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".