Seriously...

Ok, so I guess I am losing my mind. Alright, if you read the previous blog already then I will apologize. The wedding is not this weekend...it is next weekend and the fact that I just lost a week in my brain is pretty sad. It took me till about 1/2 way through the day to even realize that. I know there is an excuse about being pregnant and forgetting everything (don't even think it!) but what about after actually having the children and them actually sucking your brain dry. Or maybe it is the giant stack of mail which I know contains a giant stack of bills to pay along with the giant stack of reciepts sitting here, but at least I got through the giant stack of dishes tonight, and I only have one more load of laundry to fold. Am I honestly losing it? I did have a bad morning and locked my keys in the car this morning. Am I really just that flighty blonde? I hope not. I do feel overwhelmed lately and I am definitley ready for a long weekend at the lake!
Good news though...I have one more week to lose a few more pounds! Whooohooo! Let's get to it! And don't forget to vote on the dress! So far it is unanimous and for this vote I may have to work on a certain tan line...

Well...

...in the last three weeks I have been "dieting" and suppose to have been excercising like a mad woman with my cohort Aunt Michelle. We were at the wedding shower discussing how we both needed to lose some weight in the month before the wedding and decided on the South Beach diet. I have done pretty well most of the time, but cannot say I have been hardcore. Honestly with all the drama it has not been easy. I wish I was one of those girls who didn't eat when they are stressed...but I am the opposite. Food doesn't tend to complain to me or talk back and at the same time that single piece of chocolate melting in my mouth makes me feel happy for at least that 30 seconds. Excercise has been steady, but I definitely could be working harder. I have lost 5lbs and gotten past the plataue that I hit when I lost weight before so that should be motivating me more right? I think I just need a vacation. Long walks on the beach and no deadlines. A little R&R so that I can sleep like this...

Completely passed out and unaware of the world around me. Maybe in 17 years huh?

Well, the wedding is this weekend. I have two different dresses to choose from, neither of which depend on weight, and both are black. So thought I would take a vote...

A. Halter style, sexy, A-line with flowy skirt

B. Shorter Baby doll style with large straps

Votes must be in and counted before Friday afternoon at 4:00.

Drama Drama, too much drama

Really, a girl can only take so much drama at once. The past fews weeks were just mounting and last week I think I had reached my pivotol moment and just needed to scream myself. But instead it came out as tears. I should have written a post like this. I have worked WAY too much the last few weeks and my client is nothing but drama. Carpet drama of all things. Tim has been working long hours as well which makes for essentially the house and everything that goes with it getting ignored. Needless to say I did about 7 loads of laundry this weekend.

On top of work drama I have the regular 1-1/2 to 3-1/2 year old drama of crabbiness, not sharing, wrestling, pushing, not listening, timeouts and little things like peanut butter mishaps. And to top all of it off...poop drama. Yeah, that's right...Poop drama. Very dramatic poop drama filled with screaming, sitting on pillows, not wanting to do anything b/c he is so backed up. Then he started screaming while going #1...so I took him to the doctor and he has urethraitis and a small tear you know where. Well, at least that helps describes the drama. Sooo, baking soda baths every night and hydrocortizone. One issue I believe has been resolved the other not so much. I can really only take so much screaming in one day (cudos to those moms out there who watch oher peoples children as well). And it gets crazy b/c it is a cross between feeling sorry about his issues and him hurting, but after about a 1/2 a day of screaming and drama I just tend to scream back "If you would just go poop, it will stop hurting!" Seriously child. I have spent hours in the bathroom holding him, rubbing backs, describing how poop works and why he can't hold it in forever, and I think we have read every book we own...twice. I have realized that maybe I would make a good birthing coach though..."Ok, relax. Deep breaths, in and out. Now on the count of three lets give a really big Push!"

So, thinking and hoping that this week will be better all the way around and looking forward to an upcoming long weekend for sure. Here are some fun pictures of the kids when they make me laugh instead of scream.

Lucas pushing Lilly in the babydoll stroller.And nicely taking turns pushing Lucas...although I don't think she was really strong enough to push him on the stoller that was really only made to hold 2 lb babydolls. Too cute though. Hope your past week was a little less dramatic than ours.

How does your Garden Grow?

Oh Lilly Lilly, Quite so Silly

How does you garden grow?

With water here, and sunshine there,

And a lots of love and a little cheer...

That's how my garden grows.

I thought this picture was just too precious not to share.

Lilly is such a great helper...not sure if it is the girl thing or just a different temperment, but she is much more interested in trying to help do most things than Lucas is. Although not everything is always as helpful as she thinks it is (like "folding" the laundry that I have already folded), most of the time she is just too cute to stop. The garden has been prosperous this year, really thanks to the God's rainy weather earlier in the summer since I tend to forget about it sometimes out on the back acre. We have had lots of cucumbers and squash. The tomatoes are beginning to turn red and pretty soon I will have them coming out my ears...so if you want some please come on by!
Thought I would share our favorite garden recipe this year:

BABA'S CUCUMBER SALAD

3 cucumbers, quartered and sliced

4 roma tomatoes, quartered and sliced

2 green onions, chopped

generous salt and pepper

sprinkle of sugar

1 cup of light mayonaise

Mix all together and Eat!

I am guessing this would only serve 2-3 people since I am pretty much guessing on all of the amounts b/c it is kinda one of those eyeball recipes. So just keep adding stuff until it tastes absolutely perfect! Eat healthy!

State Fair

Well, the State Fair is now over, sorry if you missed your giant turkey leg or elephant ear served by my friend. We didn't quite pig out like usual or even spend as much time as we wanted, but we did get to see some things that we only see once a year...

We headed out at dawn (why not? the kids are up anyway!) for the kick off of the opening of the State Fair Hot Air Balloon Race (which we have made a little tradition out of). It is pretty fun to see the different balloons and to see the kids faces as they blow up. Of course it might help if you charge the camera battery before you leave so that you can actually take picture of the kids watching the balloons....so sorry but this is all I've got.
This was Lucas' favorite of course...the ROCKET!

We also got to see lots of cows, sheep, pigs, baby piglets and of course the worlds largest boar! The horses were also all arriving on the second day we went. Semi trucks full of Belgians and Clydesdales. Absolutely beautiful but I would have to say the kids were a little afraid of them since their heads were larger than them!

All time favorite was the tractors.

Lilly showed off her skills as well.

The State Fair is always fun and if you have never been, reserve early August on your calendars for next year and we will happily share a funnel cake with you!

Our Daddy...

Have I told you how much we love our daddy?

He's our comforter when we fall or when we are scared.
He's fun and makes us laugh and is often a tickle monster.

He is our Hero.

And he is our favorite buddy.

He is also our provider and works really hard for his family. His time with the kids are precious and they all soak up every minute they get. Aren't daddy's the best? We love ours very much.

Back in the blog world...

Well, my phone line had been down since last wednesday and was finally fixed Sunday. So since live in the boonies and have dial-up I have been off line. It is amazing how much you can accomplish though when you don't have the internet to occupy your time! They actually said they weren't going to be able to fix it until Tuesday, but Tim called and complained to like 4 different people he got passed around to Saturday morning and I guess they listened! Thanks Babe!

The ladies headed out to a wedding shower for Tim's cousin Saturday afternoon. The bride to be is in the middle with her newly engaged sister on the right and beautiful mom on the left whom I just started a diet pact with! (More about that later)
Lilly and Olivia serenaded us during the shower.

It was cute to watch them...and scary too b/c it was essentially like watching what Lilly was going to look like in 5 years. They grow so fast!

And here is Noah, the future football star.

And this is the future track star. Tim has told him that he isn't going to be tall...so he needs to be fast. He is pretty fast!

And Sunday morning we went for a walk and Wrigley got to hang out with his dog cousins. It was a short but nice weekend overall. Can't wait to party at the wedding! Now I just need to catch up on everyone else's blogs!

Oh Silly Lilly

Well, as I have said before...Lilly likes to eat. I guess she takes after her mommy in that regard, except for the fact that she will eat just about anything which comes more from her daddy. I am glad she is an eater unlike our other child who is not, but she is definitely the messiest eater I have yet to encounter. And even if you think that she can't make a mess of the lunch you have given her...think again. I think she is just really creative and right now this side of her is best shown in her "food art" as I like to call it. No matter how many times you tell her to use her spoon she always resorts to her fingers...

or just the entire fist. And I think there is some confusion to her about the difference between something like yogurt and her other love...LOTION. She loves lotion and if she finds a bottle she will bring it over to you to put some on. Well, what she will also do is take the yogurt (or peanut butter) and smother that all over herself as well. Makes for lots of baths and lots of clean-up duties...ALL day long.
Here is the peanut butter incident. And YES...that is peanut butter smothered all over her legs. So let me tell you the story behind the picture. Lucas and Lilly were both sitting at the peninsula counter eating pbj's for lunch on their stools. Lucas was having poop issues (a whole other blog) and needed to go and sit on the potty. Thinking Lilly was content with her pbj, I went in the bathroom with Lucas to read some books to him. When we came back out (after no success) this is what I encountered. Lilly was now sitting on top of the counter and was covered with peanut butter. There was one bonus to this...it had not yet been coated into her hair (which use to be her favorite thing to do with food). She looks so innocent doesn't she? I had left the pb out so I could eat some celery and pb and obviously she found the open container just too tempting. Let me just say that peanut butter is not something that comes off very easily...and by the end of the wash down in the kitchen sink, I was pretty much covered in it as well. Ahhh...good times.

I will let you in on a tip though; One good use of peanut butter other than eating it is to remove gum from hair. Seriously...it works. My mom had to do it with me and my sisters a number of times when we were little. For some reason pb greasiness works great at working the gum out hair, it isn't a quick process but better than having to chop your little girls hair off after her sister put gum in it! Right Tiff?