The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.......Very Ugly!

So today was a particularly rough day. Between meltdowns I took a little time to think about my days as a stay at home mom. What I came to realize is that my days can pretty much be summarized by the saying "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly!" There are many many bad and ugly things that happen each day. From lotion being squirted throughout the house, wall murals painted with deodorant, and food that gets eaten everywhere BUT the kitchen table. It's exhausting! And yet, I wouldn't give up my opportunity to be a stay at home mom for the world. Even on the days when the bad things seriously outnumber the good things (like today). It's amazing how hearing my kids laugh when I tickle them, or Baylee singing the Barney song to me, or the surprise hugs and kisses, or watching them play so good together, somehow make me forget all the bad. These pictures are what a typical day for me looks like. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.........and for those of you with a weak stomach, you might want to skip the ugly section cause it IS UGLY!!!!

The Good...............

There's really nothing sweeter than a sleeping princess!

I love when they entertain themselves. They got themselves dressed in these outfits and played forever together!

THE BAD........................

This is a sample of Baylee's fingernail polish artwork on Aidan's bedroom rug. Of course she couldn't get into the clear polish!

Notice there is two colors? Yes the red is from yesterday. I thought I had thrown all of the fingernail polish away after that incident but Baylee managed to find another bottle. I was so mad yesterday that I didn't get any pictures. She was covered from head to toe. I was wishing I had gotten pictures but didn't expect to get a repeat performance and a chance to get those pictures. ugh

I tried about 10 different remedies from online to get it out of the carpet. Not with a whole lot of success unfortunately.

The artist herself pouting in the "naughty spot!" I didn't dare put her in her actual time out seat downstairs because that would mean leaving her unattended for a whole 2 minutes which I wasn't willing to do!

And the UGLY..........Brace yourself!

Yes folks, you guessed it. That's poop! This is how I found Baylee the other morning. She slept in earlier than usual (or so I thought) so I went to check on her. She had been so quiet that I wasn't prepared for what I found. Unfortunately this isn't the first time she had pulled this stunt. If I am not quick enough she decided to take care of business on her own. The smell alone was enough to make me sick but the fact that she had it all over her face really freaked me out. I hope I am not the only one who's kids do this. It's bizarre, disgusting, and I have had enough of it. Potty training boot camp starts tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Baylee's First Haircut!

Well I finally did it. I took Baylee to get a much needed haircut. She was beginning to look a little scroungy, and couldn't really see out from under her bangs. I don't know why it was so sad for me, but it was. I have taken Aidan to a place called "Cookie Cutters" since he first started getting his haircut. He loves it because they get to watch movies, or play nintendo games. They sit in cool little chairs, and the stylists are really great with kids. Baylee did great and looks adorable. It wasn't nearly as sad as I thought it would be. Aidan got his haircut also, and looks super cute. Here are some before and after pictures of the kids.

Here is Aidan playing a game while he waits for his turn to get his hair cut. You can tell his hair was getting pretty shaggy.

My handsome little boy. He loves his "Fohawk!"

Baylee playing on the slide before her haircut. She loved it!

Sitting in the "ehpayne" before her haircut.

This is a shot of how long her hair was in the back. Her hair grew in so funny. The top and back are super long, but the sides are really short. She was totally rockin the mullet. When you pulled the back straight it was really long.

The sucker was a good idea for a minute. It kept her entertained, but I was getting really grossed out by the hair on it so it got tossed.

And the after. I wasn't going to cut all her hair as short as the sides because it would have been ridiculously short, but it is much better. At least the back is all one length now.

My cute little peanut!

Isn't she adorable? I sure love this girl! I can't believe how fast she is growing up!

Both the kids love this little toilet. Now....if only Baylee would ralize she can't pee standing up like Aidan does. I am pretty sure she thinks it come from her belly button. Silly girl.

They are so easily entertained. They think this "secret door" into the bathroom is amazing!

Here they are with their balloons, suckers, and cookie cutters that they get after each haircut.

My Little Tender Heart

Anyone that really knows Aidan, knows that he is extremely sensitive. I am constantly surprised by his ability to be so sympathetic and loving to other people when they are sad or hurt. But Friday night he surprised me again.
We were having our regular family movie night and I decided that we were going to watch Annie. I grew up watching this show and it has always been one of my favorites. Aidan loved it as well, and was sitting on my lap watching it. Towards the end, when Annie leaves with her "parents" and her and Daddy Warbucks are singing that song about how "She was almost my baby.....maybe", you know what I am talking about right? Anyway, Aidan turns to me and is bawling. Full on tears and he is really upset, and says "That's a sad song Mom!" I was in shock. Barry and I looked at eachother for a minute because we were so surprised that he had been that affected. So I paused it and asked him what made him so sad and he just said "I don't know it just makes me feel sad. Daddy Warbucks really loves her huh?" I got teary too because I couldn't believe that a four year old had the capacity to understand what was really going on and to be so affected by it. I told him we better watch the end because it's a happy ending. He was very relieved when they ended up together.
I just had to write this down because it's one of those things I don't ever want to forget. I am so proud of Aidan and his ability to be so loving and thoughtful. He is the sweetest little boy and I know he is always going to be that way. I think it's a great character trait, and I love that he is my little Tender Heart!

Mexican Rivierra Cruise!

Well.......back to reality for me after a week on a fabulous cruise. My mom, my sister Haley, and I went on a cruise to the Mexican Rivierra. I had never been on a cruise before so it was well beyond my expectations. It was also the first time I had been away from my kids for that long. My amazing husband took a week of vacation to stay home with them so that I could go. He took such great care of them, and the kids really enjoyed spending a whole week with their daddy! I am the luckiest girl in the world. We left last Saturday and spent three days cruising to Puerta Vallarta. Just spending time laying by the pool was a treat because I didn't have to worry about anyone but myself and could just lay their and do nothing, which is something I haven't done for a long time. The food was unbelievable and never ending. I had heard that the food was great but it was much better than i had expected. Let's just say my clothes weren't fitting the same towards the end of the week, ugh! The first stop we made was in Puerta Vallarta. My mom has a friend that has a vacation home there and invited us to come spend the day with him. His condo was amazing! I seroiusly felt like I was on Lifestyles of The Rich And Famous. Then the next day we were in Mazatlan, where we did the traditional shopping and beach day. We rode in a cool little buggy around town and got a reality check. The way people are living there is extremely humbling. We were hounded like crazy on the beach by vendors, but it is all part of the experience. On Thursday we wre in Cabo San Lucas, which was my favorite port. We went on a snorkeling excursion and had an amazing time! Our tour guides were a blast. It was my first time snorkeling and I loved it. Then on the way back we got a surprise treat and saw three whales playing for about 20 min. They literally gave us a show and it was incredible. We couldn't believe how long they stayed in one spot and entertained us. The last two days on the way back were hard. They were still a lot of fun, there is always plenty to do on the ship, but at that point I was defintely ready to get home to my family. I want to tell my mom thank you for such an amazing trip. I had an amazing time with her and my sister and will remember it forever! It was a much needed break, but also a good reminder of how lucky I am to be able to be a stay at home mom and spend so much time with my kids. I am so happy to be home, and appreciating all the little things a lot more.


Here Haley and I are on the flight to Long Beach to board the ship. In case any of you haven't flown into Long Beach before, let me just warn you that it is a tiny airport. The terminal is literally a double wide trailer.

Ready to go out the first night. I think we watched karaoke in one of the 7 clubs on the ship.

My sister Haley, me, and my mom enjoying the view from the ship.

This wasn't the best thing I ate but for some reason it's the only picture we took of the food. lol It was delicious though, and very pretty!

This was the big outdoor pool area. I think there was 7 pools total on the ship. Insane.

Haley and I messing around in one of the clubs one night.

This is the view from my mom's friend's condo. It's one of the biggest infinity pools in the world. It is literally a couple blocks long. It was huge and those circular things are lounge beds and I could have spent all day laying on them. Oh wait........I did. lol

This was a cute little restraunt we walked to on the beach in Puerta Vallarta. They had the best shrimp tacos, and guacomole I have ever had. I think I may have eaten my weight in guacomole on this trip. sheesh!

This was in Puerta Vallarta. Our cab driver took us to the mall so we could get a good shot of our cruise ship. I am still in shock over how huge the thing is.

My mom, Haley, and I at Senor Frogs in Mazatlan. It's a really fun little souvenir shop.

That white building on the cliff is an amazing mall in Mazatlan.

At one of the 7 restraunts in the ship about to have dinner.

This is on the tender boat that took us to the dock in Cabo San Lucas.

This is called "Los Arcos" I believe right next to Lover's Beach in Cabo. So pretty, and right next to this is a little area where we saw a whole bunch of Sea Lions. So cute!

My sister and I on the catamaran sporting some awesome snorkieling gear. We were listening intently to the safety instructions.

I AM

I AM!
I got this from Danyette, it looked like fun so here you go.

I AM...so excited about my cruise. I leave in five days!
I WANT....to get a nice tan and get out of this snow!
I HAVE...everything I ever wanted and more.
I KEEP...clothes for ever. Even when they don't fit and are way out of style . Mostly I hate to go through them and get rid of things.
I WISH I COULD...hire someone to clean my house once a week.
I HATE...the smell of belly buttons and earing gunk. lol Nasty I know.
I FEAR...loosing someone I love.
I HEAR...Barry watching House.
I DON'T THINK...I will ever get caught up with laundry.
I REGRET...nothing, honestly.
I LOVE...spending time with my family.
I AM NOT...excited to see the snow when I wake up in the morning.
I DANCE...with Baylee to Barney on a regular basis.
I SING...along to every song I am listening to, whether I know it well or not. I can't help it.
I NEVER...get tired of listening to my kids laugh.
I RARELY...get tired of ice cream.
I CRY WHEN I WATCH...Extreme Home Makeover, oh okay pretty much anything, lol.
I AM NOT ALWAYS...in my p.j's, I promise. lol.
I HATE THAT...it's not spring yet.
I'M CONFUSED ABOUT...the state of our economy.
I NEED...to get a crap load of stuff done this week before I leave.
I SHOULD...quit blogging and start working on that crapload, lol.

Everyone who wants to should try it!! Write down the 1st thing that comes to your mind.

A Bunch of Randomness

Well February has come and gone, and I am officially declaring myself a blogging slacker. I don't know what I have been so busy with but I couldn't even bring myself to upload the 168 pictures that have been sitting on my digital camera. After I finally did that tonight I realized I would have to do about 15 different posts to cover all the different things we had done. So.....I am just going to post a whole BUNCH of pictures from the last month or so. Get ready for an onslaught of pictures. lol Anyway, we have been having a great time. The kids are doing awesome. Aidan is staying busy with karate and preschool, will be starting baseball in about a month, and was just officially enrolled in kindergarten which is killing me. Baylee continues to be my daily challenge, and my daily sunshine at the same time. She is absolutely hilarious. She has a new found love of Barney and insists on watching it daily much to my disliking. She sings and dances with all the songs though which makes it not only tolerable but adorable. Well enjoy the pictures, and I hope I don't overwhelm you.

This is Aidan and his "girlfriend" Eri at their Preschool Valentine party.I had no idea that little crushes developed so early. It's been a little scary, but adorable at the same time.

Aidan was such a sweet brother and let Baylee come into the party and even shared his cupcake with her.

These are the cupcakes that Aidan and I made for his class. The ones with ridiculous amounts of candy are the Aidan's works of art. lol

I just thought this was an adorable picture of Baylee and her pretty eyes. Not the best smile but cute all the same!

My brother Scott and Aidan. This was when we went to breakfast for Scott's birthday. Aidan loves his uncle Scott.

Barry and I at Scott's birthday breakfast. Not the greatest picture but we don't get them of us together very often because I am usually behind the camera.

Again....just a cute picture!

I think she was probably saying something sassy when I took this picture. Those are her sassy lips. lol

Bath time is a favorite for the kids. When they aren't fighting for the front of the bath or over who gets what toy it's actually really cute to watch them.

Baylee's first pony ride. She loved it although she kept getting the sound that a pony makes a little confused. She kept saying "moo" while she was going around in the circles. I think she had a good time though.

Aidan got to go on an elephant ride and was SOOO excited. We went to a mini circus with my friend Shea and her boys. The two in front of Aidan are hers, Jaxon and Jayden. They all thought it was amazing. I thought so too....I've never been on an elephant.

This was Baylee's method of decorating Valentine cookies at my moms house. She wasn't too interested in decorating, but she sure thought the frosting was awesome. She dipped that same cookie in about 30 times. Makes double dipping sound good huh?

Then she just gave up with the cookie and decided a spoon was a much easier way to chow the frosting. True Baylee form.

Baylee and Kobree (my friend Chansey's daughter) playing dress ups. They are so cute together which is good because Chansey and I decided while we were pregnant that they would be Bff's.

My little cheeser! I just realized that I posted a ton more pictures of Baylee. Not because I don't like pictures of Aidan.....just because he never seems to be around when I am taking pictures. He's a little to cool to pose for my pictures these days!