Happy Valentine's Day.. Oh, and Call Poison Control

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!  I hope you all got something sweet!

Eric had flowers and chocolate covered berries delivered to me, I love them!  BUTTT while I was cutting the flowers, Lucas snatched a stem and started chewing on it.  He probably thought it looked like celery.  I didn't think much of it, but he started whining and scratching at his hands and mouth.  Uh oh, here we go again!

As it turns out, Calla Lilies are very poisonous.  They can cause:

• burning in mouth and throat
• swelling of mouth and tongue (possibly enough to block airways)
• redness, swelling, and pain in eyes
• diarrhea
• nausea
• vomiting

 So I called Poison Control ONCE AGAIN for this problem child of mine! (1-800-222-1222 I should have this number ingrained in my brain by now, but I had to look it up.  MEMORIZE THIS NUMBER!)  The guy didn't even know what Calla Lilies were, he had to go look them up.  Once he found out WHY they were poisonous, he told me that the amount that was ingested (really just tasted) didn't cause him much concern, and to just flush it out with cold water or milk.  Honestly, by the time he got back on the line with me, Luke had already stopped whining and was sitting on the couch with his blanket and his thumb.  Hopefully he won't be chewing my flowers anymore!

I'm grateful that Luke only got a taste, and also that we didn't spend the night in an ER.  Remember that?

\All is well, though!  Now I just have to figure out how to word this to Eric so he won't feel guilty!

Hey, It's Me Again

Yeah, so I've barely been blogging.

Not that I did a ton of giveaway and reviews, but I think I was trying too hard.  So I'm not going to be looking for any of those opportunities for a while.  If they come my way, maybe.  I'm also not going to spend half the day posting my links.  I just want to get back to the bare basics of why I started blogging... to chronicle my experiences as a parent of two little Aries boys!

A Little Girl Time

My SIL surprised me yesterday when she texted that she wanted to come over and hang out.  I am absolutely starved for face to face girl time! 

It was nice, we sat around chatting, looking at houses for sale, painting our nails and watching the Pretty Little Liars marathon.

I'm still waiting for a true girls' night out but it's just so hard for everyone to get together.  Work, kids, school... life just makes it impossible!

What do you do when your girl friends come to hang out?

My Secret Workout

Guys, I started 30 Day Shred again.  My arms are *shaking* from those pushups... modified, of course.  I'm so out of shape it's embarrassing!  Especially because I don't look especially out of shape.  I'm at a healthy weight, and people always tell me I look great "for someone who had two kids."  <---- btw.="btw." hate="hate" i="i" it="it" modifier="modifier" p="p" people="people" this="this" use="use" when="when">
I just want to tone up a little.  I may never have a flat tummy without surgery, but I sure can lift my ass and tone my legs!  And I'm going to try!

This time, I'm keeping it a secret!  Well, from one person in particular.  I'm not going to tell Eric that I'm working out.  I want him to notice and comment.  It might sound silly, but it will be a true indicator that my work is paying off!  And, he's not one of those guys that wouldn't notice if I got my hair cut or dyed my hair blonde.  He picks up on subtle changes, so I don't have to worry about losing 50lbs and him not saying a word!  Not that I'd try to lose 50lbs, don't worry!

So guys, wish me luck!

Tree Down, Sick Baby, eWork

I took the tree down yesterday.

We don't always take it down so soon, but yesterday I was cleaning and organizing and taking out trash all freakin day and it just didn't seem like anything was getting done!  I needed something that I could point out to myself to feel accomplished.  So... down came the tree.

The Day After

Good morning everyone! I hope you all had wonderful Christmases with your families.  I know we sure did!  Eric took a stand this year and made everyone come to OUR house and... they did!  It was wonderful.  Even though our apartment is tiny we made it work.

The boys got... everything known to man, it seems.  I still don't have a complete inventory, just one of the many things I get to do on the day after every year.  Cleaning, organizing, and throwing away are on my list this morning.  I'm sure many of you are going through the same routine! 

So I just wanted to say hi now because it could be years before I get my house all sorted! 

Who Was Your First?

Don't get your panties in a twist, I'm not asking about *that* first!  Who was your first favorite band/singer?  What was your first favorite song?  Do you remember?  I listened to a lot of music with my mom in the late 80s/early 90s.  I liked my mom's music a lot when I was little, and a lot of it I still really love (take Madonna, for example.  Loved her music back then, but not her new stuff).  It wasn't until I was 10 when I really found my own favorite band.

The Most Real Things...

So, Matt is in 1st grade and already he's getting teased by a few girls for believing in Santa Clause.  Already?  What happens in theses houses that the magic has been extinguished so soon?  These aren't kids whose households just don't celebrate in that way.  These are kids that say their moms & dads bring them presents "from Santa."  Maybe they have older siblings who've ruined it for them.  Maybe they overheard a conversation between two adults.  Who knows what happened?  I actually feel bad for those little girls.

Matthew still believes.  His faith hasn't been shaken.  He can't fathom how those girls don't believe.  And that is SUCH a relief to me.  I hope he believes for the next five years.  I hope he believes for the rest of his life!  I have all kinds of excuses waiting in the wings in case the questions start getting more pointed.  I want him to believe as long as possible!  There's a part of ME that still believes!

An Alternative to Instagram (Updated)

Have you heard the news?  Instagram's new TOS give them the right to distribute and/or sell any of your public photos!  Because of this I and a lot of my Facebook friends will be deleting our accounts before January 16th, when the new Terms go into effect.

Silence & Support

Back in Action

My last post was all the way back in September! We lost our internet connection because the neighbor who was letting us use his wifi moved. At the time we couldn't justify the monthly expense. Now, finally, we've got our own internet set up. And cable. Thank God for cable!

So what have we been up to? Getting ready for Christmas, of course! The tree is up, the shopping is mostly done, and our scout elf has been keeping the kids entertained ;)

Eric has been working himself ragged, putting in 70+ hour weeks at his job. The kids barely see him except for Saturdays, when he's off. I thought he'd be coming home cranky, but he's really just too tired to be in a bad mood. I can't wait for Christmas to be over so we can see him.

Matt's been doing well in school, Lucas is... well he's almost three, so... you know how it is.

I'm down to working just one day at Kohl's. When Eric has Sundays off again I think I'm going to wait at least two weeks before I tell them I can work Sundays again. I just think we need to spend some time all together as a family.

So, that's the quick update. More soon :)

MIA

Hey everyone!!

Last weekend when I got home from work Eric told me that our computer was pretty much useless. Our entire operating system was gone! The only screen that came up when you turned it on instructed us to insert the disc for Windows 7. Well, we didn't have it!

Eric talked to the IT guy at his job who told him to bring the laptop in. He had a Windows 7 disc and kindly installed it for us! I don't know what's going on with our laptop, but hopefully with the new installation these bugs stop.

It's nice to be back ;)

Are You Sure it's not Contagious?

I'm in a much better mood today than I was yesterday.  Eric got a chance to Facebook me before class and said that he *did* in fact try to wake me to get me to come to bed.  I'm not sure if I believe him, but at least he was feeling bad about it.  When he got home we relaxed together and he watched a couple of episodes of Pretty Little Liars with me on Netflix.  It's kinda funny because whenever I watch it while he's home, I have to explain all the back story to him.  He's into it, but he won't admit it!

Anyway...

Funk

I'm in a funk today.

There will be no Wordless Wednesday today because I still haven't gotten around to getting the old functional-but-losing-steam camera out.  There haven't been any new pictures in weeks.  Why is it that I have absolutely nothing to show for my birthday?  All the money I got from well wishing family members went straight to bills to make up for all of the work missed to attend the wedding and its functions.  My camera is gone, which was the coolest present I've had in a long time... ugh!

And I don't know why but Eric seems mad at me.  It rained allll day yesterday and I'm sure he was cranky about walking home in the storm.  Even with a big sturdy umbrella, the bottoms of his pants and his shoes were soaked through.  And when he walked in he caught me dozing on the couch.  "Rough day?" he asked me sarcastically.  I'm not Storm, it had nothing to do with me that it rained.  And it's not like I've never had to walk home in the pouring rain myself.  So what was I supposed to do with that?  Am I not allowed to take a catnap after the boys have had dinner?  I didn't get the memo.

Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Janna from Thoughts from a Mommy, Wife, and Friend has generously awarded me with the Very Inspiring Blogger Award!  I can't even tell you how surprised I was when she told me last week.  I feel very honored, and I have to pass it on to some of the bloggers who inspire me.  So here are the rules:

• Display the nomination logo on your blog
• Link back to the person who nominated you
• Tell us 7 things about yourself
• Nominate and link up with up to 15 bloggers for the award
•  Let your nominees know!

Wordless Wednesday: Boys & Sticks

The Kindness & Honesty of Strangers

On Friday-my birthday- when I checked the mail there was a mysterious package.  A big USPS envelope with something small inside.  I didn't recognize the handwriting on the front, and there was no return address.  Thinking it was a birthday present, I rushed inside to open it.  I ripped open a corner and peeked in.  There was a black case...

My camera!  I was so excited I was near tears.  Even though I posted an ad on Craigslist in the lost and found, I wasn't expecting anyone to respond.  I was pretty sure it was lost forever.  Also in the envelope were my ID, debit, and EBT cards.  Even though I cancelled my debit & EBT, I hadn't yet gone to the DMV to get another license. 

I slowly unzipped the case and removed my camera from it.  The first thing I noticed was that the lens cover was damaged.  I turned it over and noticed that the screen wasn't broken, but it bulged ominously.  Expecting the worst, I turned it on.  With the screen backlit, it was impossible to hope that the camera was salvageable.  A spiderweb network of cracks covered the entire screen.

Happy Birthday to ME! And Wedding Fantasies

Today is my birthday!

I'm 27 :(


Other than that, it'll be a pretty normal day.  Last night our friends T & L came over and played rummy while I scrolled ALL of the wedding category on Pinterest.  We might be serious about this wedding thing on our 10th anniversary.  I was looking at venues yesterday and the one that I fell in love with happens to be right downtown.  I pass it all the time!  I wasn't looking for anywhere close or convenient, but it just happens to be both. 

Potty Training Progress

Disclaimer: This post is full of poop.  If you don't like hearing about poop, or even the word "poop" maybe skip this one and come back tomorrow.  ;D

Although I introduced Matthew to the potty at around 2 1/2 his interest level was low, so I didn't push him.  When he turned 3 I really got into the whole potty training thing and put him in big boy underwear for a week and voila!  One potty trained preschooler ready to go!  During the day, anyway.  He still hasn't had a dry night, and let me tell you, those overnight underwear are expensive.  I've been told this can be normal up to age seven... argggg!!

But I'm not really here to talk about Matt right now... I want to talk about Lucas!  Lucas got a potty for Christmas last year (isn't Santa the bomb?) and I would sit him on it every now and then, when I thought of it, but again, I was in no rush.  He showed a lot more interest in it that Matt ever did, so pretty soon I was encouraging him to pee in his potty after every diaper change.  And usually he did pee, even if it was just a little bit.  Lately I've ditched the potty.  Now I sit him on the big toilet seat after every diaper change.  He's not intimidated or scared of falling in at all, and actually prefers the bare seat to covering it with his detachable potty cushion.  Sometimes he'll tell me he wants to go potty and we'll rush to the bathroom.  He hasn't told me quite on time yet, but when he does tell me, there's only a little in the diaper, and he finishes on the toilet.  Pretty good for the totally lazy laid-back approach we're taking. 

Wordless Wednesday: Mr. & Mrs.

More photos on FB this morning.... adding some :D

That's me in the middle

Ok, I have to add ONE more pic.  Last one, I promise!

My handsome little guy!