Whoever said being a stay at home parent is easy has obviously never done it (long term at least)

I have had so many people say to me that they envy me being a stay at home mom since that is SO much easier than working. Those people obviously have NEVER done it. No, I do not eat ice cream and watch soaps all day long. OK, so I could see how being an emergency room doctor, lawyer, biochemical lab scientist and so on may be harder.....but for the most part everyday jobs are NOT harder. They may be more stressful, more thought process oriented etc, but not harder. Being a parent who stays home with the kids is very trying on both patience and time. Kids take up all your attention, wear you thin and if they are like Devin-they keep going all day until bed time. I do get a break from Riley since she naps everyday, but Devin has not taken regular naps since he was 2.5.  My "work" days are from 6:45 (today) to 8 pm at night (13+ hrs), 7 days a week, 365 days a year. What other profession has that type of schedule? Yes you may argue that a working parent works 9-5 then comes home and has to be a parent until that child goes to bed....but you get a break from the bs at the house. You get alone time in the car to and from work, you get to eat lunch when its still hot. You can pee in peace without a child staring at you.  Those breaks are awesome.

When Frank and I discussed having kids we decided that I would stay at home with them and we planned our finances appropriately so I would be able to do so. We bought our house in NJ and then out here in NV solely on his salary. We could have gone bigger but then I would have had to work and send the kids to daycare. I personally would rather live in a smaller house and live a lil more modestly and be able to stay at home with them then living in a big huge house and send my kids to daycare so I could pay for those extra bills. Do not get me wrong, we live comfortably and are able to do nice things-it would just be a little different if I worked and contributed financially.

Having said that, staying at home is hard work. From when they wake up at 6:45/7 am it is non stop until they go to bed at night. I thankfully have two great kids but again that is work in itself. My two do not get away with bad behavior and they also are praised for good behavior. I stay on top on top of them for the most part but I definitely encourage playtime without Mommy. This is when I will do the dishes, laundry, clean the house etc. We have a killer playroom with a bazillion toys that they do a great job of playing with and in turn making it look like a tornado hit when they are done. Devin and Riley both help to clean up but I swear  they can destroy that room faster than I can change over a load of laundry.  As I type this Riley is napping and Devin is sitting at the table practicing writing. He has to sit there until he writes his name properly as well as  'mom', 'dad' and ball. He has mastered his name and is working hard on the other words. I want to introduce one to two words a week. This will help with spelling as well as motor skills with writing individual letters. Which again is hard work for both of us. I sit with him and help him write and show him the steps to writing letters and he then tries it himself.

Other moms do sit their kids in front of the TV and get stuff done. I am not one of those mothers. The only time we have the TV on is in the morning when they wake up and need a few minutes to "wake up" and in the afternoon when I am making dinner and need them to stay out of my way. Devin likes to watch a show or two at night before bedtime to relax and I am OK with that, and he is playing with toys as he watches TV.  I really feel bad for the kids who's parents have the TV on all day and the kid then depends on the TV for entertainment. It is the parents job to play and interact with them. Kids are naturally so smart and thrive on learning and they can accomplish so much if they are just challenged. I wish all parents would see that. Dev and Riley definitely get to color, do crafts, role play and so on with me. I think that is what makes this job so hard. I am constantly going all day. Add house chores onto that and voila-you have a Mommy that goes to bed at 9:30 since she cannot keep her eyes open past then.

Now that it is finally starting to get nicer out, we are able to go to the park and play as well as out back. I am definitely tired by 3-4 but that is usually when Devin wants to go for a walk to the park, walk to the desert, play baseball, play in the street with the kids and so on. How could I say no to playing with him? I do send him and Riley out back alone to play, but when he asks me to play with him or go out front I simply cannot say no when the reason is because I am tired or do not feel like it. It is my job to go for walks, take them to the part etc. Then I come in, make dinner and Frank comes home. Kids then take baths, play and go to bed. Starting all over again the next day. I just hope the next day does not bring any major hiccups and it is smooth sailing.

 I think people would have more respect for stay at home parents if they did it for a while themselves. It really is a lot of work and I am thankful it is my job. I am also thankful Frank works hard and is smart about money so I can be home. I do my part with comparison shopping for groceries and clipping coupons and cooking almost every night instead of wasting money eating out. I do welcome take out so I can have a night off in the kitchen though :). I used to think it was cake especially when I only had one child. I actually was babysitting up until I was 6 mo pregnant with Riley because I was bored. Now that there are two toddlers, it is far from boring! I grocery shop when Devin is in school and man alive it is SO much easier with only one child. Parents out there with one kid-I hope you realize how easy you have it running errands. Parents with a toddler and an infant-watch out....as soon as that baby is bigger and no longer in the carrier-you are screwed. Not really (but kinda). haha.

There are days I loose my cool and get mad. I am sure that happens in everyones days now and then. I also wonder what things would be like if I worked away from home. Would I be happier? Would I feel more accomplished? Would the kids like daycare? I know that staying home is not for everyone. Do I feel like a little bit of me is lost since I am 100%  focused on the kids with no personal profession? Absolutely. But my day will come when they go to school. I know that I am doing my best with them and they are succeeding in life because of it. That is what I have to remember when I am about to pull my hair out when I see Riley naked again or Devin pinning her down on the floor. :)

Kids are still sick, NJ visit is almost here. Thursdays (high) is 23*?!

It is Sunday and the kids STILL have runny noses. Not thin watery runny noses, but thick snot! UGH i fear that they will still have colds when we have to fly. I hope they do not because I really do not want the sinus pressure messing with their ears. They are both in great spirits and I would never know they had a cold besides their noses. Still gross though.

Devin is VERY anxious to get moving this week to NJ. He asks if we can just move to NJ so we do not have to fly to visit family. I wish we could. Someday in the next few years I told him, maybe for kindergarten. He was excited that he could possibly go to kindergarten in NJ since that is all he looks forward to since he gets to ride on a school bus when he goes to kindergarten. I did not want to crush his dreams and tell him Mommy only rode on a school bus (maybe) three times in her whole life to and from school. He is going to help me pack today and that makes him happy. I like to prepack so I am not scrambling the day of departure. May be the ocd in me, but I like to have everything categorized out and organized so I do not forget anything. Since we are flying Southwest, I can bring anything I need since the bags are free to check. Packing for winter takes up so much more space than summer clothes do as well as the need for diapers for Riley. Hopefully next time we get on a plane she will not need a diaper anymore.

There are a few things on the agenda for when we go back east, but I must say this time is much more relaxed than other trips. Maybe it is because it is 6 days instead of 4, but I like it better when I am not crazy busy with obligations. I will not have a car and that is fine by me. It is nice just to be able to "be" and hang out without the thought in the back of my mind that I have to be in a bazillion places over the course of the trip. It is more enjoyable when you are not dragging the kids somewhere for the am, then somewhere for the afternoon. They get tired and cranky and I get tired and cranky and I am sure people think I have cranky kids since they only see them once a year. Oh well. :)

I am going to make a Target run today and pick up some new activities for the flight. If you have any suggestions, FB or email me. I did buy a new Melissa and Doug magnetic dress up doll so each kid has one. We will bring the DVD player with a dozen movies as well as crayons and a coloring book. I have a Little Einstein magnetic activity as well. The flight itself is 5 hours long after we sit in the airport for an hour or so then an hour to get the luggage and to the car rental (for Frank to get to work) and drive to Medford Lakes. It makes for a long day with a 3.5 year old and an almost 2 year old. Riley should sleep on the plane as she always does on the little bed I make her on the floor, but on a good day that only lasts about an hour in the plane. Thank God the TSA allows kids to bring any drinks on and food because without their drinks and snacks I would be lost.

I keep checking the forecast for NJ to see if we may get snow. Dev is really hoping it will snow so he can build a snowman with his Aunts Kelly and Dana. As of now, we may get snow Saturday and sadly that is the only day we have obligations in the am and pm. BOO. Maybe it will snow in the afternoon while Riley naps. Wednesday is calling for rain/freezing rain so we may run into an issue with ice and delays. Guess I will have to keep an eye on that. Thursdays high is 23*. LOL. That is pretty FRICKING cold. Talk about temperature shock for our first day back. Looks like I will not be leaving Cookie's house Thursday. 


Thu


Feb 03 Mostly Sunny 23°/13° 0 %

Fri

Feb 04 Mostly Sunny 30°/23° 10 %

Sat

Feb 05 Snow Shower 36°/24° 50 %

Sun

Feb 06 Partly Cloudy 35°/24° 0 %

Mon

Feb 07 Partly Cloudy 38°/29° 20 %

Tue

Feb 08 Mostly Cloudy 37°/23° 20 %

Following through with threats-threw out Devin's blankie

Devin sleeps with a blankie every night. He would carry that blankie around everywhere if I let him, but I don't. Hard Core? Maybe.....but I am not going to deal with a lost blankie because he took it somewhere and left it. So, that said-it stays in his room on his bed. Yesterday since the kids were not feeling well, I allowed for them to have their blankies downstairs with them. Riley does not have a special one, just one of the 85 she rotates in. Devin has a specific pooh blankie that Auntie Kelly gave me when I found out I was pregnant the first time. I guess it had special meaning for Devin since he was my second pregnancy and the blankie became his. He had many baby blankies, but this one was the chosen one for him as a woobie. He chews it when going to sleep. It is so gross now since it has no fuzzy blankie left. Just matted down fuzzy fabric usually with chew marks and a hardened area. I wash it at least twice a week which also helps to take away any softness that may be left.

He kept whipping it around to purposely hit Riley in the face. MEAN! I gave him a warning, he did it again. I took it away and put it on the counter. He then apologized to Riley without me asking him too. I told him I would throw it out if he did it again. I gave it back and not even 5 minutes later he was at it again and was making her cry now since he was whipping her in the face. I took the blankie and threw it into the garage. The look on his face was so sad, but he needs to know there is consequences for his actions.

He forgot about it until bedtime. Frank asked where his blankie was and I told Devin to tell him what happened to it. Devin cried and asked for his blankie. I told him no, he was bad and mean to Riley. If he is a good boy ALL day tomorrow he can have it back. If he is mean to Riley, the trash men will take it Friday. He apologized over and over and told me his is sorry for hurting Riley. He told me he loved me and that he was my Doodies (his nickname) and that he is Mommy's best boy. I reminded him to be nice and he could have it back. I have a back up blankie that is not so worn and has never been chewed but it is the same blankie. He told me it was too soft and did not want it. I told him it was that or nothing. He cried for 5 seconds and laid his head down and passed out.

This morning he came up to me and asked "may I please put my cup on the table" (handing me the cup) I said sure. He said, "mom I used good manners, can I have my blankie?" Haha. I told him no. He needs to be good all the way up to bedtime and if he is he can have it when he goes to sleep. I told him that the trash men will take it tomorrow morning if he is mean. Let's see what happens.

-On another note-Riley does not have an ear infection. Just a cold and is cutting her 2 yr molars causing discomfort by her ears. :)

Kids have colds, leaving next week-getting old sucks

Devin caught a cold from someone at our house Friday during the Tastefully Simple party. He was stuffed and had a runny nose by Sunday morning. It was a mild cold and I figured he would kick it after a day or two...not the case. Riley is now sick and I have clogged sinuses. Riley is the worst with seriously snotty nose and is now crying and saying "ouch" and holding her ears. SUPER. She has not been sleeping well either for the last two nights. She typically takes a nap from 1/1:30 to 3/4pm but today she was out cold by 12:15. That is good since I made her pediatricians appointment for 4 pm and its a half hour away. I typically do not take them in to the doctor for colds since there is nothing that a ped can do, but since she was complaining that her ears were hurting I am taking her right in. Riley has never been on an anti-biotic and Devin has only once for a mild ear infection when he was 2.5. Here's to hoping this goes away by the start of the weekend.

We leave in one week from today for NJ. I am starting to get excited. There is a lot of time between now and then but at least we can now see part of the forecast on weather.com. I am glad my sister Dana is able to fly up from FL to see the kids too. I know she hates when she misses out on time with the kids. She and her husband Troy do call the kids on skype weekly so they can keep in touch with them. Devin LOVES Uncle Troy. He tells me that Uncle Troy works on boats and that he has the coolest 'work' ever. Sadly Devin will not be able to see his bff next weekend when we are back east since Troy has to stay in FL to attend the JAX boat show. Devin did let me know that he will see him next year in FL when we go there for vacation. Do we have a vacation planned to JAX? Nope, but Devin assumes we do since we went there last year. Devin is SUPER excited to go ice skating next weekend. He told me he wants to play hockey and make a snowman. Let's hope we get some fresh snow.

Getting old really stinks. I am not 85 and dying, but I am slowly starting to notice how age is effecting me. I will be turning 30 this year and I have noticed changes. For example, it now only takes me a glass of wine to get a buzz or three beers....and it only takes 1/2 of a glass of wine or 2 beers to feel like poo the next morning. I now will only have a drink the days I work out since I know the next day I will be not 100% first thing in the am. I also am down to the same weight as I was the day I graduated from high school, but I am no where near the same body composition. Damn aging process. Damn pregnancy/post baby process times two.  I know I sound like I am 50+ and talking about my face sagging....but these are things I am dealing with now. I never thought at the (young) age of 29 that I would feel so bad about my body. I work out regularly, eat pretty well, do not drink much and get at least 8-9 hrs of sleep a night and I still look like a truck ran me over at times. Stretch marks are the devil. Saggy skin is as well. OK I am done complaining.

I loathe this whole gender specific toy stigma-Toys do not make kids "gay"

Over the past few years I have been a mother I have be sickened by parents and non parents who voice their very loud opinion that boys should play with certain toys and girls should play with others. In my opinion, (children) should be able to play with whatever toy they want to play with. When my sisters and I were kids yes, we played with Barbies, but we also played with Ewoks, Lego's and we played cops and robbers for hours with our cousins. My parents were never worried that we would be "confused" with our gender or sexuality when we played with army guys with the boys up the street or played in the mud with all the neighborhood kids. We were simply being imaginative and kids for God's sake. We played with any toy we wanted and dressed up like G I Joe, Darth Vader and Strawberry Shortcake.

There have been articles after articles about parents who get shit and slack from other parents about their children who play with the opposite genders toys and about little boys who play dress up as a girl. Who the fuck cares what someone elses kid does. I know for sure that I would not care if my toddler/young kid wants to play a reverse gender role or play with the other genders media designated toys. Back in November my friend Mandy blogged about a little boy who dressed up as Daphne for Halloween. His favorite cartoon was Scooby Doo and he had dressed up like Scooby in years past. He was 5 years old and in preschool and got SO much flack about his costume from other parents. Those parents in the child's classroom gave the mother a hard time when they arrived. What kind of parent finds it necessary to make fun of and ridicule a preschooler? He is 5! Let him be creative and dress who he wants to for Halloween. It is not like he thinks he is a girl or wants to get rid of his penis, he simply wanted to show enthusiasm for his favorite cartoon! She has gotten over 45,000 comments on her blog in 2 months. Some mean, some supportive but nonetheless, it is crazy what some of these people had to say about her sweet (5 yr old) boy. I would let Devin do the same and back him up all the way. Boys up until college dressed up like girls for Halloween with fake boobies and all. No one thought they were going to be confused or whatever. It was Halloween. Dress who you want to dress as. My mom made me dress up like a dinosaur one year. Yes a 4/5 year old dinosaur. I hated her. My friends were hula girls, Strawberry shortcakes, Minnie Mouses....I was a dinosaur with a green face. (Maybe she was trying to Tomboy me up.) Pic to follow.

Today there is an article on AOL should boys have play kitchens ? Why not? I know Frank was hesitant to get Devin a kitchen when we did. Devin was 19 months old when we bought him his first Step 2 play kitchen. It was not pink and frilly but it was a play kitchen nonetheless. Frank said that we can get it for him since I was 7 mo pregnant with his sister.  I would have got it regardless because boys cook too. Not really in our house since I am a stay at home mom/cook/cleaning lady, but in duel working income houses and even in other situations. Daddies cook too, so why can't a little boy? Here is a pic of Devin playing in his kitchen wearing a pair of Riley's newborn sized pink pants. Did I care that he put the on? NO, I thought it was funny and I let him wear anything of hers that he wanted to. He was only 21 months when she was born. I think this was taken within the first month. Below is a picture from his second birthday so you can see the kitchen was placed right outside our kitchen so he could cook when I did. We later moved it upstairs to the playroom once Riley got a little bigger.

We then upgraded to a Step 2 Walk in kitchen for Christmas of 2009 for them. That way they could both play in the kitchen at the same time and friends could join in as well. He also was a chef for Halloween by his choice. Just last night he and his friend Cash played Chef and they both had oven mitts on and chef hats. Devin wore an apron and Cash baked the cookies.

I am thankful we have a play kitchen. The kids play in it everyday. This year we got them a Melissa and Doug shopping cart and grocery store . We also got a table and chair set for the playroom. A cash register was added to the mix the week after Christmas since Devin could not go to the supermarket without a cash register. He was right! He and Frank play 'grocery store man' at least 4 days a week. Frank will go to the market and Devin rings him up. They go to the kitchen, cook food and then sit at the table and eat. This invites role playing, creative thinking and good ol' fashioned child's play. Almost all of our friends who have kids have kitchens. Some of those family's only have boys, and yes they have play kitchens and the boys play together. I do not know why some moms think we are setting up our boys to have gender confusion and sexuality challenges? What about all those Iron Chefs? Cat Cora is the only girl while the rest are boys. I think they are pretty masculine?! Tyler Florence, Guy Fieri, Alton Brown, Robert Irvine......I bet their mothers or peers do not make fun of them for working in a kitchen?!

As far as playing dress up in cross gender stuff. Again, who cares? I do not care when Devin wears butterfly wings or a pettiskirt. I wont care if Riley wears stuff of Devin's. They are playing and being creative. I think that is so much better than sitting in front of the TV. Let their imaginations roll. We watched a show called "What would you do?" the other night. They had an actor team of dad and son go into a toy store and the son insists on a barbie doll to bring home. The "dad" refused and would ask other people around what they thought. Most said who cares, buy him the doll. It seemed the only ones that gave him a hard time was another man. Figures, that they would make the remark about boys should play with 'boy' toys. This child was about 6 years old. So what if he wants a Barbie. Again, it is not like he is saying he wants to be a girl and cut off his penis. The other man said he would become gay.

When I grew up in the 80's parents were much more relaxed about this issue and the whole term of being "gay" was not really open like it is now. A girl playing with boy toys or visa versa does not make a child gay. Nothing makes a child gay in my mind. And what the hell does it matter if your kid is anyway? I know I would not love my kid any different, nor would I be disappointed like most narrow minded parents say they will be. That child is yours to love regardless of his or hers decisions with whom they want to love. Playing with a G I Joe figure as a 8 year old girl is not going to swing you that way nor is a boy playing in a play kitchen. Why is this negative stigma with cross gender role play so negative? UGH.

We are coming back to NJ! YAY......

Since early November, we knew that Frank's company was hosting a gala Super Bowl weekend down in AC. I had a choice that I could go home to NJ for a visit either the first weekend in December and go to the company Christmas party, or home in Feb for the gala in AC. I chose December so the family could see the kids at Christmas time and to be honest, I am just too impatient. Who wants to wait another 8 weeks, when you can go now? The visit then was great and most of the family was able to see the kids.

When Frank got the invite to the event he told me he wasn't even going to go because he has to be in Cali the Monday after flying home from NJ on Sunday. Now here is the great part, he has meetings in NJ that he is required to be in attendance Thursday the 3rd of Feb and that Friday with the event that Saturday night. Frank was also told that he was expected to be at the gala Saturday night. We looked up tickets and they were reasonable ($700 w taxes RT for Devin and I). Riley is still free for another 6 weeks so that really worked out timing wise. I am flying into PHL with Frank but out alone with the kids since I will stay a few extra days to hang out.

Devin is SO excited to go to NJ. He already asked Grammy (Cookie) if his big bed is ready for him. She has a queen sized bed in one of her guest rooms that is a double pillow top and is about 4 feet off the ground so he thinks that is just the coolest. He has already packed his carry on bag and had brought it downstairs for me to see what he put in there. He also laid a few outfits on his dresser that he wanted to bring. He told me that he laid them out since I never brought up the suitcase. He again did pretty well. Two pairs of jammies, two play outfits, jeans, khakis, a belt, about 10 pairs of underwear and a few socks. He told me I need to help him with his sweaters since he cannot reach them. I had to remind him that NJ is freezing cold and not warm out like Las Vegas. He wants to build a snow man that will not melt away "right away."

Here is another awesome part. When we were first told about this event, we were told it was going to be black tie. SUPER FUN! I love black tie events. I even had a dress to wear to that. The invitation says 'cocktail attire' (still good) but, since it is not black tie-I get to go shopping. Cheering all around. I will of course just hit up the White House Black Market outlet since they are my go-to for dresses and I KNOW I have shoes to match anything from there. Oh and it is at the Borgota which is great. I wish we had another $250 for the room for the night. Oh wait, shoot-forgot for a split second I have two kids to come home to. :)

Holy sh*t did that really just happen? New sofa in the future?

OK, so Devin, Riley and I were upstairs. Devin was reading books in his room, Riley was playing with her dolls in the play room and I was in her room putting away clothes. Mind you it does not take more than 3 or so minutes to put her clothes away where they belong. In that time she was able to take her pants off, take her (apparently) poopy diaper off and proceed to jump all over the sofa. Yes, smearing it all over the back cushions and one seat cushion. How did I know this happened? When I walked out of her room and back to the washer, she came to me with her poopy diaper in hand and I saw it all up her back. (she also pooped after lunch just 2 hours ago)Walked over to the playroom and saw the couch.

Where do I start? I picked her up under her armpits and let her hang in front of me while I walked to Devin's room and told him to keep the dogs off the couch. I cleaned her up, put a new diaper on her and her jeans back on then went into the playroom. The one couch cushion cover does come off, so I unzipped that and immediately put it in the washer with a LOAD of bleach. Is the couch white? NO, but I do not care if one cushion is no longer beige. I have no clue what I am going to do with the back cushions. They are not a universal size, and they are not white either. My mom told me just to scrub it off, but I have to use bleach to feel comfortable with anyone ever sitting on the sofa again. It was not just a lil bit, it was 8 or so inches of smear on every pillow. Gag me now. Oh and she ate carrots last night at dinner. Have you vomited in your mouth a little yet? I sure did.  I will be attempting to shove one pillow in at a time into the washer (thank god for super sized front loader) and washing on HOT with bleach. I would not mind if the colors came out a little faded but this sofa is a sectional and cannot be covered with one of those covers you can buy at the store, nor can the back pillows be covered since they are an odd size. If that does not work, then a new sofa it is!

We bought this sofa in 2003 from a neighbor of Franks parents. They had just bought it a year prior for their formal living room and long story short had to turn that room into a hospital type room for their in law. We got a almost new couch for $800 including the matching tables so if we need to get a new couch 8 years later then I guess it is time. This couch has seen its day too. It went out the back slider and over the balcony of our 2rd floor apartment in NJ since it would not fit out the front door. After that it lived in Pittsburgh, NJ then two houses here in Vegas.  Hopefully the pillows fit in the wash so we can make this last until we move again in another short years.......

Devin wants a brother......

I picked up Devin from school a bit ago and asked him what he did today, who he played with, what snack was, etc. He told me he played with his two best friends; Everett and Scarlett. He mentions them a lot and I am glad that he has found some buddies to hang out with during recess at school. He told me that he would like a brother. I asked why. He simply told me because Everett has a brother and they play cars and "boy stuff." He also pointed out that Jake and Troy (friends from a play group) have brothers and they have "cool boy stuff" all over their house. I told him that we have lots of boy stuff at our house too and he agreed then pointed out that we have lots of girlie stuff too. He said if he had a brother that we would have more boy stuff and a boy to play with.

I told him that Mommy cannot give him a brother anymore and he said, "Man, I really would like a brother mom." I reminded him that Riley and him played pirates yesterday and they played pizza man out back too. He said yes, but she is a girl and not a boy. He said Riley likes baby dolls and cars but brothers only like cars. I LOVE his reasoning and he is pretty accurate in a 3 year olds mind.

Now you ask, no more? Nope, we thought about it for 30 seconds and decided that 2 would be just perfect for us. No need for a bigger house, bigger car. A family of 4 fits very nicely out in restaurants, amusement rides etc. Everything is made for even numbers. Plus I never wanted a middle child, and with two Frank and I can play "man to man defense" now. With more kids we would be out numbered. So Frank has his procedure done Aug of 09 and we are very happy with our two awesome kids.

To be honest, I really do not know how moms have more than 2 kids these days. I have a hard enough time going to the park or supermarket with the two kids. Riley goes one way, Devin the other. What the heck would I do if I had a baby in a stroller or in a moby? At the rate that we were going, I would have a newborn right now. Kill me now.How do you pay attention to them with full attention at home? Devin and Riley are pretty independent kids, but they both like to do craft and activities that require my time. If a newborn was here I would have to feed it every 3 hours? I think if I were not a stay at home mom I would be able to do it. I could see how moms who work can have more than 2 simply because they spend after work, dinner and bedtime with them and the weekends. Not all day long, every day of the week. I really give props to sahms who have more than 2 at home. Maybe I would feel differently if we had help from family, but since I have no help I just cannot imagine another. Is that wrong? Am I a bad mom? Probably...but at least I know my two get all the love and attention they need. Frank also gets a homemade meal 6 our of the 7 nights of the week (sometimes 7) and our house is kept pretty neat. I guess that is a good trade off?

Time to start planning Rileys 2nd Birthday



Riley at 12 mo March 2010



Riley will be 2 in less than two months. Time to start planning her birthday party. Having her birthday in March is awesome for Las Vegas weather. It should be a perfect 80 degree day with plenty of sunshine. We will have her party here at the house this year (and every year until she wants to do something different). Frank and I are planning on renting a bounce house for the party to help entertain the kids out back. They are reasonably priced at $75 for the day and the people come and set them up and take them down for you.

She is not really into any one character or cartoon since we do not spend much time in front of the television. She does like the talking Elmo dolls we have upstairs and that is one of the words she does say ALL the time so she will be having an Elmo birthday party. This works out well because Devin's first birthday party was Sesame Street and I have left over supplies that I can use up for Riley. I just cannot believe my baby is going to be 2 in just a few weeks! Crazy. 

I will be taking her out in the next few weeks here once the nice warm weather sticks to take her 2 year pictures. I really would like to go back to the Bellagio's conservatory but they have it all decorated for the Chinese New Year right now and that does not really go well with 2nd birthday celebrations. I just love how much color and texture they have there! I can always do a park again I guess...boo because it is all desert landscaping there and very minimal color. I LONG for the spring flowers back east. Tulips, Hyacinths, daffodils-sigh. One day.....

Devin wants to have a Mickey Mouse party this year at a bounce house place. Since his birthday is in June, we typically have 100-110 degree days and that is just TOO hot to have it at our house since our house is not that big. His first two birthdays were at the house, but now that a bunch of kids and their parents come over, it is just too crowded. Last year, we hosted his party at our pool where there was a club house and child's activity room. That was a success, but I would not grill this year since Frank has to stand at the massive grill for an hour. We would probably just make sammies and have meatballs or something. We shall see what he decides as we get closer.

Disney on ICE- Holy Crow, hand held games are the coolest?!

Last night Devin and I went to Disney on Ice: Let's Celebrate. A girlfriend of mine and her son went with us. Her son Jake who will be 4 in Feb are in a play group we meet with on Fridays. We met them at My Gym back in the summer of 2009. Kristi's husband is a Yankees fan (from North Jersey?) as well so he and Frank have lots to talk about when we get together with them.

Devin has seen Wiggles (age 13 mo), Walking with the Dinosaurs (2 yrs 10 mo), Sesame Street Live (3 yr) and he loved them all. He has seen some of the Disney movies but definitely not all of them featured in the show. Since we saw Sesame Street Live in this arena, I got a presale invite to buy these tickets back in November. We went last night because it was opening night and from the 9th row back it was only $10! We were able to get 10th row at the corner of the ice which ended up being great seats for the price. The boys had a tough time seeing over the men's heads in front of us, but they just scooched around a bit.

The show was advertised to be a celebration of holidays. It did go through Valentines day, Halloween and Christmas but other than that no other holidays were featured. They "celebrated" Brazilian carnival, Mardi Gras, Chinese New Year, some thing in Japan, a birthday party and a luau. Kids liked it, but got lost a bit since it was a little far fetch at times. They started the show with "Be our Guest" and also did the broom seen from Fantasia. Toy Story 3 was big time advertised too and of course they did not come out until the last, VERY last scene.  The show started at 7:30 and we did not get out of there until 9:30. Kristi and I were both surprised with how long it lasted. Boys both passed out on the way home and Devin woke up this morning surprisingly in a good mood.

Frank, myself and the kids went to dinner with Kristi, her husband Ed and their two kids. Devin and Jake sat side by side and Jake has a Nintendo DS and some other lil game thing. Jake is a whiz on them since he has played them for some time now and Devin was just in awe with "how cool" they really were. I have been wanting to get him something like that for his 4th birthday and was looking into the Leap Frog Leapster since it is focused on learning games rather than just video games. I have no experience with this so I will have to do some mommy reviews with what is the best thing out there. Devin told me today on our way home from school that "Jake's toy game thing is the coolest EVER!" Haha boys and their electronics.

I LOVE to shop good deals. Today was no different...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE to shop and Frank HATES HATES HATES it. Ha ha, not really since I do score great deals and in the long run, it does save him money. He doesn't understand why it is so fun for me. I do not think most boys understand why shopping is so much fun. As I have said before, I am a serious deal hunter and down right cheap at times especially for my kids clothes. I would never buy anything at full price for my two kids. They do not wear it long enough and I know that it will go on sale in 2-4 weeks after it is introduced in a store, not to mention that there are coupons out there all the time.

Gymboree Gymbucks redemption period started yesterday for gymbucks that were earned in the two months from Nov through Christmas. I earned $125 in gymbucks from stuff I bought for our kids and gifts for other peoples children for Christmas. In order to redeem those gymbucks I had to tally up $250 in merchandise and then the store takes the $125 off. I honestly thought I may have a hard time with this since I would be shopping clearance fall/winter for next years sizes. I ended up finding a lot of stuff for both kids all being outfits (beside one kitty shirt she can wear with a jean skirt). I do not buy random pieces ahead unless they will go with jeans simply because I am anal and want the kids clothes to match, plus it is WAY easier to resell clothes in outfits.  I also have a Gymboree Visa and that takes 5% off of my total after I redeem the gymbucks which helps since tax in Nevada is 8.1%.

Retail this stuff is worth $531.85 (with taxes) I bought it for (after gymbucks/visa discount) $135.18 (with taxes). So that is a savings of $396.67. I saved 74.6 %! You cannot even buy clothes at WalMart or Target this cheap! I do resell the kids clothes on EBay and Gymboree resells pretty well. I do wash in warm or cold and hang to dry so both kids clothes usually show minimal to no wash wear at the end of the season. Since I make so much money reselling on EBay and locally on CL, we typically do not need to spend too much out of pocket.  

Below are are pictures of all the stuff I bought. Last time I posted about shopping people asked what I bought...so here it all is!


two long sleeve tees, fleece pants and mesh lined athletic pants





swiss long sleeve tee with fleece lined pants, 2 undies



khakis, skinny jeans and cords







skinny pants, long sleeve tee, long sleeve tee with leggings,
 two pairs of matching socks and corker bows



sweater dress, matching tights, corkers (same pair as other pic) shoes to go with this and other pic

  

5 pairs of undies and kitty short sleeve t



long sleeve tee, leggings, long sleeve t, velour leggings and matching ankle socks





Riley got a hair cut, Monday schmonday

Mondays are the worst day of the week. Not that I work anymore, so it no longer means the start of a 5 day week..... To me Mondays stink to me because besides going to the gym, I have to catch up on housework I was not able to accomplish over the weekend. Laundry, cleaning up the kitchen AGAIN, pick up toys and try and manage the paper clutter. Who knew that there would be such an abundance of paperwork when you become a grown up. There is no where to put it. I really need to take a shredder to the filing cabinet now that a new year has started. Companies would save so much money if they stopped sending a pay check stub in the mail when you get direct deposit. I have no idea how we create so much laundry. Riley and Devin wear one outfit a day and wear their jammies two nights in a row. Frank and I do the same yet I do 5-6 loads a week in my super sized front loader.

I have been going to Boot Camp Mondays and Wednesdays for a few months now and I love the instructor and the class. I leave exhausted and am always sore the next day which means I did a good job working muscles. Sad thing is the class is at 4:30 and I need to leave our house at 4 in order to get to the gym, get the kids in day care then check myself in and get upstairs. Riley naps in the afternoon and is sometimes asleep at 4. I do not mind waking her up if she went down by 1:30, but I hate waking her if she went down after that. Now comes the dilemma of (new years resolution) people. The gym parking lot is full to the max and the class is SO full. It is hard to work it to exhaustion when you have less space and people not doing exercises correctly and slowing the class down. I know you need to start somewhere....but a high intensity class is not for people who have just started out at the gym. Go to step or zumba. Not to mention I have to leave my house at 3:45 to get there, park, wait in line at the day care and get in. So, no more boot camp until Feb when the New years resolution people start to drop off.

Devin has been night potty trained since the summer. He has not used pull ups and rarely has an accident while sleeping. (maybe 1-2 since August). Frank and I do take him to potty when we go to bed somewhere around 9:30/10 pm and he sleeps through until 7:30/8 and is always dry. Recently he has been waking up, walking into our room, going to pee, walking out closing the door and going back to  bed. Now he has a bathroom on this side of hte house next to Riley's room so I am not sure why he would walk all the way down the hall to our room to use the bathroom. I never remember to ask him about it but today I did. I said Dev, do you remember coming into Mommy's room last night?" Devin, "yes, I had to go potty. I was quiet, but I stepped on a toy by your closet." Me, "Good job, but you can use your bathroom ya know." Devin, "I like yours better." Haha. I like that he wakes up out of a dead sleep and goes potty and back to bed, but I would like it better if we were not woken up because of it. I am wondering if I still need to take him to potty before bed, or if he will wake up himself every time to go himself? I really do not want to test it out because stripping a bed is the worst.

                                                                                                             --- her hair before it was cut---

Riley got her first hair cut over the weekend. She had long scraggly hair so I just cut it even. I took off an inch and a half on the sides and 2 inches in the back. It looks super cute now and lays much nicer. Devin's hair grows like Frank's (straight out not down) so his hair starts to look like he stuck his finger in a socket. I usually cut his hair too with clippers, but ours broke so I offered to take him to get it cut. He said, "No thanks." I will wait a lil longer until I ask him again. He goes through stages of wanting to keep short hair, and wanting to let it go.

----her hair now----

While driving to the gym today he pointed to a restaurant and asked if that is where Daddy and I went when Thomas babysat him. (Sat night Frank and I went out for a bit and our neighbor Thomas sat for us) I said no we did not go there. He asked why not. I said we went somewhere else. He said, "But Daddy said he wanted to go and have beers there since it has been a long time since you have been there." I just laughed and said that he is right but we chose somewhere else. Now he is talking about this restaurant on the highway that we went to a birthday party at last winter. Frank mentioned a week or two ago that we have never eaten there and that we should try it out. Now for Devin to remember that, and then ask if that is where we went when Thomas sat for us is just hysterical. Kids are so fricking smart.

Another Chance to win a PPB cake clutch!

OK, so the recipe contest was a bust. I lost. BOO. I did receive a consolation prize of a reusable tote bag for shopping and that was very nice of them to give them out to the 6 "losers." I use reusable grocery bags every time I go grocery shopping so it is nice to add one more to the collection. As I said in my last post about PPB, they offer a lot of giveaways.PPB recipe contest The latest is through another blogger called Sugar Pop Ribbons. Click here to read all about Sugar Pop Ribbons and her blog. Bloggers who give away stuff have you tweet their blog, add them on FB and link their blog from yours to get more hits. I think it is ingenious. She is giving away a bag I want and she gets more hits by other people going to her blog and possibly more money from her advertisers. Win Win for both. She is giving away a Petunia Pickle Bottom Cake Clutch in Apple Tart. How pretty is this color? LOVE IT. Love the pattern of velvet. Love everything about it. Thanks to Petunia for being so generous with another bag and to Sugar Pop Ribbons for hosting the give away. One day I will win one of these bags :)

Hello 2011-Hello snowy am!

Our NYE was uneventful. Riley went to bed at her usual 7pm, Devin followed at 8 and then Frank and I were asleep by 10. Totally lame I know, but there was no reason to loose sleep just to be awake for the stroke of midnight. We were woken up by the fireworks at the strip (which we can see from our master bedroom window). Back to sleep and woken the next morning refreshed and ready to start cleaning up from the holidays.

Now that the tree is down and the decorations are put away, we can look forward for other things to come. Valentines day should be fun this year since we have lots of crafts to do and Devin has already picked out a card for Riley and Daddy. Back story- He and I went to Hallmark a few weeks before Christmas to pick out an ornament for Daddy and he picked out Spider man and the Green goblin for Frank then wrapped it all by himself. He wanted me to buy him a Batman ornament but I told him that maybe Santa will bring it. (I already got him Car the movie ornament from Hallmark). He reminded me yesterday when we were taking apart the tree that Santa did not bring the ornament. Shit.....so we went in search of it yesterday since they are now 40% off. No luck, but he did search for the perfect card for Daddy and Riley for Valentines day. Love him :)

We went to bed last night and it was lightly flurrying. I came down this morning at 7 am and it was SNOWING. Not flurrying, but snowing. It was sticking and we got about an inch and a half in just over an hour. It soon stopped and started to warm up. By noon it was gone. We did manage to roll a snowman and Devin loved that. Riley hated the snow. She refuses to wear anything on her hands and hated the cold snow on them. Primadonna! Devin was digging it and loved making footprints.

snowman tipped over when he put his arm around it

Our schedule gets back to normal this week with school, play group, errands and such. I like having schedules and things to do. I started to go a little stir crazy over the past few weeks since Devin was not in school, friends kids were sick or they were traveling....made for a very long two weeks.

Devin is getting taller by the month and I love it. He was so petite for so long that it is nice to see him continuously sprout up. He is finally 30 lbs and has stayed there for 4 months now. No gain, no loss. He got a new tag reader for Christmas so he is working on sounding words out. He has known all his letters and their sounds since 2.5, but now he is working on sounding them out to "blend" into a word. School is really helping with this. Anyone can memorize words, but him learning to sound them out is fantastic. That whole bs of your "Your baby can read series" should really be called, "Your baby can memorize". Every teacher friend I have talked to about it said its a total crock and that they are not reading, they are memorizing just as we did when we learned Spanish. I know my kid is actually better off learning the old fashion way by sounding out a word and not memorizing what it is by looking at a flash card. To each his own I guess.

Riley is a pip. She is adorable but so feisty. She is starting to throw herself on the floor (very gently sitting down and leaning backwards) when she does not get what she wants. Devin never really went through the whole terrible two thing so this is new to me. I ignore her or walk away and she does give up right away, but man alive it wears on my patience. Her new thing she does is hoard the Tupperware container of some snack-either fish or pretzels and then scream when you try and make her share. I know Devin does take a lot of things from her and I see where she would get fed up, but she runs away from him with snacks in hand so she does not have to share. She will give Frank or I a few of what she has, but not Devin. The weird thing is, it is not all the time. Other times she sits side by side with him and will share her lil snack bowl with him willingly and nicely. They have a love hate relationship-but from what I hear, that is all brothers and sisters. I just cannot believe she will be 2 in just over 2 months! Holy hell that went fast, time to start brainstorming her birthday I guess.