One Goal a Day

Since I've been home, my husband has come home to the house being in a little bit of disarray more times than not. You see, I am one of those people that thinks I can get 200 things done in one day. With 2 little ones at home, that is extremely difficult. As I've gotten older, I've also got less attention span than ever before. I jump from one thing to the next. One thing reminds me of something else, so I leave that "one thing" I was working on and go to that "something else". It is a never ending process. So before I know it, I have 10 different things going on! Projects, laundry, 1/2 a bathroom cleaned, food out but not heated up or eaten. I mean, I am all. over. the. place. I also think it's in the female gene to focus on more than one thing at a time. Whereas, I tell my hubby to do 5 different things within a 7 minute period and he says, "I CAN ONLY DO ONE THING AT A TIME, SO WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO DO!!??" Hmmmm...I have to think on this for a while because I want him to do it ALL, right NOW! Ha! So, he came home from work one day, looked at the house, and laughed. He said something has GOT to be done differently. I do mean well, but I'm a little over my head sometimes. Between the boys (my #1 priority), Scentsy stuff (my #2 priority), the house and all that comes with a house, ViSalus, taking care of 3 dogs, and of course facebook, pinterest, texting, email and now blogging...how can one divide her time? Yikes! So he said he wants me to set ONE goal for myself per day. What? Are you KIDDING me? Apparently we are NOT wired the same! However, I do have to take a step back and figure out what is realistic. So I agreed to this "one goal a day thing". It has helped but I definitely haven't mastered it. My brain does not function only concentrating on getting ONE thing done in a day.

Yesterday I had to get the house clean, bring G to the Dr, go to Target and have our ViSalus Challenge party. All with caring for 2 little boys who are far from being independent at this point :) Well, one realistic goal I have now set is that yes, I want my house picked up and put together, but it is extremely unrealistic to think I can clean it the way I used too when we were first married and keep it clean for more than 5 minutes! When we were first married, even for having our parents over, I drove my husband crazy because I would scrub the floors, dust every ledge, vacuum...I mean, the apartment had to be clean from top to bottom. Not only that, but a clean house to me also meant all the laundry was completely done, folded and put away. Fast forward 5-1/2 years and now cleaning the house for people to come over means the kitchen is clean with no dirty dishes in the sink, even though there may be some dirty in the dishwasher. The couch pillows ON the couch, not on the floor trying to be a fort or surrounding baby G. The bathroom picked up and at least the toilet cleaned, because who wants to use a toilet that an almost 3 yr old gets off of when he's not QUITE done going potty!? Not me! The toys are actually put IN the toy room. Floors are maybe at least swept and swiffered a bit, but swiffering a floor is not cleaning a floor to me. And mind you, this is NOT the treatment our family gets any more, this is for people who aren't family. Sorry to all of our immediate family. And thank you to my mom, for showing me what "clean", compared to "picked up" really means.

Anyway, everything was accomplished! Hooray! Even bringing both boys to G's Dr appointment was a success. If I remember correctly, this is the first time I brought both boys with to the Dr. And all by myself. I brought G to the Dr just to get his reflux, or whatever you want to call it, checked out again. As it has gotten increasingly worse. However, he is a "happy spitter", he's not uncomfortable and he's thriving with growth, so there's not a whole lot we can do. She wants me to try cereal on a consistent basis for a week and give her a call to let her know if that has helped. She said we could go to Children's and get an upper GI test done to see if there's anything else going on than just reflux, but our chances sound pretty slim because he's a "happy spitter". If there was something else going on, he would most likely be uncomfortable. However, if it doesn't calm down by the time he's 9 months old, than we will have the test done. Seriously...4 more months of this? Lord, help us! :)

Trav and I had a successful ViSalus party with getting one promoter on our team! This week I've gotten one promoter for ViSalus and one recruit with Scentsy! I LOVE my jobs! I love every ones support and encouragement. And best of all, I love being appreciated for my hard work when it doesn't even feel like I've been working hard...because I love what I'm doing! I can not wait for my Rock U training with Scentsy this weekend!

When I went to my first Rock U training the weekend before I started back at my job, someone gave this to us. She's been reading it every day for years now. I haven't been as good about reading it daily, but I do read it here and there and it definitely spoke to me. I will leave you with this...

The Optimist Creed

~ To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

~ To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

~ To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

~ To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

~ To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

~ To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

~ To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

~ To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

~ To give so much time to improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

~ To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

The Curse of the Day After a Holiday Weekend...With Kids

Wow! What. A. Day. The hubby just left to go on his nightly run. G is going in and out of sleeping and crying. T is "reading" himself some books in his bed. In the dark. With much excitement and enthusiasm with whatever story it is he THINKS he is reading. I...I am here, eating my child's chocolate Easter candy and blogging. Don't judge me. I guess he doesn't like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! Who knew!? Lol!

I'm going to throw this out there and just ASSUME I'm not the only mom that has struggles with her kids the day after a big holiday weekend. I mean...T woke up and immediately gave me "spirit fingers" and with much excitement and a huge grin and a little question at the end he exclaims, "I WANT CHEETOS!!??" I replied with great enthusiasm back along with some "spirit fingers" (which he didn't appreciate btw), "No! You may not have Cheetos for breakfast!" And the day began...

Complete. Meltdown. So then he decided to switch to wanting a chocolate bunny. And another meltdown happened. He finally agreed on having a banana, and ended up having a whole one, plus a little more of another one. Success! He continued with agreeing to Plain Cheerios, because we were out of Peanut Butter Cheerios. Normally...that's a HUGE mistake. But I think he was already worn out from his first 20 minutes of being awake and not getting his way that he was tired of melting down on me. Parenting can be hard. Parenting and not giving in, is 10x harder.

By the end of this whole "breakfast production", G was ready for a nap. With his kiki (blanket) in hand, rubbing the silky edge in his eyes, I put him in his swing. The kiki made it so I couldn't really SEE the buckle, so I buckled him in by kind of fiddling around until I felt where it was that the buckle needed to go. Bad. Idea. I clicked, and my child's eyes got huge, mouth went open with a scream...and he turned purple. You see, G is dramatic, and doesn't like to breathe when he's mad. I immediately unbuckled him and picked him up. I KNEW what had happened. All that Easter chocolate in my milk made his chubby little thighs get even a little more chubbier. Yup, I pinched him and he had a small red dot to show for it. I felt awful. Going back a little...this swing and this child has been the death of me since way back. It's the same swing we used for T, but somehow, it always went smoothly with T in it. They put buckles on infant things for a reason. To buckle your child in, right? Yup, well I learned that the hard way. I don't even remember how old he was, but in the early morning when he used to wake for a feeding, I would go downstairs. Feed him in my sleep. Transfer him to the swing. And go back on the couch and pass out. This particular morning, what woke me up was a big thump and my child screaming. Yup, he rolled out of the swing. Face down, on the hardwood floor. Awesome. T never even attempted to roll out of the swing, so I will admit, I very rarely strapped him in. I mean...it's not like a roller coaster ride swinging way up and down! However, G is different. G has been different from his brother since we found out I was pregnant. We now...buckle G in to EVERYTHING! I have another story about not buckling G in to something, but I'll save that for another day. Too many things in one post and you may start to wonder if I'm a fit mother. Lol!...I'm really not THAT bad. I just like to think that not every mom is as openly honest with the mistakes she's made :) I make mistakes, learn from them, tell people about them, then laugh and move on.

Now, for lunch time. The blessed lunch time routine. The routine goes something like this. I make a plate full of food. Try to get a protein in (usually chicken nuggets or a turkey dog), fruit, a vegetable, a starch and a dairy item all on his lunch plate. This is what today's lunch looked like...

Some left over Easter food. Ham, potatoes, bread from a loaf that was made into a bunny, mixed fruit and cheese. Oh, and I threw in pickles. Now...this is his lunch an hour later...

Do you notice anything?? Yep, he only ate the pickles. In fact, he asked for more pickles. I brought him 3 more and said, "Talan, these are the last pickles you are getting until you eat some more of your lunch." His reply, "What? I can't hear you!" I repeated myself. He replies, "WHAT? I CAAAAAN'T HEEEEAR YOUUU!" Then I knew he was playing a game.Seriously. Where do kids come up with these things? Tonight when Daddy told him it was time for bed, he replied, "What? I can't hear you!" O.M.G. THIS is what parents have been talking about. The wonderful 3's. He will be 3 at the end of May, and we have been dealing with more of a 3 year old natured little boy for a few months now. HELP!!!!

After lunch T was watching the Cartoon Network. They play all those old school cartoons, and he really enjoys them. Well, a commercial came on. I wasn't paying attention because I was feeding G at this point. All of a sudden I hear, "Hey Mommy! Look! It's Gampa It's Gampa on that show!" I look up, and it was Popeye! Not thinking much of it, I say, "Oh, Popeye!?" He says very excitedly, "No! Not Popeye! It's GAMPA!!" Oh. my. gosh. I was dying. It's nice that I can tell who he's talking about because he has different names for his 3 Grandpa's. My dad is "Grandpa", My step-dad is "Gampa" and my hubby's dad is "Papa". So "Gampa", T thinks your Popeye :)

Late in the afternoon I decided to call the Dr about G's spitting up. After yesterday...and now today, I HAVE to see if they can help ME any more. I seriously should have taken a picture of the big pile of rags and towels that we went through yesterday at my mom's. It was ridiculous! And now today, it finally happened. I held G up before bed, was talking to him. He's giggling and smiling at me, and then it came. He spit up everywhere. Some went in my mouth, down my shirt, in my lap, on the couch. Everywhere. All with a big smile! I was laughing hysterically because I could not believe my child just spit up some in my mouth. Please tell me I'm not the only one! So to the Dr. we will go tomorrow. Wish us luck.

That's pretty much all the excitement that happened in my day today! I hope you all had a wonderful "day after the holiday weekend"!

Good Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday!

Happy Easter! I hope everyone reading this was able to enjoy this Easter weekend with their loved ones! My family had a wonderfully busy and exhausting 3 days! Let me explain some background information on why things take a little more effort...

With my first child, I didn't go many places in the beginning because I had a little bit of the baby blues and was just not as motivated during my maternity leave. This time around is much different as to why we don't go many places. With our little G, we don't go many places because he spits up. He spits up...A LOT! I mean, I talk to people all the time how their child had bad acid reflux as well. So we talk about it. What helped. What didn't. What their advice may be for me. But then they come over...and they SEE what I am talking about. And now that same person I was talking too is saying, "Wow! My child spit up a lot, but NOT LIKE THAT!" In fact, it's so bad, all people can actually do is laugh with somewhat of a confused look as to how I am holding a conversation with them while my child is spitting up all over the place, as if I should be paying more attention. Trust me, if I stopped to concentrate on my child spitting up before resuming the conversation, we would be here forever. We are lucky he is such a happy little guy and it obviously doesn't hurt him, as one of his signs can be smiling with excitement. You don't know whether you should smile back and talk to him about how cute he is or if you should quickly dive for the nearest bath towel. Yes, you heard it...a bath towel. Just keep these thoughts in your head as you continue to read and understand why doing anything takes a little more...effort.

Back to our Easter weekend...Good Friday, I took the boys to see the Easter Bunny with my mom. That in itself, was quite the trip. We had G in a plain white onesie until we got to the mall, and put on his Easter outfit. As quickly as we could, we put a bib on that guy. It wasn't quick enough, as he did in fact get spit up on his outfit immediately. No big deal. It's inevitable at this point. But then came getting the boys situated with the Easter Bunny. As I was handing G off to sit on the Easter Bunny, he let loose! And by letting loose, I mean, spitting up all. over. the floor. Both my mom and my shoes and my pant legs got "hit". He managed to get my mom's arm as well. Luckily I held him out and I saved the outfit! Hooray! However, the Easter bunny spread his feet apart, looked down, and hesitantly took G from me while I was laughing hysterically telling him, "You'll be alright! Hopefully he's emptied out for a few minutes for you!" I can only IMAGINE what his facial expression was under the costume as I didn't even want to see the looks on people's faces that were waiting in line!...Then there was T. I had to bribe him to sit all by himself so the Easter Bunny would bring him even MORE candy! Did I really just say that?!? Oy. I did. So T hesitantly sat by the Easter Bunny, and gave us a sheepish grin as if he was learning how to smile for the first time. Do all kids go through this phase where they think about what they're doing so hard, that they make the funniest/goofiest smiles!?...Well, here it is. You can tell we were trying to "just get it done" as only one of T's sleeves is rolled, his shirt looks like it doesn't know if it should be tucked in or out, and G's romper is being hiked up to look like he's getting a diaper wedgie :)

The boys and I did make it to Good Friday Church, which was a wonderful service. The hubby stayed home with eye issues. Poor Daddy.

Saturday...was a busy day at home! As I didn't start anything I needed to get done for Easter until the day before. Oops! That means, once again, I have done yet another holiday project with the boys for the Grandparents...but obviously didn't get them in the mail to receive by the actual holiday. I still have their Valentine project for one set of Grandparents. I mine as well send them together. Or, since the one is so late already, I should just keep it until we see them in May! It's the thought that counts, right??...maybe?? Anyway, here is what I had them make. I found the inspiration through Pinterest, but tweaked it and I think they turned out super cute!

Easter Bunny foot prints. T's feet are the ears and G's feet are the bow ties. T did the smiley faces all by himself too!

We luckily accomplished that project with having to only bribe T once with a big bowl of Cheetos for when he finished!...Then I went on to baking the Easter dessert with yet, another Pinterest inspired recipe. As you come here, you will probably notice I have a slight obsession with Pinterest :) I made a No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake. It was simple and yummy. However, the more cooking and baking I do from Pinterest recipes, the more I realize how many kitchen "tools" I don't have! For instance...a funnel! Hope no one could taste the paper in the chocolate! Lol!

Yep, I had to use a piece of paper to pour the chocolate into a bottle I had to be able to drizzle the chocolate on top and make it look pretty! Note: I didn't post this until AFTER Easter brunch when people had already eaten my cake. They didn't mention it tasting like paper! Hooray!

 Then onto playing "Easter Bunny"...oh how bad I felt when I noticed all I had for G's basket was some ball toy that I only bought from Pottery Barn to be able to get my $25 off of a $50 purchase! I did get him a toy, but it wouldn't fit in the basket. T, on the other hand, had a basket full of goodies AND a toy that wouldn't fit in the basket. So I decided to put one of T's books in G's basket for the pictures. Sorry G...you'll make out better next year! I promise :) This year was the year to buy his basket and liner from Pottery Barn.

By the end of the night, as my husband and I were admiring the Easter Bunny projects, he (meaning my hubby) started sniffing me because he smelled an awful stench. That stench...was me! Lol! Not only did I have paint and powdered sugar all over me, but Baby G was spitting up on me all. day. long. I am a mom, and I'm proud of my stench. Most of the time. Yes, I was able to take a nice relaxing bath when the boys went to bed.

Finally, this has brought be to Easter Sunday...He is risen! He is risen indeed!...and so have the children. G was the first to wake up so we did his Easter basket, or I should say, his Easter toy with him. It is so fun to see how different T and G are from each other. Not one is better than the other. Just different. Yes, even though G is only 5 months, he acted as if he wanted to rip that box apart and start playing with the toy already! Whereas with T, it wasn't until maybe age 2, that he actually played with toys. He would carry things around. But he's the kid that was happy with a box or Tupperware...or a movie! I'm sure G would be fine with that too, but he grabbed onto the car as if he knew how the whole thing was going to work. OK, maybe not, but pretty close :) Then T woke. We showed him his basket and his toy the Easter Bunny had brought him. As excited as I was about what the Easter Bunny brought him, all his eyes were focused on was the candy. And that began our day...filled with never ending candy...

We went to Easter morning church and then headed over to my Mom and W's house. This will be the last holiday we will be celebrating in this house. It is a house with 13 years of MANY memories that we will never forget. Our family has done a lot of growing and coming together in this house. This house is where we became a family.

 My main goal for the day was to get a family picture taken before G spit up on his outfit and before T had chocolate drool all over himself. This happened...however, we did not get the best family picture :( The "photographer" was great...it was just my children. G constantly looks like he had just found an ant on the ground and WOULD NOT look up, while T once again, was thinking too hard on HOW to smile and gave the most awesome grins ever...along with the exaggerated squinting of the eyes because it was so bright. Oh, and his other excuse for not looking..."I. Got. The...Hiccups!" We have a month to work on this before his big 3 year "photo shoot"! Wish us luck!

The day has now ended. I am still in my outfit that was spit up on for what seemed like more than ever. When in reality...it just feels that way because it was on an outfit other than my pajamas, which I tend to stay in if I don't have to go anywhere.

I am sorry for such a long post. A lot happens in a weekend, including the start of my blog! I promise they won't be as lengthy in the future. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you had a Blessed Easter!

The Start of Blogging...What Brought Me Here

You are going to have to bare with me as this is my FIRST blog post ever. As I'm known for putting up many funny stories on my facebook statuses, this seems a little more intimidating. I have been encouraged to start a blog do to my many stories about life with my boys. My oldest will be 3 in May, and his brother, whom he has just come to realize is a true living being in the house, is 5 months old. Boy has it been a CRAZY ride, and I've loved...almost every minute of it. When people say they "love every minute" of something, they have GOT to be lying. Or living in lala land :)

T ~ 2yr old picture...can't believe this is almost a year old already! :(
Photo Taken By: Kelly Klatt

My Beautiful Boys

G ~ 3 month picture...we think he may be our "hell on wheels" child!
Photo Taken By: Kelly Klatt

Being at home during my maternity leave with my new baby and 2-1/2 year old really opened my eyes to what I was completely missing out on, on a daily basis. I was a manager and hairstylist for a kids salon in the Twin Cities. I had been there 9-1/2 years, and through my time there I had been a stylist, corporate trainer, assistant manager and manager. It was a great place and I made many life long friends. But just like everything else, things change. People change. The company had changed. And I, going from a non married women going to college part time when I started there, to a married women, to a married women with children, had in turn, changed.

When I was 11 years old I was diagnosed with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. Only the people close to me (and those who I may have not been close with, but have worked with) really know about this. Why? Because I look completely normal, I live most days like an average person, just trying to live life. However, every once in a while I get hit with episodes, and just have to sleep them off. I then return to my daily activities after a few hours and go on with...life. But this is also what had changed to help me in my decision with staying at home. Work became more and more stressful. The hours were countless. The time with family and friends were minimal. The episodes were more frequent than ever. This did not add up. Why would someone choose to live life working so hard, missing out on the precious moments with her child and husband, and also feel miserable most days do to stress? I must admit, because I have had this for so long, it wasn't until my maternity leave that I didn't know how amazing I COULD be feeling. Money is not everything. Life is too short to be a workaholic and feel miserable.

So here I am. Staying at home with my two beautiful boys. I am also an Independent Consultant for Scentsy, which I love. It allows me to be able to contribute some financially and it also allows me to be able to get out of the house and "party for a living"! It can't get much better than that! Some people may call us crazy, but my husband and I also started being promoters for ViSalus. You may have heard of it referred to as Body By Vi; the 90 day Challenge. My husband is on his first 90 day challenge and I am so proud of him. I have always been a people person and enjoy working with others. I'm definitely NOT an office type worker. There is nothing wrong with that, but I need things...a little more upbeat. I love goal setting as well. This, is Body By Vi. I get to help promote an amazing product that can help individuals, and even families, set and achieve goals for a brighter tomorrow. Sounds cheesy, but it is in fact, the truth. I have been blessed to be in a family where weight and metabolism aren't much of an issue. But I have also been blessed to be married into a family, where it is a daily struggle. To help them, and others like them, is simply awesome! Not only that, but once I got into my 30's and had my 2nd child, all I crave are Peanut Butter Twix, Snickers, Pizza...anything bad for me! And let me tell ya, my metabolism is not working with me the way it used too! Ha!

Thank you for stopping by! And I hope you can enjoy reading about my crazy, beautiful, far from perfect life!

<3Mandy