This is how we roll...

I always imagined I would be a sophisticated mom.

My kids would always wear outfits that matched (individually, not like as a group- i.e. Sariah a shirt would match her pants).

My kids faces would always be clean.

My car would always be neat.

Basically a bunch of fantasies from my

Now life.

And that's ok. Because I am working on it. And for me, it's not what matters the most.

So my kid may sleep in a Walmart shopping cart. But at least he sleeps and I can get things done.

That's the point.

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Oh hey, Friday!

In case you haven't noticed, I am getting back into this whole blogging thing.
I want to write. So I need a name. I need to get out there and contribute. And this is my first step.

So, I am joining in a link up.


Five things. Five things about anything.

1. We are moving in (hopefully) a week. Maybe I will talk more about this once it has all happened, but right now, it still seem's surreal. We are at that point where about living in our apartment for 5 months, we were in a routine. Things were put where they belonged. And now it's like a sword fight went on through our small apartment. Somehow. One day, our place was clean. Then you start THINKING about packing, and the next thing you know, the place is as good as gone.


2. I was going to make beans for dinner. I had them all sorted and rinsed, and was waiting for the water to boil when Seamus woke up from his nap. I went to check on him, and when I came back, Sariah had decided to help. By pouring the entire bowl in the sink.
I didn't really care about not having beans for dinner, but we don't have a garbage disposal. So i had to pick all those beans out so they wouldn't clog the drain. Talk about tedious.

3. My kid's birthday's are next week. My little dude turns ONE. And Sariah? In a week, she will be THREE. Luckily for us, they are too young to care about birthday parties. Because moving + birthdays don't go well together.


4. I call Seamus little dude. Or dude. Sariah is little girl. Seamus responds equally to Seamus, Shea (or Shay, or Sea, we have not decided on spelling yet), and dude.


5. Today I had a "time out". Really, Sariah was in time out, Seamus was asleep- and I ate the last piece of cheesecake. It was good. It was also from a box. No bake. Joe doesn't care for cheesecake (so he says), so I bought this one day thinking I would make it one time when he was away on a trip when I needed a quick pick-me-up. Finally made it. He decided he likes "this cheesecake".  Let me tell you, this has happened too many times before. He doesn't like pistachios till I get a big bag for free. Then they are his best friend.
My only regret was that there was not another last piece for after lunch.

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October, feelin' fine.

Today I went back to work.

I worked a total of 3 hours. 

Next week I will work another 3.

Then the week after that starts to get heavy....SIX hours a week.

Eventually I may increase it. Or I may decrease and quit. Only time will tell. And eventually how I, and the kids feel.

Anyways, it wasn't too bad. Joe watched Seamus for the first two hours, then brought him to me before his class started. Seamus slept the whole time in his car seat undisturbed- until a co-worker wanted a glimpse of him and Sariah got to show him off.

And, like most things in my life lately- the hardest part about the whole thing was Sariah.

She moved chairs to the sink to try and do dishes like at home. Moved chairs to the tv to try and pick a movie to watch. Tried to take over and control the whole place basically. 

In other news, Scout is a life saver. At least once a day does she occupies (she is German after all) Sariah for me while I nurse little guy. It is really relaxing to hear giggles come from Sariah and Scout doe her bidding. 

Seamus is growing (as the doc says) like a gang buster. Last Friday he was well over 11 pounds. 11.5 to be exact. His jaundice is gone and he is looking mighty good. When he was first born I thought he looked like Sariah. But now he doesn't resemble her at all- and is starting to look more like Joe. 

And sadly, not so sadly- oddly, whatever you will- I am starting to feel a bit more like a local here in Lincoln. Our home is starting to feel more like a home (furniture does wonders!), and we are getting to like this place more every day. 

Although, we still most the West. Home. Especially when we hear that these Nebraskans can't navigate a round-a-bout, and they have to change it from 3 lanes to 2 lanes, and take away signs as not to confuse people going around the round-a-bout. Been too many accidents.

Sometimes, Nebraska still boggles me.  

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A Mom bears' gotta do, what a Mom bears' gotta do.

It was a long day.
It had been a long weekend, full of driving and being in the car.
Sariah was not a happy camper.

Let me explain.

My parents, Sariah and I went down to Palm Springs area this last weekend to visit some family. We drove all day Friday, spent Saturday shopping, and left Sunday morning. We had left the desert early that morning, had a stop for breakfast and gas- and had that little girl knocked out within an hour of our drive. But, of course, she woke up two hours later- us being just shy of reaching LA.
By the way, this was NOT good. We still live a good 3 hours North of LA. And Sariah had already taken her nap. So, onward we fought with the cranky toddler- making stops along the way to please her.

When we finally reached Santa Barbara, the once beautiful day we had been greeted with, left us and we were left with a rather dreary-looking sky. (NOTE: This is the central coast of California we are talking about, so it was still in the 50's in early February). I had been promised a lunch of Panda Express, and I was excited. I LOVE Panda, Sariah does to, and she needed a break from that car.

Via

Only thing was, when we entered Panda Express, it was PACKED. (another NOTE: Panda Express's never have much seating, and this one is particularly small- with 8 small tables and 4 bar stools). There was a long line, and as we waited in line, we contemplated the idea of eating outside. In the not so pleasant weather. I was not too excited. The idea of fighting against the wind while eating, trying to keep a toddler focused on her food, and having a good time before the last hour of our journey was important to me. Sariah needed to eat inside.
So, we kept our eyes out. But the group in front of us apparently had about 20 people with them and were commandeering every table that came up (I feel proud using that word). Finally as we were paying, a group of 4 were leaving. My dad left us to go take their table- and waited polietly for them to leave. It was clear he was waiting for them. Then, out of no where, these two grubby little kids came and hugged the chairs- as if to claim OUR table. My dad was about to give up. Thus putting us without a place to eat.
I WOULD NOT HAVE IT.
I just said, "No, this is ridiculous." and marched over with Sariah, and sat down in a chair at the table. One kid looked at me and my dad, and my dad only said, "I am sorry- but we were in line first." (NOTE: They had JUST gotten in line. Their mom hadn't even ordered food yet.) And then they walked away upset saying, "But it was OUR table!"
Correction.
It was ours.
You stole it.
I sat in it first.

My mom came over and asked what had happened, and mentioned she thought there was going to be a shoot out at Panda. I very happily sat and ate with a happy Sariah, who was then able to enjoy the last leg of our journey.

And, because I am sure you all think I am a horrible person at this point- the little kids got a table right next to us about a minute or less later. But we certainly would have missed it.
I know it may be ridiculous, and I NEVER would have done that if it was just me- I would have been fine with eating in the car. But I was not going to do that to Sariah.


 Don't mess with a momma bear.

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Christmas Time is here!

I am linking up with a bunch of other bloggers to talk about Christmas.

Because it is a FANTASTIC time of the year.

I have officially commanded that all radio stations be stuck on the Christmas channel.

Well, just our household.

Okay, well I haven't old Joe. It's a given.

But, anyways. For the last 2 days they have been having a radio-a-thon for the "adopt a family" program. It made me happy when they would report that all of the families of 8 had been adopted, or when all the elderly people had been adopted.

I was driving to the Children's Museum and had to turn the radio off when they announced that all they had left were 4 families. It made me happy. I wish people were this giving all year long. But I am happy that people still care.

Tonight we officially kicked off the Christmas season with our first festive event. The Lincoln's Children Museum had a "Holiday Spectacular" that included Christmas story readings, Ginger bread house making, and Santa!

In all reality, you had to pay for most things or get there really early to get a ticket.

But still, Sariah loves it there.

Except it was SUPER packed. And hot. And the toddler section that is meant for kids under 3 was filled with obnoxious 8 year old boys running around throwing balls everywhere.

Sorry, this is supposed to be a Christmas post.

By the way, Sariah wants to be a vet.

Anyways. It was a great evening, and it was wonderful to be together as a family doing something for Christmas.

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A little story

So, as I mentioned in this post, last week I taught little kids about being kind to animals in church.
I have been teaching for about 3-4 weeks, and normally I run out of time. Because, they are 3-4 year olds, so they have a short attention span. Very short. And really don't know/answer any of my questions.
So, this week I planed 2 coloring activities (lucky kids). I gave each child a piece of paper and told them to draw their favorite animal. But, they couldn't draw any animals, so, I spent 10 minutes running around the classroom drawing various animals for the kids.
Most of them were easy, a few were fascinated with my fish drawing (you know, the ones you did in like 1st grade). Some were more complicated- a dog, lion, etc. But the hardest one was a little girl who asked me to draw a swan.
A swan?!?!
Other then V's, I am not good at birds. I don't even like birds. They wake me up in the morning. Other then eating and chasing, what good are BIRDS?
So, I did my best to draw her a swan.
She looks at it, then says in a very sad and disappointed voice, "I guess it will just have to be a flamingo".

Well then, I guess a flamingo is just gonna have to be good enough.

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A day at the park

Nebraska is unique in a few ways.
1. Kool-aid was invented here. (Side note: I LOVE Kool-aid. There was always a pitcher in the fridge growing up, I remember making an emergency trip to the store when we ran out, and although it calls for a cup of sugar- it really should have probably 1 1/2. =] )
2. Arbor day was created here. (You though Nebraksa was flat? Well yes, it is. But to make up for that, they planted TREES!)
3. Well, I am sure there is more...but I just wanted to highlight on those things.

Also, Kool-aid really has no place in this post other then it is REALLY cool I am in the state where my favorite drink was made. =]

So, Lincoln is also unique in a few ways.
1. One of the mayors/cities goals is to have a park within a mile of every person in the city of Lincoln. That makes for a LOT of parks. I think I remember hearing that there are about 123 parks. Ya. A LOT. I may be off, but honestly- Lincoln has no shortage of parks.
2. Lincoln drains all their water (pools, fountains, etc) when school starts.
3. Lincoln is in a drought.
4. Lincoln decided to have its freeways to surround the city.
5. They have a giant system of walking/bike paths that go throughout the city.

So, I am sort of making it a goal to go to every park before we leave. A challenge I am ready and excited to accept. So far, I have been to...5. (I really don't even feel like I can count it as 5 either. 2 are dog parks. One I just walked through.)


I have made a friend with a lady who is also from Ca, we have a common friend- and her husband is out here getting his PhD, so we have hung out and explored parks together.

Today we went to Trega park, which normally has a 'splash park' but due to reasons listed above, it is only on during the weekend till next weekend! But, it was still a really cool park. Part of the bike/walking paths go through the park, and it is just a long park with some of the coolest play things I have ever seen.
It honestly made me want to be a kid with no worries of falling, because when I did try to climb it- I freaked out.

But, Sariah had fun. =] So it was a win.

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