Potty Party Day 1 ...

Well we didn't have as much success with our "Potty Party" as I would have liked today, but overall I think we've made some progress.  The morning was rough!!  I think the twins were tired and overwhelmed and we had quite a few accidents (Addy had 1 #2 accident, and Birk had 3 #1 accidents).  :-(

However, after naps things got better.  Both went on the potty several times and in fact Birk didn't have any accidents!  Yeah!!!  The twins and I are planning on staying home all day tomorrow and trying to make more progress.  

Here is what I've learned about potty training so far.

#1. I. Hate. It.
#2.  I do laundry almost every day watching wet underpants.
#3. I can't wait for the day that I don't have to say "Do you have to potty?" every 60 seconds.
#4.  I. Hate. It.

Well it's 9:50pm on a Saturday and I'm about ready to go to sleep.  The party today WORE ME OUT!

My cup runneth over

After some stressful moments tonight I was putting Birk to bed and we were chatting about how much we loved each other.  I told him I loved him all the way to the clouds and back to which he responded ...

"Mommy.  I love you all the way to God, in Heaven, and back to Ankeny."  

That kind of just makes all the other crap seem meaningless, now doesn't it!!!  :-)

Terrible Two's ... is that a joke?

Anyone who has come within 10 feet of me the last few weeks/month have come to discover that I am NOT A FAN of age 3.  My kids (specifically my daughter) is not handling this age with the most obedience and respect as I would like to think she would, being my child.  Needless to say she is mouthy, loud, smart mouthed, rude, irrational, stubborn, and smart. She has learned how to push every button that I have.  And she pushes them daily it seems.  I feel at such a lose with how to deal with this I have turned to reading articles online, asking other parents (although hate asking anyone who may have known me as a child because it doesn't really help me to get the response "she is her mother's daughter!!!"  :-)  The articles give me great suggestions and I can honestly say I have tried most of them.  Nothing really seems to work. It is now becoming an issue to even go anywhere in public.  In fact we had to leave Church this morning 3 times to deal with "outbursts."  Ugh!  

So tonight my blog is in honor of ALL PARENTS (Father's included .... since it's Father's Day) who have raised and survived the nasty, terrible, unyielding THREE'S!!!!  And to whoever the idiot that coined the phrase, "terrible two's"...  You're a moron.  You have never experience the three's with my children!  

On a positive note we are almost potty trained with Addy (minus going #2).  She loves the praise she gets for going and is doing quite well.  So well, in fact I don't even have to ask her if she has to go.  She just goes herself and LOVES wearing her big girl panties.  Birk, is another story.  I make this promise to my blog friends that I will start working intensely with him.  I will be successful at this.  I will survive these stages, I know it.  There may be far less wine/beer and Bud Light Lime a Rita's in our great city of Ankeny, but I will survive!  :-) 

Happy Father's Day!  

A special shout out to my awesome, hilarious, wildly talented husband.  God could not have created a better partner for me.  I'm humbled to be your wife and love watching how much the kids adore you and how much you love all of us.  You are truly a rock star in my book!  

  

Weekend highlights

Here are some photos of things that happened this weekend!!

As you can tell it was a beautiful weekend with lots of diaper baseball, cuddles and I even got to enjoy a beer by myself on the deck!!! Woo hoo!!!

Insane all around!!!

So I'm putting it out here.  We are insane. :-)

I'm admitting to it and hope that I can find encouragement and motivation.   Nick and I are vowing to eat healthier and lose weight.  :-)  Nick's weight loss goal is 17 pounds and mine is 20 pounds roughly although I just want to feel good and wear a smaller size.   We have purchased Insanity and are running most days.  I have really had to dig deep and find a love of treadmill running as it is becoming more challenging to run with 2 three year olds in a stroller.  Plus their sitting tolerance is about point 7 seconds.  We are working on portion control and making healthier choices.

I'm also thinking I'm insane as I've been toying with the idea of selling Norwex cleaning supplies.  I love the concept, love the products and feel like it would be a good chance to get myself out of the house and make a little fun money if I'm good at it!  :-)

So needless to say on this Sunday night ... we are feeling insane.  We are hoping our insane lifestyle is a good thing, however.

Happy Sunday!!

What is Mommy's Job

~~According to Addy Grace Robertson ~~

This morning I asked Addy what my job was.  We talked about this for a while and here is the list of things she gave me that outline my job responsibilities as a "Mommy." 

1. "You take the stems off my grapes so I can eat them"
2. "You tell me it's time to go nuh-night"
3.  "You pour my milk into my sippy"
4. "You dump my potty into the toilet"
5. "You brush my hair"
6. "You tell Birky no-no"
7. "You say, please Addy"
8. "You give me a bandaid when I get an owie"
9. "You are silly"


And the final job responsiblity of a Mommy was prompted by me ....

Me: "What about love you and Birk?  Is that part of Mommy's job?"
Addy:  "OH YEAH!  You do love us.  You love us A LOT! Like up to the clouds"

I'm still waiting on my award ~~

So I read a blog post tonight that totally made my night (and opened my eyes to the fact that I'm not alone in my parenting skills).  I decided to replicate this blog post my own style and truly show all 12 of you reading that I deserve that Mother of the Year award I've been waiting 3 1/2 years for!  :-)

1.  Sometimes I let my kids go a week before giving them a bath.  I usually gauge the need for a bath on either their smell or the amount of grease on my hand after running my fingers through their hair.
2. I have given my kids a cold floppy hot dog for dinner and a bowl with ketchup after a long hard days work and a husband out of town for work.  I was ashamed at the time, but now see this as survival of the fittest.
3.  I will secretly claim that anything is SPICY if I don't want to share it with the kids.  They are not totally turned off to Reeces Pieces and I'm ok with that.
4.  I will lie about having to use the restroom just to go upstairs and lay on my bed and read one article from my weekly magazine.  When I hear a child come running I will yell, "hold on, Mommy's almost done going poopy."  I will go the whole 9 yards with a flush and all.  I will do anything for 5 minutes alone.
5.  I bribe my kids with fruit snacks AND IT WORKS.  Fruit snacks are a better babysitter than the dang Fresh Beat Band.
6.  I read blogs about being creative, doing fun projects or going fun inexpensive places to learn and I take a look at my semi stinky/greasy kids and realize I'm not that creative or fun and just let them keep playing with that old box that is laying in the center of the room.
7.  When my kids want to play in the water/sprinkler I grab a bucket and some rags and tell them to wash my car.  It may seem like child labor to some, but I call it "fun."
8.  If i don't feel like ironing something... I just rewash or re-dry it!!!
9.  I always try to give my kids well rounded meals.  So when I order the pizza I will ask for green peppers on it so they get some vegetables.
10.  There are nights that I will let the kids have ice cream or cookies or chips for dinner.   They aren't going to wither away and those are some of the memories that they will have.

So if there are any moms out there reading this that are struggling with some of the decisions you make OR the steps you take to get a minute alone ...  enjoy it.  You're entitled!

Breakfast Birk style

This morning as I was getting ready for work and heading out the door (Nick stayed home with the kids today) I grabbed my usual lunch, can of pop and a granola bar and looked down.  I saw a sweet little guy standing there in his Lightning McQueen swimming trunks ask me;

"Mommy?  Can I have a Noga bar too?   (translation: Granola bar)

I don't say this often these days, but I do love this stage!

Kids really DO say the darndest things!!

New Beginnings ~~ New Jobs

I have been fairly cryptic in my blog posts for a few months now.  I've really been struggling in my current role at work and made the decision that I need a change.  There were several changes that were made, and from a business perspective I understood them ... but from a human perspective I was struggling.

I've been interviewing quite a bit for positions and just this week I have officially accepted a new position.  It will allow me the change I am craving.  It will allow me to learn a new skill set within Wells Fargo and will take me back downtown Des Moines.

I am thankful for the change, but at the same time anxious about what change brings.  So far in my career I've made changes that have helped me grow at that time.  I hope the same happens with this one.  :-)

I am thankful for all the prayers that I've received!  I hope this new adventure is a good move for our family and for me professionally.

Fun times!!!

Here are some pictures from our weekend. I ran Dam to Dam with my nephew. You will see our before and then an after shot!! Plus lots of fun kid shots! :-).