Tea Cups

My awesome in-laws bought Ricky and I Disneyland passes for Christmas and I am ever so grateful! We've been to the theme park about 10 times since we got them and we all love it! It makes for cheap fun family days (we pack our food and buy nothing while at the park). My favorite part of going to Disneyland is watching Maia's face light up when we go on the tea cups ride. She tells me what color tea cup she wants as we wait in line (it changes about 12 times). Then, she gets so excited to hear Alice's voice tell us to keep our hands and arms inside the tea cup. I love watching the smile slowly creep up on her face as we glide across the floor and our tea cup slowly starts to turn. When she hears other people screaming, she starts screaming too and says, "We spinning!" Precious memories....

One of Those Days

It's been one of those days...you know the kind that at the end of you just need to sit on the couch with a gallon of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and sulk...yup it's one of those days.

After my day at work, I went to pick up my munchkins at Bup and Guck's house. But, of course, Noah decided that he wanted to be a little monster and was not going to go home without fighting me on everything I asked him to do. He was embarrassingly rude and by the time I finally got him in the car, I was ready to drop him off with the next person I saw walking down the street. He whined the whole way home, and once at home, he whined about having to eat dinner. I tried to be nice to my hubby despite my my son's behavior, but was not successful and I felt terribly guilty for being so mean. As I started dinner, my head felt like it was about to explode from whining overload. By this time, Noah was whining because I would not give him orange juice and Maia was whining because I would not let her cook with me. She managed to climb onto the stool in the kitchen to try to see what I was cooking and proceeding to fall off the stool just as quickly as she got up. Instead of being worried about her and checking to see if she was okay, I single-handedly won the award for the world's worst mother when I rolled my eyes and said, "You've got to be kidding me!"

So who wants to bring me a gallon of ice cream to celebrate my award?

I've Got a Plan!

As you know, my life has been completely consumed by Dave Ramsey as of late. We are budgeting and after one month have seen amazing results. However the key to success for this whole program is planning. So, I've become a plan Nazi! I have a plan for everything and I now have dreams about planning and all my day dreams consist of coming up with new plans.

My favorite new plan besides a budget is my meal plan. I have found that if I make a meal plan for 2 to 4 weeks, then I can plan my grocery list and spend less money. I am prepared and never find myself with empty cupboards at inconvenient times which used to force me to go out to eat and spend money that I did not have. I also am noticing that by not eating out, I eat less unhealthy food and smaller portions.

The other great thing about this meal plan and not eating out is that I am forced to be creative in my cooking. I am enjoying the challenge and I just feel like a better mom and wife.

So, the moral of the story is to make a plan and stick to it and good things will happen!!!

The Swerving Car

Whenever I have the kids in the car, 70% of my drive is spent with my eyes not on the road. I am usually fiddling with the radio to get the right song on that will please both kids, or picking up a water cup or food item or toy that has dropped, or scolding a child etc. Many times as I am attempting to be Gumby, stretching my arm to the opposite side of the back seat to pick up a lost item that a child is screaming over, I find myself veering into the adjacent lane and having to quickly adjust the steering wheel to avoid an accident in the knick of time. I am a disaster waiting to happen. I always fear that those cars around me will think that I am driving under the influence and will call the Cops on me.

But, today, I was encouraged about my poor driving habits. I noticed an SUV swerving on the freeway this morning on my way to work. As I studied what was going on the inside of the car, I noticed a father looking into the backseat and talking sternly to his child, then he did the famous Gumby reach into the opposite side of the back seat and handed the retreived item to the child all while utterly failing to keep his car in his lane. As soon as he was able to face forward again, he looked in all his mirrors as if to see what the the reactions of all the drivers around him would be and to check if anyone was calling the police on him.

I wanted to pull up next to him and give him a high five and say, "Hey, I know you're not drunk! You've just got kids!"

Tid Bits From Maia Belle

Here are some of Maia's daily sayings...she repeats these things about 4 to 10 times per day...

1.) "Last time, Maia true up at caaaa-bin." (Last time, Maia threw up at the cabin)

2.) "Last time, Maia true up in Bamma's car." (Last time, Maia threw up in Grandma's car)

3.) "I toot!" (I farted)

4.) "I be bite back." (I'll be right back)

5.) "I don't want to do dat."

6.) "Mommy, sing 'uh-oh never wet go of Maia' wike church."(Sing the worship song, "Oh No You Never Let Go," and add Maia's name at the end.)

7.) "No mommy, I don't wanna panking." (I don't want a spanking)

A Quarter Cup of Coffee

When I wake up in the morning the first thing I want to do is make a steaming hot cup of butter toffee coffee in my Keurig coffee maker and sit down in my rocking chair with my Bible. However, because I have a small house, small children, and a loud coffee maker, I cannot enjoy my coveted cup of coffee until the kids wake up. Instead, I enjoy my Bible reading sans the caffeine, then I get myself ready, then I get the kids up, warm their milk, let them make my coffee, drink two sips, take Noah potty, pack their lunches, pack their diaper bag, get them dressed, drink two more sips of coffee, turn on a movie for them, make them breakfast, feed them breakfast, take another sip of coffee realize it is cold spit it out and put my coffee in the microwave for a minute, while it is warming I break up a fight, change a poop diaper, brush the kids' teeth, go through the process of picking a toy to take to Bup's house, gather all our stuff, beg the kids to hurry up and get down the stairs, and head out the door.

My precious cup of coffee is forgotten until late in the evening at the kids' bed time. When I find it, I see that it is three quarters full and I have to throw it down the sink and bid it farewell promising to one day drink an entire cup. My husband makes fun of my coffee habits but this is what happens when you are a mommy of 2 toddlers. At this season of my life, coffee is not to be enjoyed, it is to be drunk in sips at a fast pace in between mommy tasks!

My Valentine

I am the luckiest girl alive! I scored the best husband in the world. We've been together for 11 years now and I can honestly say that I am more in love with him today than ever. Because of him, I understand Christ's love for me. Daily my husband puts my needs and desires before his own. He is so selfless, it makes me feel guilty sometimes! I am honored that he chose me to be his wife and I thank God every day for the blessing of my hubby. Happy Valentine's Day babe! (The funny part is that Ricky never reads my blog, so he won't ever even see this, but I felt like I had to put Happy Valentine's Day in there since it's Valentine's Day tomorrow!)