Never Ending . . . .

I drove to Reno Sunday night and then back home Tuesday. It seems like I haven't been home for a long stretch of time for a while. Whether traveling, at work, city council, coaching t-ball, driving kids here and there, it never ends. Some days, like today, I want to throw in the towel and quit everything. I think that, but then I panic, I can't quit - I committed that I would do it so I can't stop now, I better finish. It's an interesting view I take on life sometimes. I know how crazy it is - and yet, I keep doing it to myself. Great example, no one to coach t-ball, so they ask me and Jared. They're desperate, would we please help. And, Jerrick and Ryker will be on this team. My heart strings are tugged and I say yes. Luckily we have a good group of parents who are willing to help out. It sure makes it nice when you're trying to entertain a group of 4-6 year olds!

On the way home from Reno, I listed to a book on CD. It is called, "How to eat a live frog." I'm thinking this book was written exclusively for me. In the first part of the book the author, Brian Tracy, says, "You can't do everything. It's like trying to finish everything you want to get done. Catching up with everything. It will NEVER happen - so quit trying." The premise of the book is that if you eat a live frog every morning, the rest of the day will be better and you've taken care of the biggest issue you will face - so everything else is a breeze. I really like this idea, tackling the biggest task first. Not so much the part of eating a frog!! Now to just apply what I learned.

The last few weeks have been a blur and I don't want to go through life like this. It really takes all the fun out of everything, even things I enjoy. One of these days, when I have a nervous breakdown, Jared will look at me and tell me he really doesn't have any sympathy. Well, I would say that to him, he'll probably be very sympathetic!!

Tonight Cannon was hanging out with his dad and I - something he does every night, since he's incredibly spoiled. He kept saying 'Mom', no matter where I was or what I was doing. It reminded me of the bird in the movie, "Up". The bird keeps repeating a word, over and over and over. That was Cannon tonight. It made me laugh. He's quite the character. He's reached the terrible twos at 18 months. He is everywhere and into everything. Tonight, he pulled out all the bowls out of the cabinet, wrote on the wall, dumped out a bag of fishy crackers, threw kitchen utensils in the garbage and kept walking into and spreading a really large pile of dirt that somehow fell off of clothes that came in from outside. It was probably about a cup of dirt that I was trying to sweep up and kept walking in it and spreading it around. AHHHHHH! Somedays! But tonight, he cuddled for a while, then climbed into his swing and requested Little Einsteins. He's now sleeping sweetly while I type and try to take a breather. At least he's not causing any trouble right now. Now to find a few more hours in the day! :)

California

This last weekend, Monica and I went to California. (Yes, Monica was just there - but last minute she did some major babysitting and agreed to pay half the plane ticket, if I paid the other half for babysitting. Couldn't resist spending the weekend with my daughter). She flew to San Diego to see Baili, and I flew to Orange County to see Melissa. I spent a day and a half with Melissa, being pampered. Much needed, life has become beyond stressful. I used to say if I could just clone myself I would be great. These days, I'm thinking that I need two clones to keep everything up.

On Saturday, we drove down to Camp Pendleton, had lunch with Baili, Elvis, the boys and Monica. Then Monica and I hung out with Baili. We pampered ourselves by just relaxing. It has been a long time since I've had time to read a book, put my feet up, enjoy some Golden Girls episodes, well, a lot, but it was great. Sunday, I took pictures of their family, and my favorite was taking pictures of the new baby. I also did a whole lot of baby holding while I was there. I LOVE babies, especially when I can love and cuddle and not have to get up in the middle of the night! He's a doll!

Monica spent Sunday with Melissa and I picked her up that night, half way between.... on the way back on base, it was after 10 pm, which means they card everyone in the car. No id for Monica. Oops. Luckily, she was underage, but the marine that took my id, asked her how old she was, when she said she was 14, I told him that she was my daughter. He did a few close looks, as if I was lying, I volunteered my family pictures, just in case!! He handed my id back and told me that I looked really good for my age. Yeah me! Looking young compliments don't come often enough!! Monica had to tell everyone about it. I'm not sure if she was shocked that he didn't believe we were mother and daughter, or that he thought I looked younger. Mothers always look older than they are, right? At least when you're that age. It gave us something to laugh about.

Monday we flew back to reality. It was a little sad, a lot overwhelming, but good to be home and see my babies. Cannon was so excited when he saw me. I think Jared was just as excited. Cannon had been up the night before (all night), turns out he had an ear infection. But due to the hectic work schedule and unforseen circumstances, it was really hard on him, Jared that is!! He's an amazing guy! Luckily he puts up with me!! And sometimes I put up with him - mostly during hunting season!! (Oh, and when it comes time to buy the licenses, and put in for the draws, and replace skiis on snowmobiles, okay, you get the idea!!). Luckily, neither of us wants to be single parents, so we keep finding ways to stay in love. Who could do it on their own? Certainly not me!! I'm insane now . . .

Here are a few pictures of the new baby (yes, saved the best for last)-

Easter Basket Woes

This Easter was an exciting one. We did our regular thing, colored Easter eggs and tried to find our Easter baskets. For some reason, they are always hard to find. I've given up on decorating for holidays. No decorations EVER seem to make it out of the box, so Saturday night, I was scrounging around trying to find the container with the baskets. I found the container, but ended up dumping the entire bucket from the shelf (quite high up), but I figured, better the container than me, since I almost fell. I guess that's probably why you shouldn't stand on the work bench, in between all the tools and try to pull containers down that are heavy. Did I mention the light in the garage doesn't work, so I had Jared's head flashlight on. You know the kind that straps to your head, so your hands are free. Always the fashion statement!! Monica and Ryker were my cheering section, when I knew it was me or the container that was going to fall and they kept telling me it's okay, and when everything crashed down, Monica said, "I'm sure nothing's broken." Ever the optimist!! And the worst part ...... NO BASKETS. So, we improvised. One birthday present bag, two Tupperware bowls, one Christmas basket, an old ice cream bucket (clean), and Cannon's basket from his babysitter. (They always do an Easter Egg hunt, Ryker had a basket too, but amazingly, that one was lost too!). Does it seem like no matter what we do, there is always a good story. Well, this is no different. Here are a few pictures of the kids Easter morning, before we get to the heart of the story. Oh, no pictures of Cannon Easter morning, he was sleeping. He decided not to go to sleep until 2:30 AM - he was trying to wait up to meet the Easter Bunny. We decided, it was cold, he probably shouldn't be consuming large amounts of candy first thing in the morning, and of course, we didn't want to deal with the grumpiness. Yes, without sleep he is EXTREMELY grumpy. He comes by it honestly, traits handed down.... I believe a distant relative was/is a swamp thing. :)





And here's where the story gets REALLY good. Sunday morning, Monica is scheduled to leave for California with her Grandpa and Aunt. So, we're up early, we search for Easter eggs and the kids are out looking for their baskets. Of course, Ryker finds Jerrick's, Cannon's, then his, then Jaxon's. And he's not quite old enough to realize that he should see that it's not his name (which he does know) and leave it there. No, he's super excited and brings it into them. So much for the Easter Bunny hiding them very well. Gunnar's was a little harder to find, but with a little help from the chocolate smeller (only way to explain how he found them all) - Gunnar's was found too. Now just Monica's. Well, she found hers .... at least remnants of hers. The Easter bunny apparently put the basket too close to Daisy, the chocolate loving dog, who helped herself to Monica's chocolate. Seriously, how depressing is this. THE DOG ATE MY EASTER BASKET. Now if it had been me, I would have been devastated. Not Monica, she's upbeat and says, "It's okay, really mom, it's okay." I would have been in tears and cursing the dog (okay secretly, I was cursing the dog). Monica was a trooper. She took the Easter Basket bag shredding like a pro. Who needs candy anyway?? We looked through the remnants, she joked that several unwrapped pieces of candy were on the ground, but since they were covered in dirt and probably dog slobber, she opted to not pick them up. Daisy even tried to rip open her peanut butter bunny, and mauled her little stuffed moose. The bunny was a loss, but the moose was willing to go for a swim in the washing machine!! Luckily, Cannon doesn't eat too much candy, so she was able to share some of his. What an Easter to remember! At least there was a highlight. She got to go to California, not that 12 hours of driving was a treat, but she didn't have to babysit for a whole week!


We spent the afternoon up at a friend's house, we had dinner and a fun Easter Egg hunt for the kids. The boys had a great time. The day turned out pretty well, considering how it started....... why is it that no holiday can be just normal? I guess we like to do things with gusto!! Perhaps this was created when I decided to have more than one kid! The joys of motherhood!!

Moni's Birthday

It won't be too much longer and my baby girl will leave me with ALL her brothers. AHHHHHHHH! Maybe by then I'll move to her college dorm with her! Okay, probably not, but it might be a safe haven from the noises boys tend to make! We celebrated Monica's birthday with cake and a whole one present. Luckily it was just what she wanted. An i-pod touch. Now, before you think we buy expensive gifts for our kids, we don't. Monica put quite a bit of money into her own present. Her only requirement was that we surprise her. How? Well, we had two choices. A blackberry or an i-pod touch. Lucky me, I got to choose. Dad really wanted her to have his i-pod touch and then he could have the newer, roomier one! Too bad! His little princess got the new one!

Monica wanted a bunny cake for her birthday. Dad even told us how to make it. Picture this, Monica telling me that she wants a bunny cake and Jared getting exited and drawing a picture 'how' to make the bunny cake. I nodded appropriately, even though I ALREADY KNEW HOW. We (really just me) made a gorgeous bunny cake and even personalized it. Gunnar contributed by finding me two green skittles for the eyes. I'm not really sure where they came from. Only now am I realizing that!!!!! Buttercream frosting was a requirement, except Gunnar told me that I couldn't make it like the last one. I put almond flavoring in the last frosting, instead of vanilla. I guess they're not too fond of almonds!

I couldn't resist putting this picture of Cannon on. He ate a little bit of cake, but he was really interested in the chocolate ice cream. We let him go at it, probably not the wisest thing to do, but I'm finding with the baby, you're much more willing to let them do whatever they want.......