So Behind

This has been one crazy week. And it's only half over. I'm missing my bloggy-life, so I just came on here for a quick moment to let everyone know that I haven't fallen off the planet. (yet.)

A little of what's been going on: Ron was away for a few days at the beginning of the week in search of work and shelter for our family. That left me home with the three babes to fend for ourselves. I managed ok, and the only difficult time was the dreaded dinner/bedtime hour. Joey watched A LOT of Blues Clues on these two days and we were all glad when Daddy was home.

Yesterday I spent the day running around like crazy: to the grocery store, the mall, the tailor, etc. etc. It was a bit of a trial for Olivia in that she was without me for several hours. Still refused the bottle but she survived! Today is moving day. Not for me, for my mom. Such a hard, sad day, and my world feels a bit upside down now that this is actually happening. I know that there are good things ahead of us with all of these changes, but today I just feel sad. I can't even begin to imagine how I will feel in a month when it is our turn to move. Tonight we'll have our last neighborhood-family dinner, followed by a trip to Kohls for various last-minute items that I'll need for this weekend.

This weekend is the BIG DAY. My very good friend Kate is set to be married, and I'm a bridesmaid! So the next three days will be filled with errands, preparations, a secret project that I'm working on, and a couple of appointments to beautify myself. Oh yeah, and I still have 3 young children to continue caring for while doing all of that.

So, I apologize for being behind in my blogging. Don't lose faith in me though. I'll be back soon and I have 2 *awesome* giveaways in the works!

Rejuvinated

Tonight Ron and I had a much needed "date night." His parents were kind enough to come over and take on our three children at my most dreaded time of day: dinner time. Followed by my second most dreaded time of day: bed time. It is not that I don't like spending these times with my children, I do. It is just extremely difficult to keep everyone relatively quiet, happy, and occupied during the hours of 5-8pm. So I welcomed the opportunity to pass on that responsibility to two other very brave (and very capable) adults. In fact, Nana and PopPop win the "I'm a good sport" badge of honor for the day!

So off we went. We left the house with a spring in our step and a flutter in our hearts. We were free. Free. Free. Free. In fact I had the urge to roll down the windows of the minivan as it cruised the neighborhood streets and shout, "Free at last, Free at last, God Almighty I'm free at last!" I did not actually do this, but believe you me, I wanted to.

We held hands as we walked to the restaurant. We rejoiced in the fact that there was a 20-30 minute wait, as that gave us time to peruse books in the nearby bookstore. At said bookstore we actually read the inside flaps to each other. Without interruption. We didn't have to buy anything that one of our children ripped, ate, or spit up on either. When our buzzer buzzed we again walked hand in hand back to the restaurant where we were handed two menus. We each read the whole menu. We contemplated what to order. We asked the waiter for MORE TIME! It was the most incredible feeling to be out with my husband without anyone crying, whining, spitting up, pooping, or sleeping on my shoulder.

The best part of the evening was when we finished dinner and while walking through the downtown area came across some live acoustic music. It was chilly outside so I went in to a coffee shop to get some warm beverages and Ron went back to the car to get me a sweatshirt. The only sweatshirt in the car was size 2T, but he did manage to find me a nice fleece blanket to cover up with. A fleece blanket covered in my favorite red furry monster. Yep, you guessed it, Elmo. So there I sat among the other childless couples, snuggled up to my hubby, sipping a hot cup of coffee, under a child-sized Elmo blanket. The blanket did its' job in keeping me warm, but it did something else for me as well. It reminded me that I have three of the most special gifts waiting for me at home, and no matter how much I enjoy my time without them nothing warms my soul quite like the time I spend with them.

Calling All Cute Kids

We all think our own kid is the cutest kid. Obviously. We are their moms, we're supposed to think that. I'm pretty sure though that I'm not the only one who thinks that Joey is damn cute. Just to clarify, we're talking looks here, not actions. ('cause lately he ain't acting too cute...) There's just something about that striking red hair, blue eyes, and dimples that sucks me in. So when I heard about the Gap Casting Call, I was eager to sign him up. Do I legitimately think that he could win? Yes. Do I think that he will? Probably not. I mean seriously, what are the chances? But it's worth a shot, right?

After I submitted Joey's *cutest* picture today it brings you to a screen where you can send out an email, post to your FB profile, twitter, etc. encouraging friends and family members to vote for your kid. Well, every mom who gets that email is going to think to herself, "my kid is cuter than that kid, I should enter this too." So sending out a mass email encouraging people to vote for Joey is a double edge sword in a way. Good, in that I might have gotten him some votes and publicity. Not so good in that I totally just advertised this contest and significantly increased the pool of competitors. And let me tell you, there is some stiff competition out there....

So why am I writing about this tonight? I figure the damage is already done. I posted it to my facebook profile, sent out the email, haven't tweeted about it because I have no idea how Twitter works, but I figure I might as well mention it here too. Please go ahead and vote for Joey (everyday!) by clicking here. And please enter your own child too. Let's all just agree to the golden rule of cutest kid competitions: To a mom, there is no cuter kid than her own kid. But I'll vote for yours if you'll vote for mine!

Nutritionists Beware

I'm embarrassed to admit that I gave my kid more sugar filled snacks in a 3 hour period yesterday than I usually do in a whole week. Call it bribery, laziness, or the unwillingness to argue, but I gave in to his every request for more snacks. During a ill-fated family trip to Walmart at 10 AM Joey consumed an entire snack cup of Ritz Cheese Sandwich Crackers. Not a little cup either. One that has 2.5 servings in it. This was well worth it to me though, as it got us through the store without a yelling, whining, screaming toddler. Now if only Katelyn and Olivia could be kept quiet the same way... (soon enough!)

After Walmart we went on to Tim Horton's for an early lunch. A lunch of doughnuts for Joey. Oh, and Doritos. ha. No turkey sandwich on whole wheat for this kid. Just doughnuts please. Well, it didn't end there. We can't possibly take a trip to Tim Horton's without bringing a treat to cousin Mollie. While we were out she actually called to verify that we were coming. Upon delivery Mollie excitedly sat down to have herself a tasty doughnut. And so did Joey. Again.

At that point I pretty much knew that any attempt to feed Joey lunch (or any other meal for the day) was completely shot. He napped for only an hour, woke up with low blood sugar (shocking!), and proceeded to starve himself of any "real" food for the remainder of the day. It's no wonder that he woke up this morning requesting gummies for breakfast. I'd say this calls for operation detox for the two-year old.

As Seen On TV

For his 8th birthday, all my nephew Matthew has asked for is a Snuggie. You've seen the infomercials for this ridiculous item, I'm sure. It's the fleece blanket with sleeves. Matthew is the perfect recipient for the latest "As Seen On TV" product. In fact, those that know Matthew will agree that he is pretty much the perfect recipient for any "As Seen On TV" product. He loves infomercials. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he grows up to be the next Billy Mays!

I just ordered Matthew's Snuggie. Instead of the standard blue or pink choices, I did some internet searching and came up with one that is sure to make this kid's heart sing. I managed to find an Authentic Dallas Cowboys Youth-sized Snuggie. Now I just wish I could be there next week to see his reaction when he opens it!