Wild Days

Totally Kidding

I can't even remember what we did Saturday

That's how exciting it was

I did sleep in until 8am

Doesn't sound like much 

but to a mom of 3 little ones 

and an early riser hubbs

8am might as well be noon

If I hadn't needed to nurse the baby 

I could have slept till 10, fo sho

Then Mark took all the boys to the gym

Should have gone too

But needed the quiet more than the workout

And the shower

All Alone

Seriously don't remember the rest of the day

Running errands and messing around the house

Sunday was suppose to be a church visit

But Christian had a rough night

I was super tired

And I tried to let Mark sleep in a little bit

We celebrated Mark's birthday last night since he is traveling this week

I will share those pictures on Wednesday

But he made his own diner

Works for me

We had steak

YUM

I think I have mentioned Colton's sleep issues 

He is making his way to our bed every.single.night.

GGRRRRRR

Saturday night I was up with Christian and his tummy ache

Connor was already in our bed

He and Mark were snoozin' HARD

I heard Colton open and close his door, twice

I finally got Christian calmed down and went to my room

Saw Mark, saw Connor, saw Precious (all on the bed)

And saw Frisco on his pillow

No Colton

Went to his room

No Colton

Checked Connor's top bunk

No Colton

Checked the closet

No Colton

(hey you never know)

Went back to my room

Maybe I missed him

Saw Mark

Saw Connor

Saw Precious

Saw Frisco, on the floor

If Frisco is on the floor.....

Who is on the pillow

COLTON

tried to take a picture, but it was too dark

I gathered up my little munchkin and put him back to bed

10 minutes later, he was back in my room

So we all slept together

I give up

Today our carpet is being installed downstairs in the basement

Playroom and Guestroom

Maybe I will want to go down there now?

When the installers got here and saw the furniture they were confused

Their ticket said it would be empty

My paperwork said they were to move the furniture

Lowe's called and wanted more money

We went round and round

Apparently they had not charged us correctly

I simply asked:

"so you made a mistake"

The gal danced around

I asked again

( I was not being rude at all, promise)

I have worked too many years in retail for that

Finally a supervisor said we would not be charged anymore

I would have paid

It's only fair

But come on folks

I swear I have the worst luck with this kind of crap

Speaking of crap....

I just went in to the bathroom to pee

Someone left skid marks

Come on Guys

REALLY

Can't you double flush?

Who do you think has to clean that?

Such is 

LIFE WITH BOYS

***on a side note***

I was trying to finish decorating before I shared pictures

But I have been cut off for now

So I will post some house pics this week

Mamma the Explorer

We have been trying to explore our new town

Avoid a heat stroke

And

Pass the time

The last full week of summer

for Connor anyway

We went to Norman, about 30 miles south

to check out the Sam Noble Museum

AKA dinosaur museum

It is a pretty neat place

And for $5 for just me to get in

We will certainly return

There was an area on dinosaur's

obviously

And a section on Native American Indians

Another area was insects and other animals

I don't really remember

By this point I was chasing the big ones

And holding the baby

And pushing the stroller with my big toe

It was they're first "non childrens" museum

And I think they had a pretty good time

The fourth area of the building is where they

rotate exhibits 

(I am guessing)

They currently had chocolate

I really wanted to look in there but I had to poop

So we had to leave

I did read they are having a "class" one night next week

about pairing chocolates with wine

Yummy!!!

Next month, it's fire fighters

So guess who's going back???

That's right, 

Mamma the Explorer

We have also been checking out some local parks

We have a great swing set in our own yard

But I am hoping to run into some other moms

Catching a little fresh air in the early morning

Before the sun melts us

Hasn't happened yet

Meeting moms, not melting

Although we have come very close to melting

Guess what we are calling this park?

The Rocket Ship Park

Damn, ya'll are smart

Tried to make the boys pose for a couple of pics

It will probably be a few years before that works out again

Hope all is well!!

What I've Learned

It's been a while since I have done this kind of post 

so one could say I haven't learned much lately

Which is probably totally true

So here goes nothing

What I've Learned Lately

-I LOVE it when Christian is nursing and makes "mmm" noises, makes me feel like I am doing something right

-Baby teeth are really, really sharp

-Summer break is too long with out a good plan

-I TOTALLY did not have a good plan for this summer

-The gas stations cut you off at $75

-When you miss your weekly fill up, which is usually at half full/empty (depending on how see things), and the gas light comes on...it costs more than $75 to fill 'er up

-Connor really misses his buddies, I pray he makes some good friends fast next week when school starts

-I need a maid, I desperately miss Margarita (not the drink, the lady) and my PB paychecks to pay for her

-I wish I still had my job, maybe I will venture out to the PB here one day soon and see if there is anything I can work out

-Cheap wine is not always bad

What have you learned lately??

Contractor on the Run

So I have mentioned quite a bit lately we are having some work done on the house

We had a section of the basement playroom closed in/off for Mark's office

That included a wall, door, and painting

Then the kitchen, dining, half bath, and family room painted

One of Mark's sales guys gave us a couple of names for contractors

We went with one, not because he was the cheapest

But because he was the quickest with the quote

He seemed like a super nice guy

And he is

WAS

Kind of slow

But the work has been excellent

I overheard he and his helper talking about singing in the church choir

That kind of guy

Until....

The last day

He had been showing up for work at 10am

On Friday he came at 8, hoping to catch Mark at home

Apparently there had been a misunderstanding on who was paying for the doors

We assumed it was included in the price

He and Mark had gone to Home Depot to pick it out

When Mark mentioned this to him, he said he would eat the cost of the door ($360)

In the meantime, he had hand written some additional charges on our bill

That I had on the fridge

He included this $360

Mark had circled on his contract where it stated "all materials included"

Jeff had noticed this and wanted to discuss

Problem was he caught me off guard

It was 8 am

I'm in jammies still

I have not brushed my teeth

I don't have on a bra

Come on dude!!!

(Hope this story is making sense)

Anyway, all he has left to do is paint the door downstairs

He is stressed out that he is going to loose this money

He claims he has already lost over $800 

because Mark told him the ceiling were going to be the same color (as the walls) in the kitchen and dining rooms

Really, like it's $400 per room to have a second roller to paint the ceiling?

Get over yourself buddy

But I stayed calm

Because

I HAD NOT BRUSHED MY TEETH

I told him Mark would be home at noon

They could settle up

 He said he would be back then to paint the doors and talk with Mark

He never showed

JACK ASS

LOOSER

IDIOT

Mark and I thought we would send him a check for the balance, minus the $200 for painting the door

Of course we would pay him for the door

We are not those kind of people to short others what is due

We were gonna send it certified mail, so we would know he received it

Then today, guess what the mail woman brings us?

A certified letter from Jeff

With a bill

A very padded bill

He nickle and dimed us for every paint stroke folks

He wants an additional $3000

Really??? 

He built 1 wall and painted 4 rooms

Mark is calling him

I wanted to

But I would tell him to

F**K OFF!!!

And probably a few other choice words

I will let you know what happens...

On other news.... I need to clarify my needs for Mark's birthday

His birthday is next week

The BIG 4-0

He will be out of town on the actual day

We are going to Dallas the following weekend

So he will get to celebrate with his friends

I need ideas on what to get him

And should I do a dinner the night before he goes out of town

Or wait until we get home?

Mostly what to get....

And ya'll are all so funny with the "have a party, invite the old folks"

"make it early"

HAHA

I totally live in the old folks cove

But Mark's about to be old too!!!

Welcome to the Hood

The neighborhood 

(that is)

Land of 1000 mosquitoes

(seriously I have bites all over me)

So our housing development is call Kickingbird

(remember folks our house is from the 80's)

Which I can not say with out using my

'Dancing with Wolves' accent

kick-king burd

Apparently I can't type it without

saying out loud in the accent either

It never gets old

Mark and I crack up every time we drive into the subdivision

As soon as we turn on the street

we say it

and we laugh

We live in a cul-de-sac

which we love

We can let the kids ride their toys 

without too much fear

This is the house next door

We can see the drive and this truck from several windows

After about a week of living here

Mark said "that truck hasn't moved

Wonder if they are dead"

So we started with the stories...

grabbed the poison instead of the creamer for the morning coffee

drank to much and passed out in the bathtub

you get the idea

Then the lady from the other side of this house came over

With some very yummy cookies

She told us the lady in said house died

WHOOPS

So that house is empty

The lady who came over, has grown kids

On the other side of us is someones great grandparents

If the Cadillac and Grand Marque in the drive weren't clue enough

Then the walker that is by the front door should be

But Mark has talked to them once when he was doing yard work

OLD!!!!

We met the other neighbors the other day when the boys were playing

They have grand kids from 2-16

Across the street, college age kids and older

 Point is.....

we won't be sitting in the drive way with neighbors watching the kiddos play in the street

No more white trash Memorial Day festivities out front with next door neighbors

Maybe, hopefully

When the house next door goes on the market

A younger family will move in

But we do have trees

Lots of trees!!

The kids have been bugging me for a pool all summer

But with the move I have not purchased one

Last weekend on 1 of my 3 trips to Target

I grabbed a Toy Story pool

It had gone on clearance for $7

Love me a bargain

It looked much bigger on the box

But again for $7

who's complaining

It even came with water guns that you connect the hose too

Super fun

Until they turn the water guns on you

We could actually handle the heat because of all those trees

Dare I say...

you were right Mark

Nah, I won't really say it

But it was bearable

This is a really cool house in the hood

If you can tell in this photo

That is a bridge from the garage to the house

Kind of cool

And this yard is nothing but trees

(out front anyway)

And more randomness......

-Yesterday was registration for Connor's pre-K through the school district

Sunday night I went to get all my paperwork together

 and we could not find his birth certificate

I was devastated

Mark got up and drove to Dallas to get another one

I had him signed up by 3pm

What a husband

What a DAD!!!

-We go back next week to meet the teacher and find out if we have afternoon or morning class

-I am pretty sure I overheard one of the ladies in the front office say there was only afternoon classes left

**THAT SUCKS**

-I had my whole day worked out in my head for morning classes

I would have 1 on 1 time with Colton

Then in the afternoon while Colton slept I would have 1 on1 time with Connor

-Now I have to rethink my plan

-Guess this means no more naps for Connor

-I found the boys a pediatrician

-We ordered the carpet for the basement

 and it should be installed in the next couple weeks

-Mark's 40th birthday is next week

-Need ideas so please share with me your thoughts

-I have been wondering if my boys would benefit more if I went back to work

Maybe the summer has just been too long

-We are headed to DFW in less than 2 weeks for a birthday party

Can not wait to see some FRIENDS!!!

Movie Night and A Day of Dates

Decided to have family movie night on Friday

I had recorded Ratatouille and we had yet to watch it

So we picked up a pizza 

and popped some popcorn

and had a good night

Hello Cheek-y

My sweet, precious Colton is certainly in the 

TERRIBLE 2'S

Between that and the new baby brother

and daddy being gone for 6 months and

the move here

and our lack of a schedule during summer....

he is not sleeping well and biting

and just being a holy terror

So I thought a little one on one time would be nice

I gave him 3 choices

the dinosaur museum, putt-putt, or the zoo

and in that order

I was really pushing the (indoor) museum

But my boy choose the zoo

We enjoyed the water feature in the children's section 

just the 2 of us

barefoot and holding hands thru the running stream

We saw some other mommy's and babies

Then we went to visit our gorilla Big Mamma

There she is looking sad as usual

Wonder why we call everyone "Big Mamma"?

Anyway, the zoo keeper was there taking her notes on the gorillas activities

And we got to learn some little tidbits about our friend

BM is actually 47 or 48 years old and came from Africa

She is the mother of 8 and nursed all her babies

That explains the droopy boobs and sad face

She is the grandmother of the youngest one (6) in their living area

Gorillas in captivity live to around 50

She had her last baby at 41, which is very late in Gorilla years

The zookeeper also said Big Mamma was a very good name for her

So there is your animal lesson for the day folks!!!

WTH

Who took all the leaves from the bottom branches

So our time together at the zoo was nice

and HOT

and short

We headed to Chic-fil-A for lunch and were still home by noonish for nap

That afternoon Mark and Connor went to the movies

and then they camped out in the basement that night

As much as I love family time and always want to encourage group activities

The boys really thrive when they are seperated

Perhaps I have treated them more like twins than I should have?

If you ask Colton how old he is

He will tell you 4

And he believes it

Sunday we all went to try the "best" Mexican restaurant in town

We don't typically go to non-fast food places with all of us

Not that our boys are bad

They use table manners and we try to time it right

But it is often a beating

I know some of you other moms know what I am talking about

As the mom, you don't really get to enjoy the food or being served

You have to keep knives out of the way

or drinks from being spilled

or feed babies

or make sure food gets into the right tummies

But it was GREAT food

and everyone was truly on their best behavior

The best part....

it is literally right down the street

Well worth the effort

So there was my weekend

Life with Boys

is fun

(most of the time)

MOTY

OR

Someone please call CPS

You be the judge

I mean look at those smiles

This can't be wrong

Right?

At least Connor has on a helmet

Safety first my friends

My dad has a hand on the back of this 4 wheeler

This one is my nephew's so it is a bit smaller

These (above) pictures were from last visit to my folks

 This one was pretend driving

It was so hot this past week, not much riding took place

But the rest of the visit was great

My parents met us half way on Sunday and took the big boys

Then Christian and I flew in Wednesday night

Mark met us half way again on the following Sunday to pick us up

And truth be told

we could have stayed another week

But my niece and nephew had to start school this week 

so home we went

Enjoy these photos from our visit....

Christian's first plane ride

He did great

He is always happy at moms and pops house

Moms and the big boys made several special treats

 in the kitchen

Had some sprinkler time

And did it country style too

Connor had put his clothes back on

but got back into the sprinkler

And Colton of course

took his off

It was so hot 

that when I would go outside

my camera lens would fog up

Pops and the big boys

(including my nephew Thomas)

would fly the airplane

Pops gave Connor an un-operable "bamote" control

Con had a blast flying

They ran themselves out after dinner as long as

a grownup could stand the heat

They all slept well every night

Moms and Colton did mani-pedis

I totally make him take off the polish before we headed back to OKC

Mark would not have found it so cute

Moms and Pops got lots of 2 on 1 time with Colton

Connor spent the night with Aunt Sissy most evenings

He is certainly not one of those kids that gets homesick

or misses his mamma 

(and yes it's mamma, that's what he calls me lately)

Granny and Christian

Me and Tommy

The best BIL EVER

All the grand kids

Take Back

Well I didn't mean to sound like Debbie Downer in yesterday's post!!!!

I was just rambling off my thoughts as they came to me. 

I guess I need to sensor them a bit more

Or at least think before I type...HAHA!!

My bestie called my after reading it to check on me 

as did the hubs

(I love you and didn't mean to worry you)

Whoops...

Sorry bloggies...

I am good and loving life in OKC!

PROMISE

Randomness

-- The painters are still here, I am so ready for them to be done, so we can get back on a schedule and I can finish hanging things and share pictures

--The contractor finished the work in the basement while I was gone to my parents...closing off a section for Mark's home office. It looks good except for the doors. BAD BAD doors

--He's says he can do more work on them painting and removing the threshold and such, but it's gonna cost another couple hundred dollars

--He's good, but now he is just freaking nickle and diming us!

--Let me run out to the money tree in the backyard folks and take care of that, WTH?!?!

-- I was loving my house, now I think I am hating it again

--I hate grocery shopping, I mean really really HATE it. I feel like it is the biggest waste of time and money. I know you need food to live, but when I plan meals it costs even more. And they are always out of something. Plus I go a few times a week to refresh the bananas. Whatever happened to grocery delivery. Doesn't anyone do that anymore?

--I am feeling very poor and broke since writing another check today to the contractor. Can't you tell?

--My dogs stink and shed like crazy. I am moving their room to the laundry room. Is that mean? I can't take another dog hair on my bed.

--I flinch now everytime I have to feed Christian. My booby fears that 1 little baby tooth.

--Football starts next week. Oh joy!! That means I will see my hubs even less and will not get a conversation out of him until next January

--My sprinklers just came on. Why the heck are they coming on at 3:40 in the afternoon. The ground is not even getting wet it so FREAKING hot out there

--I miss my friends and my playdates. I really hope once school starts that Connor makes some friends with some decent moms. Otherwise, I am gonna get super lonely. And I need adult companionship. I can't handle being alone all the time.

Give him the car keys

And ship him off to college

My little 8 month old has sprouted his first tooth

and crawled a couple "steps" today

Real crawls, not the soldier elbow pull

And he's eating pickles 

(Mark says it was the pickle or the keg-in the background)

Little sucker's growing up way too fast

Almost makes me want to get pregnant again

But since he is back to waking up twice a night

Perhaps not

My boobies are not looking forward to more teeth

But at least we made it 8 months