My last night in La-La land

By La-La land, I am not referring to Los Angeles. I am referring to the state of mind that is characterized by unrealistic expectations and lack of seriousness. I have been away from home since June 27th. My children have been living at the cabin with my parents. Since then, I have travelled to California for a wedding, came back home only to change the contents of my suitcase, went up to the cabin for several days, came back home once again to change the contents of my suitcase, went to Las Vegas for a Baby Boot Camp Conference, came back home to repack again, and then back up to the cabin. This is my last night at the cabin as tomorrow after lunch, I am packing up all of our things and I am bring our boys back home. While I have enjoyed this crazy travelling adventure, I am definitely ready to go back home and be normal again. I think my boys are ready, too. However, if you ask B he will deny that he is ready to go home and tell me that he wants to live at the cabin forever. Who wouldn't? The weather is perfect, the boys can play outside all day, I can sit on the porch and work a crossword puzzle or read a book. My Mom and Dad cook all of our meals AND do our laundry, the boys can get away with pretty much anything, and I don't really have too many responsibilities. I am looking forward to getting home and back into our routines. I have missed Baby Boot Camp classes and all of my friends there. B has missed swimming lessons. All of us have missed Dad!! I have seen more of Prince Charming than the boys have and I know that they miss him. I am looking forward to posting pictures of all of my adventures soon. Of course, that will have to happen after we get home, unwind, unpack, grocery shop, chill, and at least until I start to tackle the mountain of Baby Boot Camp work I have waiting for me. Anyway, I am going to enjoy my last evening of not being entirely responsible, because tomorrow afternoon, this Family is back in business.

Sometimes I hate where my mind wanders to

I don't know why I do this, but I do. I always manage to dream up horrible outcomes when wonderful events are approaching. My boys are leaving tomorrow with their Grandparents to go up to their cabin for a couple weeks. I will be going as well, but not until Monday. So, while I should be really excited about some free time and a fun trip to LA for a wedding, I can't shake this black cloud hanging over me. I always feel that when my boys are going to be away from me and out of my control (that's the kicker) that something horrible is going to happen to either them, or me. And now that I have written it down and said it out loud, I feel like I just sealed the deal. I know that they are in wonderful hands and will be very safe while I am away. Am I the only mother that does this? I really have no reason to think like this. I am sure that the car accident that Prince Charming and I were in about 10 years ago has something to do with it. That opened my eyes and really showed me that anything can happen at any time. Good and bad. I just really hate it when I dream up crazy thoughts. I know that when I wake up tomorrow and the boys are so excited to go on their trip, that all of the fun things about the cabin will fill me up and I won't even remember why I was so worried in the first place. Really, do other mothers do this, or am I the only crazy one?

This is a first

B made me cry this morning. I was laying in bed before 7am and I heard this rustling noise. Kinda like paper, but also sounded like a plastic bag. I knew that Maylie was too lazy to get into anything, even if there was food inside. So, I went out to investigate. What I found, broke my heart. B had unwrapped 7 of the remaining 14 prizes that were in the prize box. A little history for you. I created a prize box to contain fun surprises that the boys could earn by turning in 20 tokens, or tickets, that they received for good behavior. Both B and E have earned their first prizes. Anyway, when I came out to the living room this morning, I found 7 prizes surrounded by tiny bits of wrapping paper. I was actually very surprised at my reaction. I would normally be very upset and get mad or something. But this time, I just started crying. I had worked so hard to create the prize box. I bought really fun toys that I know they would be SO excited about when they opened them. I wrapped each one so that they wouldn't know what they were getting when they peeked into the box. I wanted to create a reward system that they would be excited about and motivated to use. B ruined the surprise. I know that he was just being a curious kid that wanted to open some presents. Who doesn't like presents? The thing is, that box has been sitting on the counter for many weeks. He hasn't touched it. He has left it alone. So, when I found him with the opened presents, I just started to cry. My feelings were hurt because not only did the whole concept of the prize box get destroyed, B would never get to have those fun toys that I got for him and his brother. I will never get to see them open those presents and be so proud of themselves for working so hard to earn a fun toy.












There are the remaining surprises and of course the carnage left in the recycle bin. At least he had the decency to put the paper in the bin. I am still upset about this 2 hours later. B was surprised at my reaction. I am sure he was ready for me to get upset with him. But, I don't think he was expecting me to cry! He was so sweet, too. As soon as he realized I was crying he said, "I'm sorry, Mom." Then he came over to me and gave me a hug. Of course, my crying upset him, so he started crying. But, after I calmed down, I realized that he was crying because he wanted the trains that he opened. Initially he was crying because I was. That upset him. But, as soon as he realized that he wasn't going to keep any of the loot that he unwrapped, he lost it. I am having a very hard time teaching this kid that he has to earn certain things with good behavior. I know that he understands the concept and is very excited when he gets his tickets. He even tells me when he thinks he has done something to earn a ticket.  B simply thinks that when he wants a new toy, he should have one. So, this morning when I took the very exciting toys away, he responded with, "But I like them." How could I possibly take away something that he likes? He really feels like he is the one who has gotten the raw end of the deal here. In a way, he has. How do we teach this child the value of his possessions? I thought that creating a scenario where he had to earn these fantastic toys would give him some ownership and pride when he did get to pick a prize. I know he is only 4, and that these things will come. But, I really feel like he has this sense of entitlement. What can I do to change that? Perhaps we will start working on allowance and money. Maybe he could buy those toys from me? But, that wouldn't be fair to E.  E has just as much a right to earn those toys that B opened that B does. What do I do? I took the toys away because I didn't think that B should have them. I don't think that he should be able to earn those particular toys. I could let E pick from that lot, but then B will eventually be able to play with them. I think this is an excellent learning opportunity for B and I don't want to take away from that by eventually letting him have those toys by either earning them or paying me for them. Well, I am sure I will figure something out. For now, they are tucked away until I can figure out what to do. And, I am sure I will. I hope Prince Charming has some good ideas. Just to think, B could have earned a ticket for staying in bed until 7am and this whole mess could have been avoided. When will he figure THAT out??

Does this ever happen to you?

Have you ever set out to do one thing, and then something distracts you and you end up doing a million other things before you actually get to do the thing you set out to do?? Take this for example:

I went to pour my morning coffee.
Prince Charming asks me where the "good" tape measure is. I find what I think is the "good" tape measure. Apparently that was the bad one. So, after a little hunting, I find the "good" tape measure in the laundry room. While I am in there, I realize that the washing machine was turned off, but the clothes weren't moved to the dryer. (I didn't turn off the washer).
I am about to move the laundry when Prince Charming asks what pictures I would like him to hang.
I find those pics and am in the midst of pulling them out when Prince Charming asks where the "bad" tape measure is. I find it and give it to E. He was so happy to have it. Now, what was I doing again?
Oh yes, I got the rest of the pictures out that are to be hung by my very helpful and handy hubby.
Okay, NOW I can get my coffee.
I walk into the kitchen and remember that I was going to move the laundry to the dryer. I do that and have to hang up a few clothes to line dry.
Prince Charming asks me to approve some picture hanging. It looks great, babe! Thanks!
Everything and everyone seem peaceful for the moment. I walk into the kitchen to get my coffee. It is 10:30am and most people have already had their morning cup o' joe. At least I finally got around to getting it. :)

Happy Birthday, Sis!

On June 6th, 2008 my only sister celebrated her 29th birthday! Isn't she pretty? Sis is one of the funniest people I know and I don't know what my life would be like without her in it. She loves my boys like they were her own and they love spending time with her. To help her celebrate, we had dinner at my parent's house last night. We got her a very pretty cake from Tammie Coe Cakes. It was SO delicious! Even though Tammie Coe is based here, you can still order her cakes online. I recommend it, the cake was fantastic! Anyway, here's to you, Sis! I hope that your 29th year is your best yet! I love you!

Take me out to the ball game...

This past weekend we took the boys to their very first baseball game. Prince Charming and I enjoy going to Diamondbacks games when we get the chance! So, when Prince Charming got 4 tickets from his place of employment, we jumped on the chance to take the boys with us. Of course, we had to skip naptime to do so, but it was well worth the cranky kids at the end of the day. While Prince Charming and I enjoyed the play of the game, B enjoyed the digital snake that made it's way around the ball park. E enjoyed bouncing the seat up and down. Gotta love anything that is spring loaded! I think B was just mesmerized by the whole experience, so he stayed pretty entertained the entire game. E was ready for a nap about 10 minutes in and spent a lot of time on laps. Half way through, we enjoyed some ice cream and rightly so! It is summertime and we were at a baseball game. It also managed to keep the boys going until the end of the 7th inning. E had about enough baseball. B on the other hand would have gladly stayed until the end of the game. He was waiting with bated breath for the return of the digital snake and was disappointed that we were leaving before he could see it again. Overall it was a bunch of fun. B decided that he wants to go alone with Dad to the next game. He also politely pointed out that E and I have to stay at home. So, for the very first baseball game of their youth, it couldn't have gone better! When we arrived the boys got free Baxter Bobbleheads, they got to experience Chase Field (otherwise known as the BOB), watched some baseball, bounced some seats, and enjoyed a cold treat. Thanks, APS, for a fun afternoon!

Just look at it

Isn't that the most beautiful shoe you have ever seen? I first saw it in the new Sex and the City movie this past weekend. Of course, I am sure this shoe is a limited edition and will be sold to collectors for top dollar. So, for now I can just look at it. Dream about it. Imagine all of the the outfits I could wear with it. Until someday when they are gifted to me by someone who understands my love for shoes. The chances of that happening are about as good as winning the lottery. A girl can dream, can't she??