If only it were that simple...

Zoa's preschool site on the top of a small hill. When I back out each afternoon, I always fear someone will be flying over the hill and rear-end us...which would be potentially very bad considering it is back roads and people do speed on them often.

I always make sure Zoa is buckled because she is old enough to where she can do it by herself. Macie is already buckled in.

Today, I had to explain why we buckle up....

Me: "Zoa, are you buckled?"

Zoa: "UUUGGGGHHHHH."

Me: "Do you know why we buckle? We have to so in case we get into a wreck, nobody will fly out of the car and get hurt."

Zoa: "I could land on grass. Grass is soft."

Me: "But dirt is not. The ground is hard and you would still get hurt really badly."

Macie: "I could land on a trampoline. That would be okay!"


Oh, if only a trampoline was around!

It was eye-opening....you really do have to explain why we do things and how doing certain things actually serve a purpose.

Man, motherhood is a big job.

So much to say but...

Before I blog about our little getaway, I have to tell you this. If you were at our house at 9:30 last night, you would have overheard this:

Picture it...

Me telling the girls to please go to sleep. Be quiet. Lie down. Quit talking. Go to sleep.

Over and over and over.

Finally, Zoa, who would not lie down or be quiet after I told her to numerous times, gets a little swat on the butt by your truly.

She is about to start crying hysterically, tears forming in her eyes, lips started to quiver...

"Mom. I just want to tell you Jesus would not be very happy you hit me."

I replied, "Jesus would not be very happy you did not listen."

I was so glad she finally slipped under the cover because I could not help but smile (and then laugh!).

Winter Blahs...

I think winter has gotten the best of me. I have been so tired. The last two nights, I have been in bed by 9:00, which for me is huge, considering I usually am in bed no earlier than 10:30. I definitely need some sunlight...nothing like good, natural Vitamin D to perk your spirits and energize your mind. Anyone else been this way?

Tonight, Emily (a coworker and cousin of mine) and Ashley (Emily's sister and my cousin), are going to hang out at my new house and clean it before we start moving in. As a mom, it should actually be a bit fun to spend an evening with adult girls, although we can act a bit childish!

Oh...Zoa has a new phrase...

"...You hurt my feelings! Thanks a lot guys!!"

Very cute and funny, but sad at the same time. I don't want to hurt her feelings!

Drama queen, but not as bad as her older sister.

That's it for now...hope you have a great Wednesday!

Resolutions.

At dinner last night, I talked about resolutions with the girls. After explaining what it meant, they decided to make a few themselves.

For a while now, the biggest struggle of mine is coming home. It should feel like a sanctuary and my mind does nothing but race the minute I walk in the door at 4:00 every afternoon.

"Girls, put your shoes up. Put your coats away. Is it really that hard?"

The girls' "revolution" (as they pronounced it) was to pick up for 15 minutes every day, as soon as we get home. This is something I have tried to get them to do. Set the timer on the stove for 15 minutes and everyone pick up. You will be amazed at what all you will be able to do. I feel like we could all have so much fun, if they would just listen.

Also, the promised to be nicer to each other.

Story time:

For Christmas, Zoa got a Leapster 2 from Santa. The next day, she felt she should clean it was BODY SPRAY. Ruined. Water damage. After extensive surgery on the Leapster, it was revived. But, before we found out is was going to pull through, Macie said she would save up her allowance to buy her one.

How flippin' sweet is that? I was so proud.

But, yeah, we will see how long the 15 minute pick up time will last. I'm crossing my fingers!

Did you make resolutions this year?

Didn't know you could buy that!

After spending the day with Jeremy's mom, Macie came home with a few toys for Zoa.

Zoa: "Look mom! Nacie bought me diarrhea!"

(Side note: Nacie translates to Macie. Diarrhea translates to a diary.)

She is still referring to her new diary as diarrhea.

"Their gonna fix the leak in my neck."

This has been what Zoa has been chanting the last few days. What leak, you ask?...

Hours after Zoa was born, we noticed a little spot right above her collarbone that had drainage. After we asked her doctor about it, they said that it was a bronchial cleft. The last few weeks, the drainage (Zoa's only symptom) has increased. Surgery has been discussed since birth, with our goal waiting until she was about five years old. (In November, Zoa will be four.) After talking to her regular pediatrician, she implied that surgery was the only option for a full cure. It was at this time, we asked to be referred to St. Louis Children's Hospital for the surgery.

We woke up this morning for the drive. Our appointment was at 10:30 am we were in Dr. David Molter's office about 30 minutes later. We talked about the surgery - risks, the procedure itself, etc. There are different types of bronchial clefts, and he will not know what type it is until he gets in there. (For the record, she does not have a cysts, that we know if.) We decided to proceed with the surgery. At this time, it started asking about other medical conditions and pasts issues. We told him she had an umbilical hernia. He asked if we would be interested in preforming both surgeries at the same time. We told him we were, as we had already discussed this together before we came.

The doctor then told us he would call the Dr. Patrick Dillon's ( a general Surgeon) office to see about getting in to see him today. After meeting with a partner of Dr. Dillon's (Dillon was in surgery - go figure!), he agreed that he thought the hernia would not close on it's own since it has not showed any sign of that yet. It was decided that both surgeries would be together.

The total surgery time will last anywhere from 2 1/2 - 3 hours. (Eeek!) Dr. Molter's portion of the surgery would take the majority of this time (1 1/2 - 2 hours), depending on how bad it is once he starts, and then Dr. Dillon would come in and do his part.

We should be expecting a phone call within a day or so to find out when the surgery will be done.

Now that the business part has been said, I want to tell you how freakin' great St. Louis Children's is!!! It is amazing! Everything about it is obviously kid friendly, from the parking lot to the elevators (once you reach your floor, a little girl's voice comes over the speaker telling you "You have reached the 4th floor."). The doctor's are soo all about the kids! Dr. Molter talked to Zoa for about five minutes - goofing off with her - before he even introduced himself to us. It has so many good ratings and top awards and now I know why! (Top 10 in the Country, Best Hospital's in 2008 and Best Nurses Award) We know we made the right choice. If you have any issues, I cannot recommend it enough.

That is all for tonight. We are exhausted. Last night we were in ER because Zoa cut her eye and required some Dermabond. Everything is fine now and that story will come soon, but for now, I am going to bed.

Thanks for all your prayers. I know everything will be fine but the only thing that concerns us is the anesthesia. Three hours is a long time. I will worry about that later though.

G'Night!

(Hospital photo via.)

A great laugh...

Setting the scene:
Jeremy is chopping up veggies for a skewer - zucchini, onions and mushrooms. Zoa walks in...

Zoa: What are you doing?

Jeremy: Chopping up vegetables.

Zoa: Are those comcubers? (The zuchinni.)

Jeremy: You mean cucumbers? No, these are zucchini.

Zoa: Yeah, cucumbers!

Maybe you just had to be there, but it was funny!

Start them out early!

Wholesome Toddler Foods is a website I came across that has some great tips, tricks and ideas for getting your child to eat the foods they need, along with coloring pages, teaching concepts and worksheets. I found some fun recipes that the girls can help me with as well! Jeremy and I are fortunate to have good eaters (example below) but I will be using the website for new ideas.

Now for the example:

Monday night, Jeremy and I were meeting with a Life Insurance agent and they girls were watching television in the living room. They both come in the kitchen, telling us that they are hungry. I start offering them things, yogurt, popcorn, etc. etc.

Macie looks up at me and asks if she can just have a bowl of green beans. Zoa chimes in that she wants some as well.

I can't complain!

Making the Switch

If you are a working mom, you know how it is. You go from being an employee at your day job, then automatically you are supposed to mentally switch over to being a mom, then a wife. Sometimes Most of the time, I just need a few minutes in between to organize my thoughts and make the switch.

Yeah, right.

The only time I get is the one minute drive to my mom and dad's house to pick up Macie, then off to pre-school to get Zoa. Then we throw in any errands I might have to run, then home, only to start on dinner.

On the flip side, I really enjoy cooking. It relaxes me, as long as I don't have any kids at my feet or toys in the kitchen. It is my downtime.

Back to the point of this post, Monday I was driving home. We have about 20 minutes in the car between work and home. Sometimes, this can be alot of fun, or if it has been a cRazY day, it can be a very long and stressful 20 minutes.

Picture it:

Macie and Zoa are talking non-stop. Nit picking. Yelling. Encouraging each other to be louder.

Me: Girls - PLEASE be quiet. I need to think. No talking!

Macie: What do you have to think about?

Me: I don't know, Macie just be quiet.

Macie: TELL ME!

Me: I DON'T KNOW!

Macie: You are not going to think, are you?


Finally, they were quiet.

Only for a moment though. But sometimes, that is all you need to regain your sanity.

Let's play a little game of catch up, shall we?

Jeremy and I are starting to become debt-free. We don't have any everyday credit cards, but do have 2 car payments, a mortgage, land payments and those student loans that never seem to go away.

We are in the process of reading a book by Dave Ramsey, titled The Total Money Makeover. People we know have paid tens of thousands of dollars off in as little as one year and a half.

I have heard that the book is tough on you. No shopping - am I sure about this?

In all seriousness, the plan works. Only buy what you can pay cash for. Might sound easy right? Jeremy and I thought we already did this.

Nope. Wrong!

Here is the hard part - this little "rule" applies to everything - even vehicles and homes. Wowzers! Do you know how much we like cars? We are the family that trades all the time! This is going to be the hard part.

We are going to go on a little spending break. Believe it or not, grocery shopping feeds my shopping addiction. It always has. But now, instead of me going shopping with a husband who impulse shops like I do and two tired little girls, I go by myself, which I enjoy.

So, this is our "Becoming Debt-Free" story. It better work since I can't buy anything! I am sure it will work.

In other news (Ha! Ha!), today is Macie's last day of summer school. She is then out to spend the summer with Grandma Donna. I am sure this will entail long conversations about small things, plenty of kid songs in the car, and many episodes of The Suite Life with Zach and Cody. Looks to be a memorable summer mom!

Last night, I made the Stroganoff-Style Chicken from our menu this week. (Very yummy, by the way!) Macie said the sweetest thing after eating dinner.

"Mom, if we were going to infinity and beyond, I would want to take that chicken stuff with me."

This being said to a parent who likes to try new things but sometime they are not the way you anticipated, forcing you to eat leftovers...

My heart melted.

A Small Sign Spring Has Arrived

Dirty feet. Any mom knows this is inevitable with children during the spring and summer months. Kids love to play outside and ours live in flip flops during warm weather. This picture was taken Saturday night about 9:30. We had been outside, literally, all day - since around 11:30 that morning. You could have not asked for better weather and we took full advantage of it.

Sunday, we were back at it. We celebrated our family's graduates and went to a picnic for Jeremy's work. Once again, the girls were in flip flops and ran around playing until it was time to leave.

Once we got home, my soon to be brother-in-law finished setting up our new computer and hooking us up to the internet while Tara and I clipped coupons. Later in the night, I told the girls it was bath time. Macie reminded me that they already had a bath and I told her it was this morning. Zoa then asked me, "We stinky again?". Yes, Zoa. Yes you are.

After their nightly bedtime routine, the girls wanted to lay down with us. After a few minutes of arguing, we made them a pallet on the floor beside our bed. Each night, they usually have a few minutes of talking before Macie finally tells Zoa she is going to sleep. Last night, it went something like this:

Zoa: Will you scatch my back. I hot.

Macie: Okay, but just for a minute.

Zoa: Ugh....okay.

(Whitney - any memories here?)

A few minutes later, Macie was given permission to stop "scatching". Then, I hear this.

Zoa: Who is the best sister?

Macie: Silence

Zoa: (Louder) Who is the best sister?

Macie: You are, Zoa.

Zoa: Who?

Macie: (Agitated) You are!

I couldn't help but smile.

Tonight's the Night

I guess I should say this afternoon. After work, I am getting my hair cut. Probably around nine inches or so. Deep breaths! Pictures to follow!

We still have no news on the house. Waiting patiently...tick, tock. (Insert sarcastic gesture here.)

A few small random things...

I did step on the scale. I have been dieting and to my surprise, I have gotten over the plateau! I lost another 4 pounds and have 8 more to go. At this rate, I should be at my goal weight before vacation. We also changed up the vacation plans. We are going to take the girls to Gulf Shores (hopefully) in May, and then Jeremy and I will be heading out to Mexico in August if it all works out. If not, at least we get to go to the beach with the girls. I am so excited to see their reaction!

Oh!!! I almost forgot! Last night, while loading the dishwasher Macie and I had a conversation somewhat like this:

Macie: Mom, I don't believe in Santa anymore.

Me: What!?

Macie: I think the parent's get up in the middle of the night and put gifts under the tree.

Me: Who told you that nonsense! That is silly, Macie!

At this time, Macie burst into tears. She was afraid I would get upset at her or whoever told her that. (I used this to my advantage, explaining she can tell me anything, no matter what...etc.)

I ended up talking privately to her and she filled me in.

I pulled off a 'save' and hopefully we can get another few years with Santa Claus.

Anything to avoid homework...

The girls are in bed, watching Enchanted. It is our new favorite movie and I imagine it will be for the next few months. I still have homework and 2 loads of laundry to fold up before I get my chance to go to bed. (A mother's work is never done, right mom?)

I just wanted to post something the girls did before I forgot about it. The laptop was out tonight and I was in the laundry room switching out laundry. I checked on the girls and they were typing away on the computer. I looked to see what they were doing and they were creating their mom an ad on Yahoo! Personals.

Hopefully, I won't get any requests to meet someone...Jeremy might get a little upset and trying to explain that to him...

This weekend we have a wedding reception to go to. It should be a fun time and I am sure I will see a lot of people I have not seen in years. We also have to get our passport pictures taken! Next week, we plan on meeting with our travel agent. I am getting so excited.

Zoa's First Dream

Zoa had her first dream a few nights ago, although she insists it was real. Around 4:50 a.m. yesterday morning, Zoa comes stumbling into our bedroom.

"Mom, ake up. Crabs are in my bed and they are biting my yegs."

I asked her what they looked like and she said there was one big yellow crab and it was biting her. She even showed her pre-school teacher where it was biting her! Last night, I had to put Band-Aids on her imaginary bites. Four of them.

This is the first dream she has told us about. I remember when Macie had her first dream, she woke up telling us that she was thinking while she slept.

Oh, children!

You say potato, I say tornado.

We had some bad storms at our house last night. I was driving home from voting when I heard that annoying sound come over the radio.

"If you are in.....seek shelter immediately....tornado 3 miles south...."

I raced home as fast as I could. Which actually was not very fast at all because the rain and winds were so bad. I walked into the house and told the girls to come downstairs. Once we were settled in the basement, the tornado sirens went off for the city. About 2 minutes after that, the power went out.

Zoa started crying and said, "Mommy, I am scared of the potato." I consoled her then started laughing. All night long, she asked if there was going to be a potato.

One advantage of having to go to our basement was us making good use of our time down there. We went through a bunch of storage boxes, made a pile of things we need to haul off (Anybody need a broken bicycle?), and tried to organize as best we could. We have everything you would need for a home gym - a whole set of free weight, a StairClimber, a treadmill, an excersise ball, a weight bench, a medicine ball, and who knows what else - and we would like to get that all set up and looking more put together.

But, there was no tornado. Thank God! I just hope Zoa is not scared of potatoes for the rest of her life!

Back to school, back to school...

I have decided to start taking classes again. I already have 40-something hours but I am ready to finish it up and get a job that I love! My job now has everything I like - flexibility, good pay for what I do, somewhat easy, although somewhat time consuming tasks - but I don't love it, as in, don't love it enough to do it the rest of my life. I want to do social work. I have wanted to do this since I have been 14 years old. The pay would not be that great until I get my master's, which I plan on doing as well. I really want to be a child therapists, or focus on children anyways. I want to help children deal with death, divorce, school...etc. I was going to do psychology, but I can do the same thing I want to do but with a degree in social work. There are a lot more options for jobs with social work, as opposed to psychology.

I signed up for part time classes at a community college. They are Internet classes so I will not be driving a lot and I can do them in the evenings. I have done this before and signed up full time, and with the girls and work and having a home, it was too overwhelming. I am taking 7 hours, which once I get to 50-60 hours, I will transfer everything to William Woods University. They are located in Fulton but 'branch' out all over the sate. They have an accelerated program to get your bachelor's in two years going 2 nights a week. Once that program gets going, I will be done in roughly 2 years. Then I will get my master's. But I will cross that bridge once I get there.

So, it's back to school for me. Reminds me of that song on Billy Madison. Ha!

Other than that, everything has been nothing but normal. We decided to get the girls in ballet/tap. So, that will start up the week of Feb. 4. I am really excited to see them in their little tu-tus. Macie will begin this time in Pre-ballet and Tap and Zoa was going to begin, but Monday nights are not good. (I already committed to a church group.) In August, they will both be going with a recital in May! I cannot wait. Zoa is just now getting to the age to start extra activities. I hope she likes it. We went their to sign up and as we were leaving, she wanted to stay and have a dance party. So cute! Macie has not found her niche yet so hopefully this will be it. We have tried soccer and gymnastics so far, but nothing she absolutely loves yet. Maybe I will get lucky and they will love the same thing! One can only pray!

Between work, school, the girls and their stuff, Herbalife, and church, I should have a few minutes of each day to myslef! But, everything will come out better when it is all done, so I am happy!

Last night, the girls stayed with my parent's and here is the conversation between Zoa had my mom:

Zoa: What's that, Maw-maw?

My mom: That is my badge for work. I need to put it on a different string because that one is old.

Zoa: Yes, maw-maw. That is dwangwous. (Dangerous)


My mom called me and we were laughing so hard! I love their little words!

It's that time of year...

It is so cold outside. Yesterday morning was 47 degrees when I got in my car and mid-afternoon it was 34 degrees. Brrr. I hate cold weather. Unless, there is snow and ice. Then I love it! My poor girls still have not been able to build a decent snowmen. Maybe, one day.

Last night, I was on the phone with a few customers (Herbalife) and in between calls, Macie wanted to read to me. I told her I can walk around and listen at the same time and she went crazy! I told her to calm down and sit at the table where I will join her. She looked up at me and said "I am overreacting, aren't I?" Ha! Ha! I have no idea where she learned that...she said she just knows it.

I finally put everything down and took the girls to look at Christmas lights while Jeremy was still at small groups. We just simply drove around and they were the happiest children! It was somewhat realxing to me so it worked out perfect!

Once we were home, it was bathtime, snacks, and laundry. It never seems to go away...just like Zoa's knot. She tripped and fell again last night on our hardwood floor and got a new knot on top of her old knot. Shocker.

Tomorrow's Friday...woo-hoo!

Fruits and Veggies are a Must!

I have been contemplating on whether to post this or not, but since she is only 2, almost 3, I thought it was worth it because it's super cute and funny! Sunday night, we had Thanksgiving with Jeremy's family. The kids were sooo good, playing with each other and doing their own little thing. Zoa comes dashing through the dining room, yelling "I have to go potty!" Jeremy walks with her to the bathroom and she starts to do her thing. She was having a bit of trouble, I suppose, because Jeremy comes out and tells me to go in there with her. I walk in and ask her what's wrong. Her response: "I need to eat more fuits and begtables". (It's not spelled wrong, that's what she said!) I started cracking up.

So, that's that. I am sorry if that is offensive to anyone. :) I do get some relief from hearing my 2 year old that she needs to eat her 'fruits and begtables'. She truly is one of a kind.

I Pledge Allegiance...

I have been meaning to get on here and post this, and I think since today is Veterans Day, it is the best day to do so. Macie has learned the Pledge of Allegiance and feels the need to honor the flag anywhere we see it. This can be very sweet, but she does it everywhere! We go to the post office every afternoon and she might take a few letters to the outside drop off for me. Imagine it, she is in front of the flag outside, standing with her hand on her chest saying her Pledge of Allegiance. She says it in the car as we pass the park. We have a flag in our yard and she will say it when we get home. Any flag, anywhere. She is definitely not shy or ashamed. I guess that is a good thing, right? I think we have a little girl who is very proud to be an American.

Coffee Apparel

Isn't is so funny how kids associate things? Last night, after bath time, Jeremy and I were getting the girls ready for bed. My mom has sent the girls home in some of her old shirts before and they love sleeping in them. Zoa looked at the shirt she had on and informed us that this was the shirt Momma Donna drinks coffee in. (The girls call my mom and dad Momma Donna and Papa Dave.) How funny! My mom just wears this shirt around the house, it's not like she goes to Starbucks in it. But Zoa remembers. She is getting so good at putting sentences together and her memory is amazing. I love it.