Midmorning meltdown

9:40am - driving around running errands
E: (looking through the recent ToysRUs catalog that came in the mail) Mom, I have a good idea, lets go to ToysRUs and buy some legos.
J: Is it your birthday?
E: No.
J: Is it Christmas?
E: No.
J: Then we won't be going to Toys R Us today.
E: (instantly, at the first sign of denial - crying begins) But I NEEEED Legos
J: You do NOT need anymore legos
E: I don't have this one. (pointing to that freaking catalog)
J: You don't need to have every lego made.
E: YES I DOooooooo (tears)
J: Maybe for your birthday you can get some.
E: Well, how about this robot. I don't have a talking robot. I NEEEEED a robot.
J: Ethan, enough.
E: I need one. I need a robot for my own self. Or I need a skateboard for my own self.
J: You have a skateboard.
E: I lost it.
30 seconds later...
E: Oh, wait, no I didn't it's in the shed.
1 minute later...
E: I will go with daddy when he gets home. He will take me. Not with you. Just daddy and me. Ok mom? Is that a good idea?

Soooo Eric

Isn't this wallet my husband to a T? I found it here, a fun online shop that has a lot of random, funky items. I called it his, "present for completing his part II written national boards". He loved it!

Huh?

I am an Oscar watcher. Mainly, because I appreciate the kind of movies that seem to fit the Oscar profile. I will admit, I have seen four of the five nominated movies from this years race, and all of them deserved it. My previous fling even won one! I was so proud. My problem though with last night's show, was that all four of the winners in the main acting categories were NOT American. Doesn't that seem weird? To have a huge show, in Hollywood, awarding movies produced by studios headquartered in the US, filmed mainly in the US, but not one American actor walks away with a win. Doesn't seem right.

Marion Cotillard - France - Best Actress






Daniel Day-Lewis - UK - Best Actor






Javier Bardem - Spain - Best Supporting Actor






Tilda Swinton - UK - Best Supporting Actress

Oh what a relief it is.

Yesterday was a good day. A very good day. At no point in time did I ever imagine selling my house at it's first showing. Nor, did I imagine getting our asking price. But like I said, it was a good day. Our sign went up on Friday, the first open house was Sunday afternoon, and Tuesday we were scheduled to host the broker's open. I was fully planning on undergoing weeks of random showings, stressing about keeping my house perfect, yelling at Cohen the second he gets within a few inches of my clean windows, and microwave dinners - so as not to make any messes in the kitchen. Thankfully, my family will not have to endure the insanity I was fully prepared to bring. I was in shock when our realtor called to tell us. Total shock. But, soon the shock turned to gratitude. We have loved living in this house. The moment I stepped foot in this house I knew it was the right house for us. It is very odd to think that soon it will be someone else's. When I was young, moving from house to house, I would never think about who would soon be occupying my room. Now, I want to know everything about them. Like, would we hang out and be friends if we had the chance to meet. Apparently, they are a young couple with an 8 month old daughter - similar to Eric and I's situation when we bought this house four and a half years ago. I am so happy for them! I hope they love this house as much as we have.

p.s. cross your fingers that the inspection goes well so that I don't have to post in a few days reneging everything I just said.

Two for Two

This past weekend was a first for Eric and I (since having kids), we got a babysitter and went out on Friday and Saturday night. I am dying about how lame we sound right now, but it really is the sad truth. You might be thinking, wow, they must have come into some money to afford a sitter and a date for both nights....well, you're right, we sold some stuff on ebay! Chahching.

Friday, we saw Be Kind Rewind. It was pretty good. I didn't like the ending all that much though. Jack Black was his crazy self, and Mos Def had this weird lisp, but I can't complain...I was out of the house without the boys and they were both asleep by the time we got home.

Tonight we went to dinner with our friends all thanks to a recent Christmas present from my parents. Thank you! The only bad thing that came from tonights meal is the gas that now fills Eric's intestines (Bang Bang Chicken & Shrimp). I have an open house tomorrow and I am seriously worried that the funk he has left all over the house might remain. It is bad.

BIF continued

Okay - so I have been stressed lately, mainly because I have been a single mom for the past month+ (Eric's part II boards are tomorrow - hallelujah!!!) and also because I am trying to get the house ready to sell. Sooo, I haven't gotten around to making my Blog it Forward surprise. BUT, I am well on my way after this afternoon. Molly, Martha & Natalie (you are my three, correct?) I hope you aren't too disappointed, but if that happens to be the case you always have this:



SAVE THE DATE!

New finds

Today I went to Target to try and find some lamp shades for these new lamps we bought at Urban Outfitters. We had perfectly good bedside table lamps previously, however, Cohen decided to break one and we can't find a replacement anywhere. They were Ikea, and apparently they don't sell them anymore. So, we bought these cute little owls. My problem is that they are kind of weird to find shades for. I've tried tapered round and square ones and neither look right. I'm kind of at a loss. Maybe the wise old owl will have to go back to his home at Urban.

While at Target I found these guys. New, cute pillows for my couch upstairs! I have had the same pillows one there for a while and thought it needed a change. The Global Bazaar section at Target is great - all of it is 50% off right now. There are some great pieces. Two of these silk pillows only cost 18$. Woohoo.

Valentine's Day

Ethan at school loving his bag full of cards and candy.



















The boys, in my business, wanting to help make the dough for the sugar cookies.



















Do you think we are covered? If it's one thing I have, it's cookie cutters and decorating supplies.














Ethan and Carter decorating their cookies. Carter had to make a gingerbread man... doesn't he know that is so two months ago? Ha ha. Carter asked why we were making cookies when Ethan can't eat them because he has diabetes. So sweet.














My fav is the the XOXO cutter.

Family Tree

Josie: April 27 - Walnut Tree - (Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Eric: December 24 - Apple Tree (Love) -- quiet and shy at times, lots of charm, appeal, and attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.

Mom: July 3 - see Eric's

Dad: November 24 - Ash Tree (Ambition) -- extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.

Ed: September 11 - Weeping Willow (Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.

Diane: August 22 - Cedar Tree (Confidence) -- of rare strength, knows how to adapt, Likes unexpected presents, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious, healthy optimism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick decisions.

I don't know about you, but I think these are a pretty good description of each person. I guess I take after my dad, and Eric is just like my mom. Opposites do attract, for me and my parents. Eric is a very good mix of both his parents attributes.

Cashed

Ethan had his very first sleep over this past weekend. This is the first time since he was diagnosed (3 yrs ago) that he has ever slept away from either Eric or I. It was kind of weird. Quiet, that's for sure. What was strange, was not to be woken up the next morning with him telling me what he wanted for breakfast. He obviously had a great time because this was him on the way home - cashed out in the car. I can't remember the last time he fell asleep in the car.

Sing it with me

99 days until graduation, 99 days till we're done.

Go to bed, wake up again, tomorrow there'll be one less day till the end.

"I Have(had) A Dream"

In the past week I have had three dreams that I can remember in great detail. Oddly enough, two of the dreams were about me dating other men. The other dream was about Eric cheating on me. What is the deal?

The first dream consisted of me dating Jim Halper. Not, John Krasinski, Jim Halper. There is a difference. I'm not sure how old I was supposed to be in the dream, but I'm assuming late 20's. It was a short dream, nothing more than me showing up to The Office, waiting for him to be finished with work, going out to dinner, and nothing more. He's not even my type. Weird.

The second dream included this man:

For those of you who do not recognize that man this might help:

Although, in the dream I was gratefully dating the real life Javier Bardem, not the psychopathic killer he portrays in the movie No Country for Old Men. Now a days he dates Penelope Cruz, but for a brief moment he was busy charming me! He was very charming I might say. The dream was a lot more unrealistic; living the Hollywood lifestyle, wearing a bikini, eating at expensive restaurants, vacationing in Spain, etc, etc. Halper out, Javier in.

Last nights dream was the worst of the three. Why couldn't I just continue on my streak of dating famous men? Instead, I dreamt about Eric cheating on me. I found out only because I caught him IM someone on his computer about how he "slept with his neighbor last night". Creepy! Revenge ensued - just your basic kicking him out of the house, changing the locks, obtaining a restraining order, getting him arrested when he showed back up to the house - run of the mill I know...

I woke up so furious at about 5:30am. My blood pressure was sky high which prevented me from falling back to sleep. And once I did, I continued to dream about it. Ahhhhh! It all makes sense though, I was dating two other men in previous dreams so Eric decided to do a little dabbling of his own.

200

I can't believe this is post #200. Crazy that I have kept this blog going. I never thought I would - I don't think Eric did either.

Today was a total white out. Snow days are good when you have a. no where to be, b. plenty of food in the house, c. kids who don't get cabin fever after 2 hours, and d. good things to watch on tv. Today I did have places to be, not so much food, cabin fever kids, and nothing to watch on tv. So, this morning Eric and I headed out to shovel snow because it wasn't snowing at the moment and we thought it might be over with. Big mistake. The second we were finished it started dumping and left us with another 10", twice as much as we had shoveled previously. We were planning on driving to Cedarburg to drop Ethan at a friends house for a sleep over, but that was not gonna happen.






















Tomorrow we have Cohen's surgery to get tubes in his ears so we were going to spare Ethan from the hospital boringness and leave him with the Ehat's. He was way bummed tonight that he couldn't go. It would have taken a good two hours to get there because of the roads. I wasn't up for it. Hopefully, they will be better by morning because we have to be at the hospital at 7:30.

Cohen was chowing down tonight because he can't eat until after his surgery. I think this may have been his first taste of pizza. He was diggin it.

During Cohen's nap I started painting the ceiling in the living room, entry way and hall. We never painted it after having moved in and it looked like it needed it so I went for it today. Our house isn't listed yet, but our realtor has been showing it early to this one couple she thinks will like it and didn't think it could wait until the actual list date. She called while I was painting and said they want to come back on Friday for their THIRD visit. It's not even on the market and I have already shown the house three times. I will be just fine if it never even goes to the MLS. I will sing heavenly praise if it ends up being that easy.


So because I have the surgery tomorrow I don't think I will have much time to clean up for the showing. Tonight I came downstairs to clean up and I found this on the couch. AHHHHH!!! It's not like I am planning on taking this couch with me when we leave, but seriously Ethan. What is it anyway? A man with a carrot on his head? Ugh. Just one more thing to do before Friday.

Well, I'm off to bed - after I watch the challenge of course. Pray everything goes well tomorrow with Coco and that he is a much more happy, heathy toddler when this is all over with.

Eric says it's perfectly normal

Boys. I have two of them. Both are off the charts on the height and weight scale for their ages. I have always attributed this to the size of Eric and I. As a baby Eric was a tank and so are my boys. One word: thick. Their appetites have always amazed me. Ethan is hungry at all times of the day. I blame this on type-1, but Eric says it's just a boy thing. The kid is 4 and eats more than I do. The other day when we went to Chicago, Ethan ate:

Breakfast: 2 eggos waffles, yogurt, milk
Lunch: 2 corn dogs, applesauce, a few chips, water
Snack: Raisins
Dinner: Cheeseburger, apple dippers, a few fries
4th meal: Chicken strips, grapes, crackers, crystal light

He probably even had a second snack in there somewhere. What's interesting is that he has leaned out recently, and it is becoming difficult to find a spot to insert his pump. He seriously eats like a 16 year old and has no fat on him. I keep telling myself to limit him but Eric thinks it's normal. I think it is all going to catch up to him - who's right?

brutality

I just saw a clip of Heidi Montag's (The Hills) new music video on TMZ. Who told her she has a good voice? No way she would ever get past Simon. That video was horrible.

Retraction

Okay, so the movie wasn't so bad last night. It was a premature blog post. I have to admit it was one of the more entertaining documentaries Eric has brought home. In the end you were feeling sorry for the one guy and hating the other. I don't know how that wife put up with all of his Kong playing though. I would be soooooo bugged!

Legohead

If at any moment, during any given day, you were to go downstairs in my basement (playroom/tv room) you would probably find a MESS of legos all over the floor. Ethan has been obsessed with legos for at least a year now, which means I, have been picking up tiny little legos on a daily basis for 365 days now. I must say my vacuum has eaten it's share as well. So, I decided to do something about it this past weekend. We all got in the car and drove to IKEA in Chicago hoping to be inspired. Here's what we came up with...

$69 table from Ikea - we cut 4 holes in it so that the buckets could drop right in. Then we glued down 3 of the Lego bases. We already had the light.


4 Ikea buckets ($1.50 each). How long do we think it will take him to mix all of them up? 2 days?


Ethan at his new table - smiling because Cohen isn't in his way!


Ethan in action!


Yahhhhh! No more picking up Legos!

I should know better

This is what happens when I send Eric into Blockbuster to pick out a movie. It's called, The King of Kong, A Fistful of Quarters. It's playing as I type. It's all about loser 30 year olds who hold all-time high scores for video games such as, Donkey Kong and Pac-man. Unfortunately, it received a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes so I couldn't talk Eric out of getting it. There is this scene where this dad is playing Donkey Kong and his kid is screaming at him to wipe his butt - he couldn't be more than 2.5 years old, and the guy is screaming at him to bring him toilet paper so that he can wipe him while he's playing. The poor kid kept saying over and over, stop playing Donkey Kong!!!

Manhands

Tonight was the Marquette Senior Ball. I think Eric was in a bad mood all day because he knew he had to get dressed up and be social. What's funny is that Eric is one of most talkative males I know - so once we got to the event he was all over the place having a good time. Sitting at the dinner table was us, two other lds couples, and a single lds guy. Unfortunately, Eric was sitting next to the single guy (who didn't bring a date) so I became the single person. He talked to his friend the. whole. time.

Leading up to tonight I managed to find a $40 dress at Macy's and a $10 shrug at Ann Taylor Loft. I was feeling pretty thrifty so I thought, what the heck, I should get my hair blown out for the night. I hate blow drying my hair - so I scheduled it at the local cost cutters for $12 thinking everyone who went to hair school should know how to sufficiently round brush layered hair. Uh, no. My inner voice, on multiple occasions, was telling me to run away, but I didn't want to offend, so I remained.

This girl had manhands. Really thick, stubby fingers, not conducive for hairstyling. It was by far the most violent shampoo I have ever had. When she was done with the shampoo she proceeds to tell me that she has "bad hands, and that if she uses the round brush for too long they swell up". WHAT! They get even bigger? Isn't that a requirement for hairstylists - to be able to style hair with a round brush? So, she puts me under one of those dryers, which is the absolute worst things to do because my hair gets frizzy. After 10 minutes of that I was officially nervous. She starts to dry my hair and it is not looking good. It was the worst ever, I had to go home and straighten the hell out of my hair. Never again.

Eric wanted to leave even before the real partying began... we left at 9. I had fun just people watching. It was like the high school prom all over again. These girls were decked out. Crazy up-do's, satin gowns, a glass of beer in hand, and sooo much make-up. Good times.

Just some pictures

We got more snow today, so while I was outside shoveling, Ethan and Cohen took to it. Sadly, they won't have too many more of these days in their future.