Alive and Well, But Busy

You know that whole blog a day thing? Well, we had a good run while it lasted, right?

Obviously, that didn’t work out.

At first I skipped a couple of days and my head was spinning...in a constant state of guilt.

Then I skipped a few more and I found myself writing catch up blogs in my head…which completely stressed me out more.

It was sort of like that time when I was a six year old little girl BAWLING hysterically to my mom because I couldn't stop saying curse words IN MY HEAD.

Do you have any idea how stressful it is to repeat bad words in your head that your bad-influence-friend says? Words like 'sucks' and 'stupid'. Very stressful!

Anyway, another week or so of Not Blogging went by and suddenly I was all, “Blog? What blog?”

Fast forward two months and that’s where we are today. Since we last spoke, this particular boy has gotten HUGE!

There is definitely a lot happening these days, but not a lot of free time to sit down and soak it all in.

So here are the top thirty nine things we (one or all of us) have been up to over the last couple of months. I will follow up with individual blog posts in more detail, but this should get you up to speed for the most part. I’m sure it goes without saying at this point…don’t hold your breath for those posts.

1. Stayed at home for FOUR STRAIGHT days due to snow and ice.

2. Became thankful that I don’t live north of the Red River since there would probably be a lot more weather days.

3. And that I have a full time job.

4. Started a diet.

5. Taught the kids how to say “Duh! Winning!”…a parenting moment we will no doubt look back on with pride.

6. Bragged about a baby who sleeps through the night (when he feels like it).

7. Stopped bragging about a baby who sleeps through the night after realizing I was jinxing myself.

8. Started official Karate Tae Kwon Do classes. I’m still not sure of the difference, but I know that I get corrected every time I say Karate. These lessons cost more than the previous ones which included a $1 Redbox rental of the new Karate Kid movie with Jayden Smith.

9. Attended the third annual Girl Scout Cookie Taste Test hosted by Mimi and GrandDad. If you have a Girl Scout in your family, grab a pen and write this name down…Mike Stadler. You won’t regret it.

10. Ended a diet.

11. Started Blake on baby food.

12. Wondered aloud how someone in my bloodline can HATE food so much.

13. Dressed Hayden up like a 100 year old for the 100th 104th day of school. Those snow days got in the way of a lot of good things. Including peace and quiet.

14. Bought tennis rackets. And matching sweatbands.

15. Played tennis.

16. Chased tennis balls.

17. Lost tennis balls.

18. Started a diet.

19. Became (what felt like) a single mom while Jeff worked 20 hour days.

20. Picked my favorite kid of the day to sleep in my bed during those long nights (they didn’t know the selection process).

21. Thanked God that on Jeff’s last busy night, he arrived home literally minutes before Angel ate a baby bunny and regurgitated it in her crate.

22. Realized that when I say “this is my busiest time at work”, it has a whole different meaning than when Jeff says it.

23. Fed the kids raw oysters for the first time.

24. Made a 3-D angler fish complete with a flashing light. Hey, first grade parents…WE’RE BACK IN THE GAME!

25. Spent way too much time scouring match.com (totally unrelated to the Jeff working late thing).

26. Convinced Davis that he should create a TV show called Kid vs. Food (similar to Man vs. Food) after he ate over a dozen wings.

27. Cheered the Cow-Q-Lated BBQ team on (Matt and Jeff) in their second competition.

28. Ended a diet.

29. Took all three boys to their annual well check appointment.

30. Realized that we were 4 days early for said doctor’s appointment.

31. Waited 4 days and revisited the doctor with all three boys in tow.

32. Determined that while efficient, a triple doctor’s appointment that involves shots for two out of three kids was not practical.

33. Tricked the kids into a photo shoot at the house.

34. Hosted a Belated New Year’s Eve and Minute to Win It Party.

35. Made homemade blueberry muffins after Davis sung the days of the week song and realized that “saying the word Monday reminds him of blueberry muffins.”

36. Convinced Davis that even though we know how to make blueberry muffins (with the help of Betty Crocker), it doesn’t mean we should sell them to our friends and cousins.

37. Lost a tooth. Then literally lost the tooth again - - somewhere in the carpet. I would like to apologize in advance if you are ever at our house and happen to step on a tooth.

Note Jeff in the background searching for the tooth 

38. Advised Hayden to write a note to the tooth fairy explaining his predicament.

39. Aged another year and was gifted with an adorable sock monkey.