While getting ready to leave the house the other day, I told Liam to go potty and for Jack and Garrett to find their shoes. I ran to my bathroom to pull my hair into a ponytail and returned to find Liam giving Garrett step-by-step instructions on how to potty. "...and you push your belly like this [insert grunt]..." I guess Liam is ready for his brothers to be potty trained, too.
5 Things Meme
Laura has tagged me for this meme. Thanks, Laura!
5 Things I Was Doing 10 Years Ago
1. Just finishing college
2. Moving to my beloved Colorado
3. Calling off a wedding...not mine and Rick's. (I was engaged to someone else, but I came to my senses in time to call it all off and wait for my soul mate.)
4. Wearing a cast on my right arm and thumb due to a run-in with a softball
5. Trying to land my first "real" job
5 Snacks I Enjoy...What? Only 5?!
1. Pretzels with Diet Coke
2. Ginger snaps with Diet Coke
3. Candy (especially Skittles and M&M's) with Diet Coke
4. Chips and salsa with Diet Coke
5. Anything I shouldn't have with Dr. Pepper
5 Songs I Know All the Lyrics To...I'm terrible about unconsciously making up my own words, so I don't know if I really sing the true lyrics.
1. You Are My Sunshine (Yes, the kids' song.)
2. Jungle Gym by Jack Johnson
3. To Where You Are by Josh Groban
4. I See the Moon by Jim Brickman
5. The National Anthem
5 Things I Would Do If I Were a Millionaire
1. Pay off Rick's MBA loan
2. Ensure my boys' college education funds are ready and waiting
3. Adopt again and again and again and maybe again
4. Share with my parents
5. Travel with a nanny so that my kids can see new things, but we tired parents are also guaranteed a break along the way
5 Bad Habits
1. Spending too much time on this computer
2. Worrying over details that will work themselves out
3. Eating poorly on the weekends...Mondays are so hard!
4. Losing my patience with my boys
5. Stretching the boys' afternoon nap 15 more minutes to watch some tv
5 Things I Like To Do
1. Playdates
2. Go on dates with Rick
3. Shop with my mom
4. Laugh with my boys
5. Um, hello, BLOG!
5 Things I Would Never Wear Again
1. Sweats with elastic at the ankles...UGLY!
2. High-waisted anything...HORRID!
3. Turtle necks...UGH!
4. Stirrup pants...The PAIN!
5. My wedding dress...I won't ever need it again! Plus, my style has changed.
5 Favorite Toys
1. Laptop
2. Camera
3. Stamping materials, although I rarely ever pull them out anymore
4. Do books count?
5. This blog
5 Bloggers I Tag For This Meme
1. Lauren
2. Amberly
3. Jodie
4. Jamie
5. Christine
Wordless Wednesday: Summer is for Chocolate Shakes
For more WW photos, please see 5 Minutes for Mom.
Cooking Confessions
I hate cooking! I also hate planning every week's menu. But I do it every week...plan, that is. Thankfully, Rick helps me cook some meals.
As I was trying to come up with some meals last week, I ran into this recipe site called Taste of Home Recipe Finder. This site is my new best friend. Well, I do have real friends, but I really like this new one.
I took three recipes from it and have cooked two thus far. Both have gone well for me in the cooking department. (Err, actually, Rick cooked last night's meal, but I had every intention of doing it myself. Really, I did. I just got a little distracted by this thing called the Internet.)
I didn't tell you that this post was about confessions. Sorry. I confess that I let this computer get in the way of feeding my family in a timely manner last night. There. I said it. Moving on.
At any rate, the first two meals we've tried (Ravioli Chicken Casserole and Asian Beef Noodles) have tasted great. You should go browse their recipes to see what you think. I personally really like the feature they call My Recipe Box, where you can save any recipes you want to try. From there, you can also print the recipes, if you like.
Me personally, I like to have the computer on the kitchen counter while I read the recipe instead of printing it off and wasting trees. It also allows me to, you know, check my blog and emails.
Yes, I confess to that, too. I pause cooking my family's meal to check my blog. It's an addiction.
Go look for a new recipe and leave me a comment for which meal you want to try first! We're having Cheesy Turkey Burgers tonight.
Board Games are Not for the Weak
BooMama has a great way of explaining the most mundane things with humor, and she knocked herself out today. Go read about her first adventure in playing Chutes and Ladders with her preschooler. Go on over to her place for a good laugh, and let her know that I sent you!
Friday Funny
I read The Wonderful Way Babies Are Made to Liam for the first time this week. In our discussion, we reviewed the fact that he and his brothers did not come from my belly but from their birth moms'. At the end, Liam had a confused look on his face and asked, "When Garrett grows up, he'll go live in your belly?"
I think it'll be a while before it all sinks in for Liam!
What about your family? What funny questions have come up in regards to the birds and the bees? Please post a clean, family-friendly comment below.
Encouragement for Moms
I'm assuming I'm no different from any other mother out there, when I say that sometimes I need a little encouragement. Maybe Linda Fay can help you like she did me. Go to Higher Up and Further In to check it out.
Who Knew?
Hi. My name is Ami, and I'm addicted. Addicted to lip balm. Carmex to be exact. But Chap Stick will do in a pinch.
Living in Texas humidity for the first 22 years of my life, there wasn't a need for lip balm, unless I had a cold requiring me to take every breath through my mouth. I moved to Colorado after I finished college, and that is when I began to spiral down the long, dark tunnel of lip balm addiction. Colorado air is so dry that it sucked every ounce of moisture from my body, beginning with my lips. Within 24 hours of living in Colorado, I realized that I could not live without applying a greasy tube of relief to my lips at least every hour. On the hour. Seriously, I bought one of those Chap Stick key holder dealies so that my Chap Stick could always be found.
Fast forward ten years, and I'm still addicted, even though I've returned to the land of humidity. I have cut myself back to maybe three applications per day, but I still have one tube in the car, one in the bathroom, one in my nightstand drawer, one in my purse, one in the diaper bag, three in the kitchen junk drawer, and one upstairs in the boys' bathroom. Truly. I never wonder where or when I can get my next fix. What's even worse is that Garrett asks for "chack stick" every time he sees me applying it.
But I haven't been ready to admit that I have a problem until today.
Today, I saw an article on Yahoo about a website for those afflicted with this addiction. (Now, here's a warning about this website: it's often sarcastic and contains some foul language. But if you need to see for yourself, here is the link for Lip Balm Anonymous.) Did you know such a site existed?
LBA makes me think that I really need to join a twelve-step program and cut lip balm out of my life. Are you addicted? The first step is to admit it!
I Must Brag
I just have to take a moment to brag on my Garrett. He amazes me! He's 2, yet look how he is holding that pen. He's holding it more like an adult. He can't actually form any official letters on paper, but when I tell him to write a G, he'll scribble a circular something. When I tell him to write a W, his scribble is more elongated and vertical than the G.That may not amaze you, but how about this? He can spell his name. Not only can he spell his own name, but we can spell any family member's name for him and he can tell us whose name it is! For instance, "Garrett, what does W-i-n-s-t-o-n spell?" He listens intently and responds with, "Winston!" And not just our immediate family, but he also knows his grandparents' names! That's eleven names that he can spell....eleven. Did I mention that he's only two?
He's also a mean T-ball player. He makes contact with the ball with every swing.
He makes his mama proud. And a little nervous. Will I be able to keep up with him in homeschool? Yikes!
Fathers
Rick is the kind of daddy that gets on the floor to wrestle and growl with the boys. He loves his boys with every ounce of his being. He hurts when they hurt. He laughs when they laugh. He squeals out of delight with the best of them.My dad is affectionately called Big Daddy by his grandsons. The boys and I adore him. I've always been Daddy's little girl, and I've never once questioned his love for me. His love for my boys is amazing and thrills me to no end.
Happy Father's Day to the two best daddies I know!
Odds and Ends
Jill is having a book give-away. Go to her place to check it out for yourself.
With swimming lessons and VBS every day this week, I'm wiped out. I'm going to attempt a nap while the house is quiet.
Oh, you'll be proud to know that we have a possible babysitter coming to meet all of us tonight!
He's Not Shy
I took Liam to his first swimming lesson of the summer yesterday. Liam walked right up to his teacher, who is 7 months pregnant, and proceeded to lift her tankini top, put his hands on her belly and said, "What's that?!" I apologized and added, "He's never seen one of those before."
He's never been shy.
I probably should have added, "I don't encourage my boys to lift women's shirts too often."
My Blogging Story
Chilihead is hosting a carnival in which many bloggers are sharing their blogging story. Here's my story.
How did you start blogging?
I began reading blogs shortly after we adopted Jack, because I had zero life with two newborns and a two year-old. The highlight of my day was when all boys were napping, so I could sit on the couch with my laptop and catch up on the lives of bloggers. Who am I kidding? It's still the highlight of my day!
I secretly wanted to begin my own blog for several months. I was nervous to mention it to Rick, because I was afraid it would be yet another hobby that wouldn't hold my interest. This past December, I was excitedly telling Rick about something I had read on a blog that day, and he said, "Why don't you start your own blog?" I couldn't muster up enough nerve to use my full voice, so I whispered, "I want my own blog. And Blogger is free." That was that. I had Cup Runneth Over up and running within a few days.
Did you intend to be a blog w/a big following? If so, how did you go about it?
I hoped for a following of some kind, but I've never expected to be as big as Shannon or BigMama. My heart flutters when I see new visitors on my site meter!
What do you hope to achieve or accomplish with your blog? Have you been successful? If not, do you have a plan to achieve those goals?
My main goal is to chronicle our life in a light, fun manner. I feel that I'm able to accomplish that most days.
What? A plan? No, thanks, this is all for fun. If I need a plan, then this becomes another task.
Has the focus of your blog changed since you started blogging? How?
I'm not big on change, so my blog's focus has remained pretty steady.
What do you know now that you wish you'd known when you started?
That this gosh darn blog would be so addicting!
Do you make money with your blog?
Nope. On the one hand, some cash that is mine, mine, all mine would be nice. But then this blog would become a job. No thanks.
Does your immediate or extended family know about your blog? If so, do they read it? If not, why?
When I began this blog, I thought that our out-of-state friends and family would be frequent flyers in order to keep in touch, but I've been surprised to see that my devoted readers are mostly strangers. In addition, my mom and sister-in-law are devoted readers. (Hi, Mom. Hi, Bec.) My hubby reads occasionally. My mom mentioned one day that my grandparents read it occasionally. I hope not! I hope they have better things to do with their retirement.
What two pieces of advice would you give to a new blogger?
1. Don't think that one hour every day will be enough time to read your favorite blogs and post on your own.
2. Return comments as often as possible. It's great fun to have a running dialogue with your commenters.
There you have it. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
Summer is for Fun
Liam got a slip 'n slide for his birthday in April. Every day since then, he has asked to put that baby in the backyard and put it to good use. I would remind him every day that we had to wait for summer time.
Summer officially began for us on Tuesday night when we put that slip 'n slide to good use. And yesterday, we went swimming at a friend's house, the ultimate summer activity. When Liam got up this morning, he asked, "Mommy, is it still summer time?" I think he was worried that summer had vanished over night. Oh to being a kid again, the time when 90-plus temps meant nothing but fun times.
Nervous Mommy Seeks Advice
I am about to enter a new phase in my parenting. I am on the hunt for a babysitter. Because we live only five minutes from my parents' home and maybe twenty minutes from my in-laws', we usually just call them up when we need to get away from these monkeys! But in order to get out more often without wearing out our parents, I'm in the business of looking for the occasional sitter.
My mother-in-law recently mentioned that she knows the mother of a sixteen year-old girl that lives around the corner from us. "This girl enjoys babysitting," declared my mother-in-law. I think that was a hint, don't you?
I am not real crazy about a teenager being in charge of my three, very close-in-age boys, so I've put it off for a month or ten. But the time has come. I need to venture out and entrust my angels to someone soon.
I have some questions to throw out to you, the parents who are screaming at me, "Get over it already. Get a sitter and get out of the house!" When I call this girl, what do I say? "Um, hi, I'm the mom of three boys who might wear you out in thirty minutes. Would you like to come play for say two hours?"
No, but here are some genuine questions that I would appreciate your more experienced answers:
- I plan to ask her to come visit all 5 of us before asking her to actually babysit. What do I offer to pay for this visit?
- I plan to ask her for references. Is that being paranoid? I mean, I know I'm being paranoid, but how normal is it to ask for references?
- What do you pay for sitters these days?
- What else do I need to know?
I babysat when I was young. In fact, I began sitting at the age of ten years old, which is crazy to think about now! But I was a darn good sitter, if I do say so myself. I played with the kids, fed them well, followed their routine, cleaned up our messes, etc. I enjoyed it. So why am I so nervous about this from the parents' end? Because they're my kids!
A Contest
A contest for $25 gift card to Joann's Fabrics! I'm in! I'm in!
Now, don't get all impressed thinking that I'm some crafty mommy. I'm not, no way! But I love to roam around Joann's and dream of all the wonderful projects that I could begin.
I'm currently dreaming of making curtains for my kitchen. Actually, let me correct myself, I want to buy the fabric for my mother to make my kitchen curtains! $25 won't pay for the entire project, but this gift card will definitely get me started.
Oh, sweet, Wooden Porch, please pick me! My kitchen windows would love you forever, and so would I!
To Carry the Camera or Not to Carry the Camera
In case you've been wondering where the heck I've been, here's a run-down of the last four days:
On Friday, Rick surprised me by taking the day off. I was able to buy groceries with only one child, which seemed so incredibly easy that perhaps I should look into hiring a sitter every grocery day. You're probably thinking, "Why don't you just buy groceries in the evenings when Rick is home?" I live in a state where my perishables might perish in the parking lot during the time it takes me to load all bought groceries into the car; thus, I buy groceries in the mornings. "Why don't you buy groceries after maybe 9 pm?" Because I'm not a very pleasant person after 8 pm. Ahem.
After putting away the groceries, my spontaneous husband decided that we needed to hit the road for Aggieland. The Ags are playing in the NCAA championship, and we just can't have them playing post-season baseball without us. We were able to get down there in time for Friday evening's 7 pm game. We had the best time! Aggie fans taunt the opposing team like no other fans I've ever seen. As an example, LeMoyne's pitcher was taking a bit too long to wind up, so we patient fans teased him with, "Bobby's stalling. Bobby's stalling." I love sarcasm! Even Garrett chimed in.
I'd love to show you a photo of Jack and Garrett enjoying their first-ever, real-live Aggie game, but we left the camera in the car. Brilliant, aren't we? And the trek to the car in the 90-degree temp to get the camera just wasn't calling my name.
But just imagine two 2 year-olds standing on bleachers between their parents, looking down on a massive crowd of fans screaming at baseball players down below. They ate it up! (By the way, Liam was not with us. He was lucky enough to enjoy a full weekend of camping with his grandparents.)
After winning the game 7-2, we spent the night in College Station. We took the boys back to the campus Saturday morning with the camera in hand and took some pictures for scrapbooking purposes. Although it's not nearly as exciting as seeing the boys experience their first Aggie game, here's a shot of them in front of Olsen Field that proves this entire trip actually did happen.
We drove home in time to enjoy naps in our own house. In case you haven't figured it out, nap time is my absolute favorite time of the day!
When we got up Sunday morning, there was yet another thunderstorm brewing. I haven't written about the weather lately, because I know it can be boring to hear about someone else's weather, but let me just sum it up by saying that it has rained nearly every day in May. Seriously. Officially, it rained 20 of the 30 days in May. And yesterday was not May, so stop it already! Ahem.
We went to the Fort Worth zoo with our friends today. Nothing wears me out like chasing five boys, all aged 4 and 2, around the zoo! One second we have all 5 heads accounted for. The next second, "Where is Jackson? Jack! Jack, stay with us!" I said that five hundred times, I assure you.I did remember my camera today. Yea! Here's a photo that I took at the beginning of the day, in the event that we needed a current photo of any lost children.
Yep, that's the best shot I got. It's nothing less than challenging to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time with their hands down at their sides.
So that catches you up on my whereabouts. Where have you been lately?
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