Lightning and Thunder...Oh My!

Well, the rain that we have been so desperately praying for is finally here. It's been raining on and off since last Thursday. A little drizzle here...a little drizzle there. Today it's a full blown storm. There was lightning and thunder as I was driving to work and visibility was poor. I know we need this, but can't it wait until I'm at work? After hydroplaning twice in the past 4 years, I've become a fair weather driver. Jason demands that I call him the second I get to work so he knows I've made it safely.

Christmas was great. We had a nice time at Mimi and Bumpa's Christmas Eve. Everyone made a haul as usual. Mommy consumed a bit too much wine....which is easy to do when you don't have a tolerance anymore. Christmas morning, Mimi and Bumpa came over around 8 so they could watch the boys open their presents from Santa. Again...way to much stuff. They also opened their gifts from Grandpa and Grandma, the Engstrom family, and J and Nikki. Our living room still looks like a war zone since I had to go back to work on Wednesday.

This has been a hectic week at work considering it's only 3 days. Today I'll probably get the most accomplished since I think there will only be about 5 people in the building. Jason gave me money to buy the bookshelves that I want at IKEA so I'll probably sneak out at lunch to pick them up. Poor Jason has to work both Saturday and Monday. I was hoping to have a nice long weekend together again, but I'll take what I can get.

I'll be sure to post some pictures as soon as I can them downloaded. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and has a safe New Year.

Still Breathing

My week has not gotten much better. I ended up taking Jameson to the doctor on Wednesday because his fever went up to 103 Tuesday night. I knew it was an ear infection but the doctor had to confirm it. So on top of the really bad cold, Jameson is on an antibotic to clear out the ear infection. I haven't been sleeping past midnight since that's when he decides he's done with his room and crawls into bed with me. I don't know what's worse...Jason's snoring or Jameson coughing in my ear. I just hope Jameson is feeling better for the holiday...poor little goober.

Yesterday I got the 401k true-up ready for my boss to review when she gets back next Thursday...same day that I have to transmit it. I sure hope I have everything right! Today I'm preparing the benefits spreadsheet so once I'm done with my final 2007 payroll and I can update everyone's 2008 benefits. Fun! Seriously...this week and next week are my two busiest weeks all year and I'm having the hardest time focusing (I guess that's why I took time to blog).

I have to sneak out an hour early today so I can go buy gifts for the boys Christmas party at Marguerite's tonight. Jason is supposed to get home some time tonight and then has to work all day tomorrow. Mom and I are going to do some last minute shopping during the day and then on Sunday I'm going to her house to wrap ALL of our presents while Jason stays home with the boys. I thought I was so on top of things this year and here I am....behind as usual.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas Eve and Christmas day. It'll all be worth it! I'll finally get to enjoy the holidays by spending time with my family. Ayden is so excited about Santa coming to our house!! I can't wait to see his face on Christmas morning when he sees all of his presents under the tree. Jameson is oblivious.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas! I'm sure I'll be on before the New Year with some sort of goofy story from Christmas and some pictures.

Love to all!

Breathe!

This is how the last week has gone...

Tuesday - Basically started and finished payroll in one day and transmitted with only an hour to spare.

Wednesday - Left the office around 11am to run errands for the holiday staff breakfast and Central Services holiday outing. Came back around 3pm with about $600 worth of stuff from Target and $9600 worth of $100 bills. I should have just taken the money and run. Started to stuff the employee gift bags and made up the center pieces for the tables. I took pictures and will share at a later date.

Thursday - Took 5 dogs (2 are mine and 3 are my mom's) to the groomers after dropping Ayden and Jameson off at Marguerite's. Ran to my mom's to send out a quick email and ended up handling a plumbing mishap. Raced to Flat Creek for Ayden's school party. Soon realized that out of 7 kids, only 2 of us parents actually work outside of the home. Hmmmmm. Had a blast! The kids were so much fun and Ayden was pulling me from one activity to another. After dropping him back off at Marguerite's I ran to the grocery store for baking supplies. I totally forgot that the heating element in our oven went out so I had to pack up half of my kitchen and bake at my mom's. After picking up the boys, meeting my mom for nails and going back to mom's to clean up the kitchen, I finally got the gift bags for the Central Services holiday outing done around 11pm.

Friday - Got to work around 7 to finish stuffing the bags for the staff meeting. Every employee got a $100 bill and a VISA card with $50 on it. Not too bad! The room looked beautiful! I loved the way the center pieces looked!! We had Waffle House cater our breakfast and the staff couldn't have been happier. It's probably the only time that all 96 employees are in the same room. Finance/Payroll/HR quickly did our Christmas gift exchange and then I was off to the bowling alley to set up. I made team signs for each lane and decorated with garland. Most of the group (there was 30 of us) was there by noon to start the festivities. Everyone really liked the goody bags filled with homemade treats. I had a few stragglers that didn't want the party to come to an end and I finally got out of the bowling alley around 5pm....only to find that some butt head had backed into my truck. Great!

Saturday - It was rainy, cold and windy. Jason had to work all day so the boys and I only left the house once to pick up one of Jason's presents that I'd ordered. We stayed in our PJ's all day! I talked to the insurance company to figure out when I would drop the truck off on Monday and coordinate the rental car. I found out we have a $250 deductible for collision but we had a $250 voucher waiting for us to use...end result is that we don't have to pay a penny for the damages.

Sunday - Finally found the energy to take a shower and run some errands. Went to Target, brought daddy lunch (who was working at my parent's pool house), ran to Best Buy, Office Depot and Pak Mail to mail the Engstrom family's presents. Brought the boys home for a nap and got ready for a co-worker's holiday party. My mom came to watch the boys while they were sleeping. Got home only to leave again for JC Penny's and grab some dinner. We finally got home around 8.

Monday - I woke up to Jameson having a cough attack in his room around 12:30am. Shortly after he was crawling in our bed...still coughing...keeping me wide awake. Dropped the boys off at Marguerite's, ran to the bank, dropped the truck off at McWilliam's, got dropped off at Enterprise and finally left with my rental car about 9. Raced to work as fast as I could. Had a horribly crazy day since Paul is out sick with walking pneumonia. I can't even begin to go into how much I have to get done this week! Finished printing family pictures so I could finish our Christmas cards. Finished wrapping Milo, Nikki and Erin's presents. I took Jameson's temperature after bath time only to find he had a 101.6 temperature. Pumped him up with Children's Tylenol and Mucinex Cough. I crossed my fingers and hoped that would help him sleep through the night.

Tuesday - Woke up around midnight to Jameson coughing again. Poor little man. He crawled into bed again with us and was coughing away in his sleep. Around 3:30am Ayden woke up crying. This is not normal so I went to investigate the source of the problem. Apparently there were monsters roaming our house and he was scared. Not wanting both of the boys in bed with us, I told him that every night after he's in bed I take out my wand and sprinkle our house with magic to protect us from monsters. After 3 more visits to assure him that our house was monster free, my alarm clock was going off. Jameson's fever seemed to go down so I crossed my fingers and dropped them both off at Marguerite's. Today our Christmas cards get mailed. I have a ton of errands to run tonight, will hopefully ship the rest of our gifts and then Jason leaves tomorrow morning for Alabama again. Hopefully he'll be back on Thursday but that's only if all goes well.

Tomorrows agenda: Lose my mind!

Great Solution

I HATE grocery shopping! Where is the enjoyment in putting together a menu for the week (consisting of meals that you may or may not be in the mood for at the time), going to a grocery store to cruise the isles that takes up about an hour of your day, going home and unloading all of the bags and then having to find a place for everything. Then heaven forbid you forget to take something out of the freezer to thaw for that night's dinner and then your stuck. Let's not forget to mention the amount of crap that ends up in your cart like chips, Twinkies, ice cream...I could go on and on here.

And moms, especially the ones with more than one child, how hard is to go grocery shopping with your kids? Let me tell you how hard it is with 2 boys. At Publix, they have those **fantastic** shopping carts that look like cars. Both of the boys fit nicely into the car and each has their own steering wheel. As I'm walking through produce it actually sounds like there's a NASCAR vehicle racing through the store. You can actually here the car accelerate, screech around corners and every once in a while crash into a mystery obstacle. All of this while I'm getting "those" looks from the other childless adults in the store that are only trying to find the ripest tomato. You know "those" looks...the ones filled with pity...the ones that say "I'm sorry you must live such a miserable existence...yeah, "those" looks.

So I've come up with a great solution. I don't plan out a weekly menu, I don't take my kids to the store with me and I don't end up with a $250 grocery bill that makes me want to slip into a coma. I figure out every day while I'm at work what I feel like eating for dinner that night. It also depends on if Jason will be home for dinner, if my mom will be joining us or if the boys aren't feeling well. I go to the store after work and buy exactly what I need for dinner that night. Nothing more. Now, this is not an inconvenience since I drive right past Publix on my way to pick up the boys. I'm in and out in 10 minutes and it's totally stress free. There's nothing to put away when I get home because I'm using it all for that night's meal! I'd also like to add that I don't have to worry about my mental well being when they give me my grand total because it's normally between $10 and $20. Voila!

Does anyone else do this or am I the only one that looks at the grocery store as my enemy? Seriously...I'd love to know!

Homework

My mom and our 2 bsf's (best scrapping friends) are heading to Nashville in April for the Scrap Etc Event. I'm really looking forward to taking some classes again. I haven't taken a single class since our Hawaii cruise in February! In preparation for the classes, each instructor is giving us monthly "homework". Most of the homework involves taking pictures of different aspects of your life...I'm loving this! For December, Vanessa has asked that we take pictures of the places we go to in an average week. I've decided to have fun with this. I took a picture of the Shell station that I go to every morning for a bottle of Diet Pepsi. I took a picture of Marguerite's house since I see it twice a day when I drop off/pick up the boys. I took a picture of the Expedition since I practically live in it. I plan on taking a picture of my office, the grocery store, Target, Judy Nail, McDonald's...etc. You get the point.

So this morning I brought my camera in with me to snap some pictures of the Chamber and my office. I started up my daily walks again, so I thought I'd snap a few of the World of Coke, Children's Museum and Aquarium since I walk past them during my 3 laps around the park. I got a little excited in the car thinking of all the different "places" I can take pictures of that are part of my average week and thought....hey, doesn't my commute sort of count? Why not take pictures of the cars sitting in traffic, the sign for my exit and some of the other buildings I pass on my way to work?

Big mistake! Do not attempt taking pictures while driving in rush hour traffic! Not only was I getting some of the most crazy looks (probably because they were thinking I was crazy for snapping pictures in my truck) but your distance gets out of whack while looking through the lens of a camera. I had to put the camera down before I rear-ended someone!

For all of you scrappers out there. I know how much fun it is to scrap your friends, family and pets. Think of the big picture though. What do you want to leave behind? Are you scrapping to only document birthdays and holidays? Or are you scrapping so that one day your children and grandchildren will know who you were?

Don't get me wrong...I love scrapping the birthdays, holidays and especially the boys but I want them to also know who I am. I'm a working mom that doesn't have it all together. I'm addicted to Diet Pepsi, have been battling my weight since I graduated from high school and am worried that some day my Lupus will get the better of me. I'm a people person, optimistic, and I love life! I have my good days and I have my bad days, but no matter what I'm still a very happy person who is finally content with who she is.

I seek challenge and I love looking at my normal, routine life in a new way. So bring on the homework girls! If your intent is to have us embrace the simple joys in our life, you've already succeeded.

Funny Story

I have no idea how old I was (maybe 6 or 7?) but I have this memory of my mom and I that I will NEVER forget and love to bring up around her....she rolls her eyes every time and I can see her doing it right now as she's reading. My mom was taking me to see my pediatrician and missed her turn. She made a U-turn at the next available intersection where this was prominently displayed...I immediately informed her that she just made an illegal U-Turn with precious cargo in the car and have since then reminded her of it at every appropriate moment. This brings me to my most recent funny story...



I was driving with the boys to my mom's house and came upon a... There were no other cars waiting at the 4 way stop so I sort of coasted through it. Here's the conversation that then took place with Ayden.

Ayden: Mommy, that sign means stop.

Me: Good job buddy! You're right, that sign does mean stop.

Ayden: But mommy. You didn't stop!

Busted! Hopefully Ayden is young enough that he won't remember my momentary lapse in judgement. I'm normally a very good driver with my precious cargo. I certainly can't say the same for when they're not with me.

Getting Better

Things took a turn for the worse Thursday night. Right after dinner Ayden told me that his "brain" hurt as he was clutching his stomach. Thinking this was one of his dramatic moments, I indulged him by taking him into the bathroom. As soon as I put the toilet seat up, he was projectile vomiting. My poor baby! Things didn't get any better. I put Jameson to bed in between Ayden's trips to the bathroom and after only 10 minutes in bed he was screaming and crying. I went in to investigate only to find that he had gotten sick all over himself and his bed. While I was occupied cleaning up Jameson, I wasn't able to help Ayden get to the bathroom so his bed ended up the same as Jameson's. Jason was still on his way back from Alabama so I found myself going from child to child cleaning up messes. I'm pretty impressed by how well I handled things since I'm normally a sympathy puker and I never once felt the urge. I decided to stay home on Friday with the boys and I'm glad I did since it all started to come out the other end in the morning. They both took a 4 hour nap in the afternoon and woke up in much better spirits.

We had the most beautiful weather all weekend and daddy didn't have to go to work once. We didn't venture too far from home since Ayden needed to stay close to the toilet. Since it was 75 degrees both Saturday and Sunday, we let the boys play outside. I tried to get caught up on laundry and Jason worked on our mass piles of leaves. JoAnn's finally got my buttons back in stock so I was able to finish my button trees. All three of them look so pretty sitting on the buffet! With both of the boys being sick I didn't have much time for any other crafty projects.

This week is going to be very hectic. I have to prep payroll today and transmit tomorrow. I have to finish up Christmas presents and get everything wrapped so they can be shipped this weekend. I have to finish up Christmas cards and get them in the mail. Thursday I'm dropping the dogs off at the groomers, going to Ayden's holiday party at school (they're decorating their own cupcakes and Ayden is totally excited) and then returning home to bake cookies. I'm making Christmas tins for all of Jason's co-workers at Patriot and I have 30 goody bags to get ready for our holiday outing at work. It's been fun doing all of the planning myself this year for the outing at work, but it's also been exhausting. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make it perfect and most people only care about the bowling and free beer. I'll post some of the stuff I've made for it later this week.

This weekend, Tyler is out of town so Jason is taking us to see the house. They'll probably have it finished by the end of January and Tyler will finally move in. It took a year to build that house! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures...I know I'm excited to see a 40 million dollar house!!

Have a great week ya'll!

Sick, Sick, Sick

Everyone in the family is sick right now. Bumpa has been sick for about a week, the boys have been fighting a cold since last Thursday and now Jason, Mimi and I are sick too. I had to leave at noon today to pick up Jameson because he simply couldn't nap through his cough attacks. I pumped him up with Mucinex and rubbed Vicks on his chest and finally got him to take a 2 1/2 hour nap. I wanted to get some cleaning and/or scrapping done while Jameson napped, but mom called and advised me to get some rest too since it feels like my sinuses are about to pop out of my head. Poor Jason is battling his cold while in Alabama. With any luck they'll finish early and be back tomorrow night.

I still wanted to post some of my latest projects. Sorry about the really poor pictures. I'm going to start scanning my layouts from my mom's house now that her big scanner is hooked up. I think you can get the gist of it though.

Our new Christmas wreath made from Basic Grey Paper. I used the Figgy Pudding line.

These are some simple ornaments I made for the tree. They are plain wood letters that I bought from the craft store. I painted the back, added some KI paper to the front along with a photo and simple embellishment. I stapled ribbon to the top to hang. Easy!

BTW - Yes, there's an ornament for me too but the picture I want to use is on my mom's laptop. I just need her to print it out for me....hint, hint, hint.

I made this layout to express how proud I am of Jason. He has become such a wonderful daddy and I thought it really showed through these pictures I took of him and the boys while on vacation.

Journaling Reads: I am so proud of the man, husband and father you have become.

This is a simple layout with a few of my favorite pictures from the state park on SGI. This was such a wonderful day to wrap up our vacation.

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Feeling Good

I took last Friday off from work to get some cleaning done at home. I've been trying to get things done on the weekends, but we've been so busy lately that it's been accumulating to the point where I couldn't stand it any more. So I took a vacation day to clean. I dropped the boys off at Marguerite's at the normal time (6:30am) and got started!

I got totally road blocked as soon as I hit Jameson's room. Anyone with small children know how quickly they grow out of their clothes. With 2 boys, I'm constantly packing up outgrown clothes and bringing down the next size for Jameson and buying more for Ayden. It's a vicious circle! According to Jason, who is our haul-it-up-to-the-attic-daddy, our attic is busting at the seams and there's no more room. I simply could not believe that! So after dusting Jameson's room, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I dragged my butt up to the attic and started reorganizing, which led me to open boxes...boxes of stuff that hasn't been looked at in years...stuff that we will never use again! It was very difficult for my obsessive compulsive mind to accept that this is not the time for a rummage sale and all of this useless stuff had to remain up there. I still managed to reorganize and move the tubs of clothes from the hallway up to their new home in the attic. With all of this new found space, I packed up baby toys that haven't been used in ages and took those up as well.

Let's just say that this slight detour in my cleaning project lasted about 2 hours. I was now ready to tackle Ayden's room. After going through his closet and realizing that most of his clothes are size 3 and he's officially in a size 4 (I can not allow my baby to look like he's ready for a flood any longer), I was ready to give up. I finished cleaning his room and decided to take on my desk/scrapping area. BIG mistake. I am simply running out of room for my supplies. My little nook by the fireplace just doesn't cut it anymore. We need to finish our remodeling projects so we can buy a bigger house so I can have an entire room dedicated to my most favorite hobby. Okay...see why I probably should have just gone to work? The next thing I knew, it was time to start dinner and pick up the boys.

After all was said and done, I felt good about my accomplishments. Reorganizing the attic and cleaning out Jameson's closet has been haunting the back of my mind for ages and now it's done. Did I finish cleaning the entire house? No. But I still feel good.

Jason surprised me by planning a supply run for work with Ayden Saturday morning. My mom surprised me by calling in the morning looking for someone to run errands with. Jason took off with Ayden and we took off with Jameson. Belks (like a Dillards) was having their famous "Red Dot" sale. I found some awesome deals for Ayden...shirts for $3 and jeans for $7.50! I never buy clothes for myself so I was pretty shocked when I loaded up with 4 button down shirts, a sweater and a casual long sleeve...all on sale! I even went to Old Navy and bought a new pair of jeans!! To make the day even better, we picked up Jason, Ayden and Bumpa and headed up to Stone Mountain to see Santa. We rode the Christmas train, took the sky tram to the top of the mountain and even waited until 6pm for the parade. Ayden was so excited to see Santa!

Yesterday was the kick off meeting for the Scrack Addicts (scrappers with a serious addiction to the hobby). From 10:30am to 5pm I scrapped, ate yummy food and hung out with the girls. I adore my family and look forward to spending time with them, but every once and a while I need to get away. We plan on meeting the first Sunday of every month at my mom's house. I will be counting the days until our next meeting!

Jason was off this morning to Alabama again and won't be back until Thursday. Since I get tons accomplished while he's gone, I have no doubt in my mind that the rest of my cleaning that didn't get done on Friday will be done before he returns.

Until next time!

Mimi's Blog

Good Morning! I was just checking out my mom's blog and she's finally posted some new pictures of the pool/pool house and some from the Starr's Mill shoot. A lot of my favorites are on there so go check them out!
http://www.georgiarectors.blogspot.com/

Joints, Drizzle and Mileage

We had a serious cold front blow in Thanksgiving day. Our highs have been in the low 50's and in the 30's at night. I'm having a hard time this year with the weather changes. My left hand was so sore on Friday and Saturday it was basically useless. I'm doing much better today but it's one more reminder that I have arthritis (due to my Lupus) and it's only going to get worse as I get older.

The joint pain may be due to the rain we've been getting since Thursday as well. It's been on and off and I shouldn't be complaining since we're in a severe drought, but the dreary skies make me want to curl up on the couch and not move. Sort of impossible with work and 2 kids running crazy through the house. Thoughts of dropping the boys off at Marguerite's and crawling back into bed were in my head as I made my way to the shower this morning at 4:45. Mondays suck, but wet Mondays suck more.

As I was driving to work today (in the rain which I hate), I noticed I have reached 65,000 miles on the Expedition. Holy cow! In one year, I've put on 30,000 miles. I thought you were only supposed to put on 15,000-20,000 in one year. Maybe I should add this to my new year's resolution list...drive less.

BTW - I totally neglected my camera on Thanksgiving. I remembered to take it out while Bumpa carved the turkey and I also took a picture of the yummy food on my plate, but other than that it just collected dust.

Button Ornament

Sorry Debbie, but buttons are really in this year. I made this ornament in about 5 minutes with the boys running circles around me so they're definitely nice and easy. I think they'll be a nice addition to our tree this year.

Joy To The World

I made this today while the boys took a nap and Jason was at work. It's an altered hanging canvas.

Lovely Fall Days

It's been so beautiful here lately. The temps have been in the low 70's so the boys have been playing outside a lot. Ayden especially likes playing in the leaf piles that haven't made their way into the fire pit yet. Jameson wouldn't stay put long enough for me to get a good picture. He kept ending up as a big blur. Oh well.

Button Trees

We're going with a fun, bright, non-traditional color scheme this year for Christmas. I knew I wanted to make these button trees and asked for Ayden's help with picking out the buttons. This is what we ended up with and I have to admit that I'm very happy with how they turned out. Unfortunately, the medium sized tree is only half finished because I ran out of buttons and JoAnn's needs to order more.

Redneck Yardwork

If one has a massive black walnut tree in one's yard that drops thousands of walnuts every 2 years, how does one go about disposing of them all?

With a shopvac...duh!

It was actually very effective! By God Steve, he is your kid!

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I was driving into work today (no traffic at all!) they had people calling in on the radio to say what they are thankful for this holiday season. It made me stop and think that I have so many things to be thankful for.

jason and the boys - I'd be lost without them
my parents - wisconsin and georgia
fabulous in-laws
boo boo & clyde clyde - both are a total waste of space but complete our family
our home - it may not be huge, but it's ours
seat belts - they have kept me from getting seriously hurt during 2 car accidents
my job - not too many people can say they truly enjoy their job
good friends
good health - i've been steroid free for 7 months and my lupus is still doing well

I could go on forever it seems! I hope that all of you have a full list of things to be thankful for going into the 2007 holiday season. The Payne's wish you the a very happy Thanksgiving.

BTW - I have some pictures to post from the past week, but haven't downloaded them yet.

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

Ingredients:
1 package Pillsbury Classic Fudge Brownie mix

1/4 cup butter, melted

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 canPillbury Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degree. In a medium bowl, beat brownie mix, melted butter, cream cheese and egg until well blended (dough will be sticky).


2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets to make 24 cookies (I only got 18); smooth edge of each to form round cookie.


3. In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar and peanut butter with spoon until mixture forms a ball. with hands, roll rounded teaspoonfuls peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.


4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until edges are set. Cool on cookie sheets for at least 30 minutes.


5. Spread thin layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie.

Day 4 and Acclimation

It's been a really long week. We're now on day #4 of Jason being gone. In some ways it's easier when he's gone. The house stays cleaner, the boys seem more well behaved, our routine stays intact and I can do whatever I want after the boys are in bed...scrap, watch TV, read in bed. On the other hand, it sucks. I just miss him so much. It's also been tough at work...lots of different things going on that don't make me happy but I have no control over.

Yesterday was truly the icing on the cake. It was a really bad day at work...one of those days that makes you wonder why you bothered getting out of bed that morning. I spent my entire drive home venting to mom on the phone (thanks mom!). I ran to my mom's to let her dogs out and then picked up the boys. It smelled like crap when I walked into Marguerite's. Ayden was sleeping on the couch so I immediately sniffed Jameson...he's known for his stinky diapers. Nope. Not Jameson. Marguerite and I assumed that it was Britton, who had just woken up from her nap. I woke up Ayden and pulled him onto my lap so I could get his shoes on. It was at that moment that he started crying and apologizing. I realized that the incredibly nasty odor was coming from him and not Britton. My poor baby had a loose poopy while he was napping. All I wanted to do was get him home so I could clean him up properly. Good luck we only live 2 miles away...it took everything I had to not vomit during the trip home. Holy Buddha! So instead of just letting the dogs out I had to clean up poopy pants and wash out the underwear (I almost just threw them in the garbage, it was that bad). Just as I got Ayden in fresh clothes, Jameson came up to me with Ayden's nightlight in his hand. I noticed that the light bulb had some blood on it. Apparently Jameson had taken the cover off, put it in his mouth, cut his gum and then decided to suck on the light bulb. Before anything else could happen, I rushed the boys out of the house to meet Mimi for nail night. Welcome to my world.

This morning I came to the conclusion that I've totally acclimated to the Georgia weather. It was only 30 degrees when we left the house and you would've thought it was 20 below. I've been in my office since 7:15 and I'm still trying to thaw out. I love and miss everyone back in Wisconsin but there is absolutely no way that I could handle the ultra frigid temps anymore.

In other news...Jason thinks that he'll be home sometime today/tonight. They worked their little butts off and are ahead of schedule. Yeah! I can not wait to see him, hug him, kiss him and tell him how much I adore and love him.

Ya'll have a fabulous weekend!

Beach Baby

Quick layout I did tonight. It's amazing what I can do when Jason is out of town!

Journaling reads: Jameson had such so much fun at the beach on St. George. 10-07

1st Bubble Bath

Okay, so call me a bad mom but my boys had their first actual "bubble" bath tonight. I have good reasons for never adding the bubbles to their bath before though. I have very sensitive skin. My mom found out the hard way when I was a kid and she put Mr Bubble in my bath water. I broke out in hives and it was then we realized that I had her sensitive skin. I've been hesitant to test the waters (ha ha ha...get it) with the boys. I broke down tonight though when Ayden saw some SpongeBob bubble bath at Target and almost went into hysterics because he was so excited. He said please in that sweet baby voice that I simply can not resist and he had the most adorable pleading look on his face. So the SpongeBob bubble bath went into the cart. When we got home he practically ran to his room to get ready for bath time. I was so totally amused by both of the boy's reactions to bubbles in their bath water that I had to break out the camera. I'm also happy to report that they seem to be hive free.

Today's The Day

That my bunny leaves me for 5 days. I almost cried when he left this morning at 5am. He's been working so hard lately so it worries me about him driving to Alabama. At least he has Bob in the truck with him and I made him promise to call me as soon as he got to the job site. He worked 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday to get ready for this week's trip. I practically threatened him with his life yesterday if he didn't come home and have dinner with his family. Not only did he make it for dinner but he also gave the boys their bath!

Despite Jason working all last weekend, the boys and I had a great time. We spent the majority of it with my parents. It was so nice having a couple extra sets of hands. They sort of take over with Ayden so I can handle super high maintenance Jameson. I swear that baby zaps all of my energy! We had an awesome photo shoot at Starr's Mill (even though Jameson slept through the entire thing). Ayden was so good and really enjoyed having all the attention focused on him for a change. I'll try to download my pictures tonight. My mom has some really awesome shots.

Here's another shot from St. George. This was right before Jameson fell asleep on the beach. When he's not being naughty, he's such a little lover!

Spanish Rice Bake

This is a new recipe that I tried out Monday night. The boys gobbled it down and I took leftovers to my parents house for Peter to eat Tuesday night. It ended up getting fantastic reviews from everyone and it was easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can canned tomatoes, sliced
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice
1/2 cup taco sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 pinch black pepper
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain excess fat and transfer beef to a large pot over medium low heat. Stir in the onion, green bell pepper, tomatoes, water, rice, taco sauce, salt, brown sugar, cumin, Worcestershire sauce and black pepper.
3. Let this simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, then transport this to a 2 qt casserole dish. Press Down firmly and sprinkle witht he shredded cheddar cheese.
4. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Just Saying Hi

Seriously! This week has gone by waaaaay too fast. I've started making some progress on our messy house and I got all of our vacation/Halloween photos downloaded, edited and sent out so that feels good. On Wednesday I took Jameson in for his 18month check up. Can you believe my goober is already 18months old??? Any hoo, he's doing great. His right ear is infection free. They did a hearing test on him that they normally reserve for 3 year olds because you have to sit completely still and not talk. He passed with flying colors! It's reassuring to know that after all of his ear infections, there isn't any permanent ear damage. He has also gained a pound since his 15month checkup, but he grew 1 1/4 inches. So at 24lbs, he's in the 35th percentile for weight and at 34 1/4 inches he's int he 94th percentile for height. All the nurses are amazed at how tall he is. Try getting pants to fit him! He has to wear 18month jeans for the length, but they're still big in the waist. 24months pants would truly be the ideal length for him, but they fall right off. I know I'm not supposed to compare but Ayden was wearing 2T's at 18months!

Starr's Mill

It's going to be a good weekend. On Saturday, mom and I are going to start our Christmas shopping and take the boys to Starr's Mill for pictures. It's so beautiful there and the trees are in full color right now. Sunday we plan on getting some stuff done around home. We have thousands of black walnuts to pick up, leaves to burn, a refrigerator to fit in our kitchen and the never ending housework to tackle.

Jason leaves next Tuesday for work in Alabama. He won't be home until Saturday so that means a really long week for me. I'll be sure to post pictures of our "photo shoot" with the boys this weekend.

Halloween Costumes

Just a few pictures of Halloween with the boys in their costumes. I feel I had the cutest Scooby Doo and Devil out there. Jameson didn't really need the costume though...ha ha ha.

Book Update

I totally forgot to tell you! I finished reading the 2nd and 3rd books in the Twilight series while we were on vacation! Jason was actually getting mad at me because I couldn't stop reading...especially the 3rd book (Eclipse). She left it wide open for a 4th so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I gave all 3 to my mom to read and I highly recommend them to the rest of you.

My latest obsession is Real Simple magazine. Love all of the ideas in there!! I've found some great recipes, gift ideas and decorating/organization tips.

Is anyone reading anything spectacular right now? I can only live off of scrapping magazines, Real Simple and Rachel Ray, US and People for so long.

Serious Issues

Daddy got home from work on Saturday and we packed the boys up to head out to Senoia (way out in the sticks) for dinner at a friends house. We brought Ayden's 4wheeler so he'd have something to do. Bob had one other couple over besides us and it was sooooooo nice to socialize with more grownups. Jason bought me a 6pack of Corona (more than enough since I rarely drink) and we hung out outside while Bob did his magic at the grill. Next thing I knew, I asked Jason to get me another beer and he informed me that I drank them all. Holy cow! No wonder I was having a hard time making complete sentences.

Okay....this is funny. We have a very tiny master bathroom and there's a window facing the toilet. (laugh laugh snort snort) I had to tinkle but was slightly intoxicated so I ended up underestimating how close to the toilet seat I was. (laugh snort laugh) I slammed my forehead on the windowsill and almost peed all over the place. (snort snort laugh) I woke up yesterday morning with this painful bump on my forehead.

No, no, wait...it gets better. This morning after dropping the boys off, I'm walking back to the truck and totally forgot about the paver edging separating the grass from the driveway. I tripped over it, slammed towards the hood of the truck and before I could I get my hands out to support myself my forehead made contact....right where I had hit the windowsill Saturday night. (laugh laugh snort) It hurt so badly all I could do was stumble my way to the truck door and fight the tears swimming in my eyes. Now I can't touch my forehead without wincing in pain.

And people wonder where Jameson gets it! I'll leave you today with a family photo.

On the beach at St. George.

Much Better

I'm doing much better today. Actually, I was over my pity fest yesterday afternoon. I must have been in a better mood since Jason went to dinner with an old co-worker while I struggled with a sleeping Ayden and a crazy Jameson at nail night and I wasn't annoyed! Actually, my mom is a huge help in that department, but it's also because I need him home next Tuesday for a scrap meeting and dinner with the girls so I didn't want to seem unaccommodating.

I'm trying to get a head start on year end so when we have our department meeting next Tuesday I'll look like the great ass kisser that I'm striving to be. That being said, I'll make every attempt to post more about our vacation this weekend. If you didn't get the pictures that I sent out via Kodak Gallery, let me know and I'll forward them on. I'll leave you with one of my favorites.

Have a great weekend!

Pity Fest for One

Warning - Do not read unless you're up for a good pity fest

i'm tired
my entire house is a wreck
i mean a serious wreck
the boys rooms, our room, the kitchen...everywhere
i'm so sick of our ugly stained carpet
can't wait until we get our tax refund so we can finally start working on the floors
don't even get me started on our pathetic kitchen cabinets
i have laundry coming out of my ears
i need new clothes in the worst way
our hr director is a whiney ass
i'm super busy at work
i'm depressed that I can't find 30 minutes at night to edit our vacation photos
i think clyde ate "something" at the beach
he's seriously raunchy and i don't have time to give him a bath
ayden woke up in a pissy mood this morning
i feel like the worlds worst mom as i'm yelling at him to go potty and brush his teeth
seconds after he woke up
great way to start the morning
packed peanut butter and jelly for lunch today
i was so annoyed while driving to work that i ate it
now i don't have a lunch
i hate that i'm in a crappy mood
i'm normally the cheerful teamplayer at work
i just want to shut my door and ignore everyone
i seriously hope jason doesn't have to work this weekend
okay, i'm done

We're Back!

Well, we made it through an entire week on an island without killing each other (or one of the boys)! We had such a fantastic time at the beach house. We experienced the most perfect combination of sunny and overcast days. We lived on the beach on the sunny days and did our sightseeing on the overcast days. We usually took 2 long walks on the beach every day and included the dogs on our evening stroll. There wasn't much to do on the island itself except soak in the scenery. This suited us just fine. We didn't feel like battling a bunch of tourists and having to search out a small section of the beach for our family every day. We basically had the beach area in front of our house to ourselves. Jason and I started thinking about what a simple and content life the locals lived. Work during the day and fish during free time. It started to sound pretty good, but we had jobs and our life to get back to. We got home Sunday to some slightly cooler temperatures and I woke up Monday morning to find it was only 50 degrees. Brrrr!

But as I was driving into work with the heat on in the truck for the first time this fall, I realized that I love living in Atlanta, I love my hectic-crazy life and I'm ready for summer to end and for fall to begin. I'm excited to see my boys in their Halloween costumes. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner, watching the parade on TV and drinking too much wine. Ayden is already asking me if he was a good boy this year and if Santa will be stopping by our house. His enthusiasm is contagious and I find myself looking forward to Christmas decorations, baking cookies and searching out those "perfect" gifts.

So, St. George has probably become one of my new favorite vacation destinations, but I think we'll leave it at that. It's a great place to relax and let go for a while, but I wouldn't give up what I have here for the world!

FYI - I downloaded vacation pictures last night and will edit and upload them into Kodak Gallery tonight.

Anticipation...

I'm still reading the 2nd book in Twilight series. Since it's been so hectic lately with the boys and packing for our vacation, I haven't had a lot of down time. I'm about half way through though and thought I'd better stop off at the book store Wednesday night to buy the 3rd book. The lady who checked me out said that Eclipse was by far the best book out of the 3. If that's the case, I'm sure I'll have New Moon and Eclipse finished by the time we get home. I'm tingling with anticipation!!

Scooby Dooby Doo!

I'm so excited! Ayden's costume was just delivered to my office. I had it shipped here because it wasn't supposed to be delivered until next week and I didn't want it sitting outside at home for too long. What a awesome surprise to see it delivered today! Ayden is going to be so excited!!! Ayden's devil costume is totally appropriate for Jameson this year. Unfortunately, Jameson isn't as chubby as this baby so it won't be filled out as much. Can't wait to take a ton of pictures of the boys dressed up in their costumes!

I've Been a Bad Blogger

I'm sorry, but things have been so hectic lately!

1. Jameson still isn't sleeping through the night and it has nothing to do with his ear anymore. He finishes up his antibiotic tomorrow and seems to be doing much better and the Mucinex dried up his sinuses so he's breathing again. He simply doesn't want to sleep in his room. It's almost an every night battle to get him to fall asleep in his crib and then he's up 2-3 times. I've been staying firm on making him fall back asleep in his own room, but most of the time he's crawling out and coming into our room for another snuggle. Most mornings he'll come in around 4:30 and then I let him lay down with us so that I can take my shower without worrying about him roaming the house screaming his head off.

2. Let me just start out by saying that Jameson looks like an angle but acts like the devil. He's into everything, takes things away from Ayden and then starts crying when Ayden doesn't give up easily. He'll randomly come up to Ayden and hit him or pull his hair because he thinks it's funny. I've finally learned that when the boys are playing and Jameson starts crying, I ask what happened instead of assuming that Ayden did something to upset his brother.

This being said, when Marguerite told me Tuesday night that Ayden had been punching his brother so hard in the stomach that it made Jameson cry, I didn't immediately jump to any conclusions. Yes, I was upset that Ayden would hurt his brother but at the same time I was pretty sure that Jameson had done something to provoke him. I wanted to handle this when I got home. As I'm walking out the door, David (Marguerite's husband) informs me that I don't understand the severity of what Ayden is doing and that they're worried that some day Ayden is really going to hurt his brother. I calmly tried to explain to him that it's hard for me to discipline Ayden properly because I wasn't there to witness the altercation and this is not normal behavior at home. Ayden wouldn't dare pound on his brother with me around because I would paddle his butt. David then proceeds to tell me that they spend way more time with my boys so they see more of it. Explosions started going off in my head. I told David that a great solution to the problem would be for me to quit my job and become a SAHM, but unfortunately our household budget doesn't allow for that. I certainly don't need to be reminded that I'm having to rely on someone else to raise my children 10 hours out of the day.

Before the tears could escape, I rushed the boys out to the car and left. I was bawling my eyes out...feeling guilty for being a working mom...feeling guilty because Ayden had hurt his brother and I wasn't there to handle it...feeling guilty because yes, David & Marguerite spend as much time with my children during the week as I do. David called me while I was making dinner to apologize for upsetting me. I know they don't want to see Jameson get hurt, but don't make me feel like an inadequate mom in the process.

So my solution to the problem was to have a heart to heart with Ayden and explain that what he's doing is hurting his brother. If Jameson does something to upset him, he needs to tell an adult and they'll take care of it. All of his "friends" (very cherished stuffed animals) were taken away and for each day that he is a good boy he can have 1 back. If he hits his brother again, they'll all be taken away again. Yesterday was a good day. He got his monster back.

3. So while I'm having an emotional breakdown with the Ayden/Jameson thing, I decided to clean out Ayden's school backpack. There was an envelope with the results from Ayden's hearing/speech/vision screening. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but we're worried about Ayden not being able to identify colors. He can count, he can say his ABC's and he has a vocabulary that sometimes scares me but he can't tell you if a particular crayon is blue, yellow or red. We've been worried that maybe he's colorblind so I was hoping that this screening would say otherwise. Not the case. Ayden passed with flying colors in every category except pronoun usage and colors. He was only able to identify 2 out of 8. I spoke with the lady who did the screening and she said it's not time to panic. Because Ayden can match colors, he can obviously tell the difference between them. He's simply not able to retain the name of each color. She gave me some exercises to work on with him and if we don't see an improvement in the next 4-6 months then we'll need to take him to a pediatric optomotrist. We're also going to work on his pronoun confusion (her fell, him did it, them crayons) but since he just turned 3 she's not worried that this won't work itself out.

4. I haven't seen Jason since Sunday. He has been working until 10 or 11 each night so that things won't fall apart at work while we're on vacation. It's hard enough taking care of the boys on my own, but I've been cleaning, doing the laundry, dragging things down from the attic, running errands and packing for all of us at the same time. Our goal is to leave for the beach immediately after work on Friday so it's up to me to make sure everything is ready to go. As of this morning, I only have one more bathroom to clean, 2 loads of laundry to fold, grocery shopping and packing to finish. I stripped all the beds this morning so I'll have fresh sheets in the dryer when I get back from nail night. When I leave for work tomorrow morning, it's my goal that everything will be in the truck ready to go. All I'll have to do is pick up the boys and go home to get Jason and the dogs.

All of the craziness this week will be worth it when we're sitting on the beach building sand castles with the boys. And since I woke up with two pimples on my forehead this morning, I'm assuming that "aunt flo" is on her way and the heartburn I've been experiencing is due to stress. I guess I'll have a few Corona's this weekend after all.

Everyone have a fabulous weekend and I'll post again when we get back.

Hmmmmmm

I’ve had heartburn after almost every meal for about a week. All I had for lunch today was broccoli rice casserole – pretty bland stuff. Either the boys have finally aggravated me so much that I've developed an ulcer or….hmmm…could it be possible???

So Very Tired

I feel like I have a newborn all over again. Except with a newborn you can feed them and they go right back to sleep. Not Jameson...we were up from 1:30 to 3 this morning. I finally gave up and brought him into our bed. He slept until 6:15 while I was still up at 4:45 to get ready for work. I feel hungover and I didn't have a drop of alcohol last night.

I'm excited about this weekend. Not anything extremely major going on but it should be a fun/productive weekend. Tomorrow the boys and I are taking a road trip with Mimi to Barnesville (about an hour away) to check out a different scrapbook store. I'm sure daddy will be working so I need to get the boys out of the house. Sunday we're staying home to clean and start packing for St. George. It's supposed to be beautiful all weekend (high 70's) so we can open windows, air out the house and have the kids play outside while we get some serious work done. With all of the exciting new shows on TV and kick ass Stephenie Meyer books to read, I've sort of been neglecting the homestead.

This is what we're having for dinner tonight:

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:
3 skinless boneless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup chunky salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips

Directions:
1. Boil the chicken and shred. In a large pot combine chicken, garlic and cumin. Mix well. Then add the broth, corn, onion, chili powder, lime juice and salsa. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

2. Break up some tortilla chips into individual bowls and pour soup over the chips. Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.

Enjoy and hope ya'll have a great weekend!

Yet Another Jameson Update

On a hunch (because he is STILL not sleeping through the night and it CAN'T be because he hates me that much) I took Jameson back to the doctor yesterday (3rd time in the last 4 weeks). Dr. Goza lovingly informed me that yes, Jameson's ear infection is still to blame for my sleepless nights. We started pumping him up with his new antibiotic last night along with Mucinex to get rid of the boogies and coughing. I have to get this baby healthy before our vacation!

I'm proud to report that Jameson didn't get up this morning until 5:15. If we can only get back to when he was sleeping until 6:30, I'll be one happy momma...to be continued.

Addict Seeking Help

I have yet another addiction (like I need another one). I'm addicted to the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I told you that I bought the first book, Twilight, Saturday night. I started reading it Sunday while the boys napped. I almost hyperventilated yesterday when I realized that I only had 40 pages left of the 500 page book. I quickly whipped up some fettuccine alfredo for me and the boys, dropped off a doggy bag for my mom at her house and cruised to Books A Million to by the second book, New Moon. Jason pulled into the driveway right behind us so I hid the book in the truck and had to mask the wild look in my eyes so he wouldn't realize I'd gone over the deep end. Ayden didn't take a nap so I had him in bed at 7:30. Jameson fell asleep during our snuggle time so I was able to slip into bed around 8:30 and finish up Twilight.

This doesn't sound too crazy right? Well, let me admit the worst of it. I brought Twilight with me to work on Monday and Tuesday and when everything was quite down the hall, I would hide the book behind my garbage can and read away. While at a stop light, I'd quickly read a few sentences before my light turned green. Yesterday I flew home as soon as I could and raced through Publix buying just enough for dinner last night and tonight. I had 10 minutes before I had to pick up the boys so I sat in the grocery store parking lot and read my book. I haven't watched Desperate Housewives yet because Twilight took top priority. I think Jason was looking for a little somethin-somethin last night but I claimed my arthritis has been bothering me all day so I could escape to bed. New Moon came with a sheet of temporary tattoos that are beyond adorable. I'm desperately trying to figure out a way I can use them as rub-ons for a scrapbook page. I have New Moon sitting on my desk right now and it's going to take all of my willpower to put it back in my bag so I can transmit payroll today. People need to get paid! I NEED HELP!!

Seriously, people can have their drugs and alcohol...all I need is a good Stephenie Meyer book!

Gay, Vampires & Benedryl

On Saturday Jason had to work all day but it didn't stop me and my parents from packing up the boys and heading down to Gay, Ga for the Cotton Pickin' Fair. Yes, there really is a town in Georgia called Gay...I even took a picture to prove it. It was such a beautiful day! We spent the majority of our visit wandering the grounds checking out the local artists. I bought some cute artwork for Jameson's room and Ayden rode the ponies and climbed around the Spider Man tower. It wasn't long after we left that both of the boys fell asleep in their carseats totally worn out.

A while back on Candice Stringham's blog (totally awesome photographer who works for Creating Keepsakes) I saw that she made reference to a book coming out that she was totally excited about. It was the third book in a series by Stephenie Meyer(http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/) called Eclipse. After reading some of the comments on her blog, I realized that there were a lot of people really into these books. Since there is nothing that I enjoy more during my very limited down time than a good book, I was extremely interested. After dinner on Saturday we took the boys to the bookstore and there in the front of the store was a Stephenie Meyer display. I snatched up the first book in the series called Twilight. This type of story is totally out of my "norm". It's about a young girl who moves to a new town and falls in love with a vampire. I decided to wait and start it yesterday while the boys were napping. Thank goodness that they both took a 2 hour nap...I couldn't put this book down. I couldn't wait until they were both in bed again last night so I could crawl into bed and pick up where I had left off. Jason had to yell at me last night to turn off the lights...I even skipped Desperate Housewives (DVR'd though)!

Onto my last exciting tid bit of info. They boys have been battling a cold for some time now. Ayden handles it much better than Jameson. When Jameson is sick and has a hard time sleeping, mommy has a hard time sleeping. I'm exhausted! Thank goodness for Children's Benedryl though. After two days with a tablespoon every 4-6 hours, I think we're on the road to recovery. I'm happy to report that Jameson slept from 8:30 last night to 5:30 this morning. Way to go goober man!

I've got pictures to download tonight so be on the lookout! Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Our Home Away From Home

I still can't believe that we are going on our very first "family" vacation. No other family, no friends...just me, Jason, the boys and the dogs. It feels so strange! So Rob confirmed the reservation yesterday and so I immediately had to look up our beach house on the internet. The house sleeps 10-12 people with 5 bedrooms (1 king, 3 queens and 2 twins) and 4 bathrooms. We have Gulf views and breezes from the 76ft veranda, pool and 6 person hot tub. There's a footpath to the beach just across the road. Holy crap! We're never going to want to go home!

Main View of House

KitchenDining Area

Living Room

Master Bedroom w/KingPrivate PoolView From House

My Life List

I've mentioned how I've been struggling to be a better person lately. Sometimes I feel like I'm on track and sometimes I feel like I'm failing miserably. I've been reading lately about how people are creating "Life Lists" to keep themselves on the right path. As somthing is accomplished on their list it gets crossed off and new things can be added. It really made me step back and think of what I want to accomplish during my lifetime. I think of things I want to do or see all of the time, but will I ever do anything about it? Maybe if I just have it written down, I'll be more likely to take action. So I've started my Life List. I only planned on putting down 25 things, but had a hard time stopping once I got started....

1. learn to have patience with my children
2. stop feeling like I have to compete with Jason’s hectic schedule
3. take a hot air balloon ride
4. visit Italy
5. take a family vacation with just Jason and the boys
6. visit all 50 states
7. learn how to use my camera
8. take a photography class
9. pass the APA exam
10. make $75,000/ year
11. get my degree in human resource management
12. convince Jason that it’s okay to have 3 kids
13. make something creative every week
14. consistently do the laundry every Saturday (and put it away)
15. be thankful for something new every day
16. never go to bed without giving Jason a kiss and telling him that I love him
17. plant a garden
18. visit Africa
19. make smores with the boys in the backyard
20. tile the laundry room
21. have my own scrap studio (with a door)
22. take the boys to church at least every other week
23. light candles every night after work
24. tell my grandma my true feelings about our relationship (or lack of)
25. learn photoshop elements in and out
26. tell Jason every day that he’s a good daddy
27. call my dad and mother-in-law at least once a week
28. renew our vows after 20 years of marriage
29. finally get down to 150 lbs
30. dance with the vacuum cleaner
31. tickle the boys every night before bed
32. post more photos on my blog
33. pay off both of our credit cards
34. move into a 4 bedroom house
35. talk to my sister every month (not via email)
36. find time to get a haircut more than once a year
37. finish painting Ayden's room

I figure it's a lot easier to write it all down than it is to actually do it. I'll let you know how it goes!

OMG!

Okay, for those of you NOT watching Private Practice...start watching! I was laughing my butt off during the first 15 minutes and bawling my eyes out during the last 15 minutes. As soon as Jason saw me walk into the bedroom with my puffy eyes, all he could say was "Can't you find a show that doesn't make you cry?". Whatever...I can't wait to see if Sam and Naomi can repair their marriage, if Addison and Peter will finally "hook up" or if Violet will ever realize that Cooper is the one for her. As if Private Practice, Greys Anatomy and Desperate Housewives aren't enough, I also DVR'd Dirty Sexy Money last night and Big Shots. I heard from so many people that they were really good last week so I thought I'd give them a try. Besides, I love Donald Southerland!So if you've already watched Dirty Sexy Money or Big Shots, let me know what you thought!

Look Out St. George...Here Come The Paynes!

It's been over a year since since Jason has been on a vacation. That's a long time considering our last vacation was flying to Wisconsin with a newborn, a 2 year old, mass quantities of luggage, 2 carseats and a breast pump. Let's not forget the lovely waterskiing "accident" I had which landed me in the hospital right smack dab in the middle of our precious 9 days off from work. I had my trip to Hawaii in February, but Jason has been faithfully working his butt off for the past 15 months with only a few random deep sea fishing trips provided by his wonderful boss, Rob.

Well, to reward all of Jason's hard work Rob is providing us with a beach house on St. George Island for a full week. We are sooooo excited! We can drive there in about 5 hours so we don't need to purchase airline tickets. The dogs are allowed at the house and on the beaches so we don't need to pay Sami to housesit and we can buy grocieries and mostly eat in like we do any other week...except we'll be waking up to the sound of the ocean and spending our days relaxing on the beach while our babies play in the sand.

I think the plan is that we'll leave Friday (10/19) after work so the boys can sleep most of the way there and we'll come back on Sunday (10/28). This also means that Jason and I get to spend our 6 year wedding anniversary at a beach house!

So look out St. George! Here come the Paynes!!!

BTW: This is an actual picture taken from the St. George website...how freakin beautiful is that beach???

A What???

So last night was the Kaiser Corporate Run. Our bus driver had absolutely no sense of direction and took us on a very unique drive to Turner Field. We left the Chamber at 5:15 and didn't get to our tent until 6:15. Serious bummer since the run/walk started at 7 and there were mass quantities of Corona Light to be drunk. Then I found out that Paul didn't request enough race numbers so I gave mine up to someone who was actually excited to walk the 3 miles through downtown Atlanta. Hello Corona! Oh...no...wait. Daymia was kind enough to donate her race number because she knew how badly I wanted to walk with everyone. Bitch. Luckily I had my Georgia State shortcut so Max, Keion and I were back at the tent in about 30 minutes. After that I decided to let loose and party like a Rock Star. The Corona's were going down like water and since it's been a very long time since I had done this, I forgot that eating was a requirement for avoiding a hangover. The Chamber received an award for having the highest participation of all the other Chambers at the Corporate Run. Yahooie! Let's have another Corona! We made it back to the Chamber around 10 and instead of getting into my vehicle and driving straight home, I hung out on the rooftop with some of my fellow co-workers for one last beer. Bud Light...Corona...they were all starting to taste the same. Why does drinking remove every single brain cell from my puny little head??

This morning I woke up at 4:30 to Jameson crashing onto the floor from his crib. As soon as I put my two wobbly feet on the ground I thought....I have a what???? Oh ya, this is a hangover! Just fantastic. There's a staff meeting first thing this morning and I'm going to look like total ass. All I can say is that McDonald's became my new best friend this morning and I plan on polishing off the miniature Twix that are left over from last night before I leave to have lunch with my mom. Let's not mention the crazy amount of grociery shopping and cooking I have to do today and tomorrow for the Patriot Plumbing cookout that we're having at my parent's "old" house tomorrow. Jason had better appreciate this!

Wish me luck and speedy recovery!

Jameson Update

I took my little goober butt to the doctor yesterday for a follow up on his ear infection. Jameson hasn't been sleeping through the night for the past 2 weeks and I'm exhausted. Because he's figured out how to get out of his crib (landing head first on the floor) I've been staying up until he falls back asleep. The NP said that there is a small amount of fluid in his right ear but it's not infected. It could be causing enough pressure to be uncomfortable though. More than likely he's waking up because he's a needy momma's boy. They're prescribing a decongestant to get rid of the fluid before it can progress into another ear infection. At least Ayden has been staying asleep through all of the drama...he's a deep sleeper just like his daddy.

Cleaning The Cars

Daddy says the best preventive maintenance one can do for their vehicle is an oil change and a good washing.

Daddy washing the Expedition...

Ayden washing his Diego go-go bike...

Jameson manning the power washer. Go team!