Big Racer

Today was a beautiful day...but still insanely windy.

I thought it would be crazy to stay in on a day like this and I unfortunately couldn't get my rear end up to work out at 5 this morning.

Bad momma.

I wanted to do something free, that will wear the boys out,  a place we will all be happy about, and that I could get a work out.

Lofty goals...right?

Then I remembered the school that is up the road.

At the school has a running track!

Perfect!

I told the boys we were going to a really big race track!

And they were putty in my hands.

I wish I thought of this earlier!

I threw in the bike, scooter and two trucks in the van and we went.

They each took turns with what they took around the track.

Then Romeo and I took a break and sat in the bleachers to cheer Wild Man on.

I do not have any good pictures of Wild Man because he didn't stop the whole time. I just loved racing along the track. Then just when I thought I was going to have to fight him to get back to car...

Mission Accomplished!!

Yeah for free entertainment!!

All Aboard!

It's Spring Break!

So as a mom of a preschooler I go, "What the heck am I going to do with the boys all week?!"

So my sweet friend Katie had an idea of taking the kids to a restaurant called 2 toots!

So we headed to the train station to mozie on over to the restaurant.

We got on and met the Petro's and all the kids mostly entertained themselves so Katie and I could actually get some adult talk in. Whoo Hoo!

Then we made it to 2 toot's!

The train delievered the food! And there was Thomas playing on the tvs.

The boys were in Awe of the awesomeness of the place.

And this is me being a bad mom and telling the boys to say cheese while their mouths are full.

Notice Romeo's 3rd eye is slowing disappearing!!

After we eat we headed back to the train station.

Then Wild Man started to demonstrate the noise the Droog sucker makes to Grant.

and Romeo followed.

Love the drool action with this one.

All in all we had a great day so far. The boys acted great!

Yeah!

And mom got some much needed adult time!

Double Yeah!

Spring Break...so far so good!

Review and a Giveaway

To find out about the review please go to my giveaway page
HERE

Just catching up

So I realized I haven't caught you guys up on some things.

First- my wallet was miraculously found!

A month of getting a new Social security card, getting all of my bank cards replaced, and about to get my new license, my mom sent me a text early one morning.

All it said was. "I have news."

Now if someone says that to you. What would your first thought be?

Someones pregnant, right?

I sure did. I named both sis in laws...negative. My newly married cousin...negative. Other friends...negative.

Then I was at a loss.

I gave up.

So mom sent me a picture of this.

Sorry I don't know how to turn the picture. 

My tech support is watching 24. Which means I only interupt if someone is dying or an appendage has fallen off. 

So I will have a sideways picture.

Anyhoo, back to the wallet. You will not believe where it was...

Just sitting out in the open on the carseat in mom's car!

Do you know how many times we looked in that car?

We are sad, sad brainless people.

But seeing my wallet was like seeing a long lost friend.

Like I said, I am a sad, sad person to consider my wallet as a friend.


This past week I had my birthday.

The first birthday without dad.

Birthdays have never been a big deal in our family. Not that we ignored them we just didn't make a huge deal about it.

I knew it would be a hard day because I knew I would not be getting dad's phone call, but it was an even harder day then I thought.

But that isn't what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to talk about how wonderful my hubby is.

Mr. Genius has a certain history of giving certain gifts.

I usually get some bath and body lotion and candles. Then on one special occasion I got a bra.

So forgive me when I wasn't expecting much from him on my birthday.

But boy did he surprise me.

I got a fer realz Kate Spade purse!

All my other purses were made illegally in some back alley somewhere. Because the real prices I believe are just ridiculous.

But not only am I proud of Mr. Genius for giving me an awesome birthday gift but he actually bought it at the Kate Spade outlet...and it was on sale!

Being the cheapskate that I am...I couldn't be prouder of him.

Then I of course got my birthday money! Squeal!

Which means I have so many more projects in the works.

Right now we are working on the foyer and the laundry room.

Can't wait to show you guys the finished pieces.

Just another day...

Today I dropped Wild Man off at preschool and it was "his" day.

Wild Man will get to ring the bell when it is time to clean up, be the leader in the line, and he gets to bring the snack for the day.

Translation in 4 year old terms: Wild man was the cool kid today.

I let Wild Man pick out what snack he wanted to bring.

He chose Fruit by the foot.

Translation: You remember fruit roll ups as a kid? It is like that but they made it into a loooooong skinny strip so as your kids are eating it while walking around and pick up all kinds of dirt as it drags on the floor behind them.

When Wild Man walked into the classroom, you should have heard the kids. They saw the snack Wild Man was carrying and quite frankly I think I would have gotten the same reaction if I walked into the room full of geeks with the new Ipads. Wild Man loved the attention so much he paced the room holding up the snacks for everyone to see and admire.

Then Romeo and I left to get his hair cut.

Let just saw that I dread getting Romeo's hair cut. Whoever said that girls are the ones with the drama clearly didn't have boys.

Last time Romeo got his hair cut I literally had to lay on top of him to keep him in the seat. And yes he was strapped in. As a two year old he is surprisingly strong.

Today we found the secret to a peaceful haircut.

Baby Einstein.

It is so nice to have a peaceful haircut!

One thing I did realize today.

Romeo LOVES his big brother. He does whatever big brother does and whatever he says to do. One thing I didn't realize is that he wants to be his big brother. When people ask him how old he is, Romeo says 4. The first time it happened I didn't think much about it, but today was the forth time in 2 days. I realized he is saying it because this is what the beloved big bro says when he is asked how old he is.

Sigh, one more thing to add to the list of "what we need to work on". Another is improving our (not mine of course) aim at the potty, and not constantly saying the same thing over and over and over and over. It just drives me batty.

Then after naptime the boys wanted to go outside and play for a bit.

They really wanted our across the street neighbor to come out and play with them. I just said, "We can just wait to see if they come out to play."

Well...they did.

Then it was time for me to start cooking dinner. Which is when all problems happen.

Romeo was playing with something and then he tripped and fell right on the corner of our coffee table.

Do you see his third eye? What you can't see from the picture the is that third red eye sticks out a good bit. It will be there for a while. But as you can see having a extra eye hasn't slower little Romeo down a bit.

Just another day in our household.

A review and a giveaway...What?!

A company called csn contacted me to do a review and a giveaway!!

How awesome is that?!

CSN is a company that has like over 200 websites. Your need kids bedding?...they have a website for that. Ergonomic furniture you thing...got a website for that too.

I will be getting a product from allmodern.com.

Can't wait!!

Ingenius

I ran across another really cool website.

It is called Supercook.com

You put all the food you have in your kitchen and it will tell you what recipes you can make with those ingredients!

How awesome is that!

Just thought I would share.

Enjoy

All alone

This weekend Mr. Genius sent me to a night in the city ALL. BY. MYSELF!


I was so excited. I was also a little nervous being in the city by myself but quickly got over it once I got there.


My emotions have been completely out of wack so I really needed a break.


I was mostly excited about not having to make my bed after waking up in the morning.


I was also looking forward to not having to constantly tell someone no along with constantly coming up with creative answers to the question why.


I love my boys dearly but was ready for a break.


I was dropped off at the train station and during my train ride into the city I got to read a book...uninterrupted!


Then I walked from the train station to my hotel. It was so nice to just walk at my own pace and enjoy the scenery.


Once I got into the hotel I got to just sat in silence. Ahhh!



But first I got to take a nap. ;)

Then I went across the street to the mall.

I think I skipped across the street.


I walked into Nordstrom and I apparently pick the perfect day to go because they were doing free make overs! Who Hoo some else got to put on my make up! I only wear make up on Sundays...because I decided that I don't want my boys to have false impressions of how girls should look...or I am lazy.


Dior had an open seat. I have never worn Dior makeup before. I will say that I loved the way it looked right after she put it on, but by later on that night my skin was as shiny as it was when I was in high school. So my Bare Essentuals works just fine when I actually take the time to put it on.


That morning I got an email from Sephora to come and pick up my birthday gift from them. So I got some free make up from them.


Gotta love free pampering.


Now this next part may just show how much I do not get out. I went to the food court to get some lunch a quietly enjoy it. Ahhh.

As I was sitting down I noticed the tv was playing music videos. None of which I knew.


I used to be so on top with what music was popular. Now I just listen to Baby Einstein and the Fresh Beat band.


But I am cool enough to have seen Taylor Swift on Ellen and I know that I like Taylor swift as a person.


So apparently since Wild Man was born over 4 years ago there is a new thing out where you can text a number to the tv at the mall and it will play the videos you want to see.


How new is this? I told you I don't get out much.


So wanted to see a Taylor Swift video... and pretend I was 16 and cute again.


I did hear some groans around me over the music I chose, apparently other people didn't want to pretend they were teenagers again.


Oh well, get over it people. I am enjoying myself! Which apparently involves Taylor Swift at the moment.



Later on I went back to the hotel and ran across a show that I now love.


It is called My life as Liz.


Have you seen it? It is hilarious.


One reason I have not run across it before is because it is on MTV.


Told you I was trying to be a teenager again.


I also got to use this time to reflect over the past 3 months.


----



What have a I learned through dad's death?

• One thing I learned really soon after dad's passing. When someone passes you do something for the family...anything for the family. Whether it be to pick them up from the airport (thank you Beth), take care of the kids during the service, just emailing them to tell them you are sorry, or just giving them a hug when you see them with out saying a word. It doesn't matter what you do, just do something.
• I learned that we have no guarantee about tomorrow. I have heard that for years in church. But not that I felt that my family was invincible. But dad was in good health and it was so far from our minds that he would have a heart attack. Due to me feeling like the security blanket has been ripped out from under us, I have gotten a little paranoid over bad things happenings to everyone around me. 

Am I angry at God?

• NO! I have never once gotten mad at God. I have questioned why God took dad when He did, but I know that He has a good reason for it. That is one question I will ask when I get to heaven. 

I get sad when I see old men. I wonder what dad would have looked like with a head full of grey hair.


I get jealous when I hear people say that they are going to see or talk to their dad. I want to do that so bad. So all of you out there that still have your dad down here, give him a big hug for me.



What really breaks my heart is when Wild Man asks questions.


The other dad Wild man asked me when Pop's birthday is. I told him August 15th. Wild Man got excited and asked if that is when Pop will come back down to earth to play. He thinks since it is Pop's special dad, God will let him come down from heaven that day. *tear*


All in all it was a great time to just get away and do something for me. I definitely want to do it again and possibly stay longer and next time actually buy something other then food.


Girls weekend anyone?!

Children's Prison

I have a friend from high school that is currently living in Uganda. Betsy is a vet and her husband works for the embassy...which is why they are currently in Uganda.

Anyways, Betsy is a fun-loving caring person who just wrote I post that I just have to share.

A friend of Betsy's ran across a Children's prison and Betsy just wrote of her experience.

Quite frankly as a mother this just rips me up inside, I just have to share it with you.

Click here to read the post.