It never fails

It never fails if Little Cubby sleeps a long stretch then Big Cubby will get up in the middle of the night.

Last night Little Cubby was sleeping a good long stretch. I actually had a dream which means deep sleep it was great. Wouldn't you know it Big Cubby wakes me up around 3am to tell me he had an accident. So I get him cleaned up but him on the couch and go into his room to clean up in there. It is dark in there with only a night light on. I quickly step in a puddle of pee. I kid you not a puddle. I get everything cleaned up and head to bed.

I think they plan it because I really have been needing a good nights sleep for weeks because I am trying to get rid of this cough and cold I have. It looks like that is not going to happen.

Tonight I am sure Little Cubby will be up a lot tonight. That is how it always happens.

I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Yipee

Oh this makes me so sad. ;)

Thanks

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice and support for this. I have talked with Hubby about the comment and we have worked everything out. Let's just say he has offered to feed Little Cubby every night this week so far. I don't know if he agrees with me but at least he knows how I feel.

Thanks again everyone!

tagged again

I was tagged by LammyAnnLife and this meme is writing about each hour in a 24-hour day and explain why that hour is significant to me.

OK I am too lazy to come up with something for each hour so I will give the few times that are significant to me.

11:30pm-My first son was born.
12:30pm-My second son was born.
3:00pm-The time I got married.
12:00pm-I graduated college.
6:45am-I was born.
7:00pm-My husband was born.

There you have it. Sorry for being so lazy but I don't think I could have come up with anything for every hour.

Enjoy!

It turned out good

Last night we watched Emeril Live where Emeril and Elmo cook a healthy meal. The food looked really good so I went online and printed out the recipes.

Today I decided to make the Powered Packed Spinach Salad. OK you are thinking what is so hard about making a salad well it is the dressing that I was worried about. I am not a good cook. When I follow a recipe it always turns out tasting bad. I don't like to cook probably because of the reason I just mentioned.

So I make the salad and then I make the dressing. I followed the recipe so I was a little afraid. I gave a bowl of the salad to Hubby and let him try it. He could not believe it the dressing tasted really good. I actually made something that turned out right.

I was very happy. I am planning on trying the Lean Mean Turkey Loaf and the Pasta Primavera.

Wish me luck. I still don't care to cook but maybe with a few more successes I might be persuaded to cook more.

Excuse Me

My husband just did the biggest no no. I got Little Cubby's dinner ready and brought it in to my husband so I could get Big Cubby's dinner ready. As I brought Little Cubby's chair to him he says "Is this your way of telling I am feeding Little Cubby?" I said yes I need to get Big Cubby his food. He says"You could have at least ask me to feed him"

Excuse? I have to ask you to feed your son? Nobody askes me if I want to do the laundry, clean, go grocery shopping, feed, dress, bath the kids.

This really pissed me off. Am I wrong here?

What I am worth

I am worth $1,464,942 on HumanForSale.com

What I love

I love when I hold either one of my boys and they put their arms around my neck and lay their heads on my shoulder and just cuddle. The love I feel is overwhelming.

This is what I love.

Sorry

I was having trouble with a link and I did not realize that I posted it. Sorry it was a mistake.

Happy Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Sheriff Woody

Cowardly Lion

Halloween at the Zoo

Today was trick or treating at the zoo. It was a beautiful day and it turned out pretty good. We got there a little early so we hung out and watched the is band that was dressed up as animals. They played kids songs that sounded like bluegrass.

Little Cubby was grouchy at first but then started to warm up and smile at everyone. We watched the parade which consisted of Ronald McDonld in a convertable car, a marching band playing the Santana song Oye Como Va, and the "characters" of different shows and movies. We started our trick or treating at a booth that was giving out books. We ended at the Farm at the Zoo where Ronald McDonald was. The boys got a lot candy, Happy Meal Toy dogs, toothbrush, toothpaste, apples, and fun worksheets.

Little Cubby was a lion and Big Cubby was Woody from Toy Story. Big Cubby was a hit. Every where we went kids kept yelling Woody, Woody like he was a rock star. The volunteers that were handing out stuff kept going on about him being Woody. We saw only one other Woody and one Buzz Lightyear.

Big Cubby kept saying the line from the movie "reach for the skies" to everyone.

We had a fun but tiring day. Above are a few pictures of some of the characters and if you go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/ten-nine/ there are a few pictures of the day there.

This and that

When will this flu leave our house?

Cub Daddy came home from work early yesterday and was running a 102.8 fever. His whole body felt like it was on fire. He was drenched in sweat. He took a shower and almost passed out. He stayed home today and is getting some rest.

Big Cubby still has a cough which he can’t seem to shake.

Little Cubby has a running nose.

Me? Well I have been doing so great avoiding any kind of sickness but last night I started to cough. This really pisses me off. I can not get sick. I don’t have any days to take off. I hope I don’t get a fever.

I hope this is not a sign of a horrible winter for the flu.

Odds and ends

The only thing good about the White Sox’s winning is that Steve Perry is finally getting the respect he is due. Hello, Journey is not Journey without Steve Perry. He is the voice. The Sox have embraced Steve Perry and they have been using the song Don’t Stop Believin’ as their theme song.

We are going to Lincoln Park Zoo tomorrow to participate in the trick or treating there. We went last year and it was fun but rainy and cold. This year the weather is supposed to be beautiful. They have people dressed up as characters such as Elmo, SpongeBob, Dora just to name a few. Well, they are generic characters. It is pretty sad. I will post photos this weekend of them. Big Cubby is going to be Woody from Toy Story and Little Cubby is going to be a lion.

Have a good weekend!

Tired

If I have to hear one more thing about the White Sox's I am going to throw up.

GO CUBBIES!!!!!!

How to scare the crap out of me

A couple of nights ago I got a scare that I about had a heart attack.

Cub Daddy and I were in the kitchen getting dinner and Big Cubby and Little Cubby were playing in the living room. I could see them from the doorway and I noticed that Big Cubby put Little Cubby on the couch.

I start to head in the living room to take Little Cubby off the couch. I made it halfway there when Big Cubby flips Little Cubby off the arm of the couch. Thank God, there was a bean bag and several blankets below. Little Cubby landed on his head and started crying. I lost it. I yelled what are you doing to Big Cubby. I was about ready to cry.

Cub Daddy took Big Cubby to his room and had a talk with him about how Little Cubby is smaller then he is and he can't wrestle like that yet.

I got Little Cubby calmed down and he was ok but it scared the crap out of me. I probably would have felt better if Little Cubby was older and can hold his own.

I think payback is going to be a bitch for Big Cubby because Little Cubby is all ready stronger then Big Cubby was at that age and I think Little Cubby is going to be bigger than Big Cubby. Little Cubby is going to be kicking Big Cubby's ass so Big Cubby better start being nice to Little Cubby.

Boys!

Brothers

One of the nice moments between them. Doesn't happen to often.

Hoping this week is better

Last week was a trying week. The boys have a cold. Little Cubby seems to be teething. Lack of sleep. PMS. An argument involving Cub Daddy.

I have been pretty depressed lately. I am pretty sure it is due to the lack of sleep I have been getting between Little Cubby up several times a night cranky and Big Cubby coughing. I know I should not complain because I get to stay home with my kids but it is overwhelming sometimes. Little Cubby is very needy and wants to literally hang on me all day. This makes Big Cubby jealous so he wants to play and hang on me as well. This gets to be really exhausting. I have had no patience this week and seem to get angry more quickly.

I have started looking forward to bedtime at the end of the day for the boys. This is the only time I can get a moment to myself and just relax before the night shift begins.

I haven’t gotten sick yet, knock on wood but I fear it lurks behind the corner.

I feel the pressure of the holidays all ready. We are going to visit my in-laws on Thanksgiving which is a 6 hour drive. I have started saving money for gas but it is going to be expensive just to get down there. I wasn’t smart to start buying Christmas presents early so now I feel like I won’t be able to get what I want for the boys. The budget is very tight.

Cub Daddy and I had a row on Tuesday after he came home from having drinks at a farewell get together for a colleague who quit. He came home demanding this and that all because he was unhappy with his job. A lot of people have quit where he works and they have been all single so they can just up and do it. He can’t because he has kids so he feels stuck and that they can use and abuse him. So with a little bit of alcohol he got depressed and became a jerk. The next day he said sorry and changed his mind on his demands he made.

I keep trying to be positive and look into the future. Next year we should have our debt paid off and have extra money. We hope in 2007 to buy a home. We have never been a homeowner.

I am tired of not having any money. Cub Daddy doesn’t have dental insurance at his job and we can not afford to go yet. Both Cub Daddy and I need our wisdom teeth pulled very soon. Big Cubby needs to have his first dental appointment but we haven’t had the money to take him.

To save money I haven’t had my hair cut since March. I just throw it in a ponytail. I don’t even wear make up anymore.

I am tired of Big Cubby not listening to us when we tell him to do something then getting really mad at us when he gets in trouble. Why won’t the kid just listen?

I am sorry to unload like this I am hoping this makes me feel better getting this out. Last night we got about three hours of sleep because Little Cubby was up all night so I hope this makes sense.

I am really trying to find the good in my life and there is a lot but right now it seems out of reach.

I just want to go to sleep.

Shit bombs

I hate shit bombs. They are when your baby shits from the front to the back of their diapers and it is leaking from the leg area.

Why is it when they have shit bombs they decide as soon as you get the diaper off they want to spin around like they are an alligator being caught in the process smearing shit all over you, them, the changing table, the wall and anything on the changing table?

By the time you get them to be still, it is too late and you have to use the shower to remove the shit.

Why do they decide to do it when you don't have back up to help you?

How can so much shit come from such a small person?

Anyone? Anyone?

Screaming into my pillow

I was going to start this entry off with what a great Saturday I had because I got a day off to be by myself. The boys have been sick all week especially Big Cubby with a fever one day and now a constant cough. They both have running noses. So the week was rough on me trying to handle the mood swings the boys had. So Cub Daddy sent me off to have a break for my self. I took the El downtown and went to the library. I then walked along State St. people watching. I went to eat at Big Bowl where adults have lunch. Cub Daddy got a free gift certificate for any Lettuce Entertain You restaurants. So I am sitting and enjoying my lunch looking around the restaurant and I come to the conclusion that I am very happy with my life. I am glad I am a mother. I love my children. I am satisfied being a stay at home mom. It was a great day. I felt recharged.

Then yesterday and today happened. With a combination of PMS and hyperactive children, I have lost my mind. The boys started yesterday with getting into everything they could possibly get into. They were double annoying. They even got on Cub Daddy’s nerves.

The kitchen sink started leaking underneath the cabinet. There is a crack in the pipe. We called the landlord yesterday and of course has not gotten back to us today. I am pissed off about that because I hate this place.

Today it is worse. Everything they are doing is annoying. It is like it magnified ten times. Big Cubby not listening and getting into trouble. Little Cubby liked using his voice and louder the better.

I went through the all of Little Cubby’s toys and got them organized and wouldn’t you know it Big Cubby decides he wants to play with Little Cubby’s toys and pull them all out. The kid has more than enough toys of his own to play with yet baby toys are appealing.

Big Cubby has decided today to make as much noise as possible by jumping, yelling, banging and stomping. He keeps tackling his brother because Little Cubby is walking around everywhere now. He also likes to sit on his little brother. He likes to grab Little Cubby’s head throw him down with it. I can’t wait until Little Cubby is older and can take down Big Cubby.

I know motherhood has its ups and downs. I know that it is the hardest job a person could do. But the last few days have been hell. I am sure it is PMS fueled and it will be all right soon.

13 Months Old

Little Cubby you are 13 months old today.

You are walking every chance you get. You keep going farther and farther each time you try. When you are walking the look on your face is like you have won a prize. Your smile beaming. Before you know it you will be chasing your big brother.

You are very loud. You love to let us know you are in the room. You babble on and on your pitch getting higher and higher. You can say this, yes, dada, and uh oh. You love to shake your head no. You love to sing.

You love to dance. Whether the music is coming from a commercial or one of your toys you start to bop up and down. If you are sitting you rock back and forth to the music.

You are mama’s boy. You want me all the time. You love to cuddle with me. You love to be held. You also love your pacifier. You prefer to climb all over me but on occasion you will sit by yourself and play.

You are still nursing even though I try to make it less and less.

You still don’t sleep through the night. You like to wake up two or three times a night. We are wishing for you to sleep all night.

You will eat pretty much anything. If you see us eating it you want to try it. You are so opposite of your picky brother.

You like to pull your books off the bookcase. You like to eat paper and your books. You like to push your toy cars all over the floor.

You and your brother are such a joy in our lives. We love you very much!

Are these people nuts?

I can barely handle two but 16 that is crazy!

Slow day

Now I am wiping two noses so I am a little busy today. Here's my husband's Flickr site. There are some new photos posted.

Enjoy!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ten-nine/

Weekend info

The weekend was enjoyable. Cub Daddy’s parents came to visit and the boys had a lot of fun with them. They played with the boys all day on Saturday and then on Sunday we went to the suburbs to visit Cub Daddy’s grandparents. My in-laws stay at their house when they come up to visit.

Cub Daddy got an earful about the cleaning process. I am sure it went in one ear and out the other. Men! Next time he will be doing what he wants done.

Big Cubby has a cold and keeps coming up to me so I can help him blow his nose. He says Mommy I have bubble snots. I love spending my day wiping bubble snots.

After almost 13 years of marriage Cub Daddy thinks I don’t listen to him and I think he can not pay attention. Love is a wondrous thing

How to piss me off

This is how to piss me off.

Tell me your parents are coming and you want to really clean the apartment. So for two days I pick up, do dishes, clean the bathroom, vacuum, mop, make beds, dust, do laundry, fold and put away laundry, go grocery shopping at three different places so I can get good deals plus the stuff you want, bring all the groceries in and up three flights of stairs, put away the groceries and play with the kids.

You take the day off to “help out” on Friday and all you do is sit on the computer while “watching the boys”. You then come in and start telling me I have not done a good job in the bathroom you found dust under the heater (by the way nobody looks under). You then start again this morning you want certain things picked up. By the way, you have only sat on your ass for two days. You act like you can’t do two things at once. That you can only watch the boys or pick up. Please I do this everyday.

Here is the kicker; your parents don’t care what our place looks like. They only care about seeing and playing with the boys. If you are so worried about it the do it your damn self.

Busy Busy

I have been busy today with errand and stuff. My in-laws are coming to visit tomorrow so I have been busy. Cub Daddy tookt the day off so I could go grocery shopping by myself. What a relief. No screaming or crying children. Isn't it sad that grocery shopping is a break for me. Sorry this is lame post today. I will have more to post after this weekend. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Tagged again

Eatmisery tagged me again so I hope you enjoy my anwsers!

1) Shampoo and Conditioner – Tropical Coconut Suave(reminds me of summer in the winter)
2) Soap - Zest
3) Colors – Gray, Green and Blue
4) Soda – Coca Cola
5) Foods - pizza, salads and cheeseburgers
6) Movie – Raising Arizona
7) Band – Journey, Southern Culture on the Skids, Pearl Jam
8) Disney Character- Elastagirl from the Incredibles and Dory from Finding Nemo
9) Actor – Matthew McConaughey and Johnny Depp
10) Actress – I don’t have a favorite
11) Video Games – I don’t even own a video game system
12) Computer Games – I have only played Solitaire
13) Store - Target
14) Alcohol – Corona with a lime
15) Number - 4
16) Car – No I take public transportation I don’t know what cool cars look like.
17) Book – The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird
18) T.V. Show –CSI, Las Vegas, Amazing Race
19) Website – The Superficial, Go Fug Yourself, my blog
20) Condiment - Ketchup
21) Fruit - Watermelon
22) Vegetable – Corn and peas
23) Restaurant – Chipotle, Famous Dave’s
24) Blogger – Eatmisery, POW, Mouthy Mom, Miss Zoot, I could go on and on. I read a lot of blogs.
25) Place – I really don’t have one favorite place. I like a place where I can have piece and quiet so I can pray or reflect.

Big Cubby Meltdown

Today I took the boys to run a few errands. We went to Target first and when we were finished shopping I bought Big Cubby a Thomas the Tank Engine Train.

We head to the grocery store. When we get there Big Cubby starts getting upset and saying he doesn't want to go in. I tell him if he wants his train then he has to behave at the store.

I get him up to the door where they have the shopping carts for kids that are shaped like a car. I put Little Cubby in the seat and I place Big Cubby next to him.

Big Cubby starts throwing a fit saying he doesn't want to go in. He stands up in his seat and is screaming in my face then he hit me. I said fine we are going home and you do not get the train. I lift him and hold him while he is trying to get out of my arms. I proceed to try to lift Little Cubby out of the cart and am having trouble.

A grocery store employee comes over and offers to help me lift Little Cubby out of the cart and into my arms. Meanwhile Big Cubby is crying and yelling and hitting me in the back of the neck.

I get them back to the car and into their seats. Big Cubby is screaming and I mean screaming high pitch that he wants his train. I tell him no and we leave the parking lot.

I call my husband while driving home(I use a hands free device)and start crying while telling him about the episode. He calms me down and I get home.

Big Cubby has been telling me sorry all afternoon and asking for his train I tell him no that his behavior was bad and that he has to earn the train. Then he tells me he is angry at me and I am a bad mommy.

I have to tell you I have never and I mean never been more embarrassed in my life. He has never acted this way when we have gone out. Actually he has never acted this way ever. I could not believe it. It took all my energy to remain calm.

Now we are waiting until Cub Daddy gets home and have a talk with Big Cubby.

Has anybody experienced this type of situation? How did you feel?

Huge Milestone

I almost forgot Little Cubby officially walked. He took five steps then sat down then stood up and took five more. It was awesome! I think he all ready knew how to walk he just likes crawling because he can get around quicker.

We can mark it down he walked unassisted.

Friends from the South

Our friends, who were affected by the hurricane, were going to come up to Chicago because our friend B had a conference to attend. He was going to bring his wife and little girl and visit with us this week. We thought that was cancelled since they have been staying with family and were going to concentrate on getting home.

Well, they decided to come up anyway so we got to spend the day with them yesterday. Great news is that there house is definitely ok. There is no damage. They have neighbor who checked out their house and have seen pictures on the internet of it. What a relief! They can not go back yet because the power has not been restored yet.

We took them to the Lincoln Park zoo. This is the first time we have been able to see each others kids since they have been born. Big Cubby and Big C hit it off. They are both 4. They were so cute together. They would hold hands and tickle each other. When we said goodbye to them last night they hugged and gave each other kisses then said I love you! Too cute.

We went to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We normally don’t eat big meals like this and let me tell you I am paying for it today. My stomach is killing me. We got back home around 8pm. The boy’s bedtime is 8 so we were out longer then normal. We were exhausted.

Little Cubby decided to wake up 7 times last night. I am trying to stay awake today and it has been hard. Of course on the night I really needed to get some sleep.

We are going to see them tomorrow and maybe go to the aquarium.

I will post a few pictures of Big Cubby and Big C later. They are too cute!

Nature Walk

Today we went to a forest preserve and went for a walk.

Hello bear

Here we are at the Lincoln Park Zoo. This was my favorite. The polar bear was cool he kept coming up to us.

A conversation with Big Cubby

This is the conversation I had with Big Cubby today after he watched the movie Robots.

Big Cubby: Mommy I want to watch the blueberries

Me: Blueberries? I don't think there are blueberries in the movie.

Big Cubby: Yes there is mommy. you know the blueberry band. they go boom boom

Me: Are you sure this in the movie?

Big Cubby: yes mommy. they play in a band and the paint comes up.

Me: You mean the Blue Man Group?

Big Cubby: yes mommy.

In the extras on the Robots dvd there is a thing about the Blue Man Group aka the blueberries.

Tagged again

Jodi at the stuff in my head tagged me with a new one so check it out.

1. Legal First name? Crystal
2. Were you named after anyone? My aunt’s cat. Don’t ask.
3. Do you wish on stars? No
4. When did you last cry? Today while watching Oprah.
5. What is your favorite lunch meat? Smoked turkey
6. What is your birth date? August 7, 1972
7. Whats your most embarrassing CD? Jock Jams vol. 1
8. Would you be friends with you? Oh hell yeah.
9. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Yes
10. What are your nicknames? Crys
11. Would you bungee jump? NO, afraid of heights
12. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Who has time?
13. Do you think that you are strong? Yes I am you want to make something of it.
14. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate Chip
15. Shoe Size? 8 ½ or 9. Yeah I know my husband calls them skis
16. Red or pink? Pink
17. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? Stomach, butt, nose
18. Who do you miss most? My dad
19. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Old Navy light green stretch pants
20. What are you listening to right now? Q101 radio station
21. What did you eat for breakfast? Honey Nut Cheerios and coffee
22. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green
23. What is the weather like right now? in the 50’s
24. Last person you talked to on the phone? My husband
25.The first things you notice about the opposite sex? butt
26. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes, even though we have never met in person.
27. Favorite Drink? Coca Cola
28. Hair Color? Mousey brown
29. Do you wear contacts? No but I wear glasses
30. Favorite Food? Powdered donuts
31. Last Movie You Watched? Robots
32. Favorite Day Of The Year? My son's b-days
33. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? Happy Endings
34. Summer Or Winter? Summer. I live in Chicago and winters are a bitch.
35. Hugs OR Kisses? both
36. What Is Your Favorite Desert? Chocolate Mousse
37. Living Arrangements? Me, hubby, Big Cubby and Little Cubby. We rent.
38. What books Are You Reading? Just finished one Confessions of Super Mom by Melanie Hauser and Goodnight Nobody Jennifer Weiner. Started reading Faithless by Karin Slaughter
39. What's On Your Mouse Pad? Historic Wrigley Field
40.What Did You Watch Last night on TV? So You Think You Can Dance and Law & Order
41. Favorite Smells? Cinnamon rolls, babies, old books and victory(just joking)
42. Favorite junk food? Chips and salsa minus the salsa
43. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Rolling Stones
44. What's the farthest you've been from home? California

I tagWhoever wants to do it. Just let me know if you do so I can read it.

Say a little prayer

We have great friends who live in Bridge City, TX and had to leave their home due to Hurricane Rita. Turns out they are located in between Beaumont, Tx and Lake Charles, LA the hardest hit areas.

Luckily they left before it hit and are safe at relatives in TN. The hard part is they don't know if their house is ok. Someone they know said their house looked ok but they are not sure of the damage.

Bad news is they might not be able to go back for another month. They are not letting anyone in the area until electricity and other essentials are back on.

They are really great people and I just ask that everyone say a prayer for them asking that they can return home quickly.

Weekend Update

We had a nice weekend on Saturday we took the boys to Lincoln Park Zoo. Big Cubby had a great time. His favorite was the polar bear. There is a viewing area that looks under the water and the polar bears will dive in the water and come right up to the glass and touch it then swim on. I have to say it was pretty awesome.

Sunday I went down to Harold Washington Library and checkout a few books and then headed over to Starbucks for a latte and watch people. It was a rainy day so there weren’t many people out.

On the way home on the El a high school student tried to pick me up. When we asked me my age and I told him 33 he was shocked and told me I looked 23. Like he had a chance at any age. After I told him my age he was like nice meeting you and ran. I am a little flattered but creeped out. He asked if I lived where I lived in the area and I did not tell him the truth. He guessed Evanston and I said no then was surprised I lived in Chicago like I haven’t seen you before. Dude, there are millions of people in the area. It was a weird day.

Cub Daddy is on an overnight business trip today which really sucks. Big Cubby has drawn on the computer monitor with a pen. I luckily got it off. He almost broke the barrier that is inside the refrigerator door that holds condiments by slamming it. He has screamed in my face and has bugged his brother which in turn becomes upset and all he wants is mommy and her booby.

I am exhausted. I have a headache. I can not wait until these kids go to bed. I am thinking a little early tonight.

Tagged

I was tagged by Amy at Comments from the Peanut Gallery. This is my first time being tagged!

Ten Years Ago...

I was 23 and had been married a couple of years. I dropped out of college because I had a miscarriage and went into a deep depression. I took off a couple of semesters and was working at Fazoli’s restaurant. Where I got to wear a shirt with a logo a visor and got to say Welcome to Fazoli’s would you like to try our Sampler Platter. I smelled of garlic breadsticks and to this day I will not eat those garlic breadsticks. I did go back to college and graduated.

Five Years Ago...

We were living in a one bedroom apartment on Sheridan that looked out at Lake Michigan. We paid only $650 which I thought was a great deal. I was working at Fire Chief Magazine as a sales assistant. Tolling away for the man or in this case my boss was a woman. No, I did not get to meet any hot fireman. Fire Chiefs tend to be white haired old men. We had been living in Chicago for a couple of years. By the end of the year I was pregnant with Big Cubby.

One Year Ago...

I was pregnant with Little Cubby and exhausted because I was running after a 3 year old. Our life changed when I had Little Cubby on September 13th and we became a family of four.

Yesterday...I took Cub Daddy’s suit to the dry cleaners because he has to go on a business trip on Monday. We watched Toy Story for the 100 time. I did the laundry. Watched Survivor and CSI.

5 Songs I know all the words to...

”You Give Love a Bad Name”-Bon Jovi
“Welcome to Lazytown” Lazytown show by Nick Jr.
”Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
“My House has Wheels” by Southern Culture on the Skids
“Slow Ride” by Foghat

5 Snacks...

Pretzels

popcorn

Hostess Twinkies

Powdered donuts

Yogurt

5 Things I'd do with 100 million dollars...

Pay off all our debt

Buy a house
Set up a charity

Set up college funds for my kids

Invest

5 Places I'd run away to...

Hawaii
Las Vegas
Giant City park in Carbondale, IL
A spa
Canada

5 Things I'd never wear...

Daisy Dukes

Stilettos
Super short skirt
Little House on the Prairie dress
thong

5 Favorite books/TV shows...

Where the Wild Things Are-Maurice Sendak
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil-John Berendt
The Outsiders-S.E Hinton
CSI
Las Vegas

5 Greatest joys...
My Husband
My Children
Krispy Kreme donuts
When the children are sleeping
reading books

5 Favorite toys...

My computer

digital camera
TV
DVD player
Cell phone

5 People I'm tagging to do this...

POW
The Drama Mama
The Stuff in my head
Mouthy Mom
Peas in my pod

Current reads...

People magazine
Parenting magazine
The 7 Stages of Motherhood-Ann Pleshette Murphy
Good Night Nobody- Jennifer Weiner
Match Me If You Can-Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Please leave a comment and let me know if you decide to answer the questions. Also I am sorry if you have all ready done this one or don't like being tagged.

No Whammys

Well, I pressed my luck today and went on an errand. I had to go to the dry cleaners to drop off some stuff my husband is going to need for a business trip Monday.

I loaded up the boys and headed out. I went to the grocery store to pull money for the dry cleaner. I bought Big Cubby a packet of M&M's to head off any resistence I might have to face. It worked like a charm.

We headed over to the dry cleaners and was in and out. The boys were great.

I almost pressed my luck and went somewhere else but decided against it. Which was probably the right choice.

No Whammys!

Thank God this mystery was been solved

Now I can sleep better knowing this. The world is a better place.


Tyra Banks Proves Breasts Are Real on TV

Press My Luck

I survived another outing. I braved the world and went to Sam’s Club today. I bribed the boys with animal crackers.

I was speeding down the aisles like I was on the game show Supermarket Sweep.

Luckily I had only a few things to get. They boys behaved well enough and I made it back home.

So what to I do? I decide to load Little Cubby in the backpack carrier and Big Cubby in the running stroller and headed up to the library. I had to push my luck today. We get up there and I return some books. I let out Big Cubby to look for books to check out and it was all over. He wanted to run around the library. Meanwhile, Little Cubby is pulling my hair out of its ponytail and smacking me in the back of the head.

I manage to grab a few books for Big Cubby and went to wrangle him in. He did not want to come so I told him that Little Cubby and I were going home to get a snack and we were leaving him there. That did the trick. He jumped on the running stroller and we were out the door.

By the time we got home I was sweating so much there was a sweat outline on my back of my bra. Oh so gross.

Shopping

Today was pay day and I hate when if happens in the middle of the week and not on a weekend because then I have to do the shopping with the boys. On the weekends, I can go by myself which is a nice break. I can also concentrate on what I need.

When I take the boys I end up over spending, forget to buy an item or forget to use my coupons. It is always a struggle to keep them from having a meltdown.

Today we went to Target and the grocery store. I wanted to go to Sam's but barely made it out of the grocery store alive. The boys were ready for lunch and were starting to meltdown.

Target is remodeling near us so everything is moved around everytime I am in there. This makes things difficult when I am trying to hurry up before the boys exploded.

This time wasn't any different. Forgot coupons, overspent and forgot to buy an item.

Tomorrow I have to go back out there to finish up my shopping. As long as I don't forget my children then I will be all right.

Weekend Update

We had a nice weekend. On Saturday we went down on the El, which is Big Cubby’s favorite thing, to Wrigley Field. The Chicago Cub player’s wives were having a food drive. I wanted Big Cubby to learn about giving to others who need it so I thought this would be a cool way.

We got down there before the game and it was all ready abuzz. I took Big Cubby up to the table and we handed over our bags of food. Todd Walker’s wife took our food and for donating we got two player autographed photos. Todd Walker’s wife is too cute. She was thanking Big Cubby and was asking if he like baseball. Big Cubby goes go Cubbies. It was funny.

The two players we received were catcher Henry Blanco and catcher Michael Barrett. It was pretty cool. I am going to frame them and put them on his wall.

We did not go to the game which Big Cubby kept asking if we were going. Next year I think I am going to get tickets for us.

Sunday was sports day at our apartment. The Bears and the Cubs were playing so we jumped back and forth.

EMMY’S
Last night I watched the Emmy’s and was kind of boring. There were a few funny parts like Jon Stewart and Conan O’Brien. I love those guys.

I watched some of the pre-show on E and let me tell you I can not stand Star Jones. She can not interview a person to save her life. She is horrible. She gushes over all the celebrities to the point that even they look at her like this is over the top.

Kathy Griffin is the only good about that pre-show and they seemed to keep her reeled in. It is a shame.

One thing I thought was so stupid. They mentioned when Halle Berry arrived that she was wearing a ponytail and that meant tomorrow ponytails would be in. Shit, I have been wearing a ponytail since Big Cubby was born 4 years ago. I hate that comment because a ponytail has always been in style. I hate when people try to make something big when it is not. It is pathetic.

Well that is my take on the Emmy’s. I really could have cared less who won because I don’t watch half the shows nominated so I don’t really know if anyone got ripped off.

Shots suck

I HATE going to our pediatrician’s office. The doctor is nice and the staff is friendly it is just every time we take the boys there is always something wrong. I break out in to sweat by the time we get there.

I find when the doctor asks his questions it comes off as accusatory and I feel I have to defend myself. Before I get to that let me tell you we took the boys to the doctor today for their 4 and 1 year check-up.

Big Cubby went first and before hand I have been prepping him about what the doctor would be doing and that he would be getting a shot. He was so brave. He did everything the doctor said and then it was time for the shot. He had to lie down on the table and he was given two shots in his leg. Cub Daddy had to hold down his arms. OMG, I thought I was going to cry the look of betrayal and him crying asking why. He kept asking why did the doctor do that to him. Then he asked to leave the room because he did not want to stay for Little Cubby’s shots. The doctor thought he looked a little pale so he ordered a blood test.

I have all ready been through this with Little Cubby and I thought he was going to have to get blood drawn today. No, this time it is Big Cubby.

Next it was Little Cubby turn. The doctor thought is weight was ok about average but thought he was on the small side. He said his lips have more color but his skin is a little pale. He is to stay on the iron supplements until next doctor’s appointment in December. Little Cubby got three shots. The good news is we are ahead on our shots so the next visit will be the last of his shots for awhile.

When the doctor was asking questions about both boys in my mind he is making me feel defensive. He asked if the boys eat meat. I jumped on him and said of course while listing what they eat. Like I am purposely making them anemic. I think my kids are a little pale. You should see my niece she is 16 months and is very pale. That is her complexion because her Daddy is that way. Next he asked if we were sending Big Cubby to preschool we said no. Then he asked why he wasn’t going or if we were going to send him to a one day program. WTF! I did not want to tell hey we can’t afford it buster. Cub Daddy says to him we are thinking of sending him in the spring. I always feel like I am inadequate when I go there.

After we left the doctor we went to Qwest to get Big Cubby’s blood drawn. Fortunately Little Cubby was asleep so I stayed in the van while Cub Daddy took Big Cubby. When they came back out Big Cubby was so sad. It was horrible. Cub Daddy said it was a bad experience.

Every time we go there is always something. Test we have to have. It gives me an ulcer every time. I do have to say that we have been very lucky because the boys haven’t been that sick and are healthy.

My Sweet Boys

Big Cubby is going to have to watch out because Little Cubby is gunning for him. Little Cubby tackled Big Cubby at the park.

Refrigerator Madness

Oh boy have I been pissed off the last few days. We rent so I have to call the landlord when anything goes wrong well something went wrong.

We have been having trouble with our refrigerator for month and sometime on Sunday night our refrigerator went completely out. Monday morning I went to get Big Cubby breakfast and noticed the fridge was a little warm I opened up the freezer it was blowing hot air.

We called the landlord which the only way is to leave a message on a voicemail. He gets back to us around 10am and tells us he is sending out a guy to look at it. The guy shows up around noon and fixes it. So I am thinking great maybe I can salvage some of the food.

We go out to the park and grab something to eat and when we get back I go to put something in fridge and it is hot. The freezer is hot. This is 7pm. I call the guy who fixed it and he says we will have to get a new one. So we both call the landlord and leave a message.

He does not get back to us until 10:30am the next day and tells us he is buying a new one but probably won’t be delivered today.

They delivered the fridge today at 1:30pm. Now I am totally pissed off because we lost everything in the fridge. We buy a lot of things in bulk and we did so recently all gone.
Yogurt, cheese, milk, expensive baby yogurt and chicken just to mention a few. GONE!

The landlord did not offer to get coolers for us or offer to cover our lose in food. Nothing! Well we are taking money out of our rent to replace the groceries we lost.

The landlord has tried to fix the fridge several times when it was obvious it needed to be replaced.

It takes forever to get anything done around here and when they do show up they do a shitty job.

I HATE this place. We have lived here for 3 and a half years. The neighborhood is changing and it doesn’t seem as safe. I am ready to move. We have to wait until next year because of a lease but I am all ready planning on moving out.

I could give you a list of things I hate about this place but I won’t bore you.

So, I have a new fridge but no food to put in it.

I think I will start doing yoga and try to relax.

Happy 1st Birthday Little Cubby

Happy Birthday Little Cubby!

Today you turn 1 year old. You were born 9lbs 4oz. Everybody at the hospital kept saying what a big baby you were, but I thought you were perfect.

You love to follow your big brother around all over the apartment. Your big brother likes policing you every chance he gets.

You love to push your toy cars all over the floor. You are really good at getting where you need to go by crawling. Sometimes you go so fast that your body can not catch up and you fall forward.

You can walk by holding on to the furniture but you are not sure about walking independently. You would rather crawl.

You love to make faces. You have a funny face when you want us to laugh. You have a pitiful face when you want attention. You have an annoyed face when your brother is bothering. You like to smile a lot.

You like to be held and to cuddle. You would be happy if Mommy or Daddy held you all day. You can give kisses but they are rare. They are special sloppy kisses when you do.

You have no intention of giving up nursing. You want to all the time. At this rate you will be doing it forever. You like to eat pretty much anything. Your Daddy says you don’t have any taste buds but he should talk he can pretty much eat anything as well.

You still are not sleeping through the night. You get up around 10 or 11pm and then again around 3 or 4am and then again around 6am. I usually can get you to sleep to 7 or 8am after that. Mommy has gotten used to sleeping in this pattern.

You think your brother is funny and you try to imitate what he does. You laugh when he picks you up and carries you to another room. You don’t like when your brother hugs you extra hard. If your brother is bothering you, you usually try to hit him to make him go away.

You can kind of do a high five. You really like to use one finger and point at everything.

You only use your pacifier only at night. You sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room and we sleep in the living room.

You really giggle when we tickle you. You are very ticklish.

I can not believe it has been a year all ready that you entered our lives. You bring so much joy to our family and have made us whole.

We love you! Happy Birthday Baby!

Little Cubby's birth story

I have decided to write out my birth experience with Little Cubby in honor of his birthday which is tomorrow. I will write a 12 month update on him tomorrow.

Last year at this time it was a Sunday afternoon, the day before Little Cubby was born.

The Friday before I had a doctor’s appointment and I was 1cm dilated. My due date was September 13th and my doctor told me to make an appointment for that day and she would check if any progress had happen then.

So I go home a little disappointed because I really did not want to go over my due date I was ready to have this baby.

So that Sunday I woke with some cramping and feeling not myself. I did not think anything of it I just thought I was having some Braxton Hicks contractions which I had been having on and off for awhile.

We decided to take Big Cubby to the park to play and while Cub Daddy and Big Cubby were playing I decided to try to get my labor going by walking. I walked this track that was around two baseball fields about three times. I would get a little winded and would have to stop. We headed home and started to wait.

Latter that evening I lost what was my mucous plug. I did not know for sure that was what it was because I did not lose it with Big Cubby. I had to be induced with him.

We go to bed that evening and I was praying I would go into labor before Cub Daddy had to go to work Monday morning. Around two in the morning I was awakened with contractions. I sat up to start timing them to see if they were every 10 minutes, 1 minute part for 1 hour. I did this for about 30 minutes and noticed there were following a pattern so I woke up Cub Daddy to help me time them. We did this for about an hour then called the hospital. They told us to come on in.

So, I showered, ate something and got all my stuff together. We then woke up Big Cubby told him we were going to have his little brother. He did not care too much for that he was more impressed that it was still dark out and he could see the stars. This is about 5am.

We get to the hospital which is a mile away and park. We walk up to the emergency room and I have to stop like five times because of contractions. Cub Daddy had insisted on dropping me off at the door but I refused saying the walk would help the contractions along. I get close to the door and two nurses are outside and ask if I would like a wheelchair. I get in the wheelchair and we head up to the maternity ward.

They have my room ready so I get undressed and get examined. I am now 2cm dilated. They say I can have my epidural if I want it. Oh yeah did I want it.

After I got the epidural it was all about the waiting. We did not have a place for Big Cubby to go so he was in the room with us. Cub Daddy would take him out when they would do certain things.

My epidural only worked on one side of my body so basically I felt every contraction. I had a great nurse who helped me breathe through them. When I had Big Cubby I was scared to death and my birth experience was horrible. This time around I was in a different hospital and the staff was great.

Around 11:00am they broke my water bag because I was getting close to fully dilated and this would have speed up the process. Finally at noon I was ready to push. Cub Daddy had taken Big Cubby to the waiting room while I delivered Little Cubby. My doctor was delivering twins so I ended up with a room full of people though. I had two resident doctors, the attending doctor, the nurse and three medical students on there first day in the hospital. They were all female except the attending. It was a big party. I really did not mind they were like my cheering squad.

I was a woman on a mission. I did not scream or yell I just pushed with all my might. It took 20 minutes and Little Cubby was born. I had little superficial tear and that was it. Everybody said that was the best delivery they have had. I was an inspiration. I have to tell it was the easiest thing I have every done. I felt great. I actually delivered on my due date.

I had them go get Cub Daddy and Big Cubby and they were introduced to Little Cubby. I got to eat lunch and then later that afternoon Cub Daddy took Big Cubby home. The night was very long and the next morning I asked to be discharged. I did not want to stay another night. I knew I would have more help at home. So that afternoon I was discharged and we took Little Cubby home.

What the Hell everybody is doing this I will too.

I have seen this on a couple of other blogs so I might as well try it. I am usually shy and it takes awhile to warm up so maybe this will help.

1. Ask me 3 questions. Any 3, no matter how personal, private or random.

2. I have to answer them honestly. I have to answer them all.

3. In turn, you post this message in your own blog or journal and you have to answer the questions that are asked of you.

What is wrong with me

For three days I have been depressed and I can't cheer up. I know part of it is all of the sadness that is on the news about the victims of the hurricane but there is something else.

I am afraid to say it out loud because I don't want people to think I am selfish and I should be grateful. Believe me I know I am grateful for having my family safe and healthy.

My husband hasn't even noticed and if he has he is not saying anything which leads me to believe that he hasn't noticed. The man would definitely say something. That kind of pisses off and makes me sad at the same time. Big Cubby even notices something wrong and has been very loving towards me.

My husband doesn't like me to tell anyone about our debt and so our family doesn't know. We got into a little bit of credit card debt after Big Cubby was born and we are taking care of it now through a program. If we did not have the debt we would be living a little more comfortable and not dangerously paycheck to paycheck. It is going to be another year or so before it is paid off.

This keeps getting thrown into our face when we could use the money the most. I really wanted to send Big Cubby to preschool but after research we came to find out we can't afford to send him. I am not a good teacher so me trying to teach him is out of the question. This really makes me sad when I think about it.

I feel like we are failing our kids. I want them to have what I didn't. I was poor growing up and not until high school when my mom married my stepdad we actually got to go on vacation and have a better life. I don't want my them to go through what I went through.

I am now just rambling on and don't really know what I am saying. The only thing I have to do now is wait. Eventually the debt will be paid off and we have learned our lesson.

I am still sad about it and I wish my husband would notice.

OK I am going to stop depressing all of you.

Cub Daddy

My husband is the photographer in this family. I don't mean to brag but I think he is really good at it. So I am sharing his Flikr site with you. There are pictures of the boys on there and other items of interest. So please check him out and let him know what you think.

Thanks

PePe Le Pew

Last night around 9pm my husband and I were enjoying a cool night with the windows open when all of the sudden this odor came drifting through our windows.

I looked at my husband and said that smells like a skunk but that can't be right because I don't think there are any skunks in the city.

Note: We do not live near a forest perserve and are surrounding by houses and apartments. I think the nearest one is 6 to 10 miles away.

My husband says yeah it does smell like a skunk. We closed the windows and we looked out the window. We did not see anything. The neighbors across the street were doing the same thing.

The smell was horrendous. I thought I was going to be sick to my stomach.

This moring my husband went to the gym and when he came back he said that it was definitely a skunk last night. It was hit by a car right in front of our apartment building. Sure enough I looked out the window and there is a skunk with all of its insides everywhere.

Big Cubby keeps talking about and looking out the window. I have been dancing around his questions.

We called the city this morning to report it so someone can come out to pick it up. Unfortunely it is a holiday today and nobody has come out. So all day we have to keep our windows closed and keep the four year old away from the window.

I grew up in southern Illinois where there is a lot of areas for wild animals to roam. This is the first for me living in the city.

Thank goodness my son has no idea about Loony Tunes.

Lucky

Today we went for a walk and both boys ended up taking a nap along the way. Big Cubby in the running stroller and Little Cubby in the back carrier.

As we were walking enjoying the quiet, I reflected on how lucky we are to have such beautiful children. How lucky we are to have a home, clothes, and food for our children.

Sometimes I would get depressed because I think we couldn't afford certain things but after seeing the images on the news and hearing the stories of people losing everything and losing their loved ones from the hurricane, I don't think that way anymore.

I feel very lucky to have my family safe and healthy. I know I am truly blessed. I am very thankful for what I have. I will not take for granted anything I have.

I wish I could do more to help the people that were affected by the hurrincane.

But for tonight I will hug my children a little closer and be thankful.

Katrina victims

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims of the Hurricane Katrina.

Ticket averted

I just saved my ass from getting a ticket.

Here in Chicago they do street cleaning in the neighborhood and they will put up no parking signs on whatever side of the road they are cleaning that day. Between 9am and 3pm no parking.

Well, last night we forgot to move the van and I forgot this morning to tell Cub Daddy to move it. Around 10:10am I heard the street cleaner and remembered about the van. I grabbed the kids and went outside and there was a cop parked in front of me and was giving a ticket to the car behind me. I loaded the kids and got my seatbelt on when he came to the window.

He tells me it is too late to move the van that the time was 9am to get it moved. I tell him I totally forgot and he tells me I still have to get a ticket.
Then he walks away to his car and so I ask him am I getting a ticket and he waves me off. I say thank you sir.

So I leave to find a parking spot and saved ourselves $50 bucks. I drive around the block and the neighbor downstairs tells me I can have his spot because he was leaving.

Unfortunately, I can not parallel park unless it is a huge space. So the neighbor had to park my van for me.

I was so nervous I broke out into a sweat. We really could not afford a ticket right now and I am so glad I got lucky. I don't know why maybe it was the site of the kids but I am thankful I was spared.

This is all before noon. I am exhausted.

Cubs

I know I haven't written anything about the Cubs. They have given up trying to win. There is no hope going into the post season and I am very sad.

As a Cub fan, you have high hopes at the beginning of each season that this is the year we make it to the World Series. Well, I think our last chance was 2003 and we blew it.

I am still torturing myself and I am watching every game. It pains me to see them make mistakes and not get any runs but yet I still watch.

When you are a Cubs fan you are in it through thick and thin. So if you will excuse me they are on right now and are losing so I have to spill tears in my beer.

Next year is the year.

Hung over

Big Cubby had a great birthday. Thanks to everybody who wished him one.

He woke up very excited that he was turning four and kept telling us such. We got ready and went to the park so Big Cubby could play. We go this park that Big Cubby likes to call Castle park.

We had lunch at Big Cubby’s favorite place McDonald’s and he got a cool Hot Wheels car with his Happy Meal.

My mom gave him a gift card from Target so we over there and he got new jeans, shirt, jacket, Batman pjs, and a new train from the Thomas the Tank Engine line.

Big Cubby was very excited about going to Chuck E. Cheese. He kept asking when we were going and finally we made it to Chuck E. Cheese. Oh boy, did he have fun. He rode all the rides. He played a few games. Cub Daddy and I played Skee ball so he would have a lot of tickets. He ended up with a little memory game, a stretchy bug, a magnet, and a hand gadget that you make clap. What a bounty.

Cub Daddy and I were tired so we headed home. We had cake and ice cream. Cub Daddy made the cake. It was pretty good. We sang Happy Birthday which embarrassed Big Cubby.

We then let him open the presents we got him. All Thomas the Tank Engine stuff. He loved it. We also got him to CD’s The Wiggles and Bob the Builder.

Our family gave money or gift cards so this weekend we will be going shopping. Big Cubby gets to extend his birthday a little longer.

All day today is keeps asking is my birthday over. He is so cute.

We are trying to recuperate today and trying to get over the sugar rush.

Happy 4th Birthday Big Cubby

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY BIG CUBBY!

I can not believe my little guys is turning 4 today. That means your is one year closer to going to school. I don’t know if I am ready for that.

You are an inquisitive little sponge. You like to ask many questions preferably while I am driving.

You also love to interrupt. You usually wait until mommy is busy with a book to demand attention.

You think boogers are funny. You like to say “mommy I have snots”.

You love and are scared of spiders. You obsessed with finding spider webs. If you see a fly you will point it out as loud as you can. Especially noticeable if in a restaurant.

Once told something, you may not always do it, but you are quick to help others follow the rule.

You love, love your trains. You still love Thomas the Tank Engine and friends. A ride on the CTA trains is a highlight of a day.

Another highlight is going to the library to get books. You insist on “reading” books to us at bedtime. Very often perfectly copying what we’ve read before.

You love to sing. Very loudly. You love Lazy Town and sings songs from that show at the top of your lungs. You will learn one line from a song and sing it over and over and over and over. When asked if there is any more to the song, you will reply simply, “No.” Then you will start singing again. You like to sing VeggieTales Sunday School songs. Your favorite is “I’ve got the joy joy joy down in my heart” over and over again. You like to dance. Sometimes will sing and dance until spotted by an audience.

You are a sensitive fellow, who gets embarrassed easily. A joyful laugh at his goofy play can be interpreted as mocking.

You are quiet loving at times, even with you brother. But at other times are very upset that your brother is around you.

You assume the identity of Spider-man or Sportacus (from Lazy Town) at will and will expect to be addressed by that name when being that person.

You are very picky eater. You would eat hot dogs or chicken nuggets every meal if you could.

You are a very good helper. You like to help mommy and daddy with everything.

Happy birthday, Big Cubby! We love you very much!

Wendy's Adventure

We had lunch at Wendy’s today and we saw the most bizarre thing. We ordered our food and went to sit down. I went back up to get the napkins and ketchup. This is when I notice some children looking at two baby car seats next to this older woman and man. The table next to them I saw two men laughing quietly and looking over at them as well.

I has thinking oh twins well I was wrong. On the second trip back up to the condiment bar I looked over to see what was in the baby car seats and you will not believe what I saw.

There were two baby dolls sitting in those seats. That is right folks dolls. Plastic dolls strapped in the seats like they were real babies. Creepy looking dolls. One had a crazy smile on its face.

Everybody in the restaurant kept stealing looks at this odd couple.

At one point during our meal one of the babies fell out of the seat hit the table and fell onto the floor. The woman paused for a few moments with a disgusted look on her face then picked up the doll put it back in the seat.

She then licked a napkin and wiped off the dolls face.

When we were leaving Cub Daddy took Big Cubby out to the van and as I has about to head out the door. The bizarre woman sees Little Cubby and says oh what a cute baby. So I thank you her and she asks what is name is and how old he is. So I told her and the man next to her goes a biblical name.

I think the man was mentally handicapped but the woman seemed ok. Not sure about there relationship.

I then said bye and headed out the door.

I am a freak magnet. Babies are freak magnets. I was not going to win they stop me every time while I am holding Little Cubby.

I did not ask about her “babies” because I was afraid of the answer.

Preparing for big day

I have been busy today getting ready for Big Cubby’s birthday on Sunday. He will be turning 4. We are doing something special just the four of us. We plan on going to McDonald’s or Wendy’s for lunch. Both favorite places of Big Cubby and then we will head to Chuck E. Cheese to play games.

We will come home and open presents and have cake and ice cream. I am making the cake tomorrow. I am not a good cook. It will be a cake from a box. My decorations are some plastic trains. I told you I am not gifted in the kitchen. We have some balloons to blow up Saturday night.

I still have to wrap the gifts we bought him. He has gotten money and gift cards from family so I am going to try to go Saturday and get a few things with them. I hope I have time. I haven’t bought him a card yet but what 4 year old cares about a card.

I have a sinus headache and a runny nose today. This seems to never end. Both boys are extremely loud today. They keep egging each other on. I hope I can get them to both nap this afternoon. Little Cubby was up a lot last night. Not a good night for sleeping.

That is pretty much it today. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I will post a few things this weekend about the birthday boy’s big day. Maybe a few photos.

Huband"s "help"

I was coming down with a cold the past couple of days. My husband decided that he would help me out yesterday at home so I could "rest". Let me tell you how the day went.

Cub Daddy had to take a few photos of some buildings in a neighborhood near us for work so he takes a work from home day. This is supposed to help me out.

I put together and fed the boys breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was the one who got up a lot with Little Cubby in the middle of the night. I did the dishes and put away the toys.

We went with Cub Daddy to take photos because Big Cubby wanted to ride the EL and I knew that Cub Daddy would have trouble taking pictures and watching Big Cubby at the same time so I went also. (Which later Cub Daddy did admit that it would have been hard watching Big Cubby). I knew that Big Cubby would end up in the road and hit by a car if I was not there.

In the evening, I had to ask Cub Daddy to give the boys a bath and get them ready for bed. I HAD TO ASK!!

This is coming from a guy who last week came home from work early one day and then took off the next and then spent the whole weekend resting because he was sick. Wow, three and half days to get over being sick.

Sometimes I wish I did not have to ask for help that he would just pitch in. In the beginning with Big Cubby he was a huge help but now with the addition of Little Cubby he has been slacking.

Luckily I have not been to sick. My throat doesn't hurt very much now so I hope this has past.

I don't know why I am blogging this now I am ok and not pissed anymore.

OMG! Can you call this a talent?

I found this video on alldumb.com and I am in shock. It is not really gross don't worry. The video is from the Steve Harvey Show. You will have to watch it a couple of times. The first to see the talent. The second and third time to see the reactions of the audience, the judges and Steve Harvey. It is priceless. Here is the link to the video. http://www.alldumb.com/item/13274/

I would love to hear your comments.

Summer Cold

Well, I think I am coming down with a summer cold. I HATE summer colds. Last night I had a sore throat and my head starting hurting. I was worried I would not get enough sleep last night because my sleep cycle is really screwed up. Little Cubby gets up A LOT during the night.

Luckily last night Little Cubby only woke up at 11pm then not until 4am this morning. That is huge. I really needed the rest.

This morning my throat still hurts. I have been drinking warm fluids to soothe it. Since I am still breastfeeding I don’t want to take any drugs for my cold. I really hate that. Cub Daddy only has a few days left to take off and they are all ready spoken for so if I get sick I am screwed.

The one thing I hate about not being in the workforce is I don’t get any sick days. Life still has to function around here no matter how I feel. Sometimes that sucks.

Yesterday we ended up just playing at home. Big Cubby and I did some coloring while Little Cubby took a nap. I really love to color. It is soothing.

Little Cubby is getting closer to walking. He has for awhile pulling himself up and walking with the assistance of us or along stationary items but this week he is starting to stand by himself and balance for a few seconds before sitting down.

Oh, I have written in the past about Big Cubby’s anger issues. I am happy to say that it was a phase and he doesn’t get all in rage like he used to. Actually he is very lovey dovey right now. He likes to give hugs and kisses and say I love you. It has been very nice. We tried a new way of dealing with him when he got angry and it worked. He still gets in trouble time to time but nothing like the rage episodes he had.

Monday

Not much going on. It is a really nice day today so we are trying to enjoy it as much as possible. I hope to have more to write about later.

Too many emotions in such a short period

I had a lot of emotions today. I was happy, upset, pissed, scared, panicked, relived, pissed again, sad, hurt and happy.

The day started out really great. We loaded up the boys in the van and headed to Toys R Us to look at possible birthday gifts for Big Cubby’s birthday next Sunday. We got there and found a few things so I bought them while Cub Daddy distracted the Big Cubby. Big Cubby got a balloon and birthday crown while we were there. We then headed over to Office Max to get Cub Daddy a planner. We ate lunch at Wendy’s and all was good. This made me happy.

We headed over to Barnes and Noble at a local open-air mall. We browsed books and then Cub Daddy took the boys because Little Cubby was getting cranky. He tells me he is going out and I tell him I would meet him by the play area. I am looking around and found a couple of books to get.

I had a coupon for an extra 15% off for being a member which you get 10% off all ready. I could not pass that up. Well, the coupon was in the diaper bag which Cub Daddy had. Cub Daddy had forgotten his cell phone so I could not call him to ask him to come back.

So I go upstairs and out the door we came in. No family. Go over to the play area. No family. Go back to the book store. No family. Start to get upset. Go back to the play area again. No family. Go to the van. No family. Start to get pissed. Go back to store. No family. Go to food court. No family. Start to get scared. Go back to store sit down outside and start panicking. Go back to van. No family. Go back to bookstore one more time. No family.

On the verge of tears, I decided to head back to the van and sit hoping that they would eventually come back there. I am so pissed. I take the elevator up at the parking garage and when the door opens I see the family in the van. I start crying asking where the hell have you been.

Cub Daddy says we have been sitting outside in front of the store. What outside in front of the store? He said yeah been waiting for you for 30 minutes. I just started bawling.

Why the hell would he sit in front of the store? We came in the side door. We did not park in front of the store. What went through his mind when he made that decision? One of the times when I was looking through the store I glanced out the front but thought he would not be there why would he. I tell him this is why he bought cell phones so we can find each other.

Never went back to buy the books.

What pissed me off more was all the way to the grocery store Cub Daddy keeps saying how he thought I ran away or I was just sitting at a café drinking a cold pop. This made me sad. He didn’t think that maybe something bad happened to me.

How could he even think I would ever do that? I love my family and would never think about running away. This really hurt me. He said he was joking but I think he was pissed because he had to handle both boys and they can be a handful. He said Big Cubby kept saying No don’t get me and people were looking at him like he was kidnapping him.

Welcome to my world.

We finish up at the grocery store and head home.

Cub Daddy said he was sorry for saying that I would be the type of person to run away from my family.

Now I am happy.

Brothers have in common

Big Cubby loves Lazytown and he thinks he is Sportacus. I have to address him as such when talking to him. So everyday we watch the show and Big Cubby gets up and twirls and spins. He try’s to do push-ups and he does somersaults like they are flips. I like the fact the show promotes exercise and healthy eating. Big Cubby loves to eat fruit which is called sports candy on the show.

Little Cubby has gotten interested in the show. He is only 11 months. Today he was across the room and when Sportacus appeared on the screen he crawled as fast as he could to the TV. As soon as the theme music came one he was on his knees bouncing up and down to the music. Then he crawled away to play with his toys.

I think it is pretty cute that both boys are interested in the same thing. I know Little Cubby is too little to understand but they both love the action and movement in it.

This shit pisses me off

Disabled Boy Thrown Out Of Movie Theater For Laughing Too Loud

This really pisses me off. What the fuck is the world coming too when we have to deal with morons like this. Loews Cineplex should be ashamed to have this type of person working for them.

I hope all of you complain to them about this and get them to change their ways. There is no excuse for the manager to do this to the young boy.

I am so pissed I can't even get my thoughts straight.

quiz because I don't have anything to write about today.

I got this from Comments from the Peanut Gallery who got it from Beans

1. Nervous habits? biting my fingernails and shaking my leg
2. Are you double jointed? don't think so
3. Can you roll your tongue? yes
4. Can you raise one eyebrow at a time? no
5. Can you blow spit bubbles? no
6. Can you cross your eyes? yes
7. Tattoos? no
8. Piercings?no
9. Do you make your bed daily? no who has time

CLOTHES
10. Which shoe goes on first? left one
11. Speaking of shoes, have you ever thrown one at anyone? yes
12. On the average, how much money do you carry? $0 I usually use debit card
13. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? wedding ring, birthstone ring hubby gave me in high school and wedding band of my mothers when she was married to my dad.
14. Favorite piece of clothing? any of my comfy pants

FOOD
15. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? twirl
16. Have you ever eaten Spam? No
17. Do you use extra salt on your food? no
18. How many cereals in your cabinet? 1
19. What's your favorite beverage? Coke
20. What's your favorite fast food restaurant? Wendy's & Chiptole
21. Do you cook? not often usually easy things like grilled cheese.

GROOMING
22. How often do you brush your teeth? try to once a day
23. Hair drying method? air-dry
24. Have you ever colored/highlighted your hair? yes but not in awhile

MANNERS
25. Do you swear? why the hell you do you care, damn
26. Do you ever spit? no

FAVORITE
27. Animal? dog
28. Food?salads
29. Month? August
30. Day of the week? Saturday
31. Cartoon? Simpsons
32. Shoe brand? New Balance
33. Subject in school? Biology
34. Color? Green
35. Sport? Baseball, of course Go Cubbies!
36. TV shows? Amazing Race, Las Vegas, CSI
37. Thing to do in the spring? clean
38. Thing to do in the summer? go to the beach
39. Thing to do in the autumn? go for a drive and look at the leaves color change
40. Thing to do in the winter? read and play with my sons

IN AND AROUND
41. In the CD player? I have a three CD player so Foo Fighters In Your Honor(2cds) and Los Lonely Boys
42. Person you talk most on the phone with? my husband
43. Reading? Just about to finish Starting from Square Two by Caren Lissner
44. Do you regularly check yourself out in store windows/mirrors? yes
45. What color is your bedroom? white, we rent
46. Do you use an alarm clock? no
47. Window seat or aisle? Aisle

DUMB
48. What's your sleeping position? left side or belly
49. Even in hot weather do you use a blanket? yes
50. Do you snore? no
51. Do you sleepwalk? no
52. Do you talk in your sleep? not that I know of
53. Do you sleep with stuffed animals? no
54. How about with the light on? no
55. Do you fall asleep with the TV or radio on? sometimes
56. Last interesting person you met? Not sure who to pick so I won't

sick to my stomach

Little Cubby crawled over to our TV stand and was pulling himself up when he slipped and smacked his face on the bottom ledge of the stand.

Now he has a bruise, small cut and red mark on his face. It makes me want to cry. My beautiful baby. It makes me sick to my stomach that I could have prevented this

I know that these things happen and they did when Big Cubby was little but it doesn't make it any easier. I know I can not put bubble wrap on everything or make them live in a bubble to protect them.

I have two boys so I know there is a future of bumps, bruises and cuts. I just hope I can handle it with calm and a stronger stomach.

random thoughts

The weekend was ok. Cub Daddy was sick all weekend and pretty much slept through it. We just hung out at home.

I did get to go to the library which is when I get quiet time. I love going to the library. I usually end up with too many books.

Today started out the day from hell. All before 9am Big Cubby hit Little Cubby in the head for no reason which brought the biggest cry from Little Cubby.

Big Cubby was sent to sit in the naughty chair. I think the reason why he did it is last night he had a bad dream the Little Cubby had no eyes and bite him. When Little Cubby woke up this morning Big Cubby asked if that was the real Little Cubby.

I swear I don't know where he gets some of this stuff. He scares me sometimes. So I guess he was made at Little Cubby because of the dream.

Little Cubby was up every hour last night after the past two nights sleeping from 10pm to 3am and then 3am to 7am.

I let Big Cubby paint today and when I left the room for a minute he had poured the blue paint into the red paint. I was unable to stir it to make purple so he got in trouble. I had told him not to mix the colors in the containers. He was upset.

What else happened today? I guess that is about it.

Little Cubby has learned how to clap which he is very proud of and wave hi. He is so cute when he does it. He has started to imitate actions and sounds we do. He also loves music the heavier the better. He is my little heavy metal baby.

That is about it for today. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

11 months old

Little Cubby turned 11 months old today. I was going to write something about it but decided to do it next month when he turns 1.

So here are a few pictures of my boys. I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Riding his bike
Laughing
the boys

Wedding Picture

On Mouthy Mom, she posted her wedding photo and asked people post their wedding or prom pictures. So here you go. This was taken 12 1/2 years ago. I was 20. I think I could have gone higher with my hair don't you think? Maybe some day I will tell you my wedding story. There was drama from my family. It was the best day because I married my best friend.

Night the Lights went out in Chicago/Running woman

Last night we had a power outage a little before 1am and it lasted until 2:30am. We are fan people and need to have them on when we sleep for the noise. When the power went out Cub Daddy and I woke up immediately and unfortunately so did Little Cubby. Little Cubby thought it was party time. He wanted to play and crawl around. We tried everything to get him back to sleep but he was not having it. Big Cubby did not wake up at all which is not normal. Once the power came back on I finally got Little Cubby to sleep around 3am. Little Cubby woke up again around 6am. Cub Daddy and I were exhausted today.

Cub Daddy came home early so we decided to walk up to a park. By the time we got up there Big Cubby was red in the face and his hair was all wet. We grabbed some water and headed over to the sled hill. Big Cubby loves to run up and down the hill. We love it because it wears out Big Cubby.

Big Cubby wanted me to run up and down with him. Boy I haven’t ran since having Big Cubby. I was pooped out. We walked over to the play area and Big Cubby played chase with a little boy and then went up and down the slide.

We head back toward the sled hill to a path that leads around this golf course to head home. We figured one more trip up and down the hill would tire out Big Cubby. We do that and start to head home. Big Cubby then announces he can not find his Spiderman phone. He had it in is pocket when we left. So I go back and retrace our steps.

To be quick, I decide to run back. I run to the sled hill. I run up and down the sled hill. I run across this ball field. I run back to the playground we were at and a nice family had found the phone. I thanked and headed back.

I run across the field, by the sled hill and meet back up with the family. I drank some water and ask where Little Cubby’s hat was. The family had started back to find me and he must of dropped it on the way. So I start to run to where we were to find it and a woman with her child getting a drink from the fountain said she found it.

I told them I was never taking them out again. Just kidding.

You wonder why did you run. Well, in our neighborhood if someone finds something they keep it. It has happened to us before when Little Cubby lost a hat on walk couple of months ago. We did not go far when we realized it was missing and two women with babies in strollers had passed us and I know they picked it up but did not say anything when we were looking for it. We also lost a Batman figurine on a walk and some kids picked it up. There aren’t too many honest people in our neighborhood.

There are several pickup trucks that drive around going through the trash and pick up things people throw away. We call the Sanford and Sons truck because most of the stuff piled in the back is junk. This neighborhood is not known for hospitality.

So I ran in hopes of finding the items and lucked out that people were nice in enough to give back the items that they found. I am exhausted. I had boob sweat and back sweat. I was wearing a t-shirt and Capri jeans not what you would call a running outfit.

I know I probably should have told Big Cubby that he learned a lesson by not bringing his toys to the park but I knew he would have been so heartbroken if I did not try and look.

So today Big Cubby called me a great mommy who knows what he will call me tomorrow.

not to bad

Last night was not that bad. The boys went to bed fairly easy and I got to spend some quiet time before I went to sleep.

Little Cubby only got up twice and Big Cubby ended up sleeping on the couch so overall pretty good. I got a couple of hours of sleep.

Cub Daddy is home safely. I am glad it was only overnight.

I watched a really bad movie that was made in 1987 called Campus Man.
Oh boy did that movie bring back some memories. The clothes and the hair.

My first date ever was in 1987 to see the movie Mannequin. Good memories.

What did you do on your first date?

Leaving on a jet plane

Cub Daddy has gone on an overnight business trip. Part of his promotion will be more traveling. I am not that happy about it but I know this is something he needs to do. Luckily they are only overnight or same day trips. There is only one trip that is 4 days long it is to Las Vegas but that happens next year. I totally dread that.

I am being selfish in a way because when he is gone I have to handle the boys by myself. On good days, the boys have behaved all day and I don’t have a problem with getting them to bed. On bad days, they are a nightmare. On these days I look forward to Cub Daddy coming home from work so he can deal with the kids. These bad days happen more often the good.

By the end of the day I am so tired I just want to curl up on the couch. It takes two of us to get the boys in bed. Now tonight I will have to do this by myself. I dread it.

I am also jealous because Cub Daddy will be getting a night of uninterrupted sleep. No Little Cubby waking up two to three times. No Big Cubby waking up and sleep walking. I told him to appreciate it. I have forgotten what a full 8 hours of sleep is like even 6 hours of sleep is like.

So what am I trying to say here? Nothing, I am just bitching and moaning to anyone who will listen.

You say it is your birthday

Well, today is my birthday. I am now 33 years old. Unlike my husband I have no problem with being in my 30's.

I don't feel like a grown-up even though I have two kids. We still rent an apartment. I have never owned a house. All of our furniture is the kind you get at IKEA and has to be put together. I have never owned furniture that all ready came assembled. I use milk crates as storage. We have been taken over by toys and kid books. Not your typically grown-up home.

The key thing is I don't care. I would like to have a house someday and I would like to have nice furniture but it is not important to me.

I have a wonderful husband and children. We are healthy and fed. We have a roof over our head. We can't afford a lot right now because of debt but we are working on it and I think this experience has made us grow strong as a family.

Wait a minute maybe I am a grown-up after all.

Happy Birthday to me!

Blah Blah Blah

I took the day yesterday to relax and recoup from my family visit. I feel much better.

Today I have some random thoughts.

Sunday is my birthday and I turn 33 so here is my question. Why do I still get zits on my face? I thought I was an adult now. Go figure.

I love when Big Cubby wants to cuddle which is not often. I love when he gives hugs and kisses. He can be really sweet.

Still wish Little Cubby would sleep through the night. I won’t bore you with this weeks sleeping schedule it was not good.

We will probably have a laid back weekend. Nothing really planned just running errands such as groceries and Target.

The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend. A break from the heat for a few days.

I am reading Carpe Demon Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner. It is pretty good and funny.

I watched Mean Girls last night and I thought it was pretty good. I am sort of glad I don’t have girls. Girls can be really mean all in the name of competition.

Well that is about it for now. Sorry so boring today. I just can’t think. Must be the lack of sleep.

Have a great weekend!!!

I am a survivor

Well I survived the visit. As it turns out it the plans we had did not turn out the way we planned.

I got a call in the morning saying they were lost trying to get to the museum so my husband talked them through the directions and got them there. They were going to go early but ended up not getting there until 10am.

We decided to take the boys to the Chicago Children’s Museum which is at Navy Pier. Our library has a Museum Passport you can check out and you can get in free to all the Museums. We called the library and the just so happened to have the Children’s Museum Passport in.

On the way to the train my mom calls to tell us that they have just got through the one exhibit and it was only 11am. So I told her to take her time, that we were heading downtown to hang out and to call when they were done.

The museum was fun. We had never been before. Big Cubby liked running around and playing with all the stuff. Cub Daddy tried to take a few photos but the lighting in the place made it difficult. There is one picture of Big Cubby sitting in an ambulance driver’s seat I will post later.

We were still in the museum when my sister called to say they were on the way and I told them we were at Navy Pier would they like to meet here. They said sure so I gave them a place to meet them and we headed there. This is 2pm. We were going to meet at 12:30 for lunch.

We meet up with them and it is my sister, her husband, their little girl and my mom. The boyfriend had business to attend to so he did not come. I am actually glad because I have only seen him a couple of times and he creep me out.

We head down the pier to see if this one ship is there to show Big Cubby. The ship was not there so we decided to get something to eat because my family did not have lunch yet. We ate at the Billy Goat and my mom bought us lunch. After that we walked around the shops my mom bought the boys a few things. Big Cubby got to ride the little train and then we rode the carousel. It was 4pm when we parted.

So for two hours I had to deal with my mom. It wasn’t too bad. There were a few comments but I ignored them. Big Cubby asked my mom to come to our house and she said not this visit but maybe some other time. Then she went on to us about how she needed to back to the hotel and spend some time with her boyfriend. I could not believe it here her grandson as asked her to come and see him and she finds it more important to see her boyfriend. She has not seen the boys since Christmas. She had only seen Little Cubby for the first time then. Yes folks Little Cubby will be 1 next month and my mom has only seen him two times in his life. She has only seen Big Cubby a handful of times and he turns 4 at the end of this month.

Her priorities are different. I know there is nothing I can do about it but it still pisses me off.

Oh there was one incident I want to tell you about. The whole time Big Cubby was calling his uncle by the right name but when we were eating he called him his other uncle’s name which happens to be Cub Daddy’s brother. My mom snapped at him with the right name. My brother-in-law doesn’t care what Big Cubby calls him. He enjoys being around the boys. Big Cubby just looked at her like how is this mean woman. My mom then focused her attention on Little Cubby the rest of the day because Big Cubby got the wrong name. What kind of grandmother does that? Luckily Big Cubby didn’t notice.

So we parted ways and the day was over. I feel bad for my sister because she has to put up with our mom on her vacation. Cub Daddy was supposed to pick up something from my sister this morning and she said never mind they would mail it because they were checking out of the hotel and leaving after going to the Shedd Aquarium. They decided to leave a day earlier because she was fed up with my mom. I will get the scoop on that latter.

I want to thank everyone for there thoughts and encouraging words. It really meant a lot to me. The rest of the year is shaping up that I won’t see her.

Now next post happy things!

Need Strength for Tomorrow

Tomorrow we are meeting my family downtown. I managed to get us out of going to the museum with them. It would have been a disaster if we all went there. We will be meeting them for lunch. We are going to take them to Navy Pier. There are several places to eat so everyone will be able to get what they want.

My stomach is killing me. We are on a tight budget and I mean tight and I am afraid my mother won’t find the place we have chosen to go satisfactory. We just can not afford a lot right now because pay day is on Friday.

I am so stressed out. I just want to get the day over with. It is going to be hot so that is not going to help. I also have my monthly visitor so I am extra emotional right now.

Well I don’t want to bore you anymore so wish me luck tomorrow. I am sure I will have a lot to write about. Maybe a few pictures.