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Were the Steaks Worth It?

19 May

Boy they were tasty but I certainly could have done without them if I would have known this was going to happen…

What did we do?!?!

We’ve been using charcoal in our old gas grill and for a few months it was working great, then a freak piece of coal escaped.  It fell from the grill on our deck and landed in the pine straw next to the house.  We did not know this happened until Andrew smelled the smoke.  He looked outside and saw the line of pine straw on fire and the side of the house being destroyed.  He grabbed the hose and went to work.  We are SO lucky that it was not worse than this but it still is unsettling.

Fried House

We are now just waiting to get it fixed. The company that originally did the siding work is supposed to send someone out to fix it either tomorrow or Monday.  Can you believe we almost burned down our house?!?!  INSANE!  I can still smell the smoke.  From here on out it’s gas grills for us!

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Operation Gray Elimination

15 May

My head full of dark brown hair is being invaded.  I was informed about these enemies in February when the man cutting my hair said, “Oh honey, I’m seeing a few gray in here.”  I remember not really worrying about it then because I thought it was some sort of fluke or something.

No Vacancy for Grays

Then I came home and looked in the mirror and saw the “few grays” he so kindly pointed out for me.  From that day I have spotted too many to count and I have weeded each one out as I see them.  During the elimination, sadly, a few brown hairs have been sacrificed (it’s hard to pull those tiny little gray ones – sometimes I grab an innocent brown bystander on accident – it breaks my heart but I feel it must be done for the good of all the other hairs.)

I’ve even gone so far as to try and pull one out while I was driving.  It was making me crazy and I was determined to hold it between my fingers and let it know who was boss.  “You thought you could just mix in with the others did you?  Ha! You thought wrong!  And if any of your gray buddies are thinking about crossing into the brown hair territory than be warned – I will hunt you down and destroy you!”

So maybe I’m being a little dramatic for this blog’s sake – I really do not issue death threats to my gray hairs – but I did yank it while I was driving (and I did stare at it for a moment with a twisted smile on my face).  I just can’t help it.  One or two would be fine – I can accept that – but the amount I have found is just waking me up to getting older and I just think it’s a little too soon for that.  I think I still have another -oh- 30 or so years until I should have to worry about that!

In the meantime, I am considering getting highlights again but that makes me sad because I was really liking my dark hair.  I guess, no matter how hard I try to defeat the grays, in the end, they are the winners. I still plan to put up a good fight though…

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One Lady, So Many Roles

13 May

She’s a Mother – so confident and in charge – able to raise her children through the hardest of times and able to discipline them just by shooting them a look – she’s proud to say her kids are well-mannered, well-behaved and well-kept (well, most of the time anyway) – she’s the one you don’t want to disappoint – endures much grief as her children go through the “you’re not being fair” or “I hate you” stage and still manages to love them with her whole heart

She’s a Momma – stops what she’s doing to respond to her child’s smallest request (“momma, could you put this dress on my Barbie?”) – acts goofy to get a giggle out of them and to hear them say “oh momma – you’re so silly” – lets you spit the food you just chewed and didn’t like into her bare hand – wipes your runny nose with anything she can find and sits up next to you on the couch after you threw up in your bed (that of course, after cleaning up the mess)

She’s a Mom – sacrificing her sleep on the nights you have friends stay over and sometimes joins in on the laughing and movie watching – she cooks up the tastiest food and making sure to whip up enough to feed anyone who shows up at the dinner table – she’s her kid’s biggest cheerleader, always talking about their accomplishments and never judging them for their failures or mistakes – she thinks you’re beautiful even with that perm and pimples

She’s a Mommy – always there to kiss a boo-boo and make it better – always there to cry with you when your heart is broken, suffering with you – shows you unconditional love and what it means to love someone more than you love yourself  (ready to give her life to keep yours safe) – the first one you want to talk to when you are feeling sad – she soothes her children with her embrace or just by humming them a song – makes you remember you will always be her baby

Lovin' Honey

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Is it White Russian Time Yet?

9 May

You bet your butt it is!

After several Nia fits that led to me taking toys away from her and putting her in time out, Nate continually hitting me and Nia and thinking it’s funny and the dog who’s acting strange after deciding he wanted to chew up 3 plastic toy golf clubs and devour them – I went for the fridge and cracked open a cold one.  My man really loves me – he bought me the ready-made kind so I don’t even have to stress over mixing up one for myself!

Am I an alcky?  I really don’t believe so, it’s not like I get all shit faced or anything – but I do know that the fridge is fully stocked with my favorites (thanks to Ginger for suggesting Mike-aritas) and just about every day around 4:30 I feel the need to enjoy one.  Especially today…
 

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Old Lady Valles

7 May

It’s hard for me to admit but I am slowly turning into my Grandma.  She was that old lady in your neighborhood who never let kids go into her yard to get their kickball and she called the neighbors living next door the “foreigners” (even though she was from Italy too) because they made her mad once.

Ok, maybe I’m not as bad yet but I’m getting there.  Specifically when it comes to one of neighbor’s punk kids and all of the cars that come and go from the house at all hours with their bass systems blaring and their engines ridiculously loud.  I know I wouldn’t care if we didn’t have kids – but we do and I don’t want them to wake up in the middle of the night because some dudes who thought they were cool had to blare their bass and rev their engines when they drop off or pick up their buddy.

I know I need to relax – I mean I’m sure I did a ton more annoying things than that when I was growing up.  It’s just now that I’m Old Lady Valles – I have to act the part!
 

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Because of the Kids…

5 May

I hardly ever get to venture out by myself.

I don’t know how to act when I do get to venture out by myself.

I hardly ever have a moment (second?) of silence.

I usually have to clean up a big mess or pull a choking hazard out of the boy’s hand when I do get a moment of silence.

I have to pick up the stuff (toys/hangers/clean clothes/breakable objects) I just picked up.  (And then pick them up again.)

I’ve lost weight from having to chase them and clean up after them all day.

I gained weight because I needed to keep them (and me) happy when they were in my belly.

My hair is super dark brown now and the grays are popping out like crazy.  (Who/what else can I blame? My hair wasn’t this way before the kids!)

I “look like a mom.”  At least that’s what a former high school classmate told me the night before our 10 year reunion.

I look like a mom and wonder “what’s wrong with that?!”

I cannot take a shower, go potty, talk on the phone or sit down for a meal in peace.

My showers, potty times, phone conversations and meals are more entertaining/interesting.

I do things I haven’t done since I was a kid – color, play Candyland and Memory, do cartwheels, blow bubbles, swing.

I realize I shouldn’t do half of the the things I hadn’t done since I was a kid.

I laugh and smile every day.

I rub my head and sigh every day.

I get the best good night kisses and sweetest hugs.

I get slapped in the face and tortured by tantrums.

My days are NEVER boring.

I couldn’t tell you what’s happening in the world but I could tell you what SpongeBob did or the words to the third Cinderella movie.

I couldn’t imagine life without them – because of them, I am me.

Whee!

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“Put Down the Toilet Bowl Brush!” and other things I find myself saying to a busy baby boy

1 May

Some days I can’t even believe these things are coming out of my mouth.  What’s even more sanity damaging is how many times I have to say them to our 16-month-old boy – plus it’s not like he even understands.

“Get out of the doggy’s water bowl!” (After he’s already put his hands in the water and rubbed it on his face – bleh.)

“Don’t stand on that box/basket/toy! Danger!” (Said while he’s usually wobbling on a super flimsy thing he felt the need to stand on.)

“No hitting mommy!”  (Painfully said after I’ve been slapped on the cheek or the leg.)

“Please stop turning on the bath tub water faucet!”  (I cannot even begin to describe how annoying this is!  He turns the water on full force then puts his hand in it so the water goes everywhere or if I’m not fast enough he’ll toss our scale in tub, drenching it.)

“No eating the crayon/barbie head/dog bone!” (Self-explanatory.)

“No calling China on mommy’s cell phone!”  (Prying the cell phone from his tiny fingers requires great strength and determination.)

“Give me that soy sauce!”  (The thing he ALWAYS grabs and puts to his lips when I open the fridge door. I keep telling him to lay off the sauce but he doesn’t listen to that either.)
 

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Big Aspiration

29 Apr

Conversation overheard at Nia’s 4th birthday party:

Andrew – “Nia, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

Nia – “5 years old.”


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Too Cute for Words

27 Apr

What Nia said after seeing Nate in his dinosaur print footed pajamas:
“Ah Momma, (giggle) he’s so ‘dorable.”

What Nia said when I asked her if she loved Nate:
“Uh-huh.  I don’t want another brother.”

What Nia said after Joey scared the breath out of all us after barking at NOTHING:
“That was not necessary.”

What Nia said when we asked her if she knew what that meant:
“It means stop doing it.  It’s Spanish.”

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Baby Sometimes, Action Star Always

22 Apr

“He’s only 20 pounds!”  That’s what Andrew tells me when I cry to him about how Nate pushes me around the kitchen as I’m trying to cook or do the dishes.  He may only be 20 pounds but – that boy is STRONG.  He actually has made me lose my balance a few times.  Pushing isn’t the only way he likes to show he’s a tough guy – he also loves to slap my face – not with just one hand – nope, I’m so special that I get the double slap. He does it in a sort of sneak attack way – he’ll be all loving, even giving me a few kisses, when all of a sudden – WHAM on both sides of my face.

He’s just such a little tough guy.  He’s constantly climbing things and he will fall ALL of the time but he never gets discouraged or afraid…he just goes back for more!   Andrew and I have tried to keep his feet on the ground but he always finds a way to put them where they shouldn’t go!  Just watch the movie below to get a small idea of what I’m talking about…(and please don’t worry, I would have sacrificed the camera for my son – I just wanted to capture his craziness so he’d know what a heart-stopping child he was)

If this is what he’s like now at only 16 months – I am so not looking forward to the skateboarding and bike stunt years.  Ugh…

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