of them home though. Haha!

The winning pumpkin that came home with us!

Posing with her pumpkin. So much sass in this little girl!

All the little "pumpkins" from their preschool class.
(some are in the back and didn't actually make it into the picture, unfortunately)

My favorite preschoolers.

Microblog Monday: Tooth Fairy

We've hit a new milestone! Ayden lost his first tooth last night. Ironically, the kids just had a dentist appointment a little over a week ago. The dentist made note that he had a few teeth that were a little loose, but thought it could take up to a year before they were actually ready to come out. Then on Friday, Ayden announced that one of his teeth was really wiggly, so we new it was going to happen sooner than later. However, we thought we'd have at least a week. Nope! He had that tooth pulled out in three days. I was not ready!

Last night after tucking the kids into bed, Ayden came out within just a few minutes to tell us he had pulled his tooth out. He was so proud! Seriously, I cannot adequately describe how proud and excited he was. He asked if we could go show Rylee his tooth. It melted our hearts that he wanted to share this momentous occasion with his sister. Our hearts melted even further when she was so excited and happy for him. She asked to see his tooth and the gap where it used to be in his mouth, several times. We celebrated, made a big deal about putting the tooth under his pillow for the tooth fairy, then got them both tucked back into bed. Then I went straight to Pinterest to look up ideas for letters from the tooth fairy. Side note: It's kind of creepy how many letters included the tooth fairy talking about how the tooth would be a nice addition to his collection. Ummm, isn't that a little bit gross thinking about having a COLLECTION of teeth? Or is it just me that thinks that's weird?

Look at the pride on this kid's face!!!

How did the Tooth Fairy know that his favorite color is orange?

Ayden came into our bedroom at 5:15am to show us that he got a "message" and money from the tooth fairy! I did my best to show my excitement, but then ushered him back to bed! Thankfully, he did go back to sleep!

The first thing Rylee wanted to do when she woke up this morning was find out what the tooth fairy had brought Adyen. There was some disappointment (from both of them) that there wasn't a new toy, but overall, he was happy to add money to his piggy bank. He's also asked me to read him the letter from the tooth fairy a few times, so I know he thinks that's pretty cool too.



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Microblog Monday: 3 Hours

The kids are in preschool for 3 hours, 3 times a week. Those 3 hours sure do fly by quickly! Here's a list of things that I'd like to (need to) accomplish while they are in school:

• Every day household chores like laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping and mopping.
• Wiping down the hall closets (we have 3) so I can finally unpack and put stuff away.
• Unpack boxes of above mentioned stuff.
• Finish wiping down cupboards in the kitchen so I can unpack the last of the kitchen boxes.
• Finish painting the dining room walls and trim so we can move the China hutch to it's permanent home.
• Paint the kitchen, hallway, and our master bathroom.
• Paint all the trim/molding in the kitchen and hallway.
• Pay bills.
• Decorate for Fall/Halloween.
• Go for a walk/run. Now that it is dark so early at night, I can't go after putting them to bed. This is the only time I have during the day to get in my walk or run.
• Grocery shopping.

There's still so much to do to get settled into our new house, and not enough time in the day to do it.

Here's what I got done today during my "free" 3 hours:

• I got a short walk in.

• Did 2.5 loads of laundry, including getting it all folded and put away.
• Unloaded the dishwasher.
• Posted a picture of my kiddos to Instagram and Facebook that I took before dropping them off at school today.

Personality for days!

Boom. 3 hours passed and it was already time to pick up the kids. I still have a giant list of things to do. It will get done someday, right?

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Right Now: October Edition

Reading: I have a book on hold at the library, waiting for me to pick it up this afternoon! I am very excited to read Unbroken: a World War II story of Survival, resilience, and redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. There is a movie out about the man this story is about, Louis Zamperini, and a second movie coming out soon that I really want to see, but I need to read the book first!

Watching: Too many things! This is Us - love that they are bringing infertility into the show. A Million Little Things - the verdict is still out as to if I will like this show or not. I love that they are bringing awareness to mental health, but not a fan of the affair between friends. Yes, affairs happen and it is a fact of life to some degree, but icky that it's between best friends. New Amsterdam - I accidentally happened upon this show one night and I AM HOOKED! I love this show and can't wait for the next episode.

Listening: Currently listening to my children in their bedrooms. It's supposed to be "quiet" time, but they are not all that quiet. I really was hoping they would take a short nap, because they have been very cranky, emotional bears lately.

Drinking: Water and Minute Maid light lemonade.

Eating: The kids and I went to a farm with MIL the other day and picked red and green peppers, banana peppers, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, zucchini, and pumpkins. The kids are super excited about their "Halloween" pumpkins, and I am super excited about the produce. I made a stir fry the first night, and last night we had tacos and used the cabbage in place of lettuce. We are having the left over taco stuff tonight.

He carried his own pumpkin all the way from the field to the car.

Wearing: Jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt I stole from Tony.

Loving: Watching my kids in their activities! Saturdays are very busy for us right now. We start the morning bright and early with the kids playing soccer at 8:00am. Then Rylee has ballet at 9:30, and Ayden has karate at 10:30. I LOVE that the local martial arts studio here in town has karate at such a reasonable price! We wanted to sign Ayden up for karate last year when Rylee did ballet, but the cost was astronomical. We LOVE the teacher and Ayden is enjoying the class. I'd like to have Rylee taking karate too, but it is sooooo good for Ayden to have something just for himself. This also gives Tony and I the opportunity to have one on one time with the kids on Saturdays. One of us takes Rylee to ballet and the other takes Ayden to karate. Then we can do one on one dates with them doing something fun afterward.

Anticipating: The holidays. The kids get SO excited and that makes it pretty much the best thing ever. I pulled out a few Halloween window clings and a couple decorations to put outside yesterday and it entertained the kids for the rest of the day. They are planning what buckets they will use for trick-or-treating and can't wait to wear their costumes. Then comes Thanksgiving, their birthday, and Christmas!

Hoping: To finish unpacking and getting settled in. We also have a lot more painting to get done. I'm hoping to finish painting the dining room and kitchen in the next few weeks, so we can finally get the furniture moved to where it's going to go. It will be so nice to have it DONE. Also hoping that the exterminators will be able to solve our mouse and spider issues. I found a gigantic spider in the garage yesterday! It was huge and only about 6 inches from the garage door opener. Rylee was about to open the garage door, but I saw the spider and screamed (eye roll at my reaction; I just can't help myself), making her jump back. Only 10 more days until the exterminator comes.

Following: Trying to keep up on reading posts from my fellow blogger friends. It's also hard to avoid all the goings on in politics these days. I'm not much of a political person, but I do try to at least keep up a little bit with what's going on so I can make informed decisions when it comes time to vote in November.

Wondering: What happened to the kids' preschool teacher. She was there on Monday, but not on Wednesday. After school I asked the kids about Mrs. W not being there, and Rylee's response was that Mrs. W was never going to be their teacher ever, ever again. Of course that's all the details I got from them, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. Then that afternoon I got an email from the school, introducing Mrs. C (previously the assistant preschool teacher) as the new preschool teacher and Miss S as the new assistant teacher. No details as to why the change and why Mrs. W was no longer their teacher. So, preschool drama continues. However, I was never a fan of Mrs. W (which you can read about here), so I'm not sad to see her go.

Trying: To kick my junk food eating habit. I was doing a ridiculous amount of stress eating, mostly ice cream. I have avoided buying ice cream my last two trips to the grocery store. I am trying to snack on better, healthier foods. I really, really hate my body right now so changes are necessary. I was doing pretty good with my running, but now that it gets dark so early, I'm not able to do that after the kids go to bed. I need to find another way to fit exercise into my schedule. In the meantime, I can take control by making better food choices.

Worrying: I worry about Ayden. He was the HAPPIEST baby and toddler. He is definitely not the happiest now. He is a very sensitive little guy, and gets upset when other kids don't want to play with him, when he gets in trouble, and if he can't do something perfectly. He is very dramatic about things, saying things like "I will never have a pet," "I will never get to....," and "I can't do (fill in the blank)." He gets upset to the point of a meltdown if he doesn't "win" at whatever he is doing. Sometimes I think he doesn't try at things because he is afraid of failure. Such as writing his name. He says he can't write his name and won't even try. He has also said "nobody likes me," which completely breaks my heart. I feel like this is my fault. I am the one that spends the most time with him, and somehow I have ruined his confidence.

Planning: Their birthday. We are either doing it at a bouncy house this year, or at the local fire station.  We have a gift certificate for a "party" at the fire station that Tony's uncle bought us last year at an auction. We were supposed to use it over the summer, but our summer was crazy. I need to find out if they will still let us use it, and if they don't mind letting us push it out till December for their birthday.

Contemplating: Getting a resume put together. I need to get this done by spring, so I can start applying for jobs for next year. I know that gives me plenty of time, but the idea of putting a resume together gives me anxiety, so I am contemplating who I can get to help me with it!

I Have an Embarrassing Problem

Let's talk about something embarrassing. I stink. As in, I have been suffering from some serious body odor issues. This has been going on for about 6-8 months now roughly, that I just can't seem to battle the body odor. In the past, there might have been a day every once in awhile where I was especially stinky after a workout or something, and it would go away with a shower. No problem. That's normal.

What I have going on right now is not normal. My armpits ALWAYS smell. Even after scrubbing (and scrubbing and scrubbing) in the shower, I get out and can still smell myself. I started using Native deodorant almost 4 months ago, and it has helped considerably, but there is still always an underlying smell. And Lord help us all if I happen to forget to put it on immediately after getting out of the shower. Within an hour, I STINK bad. It's pretty ridiculous.

Have you ever been around someone that smells especially rank? I'm not talking about at the gym where it is to be expected to some degree. Although, I do remember when I worked as a personal trainer at an athletic club, there were a few special circumstances where particular gym members had overwhelming body odor, so bad that you couldn't stand to be in the same room as them. Our manager had to have embarrassing conversations with them because it was turning away other members.

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Well, crap!!!! This was NOT supposed to post earlier! I just came back to finish, only to discover I managed to publish it instead of save it. Facepalm. So here's part 2.

There's been a few times I've been around someone that was having a particularly smelly day. Not enough to make you gag, like the few occasional people at the gym, but enough to make you wonder if they forgot their deodorant that day. I always wondered if they knew they had B.O. or if they were oblivious. Now I'm of the mind that they probably knew. 

This is a sensitive subject for me because my grandma is one of those very smelly people. It makes me feel awful even writing that, but it's a real problem. My grandma lives in an assisted living retirement home. Everyone in my family (accept for my mom, because she is a saint in this regard) has a hard time going to visit her because her room smells so powerfully bad. The last time I visited her, it was during dinner and she was in the cafeteria. Usually that's the best place to visit because we aren't stuck in her tiny, smelly room. But on that day, she smelled so bad it was enough to make your eyes water and knock you over. It was all I could do not to gag in her face when I gave her a hug! I have no idea how her table companions could stand it. My sister and my aunt were with me that day. It was very upsetting how bad she smelled. My aunt followed that visit up with a call to the facility to find out why she wasn't being taken care of properly. Come to find out, she had been bathed THAT DAY! And she still stank so bad. I have a real fear of this happening to me. 

I've always thought that body odor came from a lack of good personal hygiene. I'm now coming to the realization that sometimes it truly doesn't matter how well you shower, how much you scrub, and how much deodorant you wear. Some people truly just have a major B.O. issue. Turns out I'm one of them.

I'm pretty sure this is a hormonal thing, and has to do with being perimenopausal (self diagnosed). I am hoping to get a doctor's appointment scheduled by the end of the week. I just need to decide where I'm going and find out who will see me. The fact that I don't ever go to the doctor very often, combined with all the moving we've done in the last 4 years, means that I don't really have a regular doctor. I need to buckle down and make some phone calls.