Future Olympian

I see a future Olympian at my house!  No, not my kids....me. I will be competing in several "up and coming events" or at least I will be petitioning that they become events.  Mommyhood has provided more challenging events on a daily basis than I could have ever dreamed. Some days I am not as high scoring as other.  I think, however, that I will have enough skills to compete in the following events:

1. Early Morning Appointments- this event includes getting all children awake, dressed, fed, seasonal accessories (i.e hats,coats, shoes etc...), distraction/nutritional time consuming items, getting them all secured appropriately in their safety seats,  and arriving on time (yes on time, did you see this list early is not likely).
2. PM Kindergarten preparedness- This event includes: getting anything that you need to get done that morning done (i.e. showering, appts, grocery shopping, dishes,laundry etc..), feeding your kindergartner, making sure that he/she has shoes and clothes on (yes this can go unnoticed), making sure eyeglasses are on child, finding then unloading (if not already done night before) backpack, reloading backpack, watching for bus, making sure the rest of children in the house do not escape when the bus comes for the kindergartner.
3.The bedtime routine - We all know this one....lets review- First off, you need to make sure that the children have eaten dinner (always a plus!),  if your really going for the gold, clean table and dishes up before bedtime routine is in full swing. Picking out the jammies (the path of least resistance works best here), The bath, everyone gets clean, dried and into previously agreed upon jammies, teeth brushing, potty time, then book choosing, book reading, back rubbing, threatening (don't act shocked, if, er I mean when they get out of bed, I get ticked). lights out, going back up to remove toys, separate children or (in my case...the last straw) yelling...first one to get kids to SLEEP wins.

In the Olympic events that I am entering, the prize will not be a medals, it will be Bronze- Alcoholic beverage of choice!, Silver-Massage followed by alcoholic beverage of choice!, Gold-a vacation with (unlimited) alcoholic beverages of choice!

I will be going for the Gold! Wish me luck! I get daily practice, so I should be prepared.

The Culprit

I am a mommy sleuth...I amaze my kids by knowing who is responsible for whatever it is.  I love the looks on their faces when I say, "Devon, I know you wiped the peanut butter and jelly from your hands onto the blinds, you need to clean it".  Just today, I witnessed Jake whisper in Devon's ear, he then told Devon to "do it!", Devon hit him and Jake yelled "mom Devon needs to go to time out in his room, he hit me!" Devon, looking at him like he is crazy, looks at me and just shakes his head in disbelief. Jake too looked at me in amazement when I told him...."NO! you just told him to do that, I will not punish him for what you did."  They look at me as though I am some sort of amazing all knowing person. Callie, now that she crawls all over the house at lightening speed, has been blamed for all sorts of things she didn't do. Jake will tell me "Callie spilled my chocolate milk while she was playing with Devon's cars"  meanwhile his elbow is smack next to the spilled milk while he is playing with his cars. Devon will blame Jake for spilling the cat's water, when Callie still has her hand on the bowl.  I find it very amusing! I wonder when their deductional reasoning will kick in....or has it already. I have often wondered if this calculating is purposeful, if so I am in big trouble. Until then, I find it very funny when I hear things like "it was Callie that hit Devon, not me!"

Happy Birthday Devon

Well, I am a little behind, but I am so proud of my little man! Devon is 3 years old...wow, I don't understand. I can't believe how fast time flies now that I am an adult, and even faster since I am a mom. Devon is the most sweet, funny, tough, and freakishly strong little guy for 3. We had a BLAST at his Pumpkin Patch birthday party! Devon's favorite part?  The Zip line....yes, he is too short to reach the handle, but they let him ride anyway. He held on as tight as possible and even though he isn't heavy enough to make it down and back, he NEVER let go.  Really, the lady had to come get this tough little guy down.  Here is a pic of his final spot, I laughed so hard I cried (and nearly peed myself).

Thank You Pinterest!

The first of a few crafts that I will be doing....Thanks to Pinterest! This was very fun, and I LOVE it!

This makes me smile : )

 

What a smart way to get up into the tree....my little problem solver.

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Jake has informed us that the reason that he has streaks in his undies is that his butt gets grumpy and makes him need to poop in his underwear :)

Out of the mouth of babes...

Me: Devon, come here I need to change your poopy booty (yes, he still wears diapers, he has NO desire to go in the potty. I have a 7 month old, so I have NO desire to play his games...he'll do it someday)

Devon: Alright, Alright.....(he saunters along, playing with toys)

Me: Devon, what are you doing? come here please!

Devon (walking to me as an almost 3 year old, but talking like a 16 year old): why you so worry 'bout me for?

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Me: Jake do you need to go poop (it really is all about poop at our house)?

Jake: NO!

Me: Jake, you need to go, why don't you go?

Jake: The poop is trying to control me! I don't like it to control me!
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 This morning, Callie was fussing in her room during her morning nap, and let out a very loud shreek.

Jake: That was LOUD! I think she must be turning into something! like a monster

Buttons

Devon knows just how to push Jake's buttons. Devon has the sense of humor of a 30 year old man. He is kind of warped that way. He thinks it is funny to see Jake freak out...so he induces it sometimes. Here are a couple of examples:

Yesterday after Jake got home from school, Devon was still asleep. Jake went up to their room to wake him up (I asked him too).
Jake: "Devon...time to wake up buddy"
Devon: "I frew your Cars 2 lightening away"
Jake (freaking out, runs downstairs): "Mom!!!! Mom!!! Devon threw away my Cars 2 Lightening...we gotta dig through the trash now!
Devon (walking happily downstairs): "Hi mom! I'm awake! can I have a nack?"


P.S. Cars 2 lightening has been found...not in the trash, but in the Bat mobile

This morning Jake was looking for the hat for his Woody doll.

Jake: "Devon, where is my Woody's hat?" "What did you do with it?"
Devon: (yells) "I frew it downstairs!" (as he smirks, and sits calmly on the couch)
Jake (freaking out again): "mom! Devon threw my Woody's hat downstairs, we gotta go get it!"


No worries Woody's hat has been found...under the stove.

These little things make me laugh...and worry what trouble the years ahead will bring :)

Jake the film maker

Most kids love to play, Jake is no different in that respect. Jake just has a very loyal sense about him and it carries over to his playing.  Most of you know that Jake is a VERY loyal Pixar fan. I believe it was just before his 2nd birthday that he first watched Toy Story, then got his first Buzz and Woody. Cars, the movie followed soon....and they have alternated between the favorite and 2nd favorite ever since.

As result of this love of Pixar and their movies, Jake is interested in how the movies are made. He loves to know how "they created Buzz and Woody", and how to create the movie.  This has translated into Jake "stealing" my iphone and "making movies" or taking my iphone and shooting video. All kinds of video, play video, candid video, and staged video. This used to frustrate the crap out of me, because I would need to use my phone and couldn't find it. The frustration stopped when Victoria and I were watching the video's that Jake had taken. They were pretty great (for a 6 year old at least). I could tell that he really liked making these videos and had a pattern and theme to them. I was impressed, and not too surprised, Jake is a very creative guy (gets it from Colby). The thing I was surprised about was that the videos were not Pixar related. Even though Pixar is top dog, Marvel and its gang is following close behind around here. Jake received a ton of superhero toys for his birthday (as requested). The videos I saw were all Marvel (Theme) and each video had a different super hero.

I decided that Jake needed to see what his video process could turn into. We have an iMac, that has iMovie installed. So, like any good mom would do, I helped him edit his videos into a MOVIE! I clipped together the video in a way that it told the story Jake wanted. Every movie needs a soundtrack, so I added one. The result? A super great movie and what could be the beginning of a great talent/career (I'm crazy I know).  When I showed Jake the movie, he asked "Is it going to be shown on the big screen?", I told him "No, buddy, not this movie". Jake then told me (while shaking his head in determination) "well, I'm going to make movies until they show one on the big screen!!"

I think he'll do it, that is just the type of kid he is.....so without further adieu... Jake's 1st Movie

Give and Take

I am sure you all remember that Colby and I are getting out of debt. This task has been slowed dramatically the past year. A number of things have caused the slowing. Saving for maternity leave last year (like Dave Ramsey suggests). Then while on maternity leave we spent $8000 in home/car repairs (yes you read right $8000. I didn't fall on the zero button on accident). The day before Callie was born our furnace/heat pump went out. It turns out that because we are the only house in our subdivision with a heat pump the builder didn't know how to install one correctly. Thus, 5 years later we have to get a whole new system. Yippee! Then the super crazy wind storms this spring means that we had to get roofing repairs. Not to feel out done, Colby's Jeep decided that it needed a new transmission. ARGH!!!! I am sad to report that we had to take out a small loan to help cover the Jeep, everything else, we used our Emergency fund for. This is a double edged sword, WE PAID CASH for MOST of our Murphy's Law issues. However we had to get a small loan, and lost out on the money we were looking forward to slamming onto our debt.  Since then, we have had a hard time geting that snowball moving. I went back to work to find out that the free flowing extra shifts had become very hard to get. I also am now very frustrated that I have to spend so much time away from my family, that I am not very motivated to actually work extra.

Time for change!!! I decided enough is enough, I am now on a committee that I am doing a project for, this gets me hours. I am going to work hard to get at least 1 extra shift a month, and I have to get several more trauma hours in (also money). Only downside is that in order to do this, I need a babysitter that can swing by for a couple of hours. Enter www.care.com where we looked for a local person to help us out.  My mom does when she has time, but sometimes she can't. It was nice to screen people and find the perfect match.  We found Mandy, a local girl who is going to college to be a teacher and only needs a few hours a month! Perfect match! I am cheap, I 'm not going to lie, but I am fine paying someone in order to bring more money in. I see it as give and take. I've gotta give money in order to get some more : ) I forsee this bringing in enough money to make a difference.  I am too determined to get out of debt to quit, so doing this is just one more thing to make it happen.  We are too close to the finish line to stop now.

It really is about the journey

As I mentioned earlier, I am on a weight loss mission. I am done having babies, and I'm not getting any younger so now is the time.  I am learning to run, I like it, I just need to get stronger and faster. I will, I know this. I have learned how to just accept that right now I am doing my best and that is good enough.  I am not just running, I am working out as well. I have read that running by itself is not the best way to loose weight, the stronger you are the more muscle you have to burn more fat. Lets face it people if this is true then I am on my way to being a body builder...I've got a lot of fat to burn. Ok so body builder is extreme, you get my drift.  I do want to run though. I want to run races and get that feeling of accomplishment. I know that running a race is more about the journey there than the 5k, 10k, half or full marathon themselves. I guess I see myself getting stronger, faster, healthier, wiser, and just plain old more confident than I am right now. I see each of those races as stepping stones to the final prize....me looking back at the path that I took to get there. Corney sounding I know, but I see that as a huge prize.
I have recently met someone who is purposely cheating herself out of the journey. I am not sure why, but she misleads people about her actual accomplishments. This bothers the crap out of me! There are various reasons that I know that she is misleading people. The misleading isn't even my problem, my problem is "why can't she love the progress she has really made", "why can't she love herself where she is at right now".  I would love to push the fast forward button on my goals, but the reward wouldn't be as great.  It really is about that journey, the path we choose to take, and how we learn from it.

Back on the Wagon

Hi, my name is Joleene and I have a problem.  It's been a 3 week binder, and it's gotta end. No, not that kind of binder. I fell off the eating as healthy as possible wagon. I hit my 1st weight loss goal early. As of 7/19 (the day before Jake's birthday) I had lost 34 pounds since March 24. I was very proud of myself, and since it was Jake's birthday treated myself. His party was that weekend...and I treated myself.  Ok people, I am not gonna lie, these past few weeks a lot of Sonic Blasts, Malts, and Bacon cheeseburgers have been involved. Maybe even some other deviously deliciousness as well. I would love to blame the 9 million degree heat we had during that time. It was hot, and I did need to cool down, but damn it my self control went down the drain.  I didn't really even workout very much. I hurt my knee and then I had a stupid sinus infection. I can only thank my lucky stars that I didn't gain 1 pound...I even lost 2 more. I am pretty sure that really I have Callie to thank for helping loose those 2 pounds despite my binging.

This week, I started anew. Back to limiting my caloric intake between 1800 and 1900 calories. I am not too strict with myself because of my breastfeeding Callie. I don't want my milk supply to slow down.  I am also back to my working out. Last night I went for a run. I ran 3.5 miles in 44 minutes. I know this isn't Kenyan speed, but for me it is very good. I am getting faster and running farther. I can thank www.legacyft.com for helping me get stronger. I am not always a consistent attendee but try to go 3-4 times a week. I have a crazy love/hate relationship with working out. I love the feeling I get and even love pushing myself as hard as I can, but I hate getting my butt up to go.  I will though, because I have another goal that I WILL hit. I will loose 18 more pounds by 10/22...Devon's birthday party day....oh crap, I hope I don't have a pattern starting here : )

New addiction

Well crap! I am now addicted to the "you know you went to Sumner if" page on Facebook! That is all I have time to say...back to reliving the things I forgot (and love to remember) about The best High School in all of the 'Dotte!

Sing it...."Summer Sabers, Blue and Silver, we have pledged our hearts to thee, and we'll remember all our lives, our SUMNER ACADEMY!"

The value of a day off

I was put on call today! If  you aren't in the medical field, then you should know this is a big deal! It is very rare to have the hospital call ME and ask me if I want to stay home....ummmYES!!! always!  I work EVERY weekend, this is what we Weekend Option girls call "the golden handcuffs". I get to be home M-F, this means no daycare, I am a full time mom, my kids have a parent with them 7 days a week, and I get paid at full time rates. Sounds great right? Well, I work all Saturdays and Sundays, I get 4 days off a year and get to be sick 2 times every 6 months. I literally work 46-48 weekends a year depending on how many times I am sick.  As great for our family as this is, it means that Colby and I rarely have days at home together. We have evenings, but that isn't the same as sharing a day together. I miss him, I miss our kids getting to have days where mom and dad are both home (they are better when we are both home). I miss T-ball games, friends' birthday parties, etc. I would love to to say we are close to being done doing this, but in reality we have a couple of more years.

As a result, ANY time I get a chance to spend an unexpected day with my husband and kids, I'm going to make the most of it.  We did!  we all played on the floor with Callie (who is just now sitting on her own!) We napped, and then went to the park after the rain cooled down the heat some....It was a great day! Jake told me "Next Sunday we should all have another day together!"  Someday buddy, someday!

Crazy hair, but I'm sitting up!

They are "Thor"

I am NOT a tree hugger

I know I would have never in a million years seen myself as the mom I am now. I breast feed, use a "Hooter Hider" to do so in public. I wear my baby in my "Mobey Wrap" sling.  I am now adding "baby food maker" to my list of free loving momma stuff to do.  I have to admit, I bought the Baby Bullet for 2 reasons...1. It's cute, 2. it is cheaper to make my own food (like way cheaper...I was crazy not to do this before!).  I have now made 3 different meals for Callie. Avocado, Green Beans (from mom's garden) and tonight I made applesauce. This all sounds so complicated, but it isn't. I still think, oh man, I might not be able to do this. Every time I make a new food, I laugh and think to myself "Man that was so easy...and FUN!"  I admit this places me further into the hippie tribe, but I like it. Oh, and just so you know...no worries I drew the line long ago at diapers. I will only use the disposable, land filling easy for me to use Pampers!

Devon in Drag...kind of

If you have ever had a 2 year old, then you know what kind of craziness can happen in a couple of unattended minutes.  Devon is very 2, he is very similar to a Tasmanian devil.  Destruction, injury, and shenanigans follow his path.  During this scorching summer our biggest struggle is him chucking toys at his brother when he doesn't get what he wants. I think the extreme heat has both kept him inside and hindered his energy burn. One thing it hasn't hindered is his curiosity.  We are always on the lookout for whatever it is Devon's got planned.  This evening when I was nursing Callie, he and Jake were playing the Wii (so we thought). When I finished, Colby mentioned to me that he thought Devon got into the toilet paper in the upstairs (all kids') bathroom. I saw the unraveled TP, but noticed something else as well....an open and obviously used mascara brush. I looked around and thought...."ok, he tried to color with it on the vanity, then tried to clean it up with the TP, no biggie".  I called for Devon to come help me clean up the TP.  I heard him coming up the stairs, and I started to tell him not to color with Victoria's mascara and not to use so much TP to clean it.  It was then that I heard him utter, in a guttural tone. "WHAT?"  I turned to see.........this

I had no words...only hysterical laughter!  My first thought was "Alice Cooper costume or drag dancer at a Cabaret".  No worries, when I asked him what made him do that, he responded "I'm a girl la"  translation "Gorilla".  Ohhhhh! Ok, that was my 37th guess.  Never a dull moment : )  Oh, Devon if you do decide to be a drag dancer, you will be beautiful.

May I introduce (a little late) Callie Renee Miller

Wow! It has been a while since I have Blogged! I got lazy, and frankly burned out. I know that sounds silly, but I just kind of lost my Mojo. Well I'm bringing it back!

I got a dose of reality today when a high school friend of mine commented about not wanting to forget her baby's moments, smell etc. I realized that is what blogging does it captured those moments I want to freeze.  I then realized that I have never once blogged about my new princess. So without further adieu, I introduce Callie Renee Miller!

                                                           

Callie was born Thursday February 10th, 2011 at 11:25am (after only 3 1/2 hours of labor!) she weighed 7lbs and 11oz and was 19inches long.

 Callie is named after Colby's Maternal Grandmother Callie Fae (Lee) Beard. She is a wonderful woman and we are so honored to name our beautiful baby girl after her. We gave her my middle name Renee, I love that a part of my name gets to be passed down.

 When we first saw Callie we had to laugh. Jake was the winner! All along Jake had insisted that Callie would have brown hair like him and blue eyes like Devon.  Guess what? He was right. Callie is a perfect mix of her big brothers, and sister.

 Callie is a great baby! (at least for me, she does give daddy a hard time on the weekends) She is very mellow, supper happy, and sleeps all night! Yes, you read right, my breastfed baby girl has slept 12 hours a night since she was about 3 months old. I am just glad that this occurred with my last baby and not the first. I would have not done well with getting up to feed in the middle of the night if I were used to sleeping like I get to with miss Callie.

 Callie has won us all over (not that this was a huge task) she has her brothers fighting over who gets to hold her, her sister waking up early to come in and see Callie in the morning. Daddy's eyes light up when he sees her beautiful smile and I just melt when I walk into her room every morning.

 

I am So glad that she has completed our family! I just love her so much! I can't even imagine our lives without her in it. She completes us...our little Callie the Finale :)