Shlumpadinka makeover

Asher doesn't take fashion advise from anybody. He's been wearing socks on his hands all week. He will risk a fashion police violation all in the name of fun!

I'm not kidding when I say to cope I am shopping. Actually Oprah inspired me to get out and freshen up my "look". Last week she had a shlumpadinka(frumpy chic) intervention show. In the past I have watched these shows and felt sorry for the poor souls who have let themselves go-what a waste of a perfectly good woman. This time as I watched and glanced down at what I was wearing(my sweats from my a.m. workout, my hair in a ponytail, and smeared makeup)I felt sorry for MY poor soul. Is it really so bad outside that I have decided it is not even worth dressing and doing my hair for? Well...yes actually it is, but that is no excuse. I took notes of the show, and vowed to get myself together for spring. This is what I learned.

1. Apparently scarfs are in this year. I rushed right out and bought two(black and yellow). I will probably only have a millisecond this spring to wear them, as it will go from freezing cold to steamy hot in a twelve hour span. But it is a fun and cheap accessory according to Oprah.-done

2. Yoga pants aren't only for Yoga. I guess you can dress them up with flats. Now this is something I can commit to. So I bought black yoga pants at Old Navy(the only store I can afford to shop at) and shiny black flats at Target-done

3. Color will freshen up your old sorry soul. I'm obsessed with anything green-done

keeping hope alive

Guess what? It's snowing. To cope I've started shopping. Feeling passionate about green today, and hoping that someday I will actually have these on my feet.

Finished my project, finished my movies, and now moving onto cleaning bathrooms. Todd will be home late tonight and the boys are excited to see him. Holden didn't have school today so we headed to a kiddie movie this morning at Billy Joes Pitcher Show(a movie theater that serves food, etc.). It was a flash back from my past, which always makes me laugh. It was one of my old high school haunts, a place my friends and I would smoke(it's smoke free now) and hang out with all the other bad influences(my very favorite influences back then) from Valley. I never really wanted to live in Des Moines, in fact I tried like crazy to move as far away as possible from my past and everyone in it. High School was not my proudest moment. But after this last move to Cincinnati, growing up a little more, and having the chance to move back and live my proudest moments as a mother in Des Moines, I feel healed. I am not sure what I am going to tell my kids when they ask about my past experiences, but at least I will have had a chance to make new memories at all my old haunts. I guess a project with butterflies was appropriate today...a transformation of sorts.

today

I am ashamed to admit that I spent Tuesday's nap time in the same position as Monday's - in a near coma. Although I was quickly forced to pull myself together, as Todd left for Texas on Wednesday am, and I am here to man the fort. He will be traveling more often as his job gets busier. I have to admit that I get a little anxious before he leaves. The idea of 24/7 alone with the kids is enough to invoke a mild panic attack. But by the time he leaves I've cooked up some plans. So I am feeling better about life, regardless of the crappy weather. Here is what is making me happy at this very moment.

1. Asher's little voice. He is talking up a storm and stringing more sentences together . His favorite subject today- "My Daddy not at workin, My Daddy in Texthassss." It's kinda wet when he is talking.

2. A project! I always feel better when I am creating, organizing or re-arranging something. My favorite scrapbooker Ali Edwards (http://aliedwards.typepad.com/) is a wonderful artist and just all around positive person. She had a great project idea on her blog that I could not resist totally copying. If you didn't know this about me already-I LOVE PAPER. I haven't made a single scrapbook, but you wouldn't know it from the amount of paper and supplies I have. Anyways, I'll show you the finished product tomorrow!

3. Holden learning to swim. He has a lesson twice a week and is making great progress. Before Christmas he was jumping in and swimming(with a floaty belt)to his teacher. We took a long break over the holidays and he seems to have lost a little confidence, but I am just so happy that he is having fun and loving the water.

4. Chipolte is opening in West Des Moines! My taste buds are dancing at the thought...bliss

5. Chick flicks and magazines. If your husband is gone a lot, you might as well totally enjoy yourself-right? Todd won't like this...but after he heads off the airport and my life flashes before my eyes, I take a few deep breathes and settle in quite nicely to 7pm bedtime for the boys and a whole evening of Sarah time-ahhhh

sick(of it)day

It is 8 degrees, and it snowed a couple inched yesterday. I put the kids down for their naps and crawled into bed, dragged the covers over my head, and tried to console myself. This too will pass. I don't want to bore everyone with a rant about winter. If you live here you are sure to already be depressed, so why bring you down further with my miserable attitude. I can hardly take it any more. My friend Lindsay asked me the other day if I was always so upbeat.-HA! Today I am no beat. I am concerned that tomorrow will be much of the same. The really down beat side of me thinks I might lay in this bed all week.

Happy Valentine's Day

Bye Bye "The Box"

How many little boys does it take to pulverize a cardboard box to bits? Two very determined four year olds and two unforgiving two year olds put "the box" out of it's misery for good. I was uncertain they could actually do it, but no amount of duck tape is going to bring him back to life....amen. I had been waiting for weeks to be rid of it in the house. Every night I would trip over it on the way upstairs and I would think in the morning it was heading out to the dumpster-it looked like a disaster and it was like having an extra couch in a very small space! And every morning we would come downstairs and it seemed to be in better shape than the day before-I swear it had self healing properties. But in the end Holden, Colin, Ty and Asher(pictured in "the box" somewhere?) were able to do what I had been wanting to do for so long...they killed the beast! oopps... I mean "the box".

This is my three o'clock special treat.(a.k.a. the sugar that helps get me through the rest of the day) When I drink tea in the afternoon I kinda feel like I'm cheating on my morning coffee. You know coffee and I have a passionate relationship, but tea seems to want to listen to my problems. Oh.. if my husband only knew :)

I decided not to go to the gym this week and it has been liberating. I have been so overwhelmed with just trying to get it all done, all the time, everyday. So I decided to take a break from the job that is boring me the most right now and that is working out. I usually like the routine part of me. But this week I thought it might drive me to the funny farm. So instead of going to the Y....

on Monday Asher and I came home after dropping Holden off at school. We never do this, we always head straight to the Y. Asher never gets the chance to play on his own and for that matter with his own toys. It was fun to watch him wander around and have the freedom to just be. I was able to catch up on some emails and get a leg up on the rest of the weeks chores. I felt relaxed when I picked Holden up later that morning, and when we returned home for lunch it wasn't as crazy as it usually is.

On Tuesday we visited Aunt Meri instead of yet again going to the Y. She lives just down the street, but we never get a chance to visit enough. We didn't move all the way home just to be stuck working out all the time and not seeing the people we love. She has a darling dog named Dolly and the kids love her. Meri is alone in the mornings, which is even more of a reason to stop by more often just in case she needs something. The boys can be pretty shy with her. At one time Asher was a little scared of her wheel chair, but this visit he was impressing her with all his new words!

Wednesday was a snow day. No school for Holden(how does he already know to be excited about that) The neighboorhood kids were out and Holden had a blast. He was seriously out all day. I had to drag him home at 3:30 and bride him with a cookie to get him to stop crying about leaving his friends. We have some major rules when he goes out to play and he is so great at following them. Sometimes I can't believe how responsible he can be, or maybe I have scared him into being that way. He comes home when the kids are leaving the back yard, he knows that his mom has set boundaries and he's not going to cross them. So we have talked a lot about trust this week and what it means to be proud. And today instead of going to the Y, we went to the Science Center to just play. Holden enjoyed the ride downtown to see all the tall buildings, and I enjoyed the change of scenery. They played for a couple of hours and then we headed to Wendy's for a special treat. They are so much fun to be with, and my proudest moments as a stay at home mom are when I'm actually able to be "in the moment" and watch them as they grow and discover new things. I needed this week "off" especially to relax and enjoy Holden. At four years old he is a challenge. He can be sassy, emotional, rough, loud, and over powering all in the car ride home from preschool. It can zap my energy pretty quickly and this break from our ordinary week helped me appreciate how much he is changing in possitive ways. He asks amazing questions about life and people, he dreams about his mom every night(at least that's what he tells me) He loves his friends, and is passionate about adventures. He counts down the days until he sees his cousins, and he really does try to share with his brother. He draws the most adorable monsters, he wants to know what letter all of our names start with, and he uses the word cute to describe power rangers and ninja turtles. So I hope my jeans forgive this week. I think buying a bigger size might be worth a few more weeks off to enjoy my boys exactly where they are at.

Working on a few projects today. One is covering votives with oragami paper for an engagement dinner we are having on Saturday night. It's a chinese theme and I am stringing white lights above the table, paper lanterns etc..a little more China Town than China. The votives didn't exactly work, the paper bubbled and the modge podge just wasn't cooperating. I was going to ditch them, but then I lit them up and I am loving the colors so I will pretend they are perfect. The second project I am working on is Valentine's Day gifts for Holden's teachers and loved ones. I put a piece of oragami under these glass lids and they are really cute. Thinking I'll just fill the containers with chocolates. What teacher can resist chocolate-instant energy to deal with crazy class of four year olds. Also signed up to take treats for Holden's Valentine's party. I'm never wild about bringing treats, I'm much better at bringing the plates and napkins. But I did find a really cute recipe for sugar cookie "necklaces" You string heart shaped cookies with red licorice rope and the kids can wear them. The teacher might hate me for it, but it's a chance I'm willing take. Maybe I'll get banned from treats....hmmmm :)

Ahoy thar, matey!

Not much going on this weekend, just trying to entertain ourselves. I'm so glad that January is behind us. It is always the toughest month for me. Had lunch on Saturday with my Dad, so happy to be able to meet up with him during the day and hang out. I really missed the family connection when we were in Ohio. It brightens up my week to see familiar faces, especially ones that I love so much! Holden and Asher are trying to kick their colds, it has been a snotty week. Todd is getting ready for the auction in Fort Worth at the end of the month and we are hopefully planning a little get-a-way to Florida. Just the thought of that makes me feel warm. Have a happy Monday!