Whole Lot of Random

• I'm addicted to fountain soda! I love that little bite you get from it. Particularly Coke or Dr. Pepper....Mmmmm....makes my mouth water just thinking about it.


• Speaking of addictions....can you say Reese's peanut butter cups. OMG! It's ridiculous how much I love these things. The crazy part of this is that I never really cared for them until I was pregnant with Bug. It started halfway through my pregnancy and has continued. I used to go for the Rolos or Kit Kat. Not now, bring on that bright orange package with the peanut butter/chocolate goodness. And Easter was a Reese's dream come true....little mini pastel wrapped cups, mini peanut butter eggs, large Reese's eggs....yummy.


• I'm itching to paint really bad. It's the change of the seasons. Does it to me every time. Hubs would be okay with every wall in the house being white. So it's been a SLOW transition to paint this house. But I'm ready to tackle the living room. I'm thinking a nice warm taupey color with an orangey/brown accent wall.....now I just have to find the time without two little boys to "help" me paint......


• Everything in our house seems to somehow turn into a puck. I looked down the other day and Monkey was playing hockey with my little speckled wooden eggs that were on the entry way table. Not exactly what I had in mind for them. He has used the tires off his John Deere tractors, the wooden parts to his puzzle train, "Little People", plastic Easter eggs, Zeba, and of course every ball we own....sometimes the actual puck gets used. The goal usually gets a tour of the house daily. Sometime it gets used to take a "nap" in or to carry his animals around in.

• Today I was the Poop Princess. I changed nine poopy diapers...5 toddler and 4 baby. Yuck, yuck, and double yuck. Some days I feel like all I do is go from one nap to the other changing diapers, feeding kids, nursing, putting out temper tantrums, and yearning for a pedicure chair. Then Monkey erupts into one of his contagious giggles, and Bug gives me his huge slobbery grin. And I melt. So put a tiara on me.


• I don't know what happened to my bullets...


• I wish I would follow my own advice sometimes. I've said since Monkey was 5 months old that I was going to start going to Stroller Strides. Not necessarily for the strides part of it but more for the social part of it. The girlfriend part of it. Not that I don't have any. I do. Wonderful girlfriends. But it would be nice to have one or two girlfriends that I can just call at 9 in the morning and say let's play. I don't have that flexibility bc my girlfriends work or live in Anchorage (and we can't do that drive on a moment's notice). Just have always thought it would be a way to find that connection. Maybe not. But I've never tried either. Always found some excuse not to go...middle of naptime....summer time and too busy....now i'm pregnant again....now its middle of naptime again....do you see my issue?


• I miss my bff. Tough times make the miles between us seem even longer. I'm just so thankful she has fabulous, supportive family and friends there to help her. People who drop it at a moments notice to do whatever it takes to make it happen for her. It's been harder than all get out to sit up here knowing how she is feeling and what she is needing and not being able to do much about it. Sometimes the phone just doesn't seem like enough.


• I need some new dinner recipes. I get like this every 3-4 months. Just get bored with what we've been having and look for something else. I have a pretty picky Hubs though. He makes it tough for a girl sometimes. No cooked veggies except corn....crazy...yes it's true....okay maybe onions diced really small and a few green peppers here and there. He is getting more adventurous though....
• Hubs gave me a piece of his gum tonight. Normally I would have declined bc he likes the green apple kind, and I only like green apple when it's on a stick and smothered in gooey caramel. But this time he offered me Wrigley's Doublemint. I was quickly whisked back to my childhood. Mom always had gum in her purse when we were growing up. And it was always Doublemint. She always chewed half a stick though bc she said she couldn't talk and chew a full stick. I could instantly see the pack of gum in her purse with a half a stick torn off. The smell to this day always reminds me of her. Kinda like the smell of Hubba Bubba gum reminds me of Dad....do they even still make Hubba Bubba? Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.
• Summer can come any day now. I'm tired of being cold. The sunshine is warm on our faces but the walk to the mailbox is still brisk and requires a blanket. I'm ready for a nice spring rain to make the grass and leaves pop out. To wash away the dirt and sand. To test out the new raincoat and Thomas umbrella. I'm ready to swing and slide without cold hands after 20 minutes. I'm ready for buckets and shovels. I'm ready to try a small garden with Monkey and plant my flower baskets. I'm ready for doggy baths in the lake. I'm ready for sticky popsicle kisses. I'm ready to use the sunroof all the way open not just popped up. I'm ready! Any time soon would be super!!

Old Man

Dear Old Man Winter~

Maybe that's why you chose to dump 2 inches of the white stuff on us last night while we were sleeping....because we call you "old man". I'll call you whatever you want (you don't want to know what I called you this morning when I woke up and saw what you do ever so sneaky in the middle of the night) if you'll let your girlyfriend, Mother Nature, take over and bring the green stuff. You've been quite busy all winter. Isn't it time for a break? Let the woman take over. We're ready for all her sparkle (rain to wash the dust and yuck away), shine (sunshine to make the green stuff grow), and love (pretty flowers to brighten our day). What ya say? Is it a deal? Pretty please!

Fondly,
Desperate for summer in AK



PS. This is the temperature it was on the deck last week when I was playing with doggies. Do you remember? It felt wonderful! Almost Mauilicious without the sound of the waves.

Snow Baby

Couldn't resist sharing a little bit of sweet snow baby fun!

I later figured out that he was "scared"of my stocking hat. Hence, the reason I couldn't get that fantastic smile of his to make an appearance. Still my sweet Bug!

Zeba

Zeba is your beloved animal friend. You glommed onto him last fall when we were down visiting G & G K. He was in the room you slept in and became your comfort critter along with your blanket. He is only about 4 inches tall which makes for an interesting evening every once in a while. Daddy and I have been known to strip the couch, empty out toy bins, and search the house looking for this miniature friend of yours. Only to find him "sleeping" in your Little People barn, "hiding" in the train table mountain, "watching" for Daddy to get home on the window sill in our room, or various other activities that Zeba takes part in throughout the day. You will not go to bed without your favorite friend. If you toss him too far out of bed and can't reach him....yep, you guessed it....the world ends and alligator tears arrive. His mane is no longer fluffy but well-loved. He has been stitched up twice by Nurse Mommy. He has recently been sharing some of the spotlight with Snoopy. Although, Snoopy will never be able to steal all the spotlight. He is okay with though! I often find Zeba and your blanket packed in the bag ready to go when we leave the house. I usually have to explain that Zeba needs to stay home to take care of all the other animals and blanket will need to stay to keep them all warm. You don't always believe me. Love that you have that special furry friend, Monkey. Love even more that he is one you picked out all on your own. Makes him all the more special! Here's to many more adventures with Zeba!!

To be...

To be a mouse in the corner of your room. I stood outside your door tonight after I put you "to bed" for the night. The conversations you have with your animals and yourself are hilarious. I had to stifle my giggle a few times, so you wouldn't hear me. I have often said I would love to set up a video camera just so I can record this precious time. The conversations you have are so sweet. Makes for a wonderful smile after a tough evening. Your imagination is blossoming....I love it Monkey!! Thanks for making me smile and giggle yet again!!

Mauilicious

Impromptu. Got the go ahead to go from Hub's boss on a Thursday. First things first, took off for the tanning salon....ahhhh....been a really long time since I'd done that.....burned my butt. Booked airline tickets that afternoon (using our airline tickets we won this summer...super BONUS). Hotel and car booked on Friday. Due to leave in 10 days.

Mommy guilt set in on Saturday and escalated 10 fold with each passing day. Knew Monkey was going to do great with G & G and secretly knew Bug (weird I know but he is my sweet Bug....has been from day 1...it's just kinda stuck.....he'll roll his eyes later in life) was going to do great. Just didn't want to admit. Scared to death he was going to give up and not go back to breastfeeding. Find the bottle way easier and leave his Mommy in the dust. Cried a few nights over this. Hubs told me I was crazy. That I'd be alright once he got me on the plane.

He was right.....this time I liked it that he was right!

The view from our room.

It was like a second honeymoon. We didn't realize until we got there how overdue this trip was. It had been 4 1/2 years since we had been on our honeymoon...the last time we had been on a real vacation by ourselves without anyone to answer to but ourselves. It. Was. Fabulous.

We slept through the night. Woke up on our own. Ate dinner at 8:00 pm if we wanted to. Took naps if we wanted to. Played so many games of cribbage and 500 that we lost count of who was winning.

We swam in the ocean. Swam in the pool. Watched the whales jump every night from our lanai. Went on a helicopter ride. Did a zipline course. Drank Bikini Blonde and Strawberry Swirls. At Maui Brewing Company pizza...yummmm. Had a blue raspberry/grape shaved ice on a hot, sunny afternoon. People watched like crazy (we were in watching heaven...hee hee). Traveled the North Shore and stopped to watch the surfers. Best of all, we did it all on our time.

I will remember that time for a lifetime. I fell in love with my Hubby all over again and again and again. We reconnected on a level that had been drowning in diapers, toys, and schedules. It made us appreciate us and all that we have. Love you Babe!

PS. My breastpump made an appearance three times a day including on the airplane to and from Maui. I came home with 140 ounces of milk.....you should have seen the look of utter confusion on the young island boy who was working security when I had to declare a cooler full of breastmilk. He just couldn't figure out where the baby was or why I had all this milk without the baby! Pretty funny!

PSS. The boys did fabulous! As I knew they would. And Bug, he took me back without any hesitation at all. It was wonderful to get those long loves from them. Priceless!

Too long...sigh...

You know how when you wait too long to do something you end up waiting even longer? Maybe that's just what happens to a procrastinator. I have wanted to sit down so many times in the past 2 weeks and catch up but I have so much to catch up on that it is way overwhelming...6 and 7 months (quickly becoming 8 months), Maui, Easter, spring time puddles and new rainboots, puppy love, teething (a 7 month old AND a two year old), sunshine, thoughts, ponderings, tears, and just a whole lot of randomness.

So slowly I will. Figure not many people read this and those that do either know I'm a procrastinator or are figuring it out. It will come. In due time. Patience is a virtue right. Just not going to happen tonight at 11:52 pm....sorry....