A trip to Lowes

We went to Lowes last night to look for a new oven. It wasn't very busy so I didn't make the boys ride in a cart. Korbin let go of my hand & ran off ahead. I caught up to him by the display toilets. He was unbuttoning his pants. I'm glad the real bathrooms weren't too far away & that I was able to catch him.

A Great "Mom" moment....

I'm also thankful that when asked during dinner the other night what they were thankful for my boys said ...
Korbin "friends"
Thaddeus "animals"
... not toys or television. : ) It's the small moments that are the most satisfying.

Thankful

I figured why not write down things I'm thankful for this year.....

I'm thankful for....my husband who is crazy involved in our children & over protective of me. He goes with me to the baby doctor, survives my crazy family, & deals with my walmartitis.
I'm thankful for...my boys who are so amazingly different & insane. They are endless sources of love & entertainment.
I'm thankful for...my family. Love them or hate them (on any given day) they are part of who I am.
I'm thankful for...people of my walmart. I've been there forever. The people there are my extended family (and just as dysfunctional). I'd be lost without most of them.
I'm thankful for...Disney movies. They provide a distraction long enough to get things done around the house.
I'm thankful for...the convenience of living in the United States. Everything is so easy here.
I'm thankful for...pink icing cookies from Sheetz. They can really help you cope.
I'm thankful for...being able to have baby #3. It was not easy for us to be paitent waiting/trying to get things to work & here we are having #3 in just under 4 years.
I'm thankful for....a lot of things but this sums it up for today.

Kids say the funniest things....

Quick story of the week....

My mother in law came over to watch the boys last night. Morgan was here but Chris & I were going to drop him off home on our way to dinner. In the mere 10 minutes that Morgan & the MIL were here together, he said to her....."Grandma, Why do you have a big butt?" Thank god I was in the other room so I was able to hide my snickering! Completely inappropriate but hilarious. The best part of the whole thing was today she stopped over & cornered Christopher & wanted to know who told him to say that because she thinks that kids don't ask the obvious when it might be rude...lol. Anyone who has children knows that kids always say the most inappropriate things all the time. Apparently she missed Korbin asking if Daddy had a baby in his belly cause it looks like Mommy's. : )

Random thoughts for today

1. It's been a few months now & no one will take ownership of putting the peanut butter on the ceiling in the kitchen.
2. Korbin had stitches a while ago & having a 3yr old with stitches sucks.
3. I love Disney movies. My boys love them & it gives me some peace throughout the day, even if it means watching the same movie over & over.
4. I hate unloading the dishwasher. Almost as much as I hate folding clothes.
5. My children have a weird obsession with salami, esp Tad, which is funny because that is the one food I could NOT eat while I was pregnant with him.
6. I fear that I could be on Hoarders one day but not because I have to keep things because I just have no motivation to go through things & get rid of them.
7. I know that yes I am kinda hoping for a girl this time. I'm good with either but I can't help but want a girl. I'm sure that if I have a boy everyone will make sure that he knows I've said I'm hoping for a girl but whatever...the thought of 3 boys is a little scary.
8. Thank goodness Korbin is pretty cute because every morning he wakes me up, is so excited, & says "Get up! What a beautiful sunny day". I'm so not a morning person, but it's hard not to love that.
9. I need to make more of an effort with dinner. We eat the same things all the time. Food is amazing & we should enjoy it way more than we do. Perhaps we wouldn't eat so much junk if we were enjoying our meals more.
10. I do not enjoy sleeping with Buzz Lightyear.

Fall weekends

We must really love fall. It seems that we jam pack every weekend in September & October with activities. Last week we took all three boys rail fanning...train chasing. It's always so much fun going from stop to stop watching the trains but makes it very hard to get naps in. The day usually ends up in temper tantrums (daddy) & meltdowns (the boys) but is so worth the smiling faces throughout the day. We only made it to the Horseshoe Curve for about 15 mins, very disappointing. Morgan had a total meltdown & Korbin ran away. Next time one adult per child.


Today we took an long scenic drive & ended up visiting the elk. Pennsylvania is so beautiful this time of year. The views are so great that you don't really notice you've been in the car for hours until you've started the dvd for the third or fourth time. Shockinigly enough the boys didn't really do anything crazy or overly funny. Taddy was a little confused when people were calling the elk cows & bulls, that was entertaining trying to explain to him. Korbin insisted upon wearing his sweatshirt backwards.

We still need to accomplish a visit to the pumpkin patch & whatever Taddy chooses for his birthday excursion, oh yeah & some fall cleaning....

Quaterly Update...

So wow, finding the motivation to keep up with my blog is proving much more difficult than one would think. I can sit on facebook doing nothing forever but actually typing eludes me.

So update on happenings of the last 3 months...

Korbin is potty trained at home & daycare...just not when we go in public. He discovered that if he poops in the potty, he can then look at it when he's done. Boys are gross.

Thaddeus insists upon being called "Taddy" & pretty much ignores you when you call him anything else.

Taddy had decided that the "guest" room is now his room & only sleeps in the full size bed. I guess he's gonna be pretty ticked when we take it down soon.

We're taking down the guest room & turning it into a nursery.

Baby #3 is due in March. Whoa Crazy Stuff! Baby #3 Baby #3...sometimes i have to say it a few times to let it sink in.

No one has yet to admit to putting/shooting/spreading peanut butter on the ceiling in the kitchen.

The boys have learned how to use facuets.

Korbin knows how to use the washing machine. This kinda frightens me.

I'm sure there is way more that has happened but that's all I can think of for now.

We filled the potty chart!!!!! It only took 42 days to fill 24 little squares but he did it.

A Major Victory...

No we are not potty trained yet. That would be way bigger than major.

My major victory is my mother in law has finally started eating food that I cook. Chris & I have been together almost 10 years. She has always managed to avoid my cooking. I am not a bad cook. When she babysits the boys she brings all her own food & food for the boys. I eat her cooking & by the way she is a terrible cook. (even Christopher thinks she's not that great) She buys me cookware almost every year for Christmas (yes i now have way too many). Every time she says "Chris says you are a fantastic cook. I'll have to come over to eat." I politely smile then Chris & I laugh the whole way home about how she'll never be over to eat anything that I've made. Well, the tides have changed. Last month she stopped over right at dinner time & we invited her to stay & she ate a hamburger. The 4th of July she ate the pasta salad I made (I'm pretty sure it was only because Korbin & Tad had helped & were super excited about it) & today....She was excited that I made an extra loaf of zucchini bread for her. She took it home with her so I hope she eats it. I'll be pretty jacked if I find out she wasted some amazing zucchini bread. Ahh, Victory is mine. It only took 10 years.

Vacation & Birthday Ramblings

Thoughts from the past week....

• I love Phineas & Ferb. I love everything about this cartoon. I'm thinking it would be very easy to get the whole family to go as characters for Halloween but Chris should definitely be Doof & then who would i be....Tad would so be Perry.
• Phineas & Ferb quote of the week "Your marriage is the adventure of your life." (Sung to Bob & Tianna)....see next 2 thoughts
• I know that marrying & having children with an only child was pretty insane & yet I wouldn't pick anyone else. Everyday is an adventure.
• 6 days in a row with our children is about all that said only child has the patience for without completely going crazy....& I'm okay with that.
• We successfully traveled with two small children for 4 days & no one got hurt & everyone slept (except when Tad slept in our bed, then only Tad slept)
• Birthdays really suck when you are a grown up.
• I really need to quit worrying about making sure everyone is having a good time & just relax & have a good time more often.
• Chris & I having birthdays in the same week is a lot of birthday cake at one time.
• We live in an amazing location & take so much of it for granted. We live so close to so many really cool things. Imagine living in the middle of no where Kansas. Yep, Western PA is alright.
• Little boys are easily fooled into thinking Lake Erie is "the beach"
• I'm incredibly vain & STUPID when it comes to getting tan.
• I regret not planting a garden this year. There is something wonderful about growing your own food (just some of it, i don't want to be a farmer!)
• Facebook is an incredible time suck & yet I'm addicted. I sometime dislike myself for this.
• I want more. More money, More yard, More kids, More organization, More motivation

The Potty Chart

At one point about 18 months ago Korbin was super interested in being potty trained. I wasn't ready (I was 9 months prego) & he wanted to use the real toilet & he was just too little. After Thaddeus rocked his world it's pretty much been a flip of the coin on when he's interested. He is now 3. I know that him using diapers is pretty convinent for me but he's 3 & it's getting expensive. He has realized that he holds the power. I can't make him use it. I also can't not change his diaper (not that he just doesn't take it off himself if I'm taking too long for his liking). So I'm trying bribing, I guess it's more reward but it feels like bribing. He has repeatedly asked for the same toy. It has now become "the reward". Every time he goes he gets a sticker. When he fills up the chart he gets the toy. I guess if it works some toys are way cheaper than cases of diapers....

Pictures at the park

My mom & I took the boys to the park to take some pictures. Korbin HATES having his picture taken so it's always a challenge. It was a wonderful afternoon of bribes & lollipops. They got to play in the water & I got some sun.

I'm just not feelin it

I can't believe how tired I am lately, too tired to check email or facebook or blog. This whole full time job + fulltime mom + fulltime housework is pretty exhausting lately.

The boys want to play outside from the moment I get home from work until the sun goes down. Thaddeus is my mad escape artist who flees into the alley every chance he gets. He's so defiant & stubborn (don't know where he gets that from). Chris & I have to get a fence. We are so not handy when it comes to stuff like that. Currently we have pallets blocking most of the exits. Korbin doesn't escape too much but he certainly helps Tad along. "This way Baby. Let me move this out of your way." Korbin is going through about a bag of sand a week in his sandbox. If only I could convince him that the sand needs to stay in there.

A few Korbin quotes from the past week or so...
"Mommy, your bed is just like a trampoline."
"I'll just have cucumbers for breakfast."
& my personal favorite, which he has started saying quite often when he's tired or bored
"I'm just not feelin it."

Look Mom No hands

This is Korbin's new trick. He probably would have gone completely over the railing if I hadn't stopped him. He's nearly fearless (I say nearly because he has an extreme fear of vaccum cleaners.) He use to free fall from the kitchen table. His poor nose was smashed so many times. He can easily climb the neighbors chain link fence & on top of the refrigerator. The railing on our deck is the perfect balance beam, it's only 4 feet off the ground. I'm sure one day he'll tell me he's gonna jump out of airplanes.

Boys are pretty gross. Tonight while getting ready for bed Korbin stuck his foot about an inch from my face started laughing & said "Lick my stinky feet mommy!" Me " Ewww no way" Korbin "Try it. You'll like it." Then he wiped his foot all over my face. "Smells stinky good."

One man's junk

So, I think I should take notes throughout the day to remind myself of all the crazy things that happen.

I love garbage nights in the spring. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Very little in my back yard has actually cost us money & you'd think Toys R Us threw up in our backyard if you ever saw it. So Anyways, My mom totally scored this sweet Little Tykes/Step 2 (not sure, does it matter) play center from the curb & brought it to our house for the boys. The boys call it their pirate ship because it has this sweet wheel that you would see on a boat. Korbin now calls everyone Captain..... it's so funny (especially when Morgan is over lol). Captain Tad was steering the boat & Captain Korbin comes flying across the yard "Get off of my ship Captain Baby(Korbin refuses to call him anything but baby)" and jumps on & pushes Tad overboard. "Watch out for sharks!". He completely knocked Tad right onto his head & yet Tad just laughed & went back for more. Boys are great like that! Hours & hours of endless fun from someone else's junk.

In other happenings...today someone sprayed WD40 or something like that on the floors at work. You could practically skate across the floors. Nothing & I mean nothing could get it cleaned up. Although this probably doesn't sound like anything too funny. It became mildly humorous when everyone had to stop what they were doing & go guard the super slick spots. It was funny just watching everything come to a stand still with it being crazy busy. It became hilarious when someone decided to use Coke to mop the floors. Yes Coke Cola. They were pouring 2 liters of it into mop buckets. Umm someone was watching Mythbusters. : )

Getting Started

So I've finally broke down & created a blog. I hope to entertain the world with the crazy antics of my family and remind myself how wonderful my life really is.
I'm the oldest of seven children. I have gazillions of cousins. My family is amazingly huge. I married Christopher who is eight years older than me. He is an only child, only grandchild. His entire family is smaller than my immediate family. We are quite a pair. We have two little boys Korbin & Thaddeus. My nephew Morgan is over at our house a lot. I never imagined that I would have a house full of boys. Little boys are destroyers of all things orderly & whole. (Good thing I'm not a neat freak.) My boys are hilarious, creative, sneaky, stubborn, independent....well, they are a handful.