Post Christmas

It is the Monday after Christmas and it's 7:15am and the kids are still sleeping. I think it's safe to say, we've officially wiped them out.

We had SO much fun this holiday weekend. It started with playing at the playground for most of the day on Christmas Eve - and honestly, if you're from New England, that was a gift in itself. 

It has NEVER been 70 degrees on Christmas Eve before, with no trace of snow in sight. I had taken them on a little run before the playground. Pushing 60lbs in a stroller while trying to jog is NO JOKE. Gotta get back to the gym if I'm going to make that a habit.

Christmas Eve night we went to my grandparents house for a party. We have italian food and a pot luck and a yankee swap- even my two littles bring a gift to swap. We have so much fun teasing each other about the gifts and swapping. I think this year was great, we all got what we wanted for the most part.

Then Christmas morning happened. Santa had come the night before and delivered a few presents to the boys. Luke was SO excited. It was the first year that he actually understood what Christmas and Santa were really all about. 

I have all the chaos of the opening of presents on my camera, so I'll have to transfer and upload later, but oh my it was fun. The squeals that came out of Luke were so adorable. He was so excited to get the few trucks he asked for. Santa also brought some games and the 4 of us actually played together, which was a big feat.

Grandma, Grandpa, Grammy, Papa and Uncle Josh joined us for dinner of Manicotti, Meatballs and Sausage and I made up some bread to go with the meal. It was so nice. No naps for the kids, but they were SO good it didn't seem to matter much.

Saturday was filled with playing with new scooters at Great Gram's and Big Papa's house. We had a picnic outside (seriously though, this New England weather was AMAZING this weekend) and were outside for most of the day .

Sunday was filled with cousin visits and, again, playing outside at Big Papa and Great Gram's.

What better way to end a beautiful Christmas Weekend!

Now there's snow in the forecast for Tuesday morning which is a total bummer, but the weatherperson said that most of the snow will be washed away by tuesday night so I have my fingers crossed for that. Hopefully it doesn't turn to ice, the storms in Oklahoma look like an icy nightmare right now, so I'm hoping it doesn't turn into that!!

I'm glad it's all over. We had fun, but it was nice to put the tree away and get our house (and lives) back to normal.

It's almost 7:30 and Za-zo is still in bed. Send good vibes that today will be a good day for us- Dad had to go to work, so I'm tackling this alone after a long weekend of fun!!

XO

Thoughts on being an early bird....

I'm an early bird by nature. That is for sure. If I had an option to get all of my daily tasks/errands done before 10am, I totally would. I was going to the gym at 4am every day. I loved it. But then my kid decided that he was going to wake up shortly after me and basically wake the entire house up... So we're still working that out. Plus I was sleeping through my alarm, which hello, clearly means I need more sleep. Or better sleep. Or quality sleep. But what is that anyway? My darling Lucas is like his mother. Up before the sun rises and ready to tackle the day ASAP. The other two boys in this house, not so much. I mean really, as a full time working mom, shouldn't I enjoy the moments that my buddy crawls in bed and wants to snuggle and watch cartoons before the world is awake? Yes. The answer is yes. But honey, 3:30 am for firetruck noises and making blanket forts in my bed is just a tad early. I'm an early riser, but I don't need our two other guys to be woken up to all that commotion. Nevermind our downstairs neighbors, (aka Grammy and Papa) to be woken up by what sounds like an entire heard of elephants clomping around the house. But how to harness their energy so early in the morning. Seriously if it wasn't a bother to others in the neighborhood, I'd totally go outside (aside from the fact that it's freezing out now) but they're like wild banshees outside and 7am might warrant a police visit. But seriously. There are only so many things to do with kids who are awake before the sun. Although, here I sit, wide awake at 2:34am.

I could never imagine 9am being early. 9am feels like I've already been awake half a day and am ready to keep my fast paced, getting crap done mentality going. I know people who think that 9am is even too early for a "Good Morning" and don't really function until well after noon. That is such a foreign concept to me.

Let's just hope that my oldest stays in bed a while and I didn't wake him when I crept across the hall to the couch because I couldn't sleep. Sorry buddy, it's totally my fault that you are up before the sunshine, but could you please keep the fire truck noises to a minimum..

xo

There's always so much to do

So much to do, so little time. I feel like that's the story of my life. I'm sitting here, working from home, feeling like I should put laundry in and make something while working but I have my little guy snuggled up in the crook of my legs, watching Tangled. Sometimes I forget to be in the moment. To forget of all the things that need to get done and just sit. And enjoy time wth the boys. Because the amount of time they'll want to snuggle will surely start to dwindle and I'll think back and probably miss it. So I've decided to just stay put, forget the laundry, the crafting, just sit with my little guy tangled in my legs while watching Tangled and do some work on the laptop.

Time just goes by so fast and by the time you stop to look around, so many years have passed its hard to remember exactly what happened when. Like how is my oldest 3 1/2 and my youngest almost 2? I remember when my little Zachy was born and now he's a walking, talking, jumping, eating machine. We're always so busy but yet not busy. They are always busy busy busy but we are home a lot. Not that that has anything to do with anything.. But by the time they go to bed at night, I'm basically ready to fall asleep, leaving absolutely no time for anything.

Well, the snuggling lasted 5 minutes, so I guess it's time for laundry and crochet.

Edit: We saw Star Wars tonight. Uh-maze-ing. That's all I'll say about that.

This post is super late because I forgot to finish it yesterday and then we went to the movies last night..

Maybe I'll write about my smelly sick kids later. That'll be interesting for you all I'm sure.

Oh- and I'm making a promise to myself to crochet something for Knots of love once a month. I'm almost done with a sleep cap. It makes my heart happy to give items that I make to people in need.

If I remember, I'll post a photo when I'm done. It's just a simple cap.
XO

Christmas is -a-coming.

Today Mom and I took the boys to see Santa. They are so well behaved. We always go to the same candy store where you can bring your own camera and take as many photos with Santa as you want. Zach was a little nervous, but was a good sport about the whole thing. Luke cheesed it up like the ham he is. The we spent pretty much the rest of the day at my grandparents. I am so happy that I have the ability to bring my two little boys over to see my grandparents. I love that the boys constantly ask for Great Gram and Big Papa and beg to visit. Last night, I had to move my car back into the driveway (you know, parking ban and all even though it's 60 out and on plows will be coming down the street) and Zachy wanted to come outside with me. It would have taken me less than 2 minutes to move my car. Well, my less than 2 minute task turned into an hour because my little boy with only jammies and socks on decided he'd like to see some Christmas lights, so I took a spin around the block because I'm totally a sucker for Christmas lights. As we turned back onto our street to park in the driveway, little boss man decides to break down into tears because he wants to go to Great Gram's house. He's begging and crying and pleading with me. So what am I supposed to do? Of course I took him to Great Gram's house- jammie clad and shoeless (and jacketless- but it was 50 out so...) We showed up, he gave hello hugs, played toys, got a few cookies and was ready to go. Apparently he just decides to make himself home there. 

And then after Santa time, we went over there again. These boys are my outdoor kids. The second they get there, they go in, say hi and then head right back outside. I mean, seriously, does it get any cuter?

On a side note, I made these cute little scrubbies- I want to make so many of them. I might post them to etsy so keep a look out!!

This is my night- making up some etsy orders, making something for the boys and then packaging up something for my friend who is on business in India- because apparently they don't have electric tooth brushes and fingernail clippers over there.... WHAT?!

Until next time,

XO

Hindsight is always 20/20

I'm going to the holiday party. I even blow dried my hair.

Edit: I went and wish I didn't. Should have listened to my gut yesterday when I was talking myself out of it. I got there 5 mins early, was one of 4 people in the hall. Grabbed a table but I might as well have been in Syberia. Managers from other groups walked in, said hello, and migrated across the hall to another table. The only one to sit with me for the 1st hour was one of the admins on my floor because I think she felt guilty. Saw my boss, let her and 2 other women know I saved them seats, they barely acknowledged me and then walked right by my table that I was saving to go sit in the hall. The re were two moments that perked me up. When my boss's boss's boss sat with me and told me that I've been doing a good job and she's happy with the progress on my project and when my friend Kim showed up (who was laid off a week or so ago) with two other guys from work. 

But you know what saved the whole night? When I walked in the door and my buddies greeted me like I had been gone for a month. My little goat child crawled up my in lap and wouldn't leave my side for the rest of the night. This is where I belong. Who cares about what ever else happened tonight. 

I'm not even sure why things are bothering me so much. Do I really care what people think of me? Maybe more than I should.. But I'm at work 50 hours/week. Can't people just be kind. And civil. And actually acknowledge a co-worker's presence? My brain is telling me I feel a little hurt. Like I'm back to being the weird kid in elementary school again who didn't want to sing in chorus with the rest of the girls, who went to catholic school for the first 5 years of school and then started public school once everyone had already established friendships. I feel like that girl all over again. Almost worse than the kid the constantly smells like pee. I want to say I feel like I don't fit in. But I do. At home is the place where I totally fit in. My husband loves me unconditionally as do my kids. Do these other people even matter on the big scale of life? No. 

Here's my speech to myself: So perk up and stop your whining and realize that life isn't so bad. Who cares if people at work like you, people at home like you and that's all that should matter. Get over it. You get paid to do your job, not to make friends. Move on.

The end. 

Realizations

today was our division holiday party. I'll touch on how everyone is offended by EVERYTHING at a later date. But anyway. We had pizza delivered, an ugly sweater contest (4 people participated) and a dessert competition, the norm. But every time I find myself in these situations, I feel like I'm crawling out of my skin. I don't want to sit in there, I don't do well with small talk, I don't really have anyone that wants to sit with me or be associated with me. I've come to the conclusion it must be me. I'm bad at faking it. I'm bad at pretending to have fun when I'm clearly not. I don't get along with people that tend to sabotage me at work, so why am I going to be friendly and converse with them? Makes no sense, right? Maybe if I were friendlier or could actually fake it, I'd be happier? Probably not. Being fake isn't who I am.
I've lost friends. Who hasn't? Is it my fault? Maybe. Mostly I get tired of people lying or pretending or Faking it. You can tell the people that either only hang out with you because they feel "bad" for you, or the people that think they can get things from you. I want to hang out with people that value my time and, most of all, me. It feels awful to be taken advantage of. I'm crafty. I always try to help others, but when the only reason you're visiting with me is because you need me to make/do something, I get tired of it. Friendships, like any relationship, are a two way street.
I can't even count the number of times I've tried to make plans with friends who never get back to me and then pull the "oh my! We should get together" on social media. What's the purpose? I'm also thinking of stopping my Facebook again. I'm so over it. Most of my "friends" didn't reach out in the past 2 years when I deactivated last time so why does it matter now? Again, maybe I'm not putting in an effort? I make the initial contact, I reach out, but no reply so I stop. Then the little comment comes again and I'm back on the self doubt wagon again.
It's a viscous cycle and honestly, I don't care anymore. I have my husband, my boys, my family and very few friends. Isn't that ok?
All of this is cropping up because we have an after work holiday party tomorrow at a hotel.. I always feel out of place. ALWAYS. I don't belong. And that's ok. I have only a select few people at work that I want to talk to. I'm a loner. I always have been. I flit from circle to Circle with no place to call "home." Just like high school. Maybe I'm better at this faking it thing than I give myself credit for.
#pityparty
I don't really talk to anyone. And the people I do talk to, I talk about the boys. And who really wants to hear about them all the time. But they're really what I live for. I talk about the tiny tyrants like everything they do is bad, but all I want to do it snuggle and play and be with them.

All I've come up with, in the end, is that the common denominator is me. Maybe I need to change.

I'll give it some thought.

This is also the post I was thinking of before I published my last post. 2 posts in one day! I think I've met my personal goal for the week!!

XO

Living on coffee and hope

I'm downing an extra large coffee at 2:07pm because I've been up since 11:30 last night. I know parenting is a challenge. Totally. But I'm convinced my kids, who are finally and strangely getting along, are plotting against me. I've been a light sleeper forever. I guess it's just in my nature. Since having kids, I've been even more alert while I sleep. Both boys were wide eyed and bushy tailed at 5:32 this morning. We even took Luke to the store to pick out a clock for his room, and unless he had to pee, he was told not to emerge until it read six-oh-oh. I mean, really, is 6am so much to ask? But these hellions of mine decide to play with the noisiest toys and make the loudest fire truck noises before 5:30am that I think someone might call DSS on me. Because what am I doing wrong? Just be quiet and sleep.

I had a whole list of things I wanted to get out when I thought of writing earlier and now they've just vacated my head because lack of sleep. My brain function tends to diminish after being awake for more than 24 hours (aside from a cat nap). Obviously not much sleeping going on when I'm up with a 22month old (ok, he's almost 2- I'll stop with the months when he hits 2 because that's SO annoying) who decides to kick me off the couch so I make a bed on the floor and he started snoring as loud as my husband so no sleep was to be had THEN(!!!!!) he falls off the couch right on to me..... So I move back to the couch and make sure he's nice and cozy on my bed on the floor and then not even 5 mins later stands up and decides to lay on the couch with me again. At this point I'm hugely debating getting rid of our couch and trading it in for an air mattress... But who wants to sit on an air mattress? No one, that's who.

And really kid, you've basically been wrapped around me all night, could you please just let me take a shower? No, you're going to cry and kick and scream at 6am? Thanks. I need a break and I'm crabby and whiny and this isn't the way I was hoping to start off my Wednesday.

Here I am half way through Wednesday and I'm already looking forward to bed time. Hence the coffee. I love them, I really do.

And if I read over this later, it's probably so disjointed and doesn't make any sense, so I'm just going to hit publish and leave it at that. Because I'm tired. And no one is reading this yet anyway.

Let's hope these kids are behaved and go to bed at a reasonable time tonight.

XO

Be Kind

sometimes it's the little things you do for people that mean the most. Remember when that news story came out about people "paying it forward" at Starbucks and everyone paid for the person behind them? Because someone decided to start the chain? Doing nice things for people doesn't have to be for holidays or special occasions. It can be for no reason at all. Yesterday I was heading to lunch and a co-worker mentioned he wanted pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. This guy is constantly craving odd things, generally burritos or something Mexican, but today it was pie. As I was out running errands, I decided I'd look for a piece of pecan pie somewhere. I found a tiny individual box of pie and I even bought him a tiny container of ice cream. Back at work, he was SO busy that I think
He was in shock when I delivered it over to his desk he forgot how stressed he was and just say back and enjoyed the treat. All of this because I spent $2.24 on pie and ice cream for someone, out of the blue, on a day he really needed a pick-me-up.

I've always said that when bad things keep happening in my life I must need to change something. I generally do something nice for someone else in hopes of changing my karma..

Let's hope it comes back around soon, as I'm laying on the living room floor at 1:41ambecause my little one kicked me off the couch after falling asleep after a nightmare... I'll be sore when I get up....

This is just a reminder- do nice things for people. Be kind. It'll make you feel better.

The Value of Time

So this is my 2nd attempt at this blog post.... my app decided not to save for me.. Awesome.

So, I am awful at putting a value on my time. I have recently listed cowls on etsy. I love making the, but they take a bit to make and they do take between 1 and 3 skeins of yarn. Aside from pricing out the value of the actual yarn, putting a value on the time that it takes to make each item is my downfall. I love to crochet, I do it every single day. Whether it's making up orders or working on something for myself or one of the kids, I pick up yarn and a hook every single day. How do I place monetary value on something I love to do. I price my items according to what I feel I would pay for something. A cowl, I'd probably pay between $20/$25 for one. I know that the yarn I use is pricy but I don't think I would spend more for a cowl, so charging more because the actual yarn is expensive is hard for me. I would love to think that my items are worth any reasonable price, but what is reasonable when you try to value time? 

Ah the dillema of a crafter.

So a friend recently asked me to make items for her daughters. She sent each of her girls coming home from the hospital outfits and asked me to make a dreamcatcher with the corrosponding clothing.  She also wanted two little animals that looked like her girls. I have a photo of one of the deamcatchers I made and I think it's mission accomplished. She told me she absolutely loves everything, so I'd assume I did my job well!

Also, another friend of mine asked me to make up a Bee stuffed animal. Well, I've been trying to teach myself how to write patterns and create things completely from scratch. This seemed like the perfect project for my new ability I was trying to learn. AND I just happened to have a nice butter color cotton yarn that I was itching to use! I created my own patterns and made up a bee stuffed animal, a honey comb blanket and a bee hat. She said it was a huge hit at the baby shower.

I just LOVE it!!

These are the things that make me happy. When my handcrafted items make people happy. 

On a side note, today was my sister's 18th birthday. Kind of a big deal. Eric has been in her life since she was 8 months old. It kind of puts things into perspective. Totally crazy. The kids were totally cute and well behaved. We played outside, Zach was super clingy but it's probably because he's growing 4 new teeth and Luke was his usual self. Life is good.

Until next time.

XO

Day 2 of December...

Early in the day:
We've already failed poor Sprinkles, the elf on the shelf. I blame myself, although I've been fighting a cold since Monday night. This morning Luke noticed that Sprinkles was still in the Christmas tree where he was yesterday. Luckily Eric did some quick early morning thinking and told Luke that Sprinkles likes it in the tree because he can see everything from up there.. Crisis averted.

2 days into December and they're already begging for Santa. I knew it was going to be like this. I expected it. The advent calendars have been broken in to already with pleading to open "just one more day."

The boys were lovely last night. I wasn't feeling myself (still) and they didn't argue or fight much. There was the occasional bossy pants older brother yelling at "clueless" little brother but aside from that, they were lovely. They played, they each had a hamper to climb in, a blanket to cover themselves. Ah to be young and carefree!

I've been making up a storm! Made gifts for Luke's teachers, finished up some shopping, made some etsy orders... I've been on a roll! I've made up a few pairs of mittens and I'm totally loving them!! Once I get this whole blogger situation handled I'll definitely post some photos!!! Check etsy for some new listings soon as well!!

Edit:
Can I just say how AMAZING my boys were tonight? Like honestly. UH-maze-ING!!  They had pancakes and cereal for dinner and then went off to play, (with each other!!!!) while Eric and I finished dinner. I did dishes and joined the boys in the living room for some mood lighting by the Christmas tree play time, then we watched a show or two, Zach said he was getting tired, Luke told him it was bath time, they went, took a bath, read a book and went to bed!!! Can all nights go as well as this? I'll pay good money. Oh and before all this, the boys both helped make sprinkle cupcakes. Both of them. On the same chair. Took turns. What!? Can we say HOORAY!!!!!!!

I feel like McDonalds, I'm loving it!

Now it's 10:56pm, I'm watching SNL holiday sketches (just switched to the news and the massacre in CA- which is a story for another day. This world is so messed up, seriously. It's such a decision before you have kids as to whether or not you want to bring kids into this world. It's such a gift, but these awful attacks and massacres and shootings are happening so frequently it's terrifying) and have finished all etsy orders, one gift for my sister and two pairs of mittens for teachers... I also finished up a few more gifts but I don't want to wreck the surprise!!

Oh, and I just got out of bed to move sprinkles.......

Good night world.

Can I get a do-over, over here please?

I totally want a do-over of today. Let's just start from the top. The kids were a nightmare today. total.chaos. Husband was in a mood, and I get it, we all have our days.. But honestly, sometimes I have enough on my plate trying to manage my own mood that two little opposite astrological signs and an overly emotional sign just don't mix on certain days. And then there's me. All I want to do it get some stuff done. Laundry, cleaning a little, keeping the living room hazard free, maybe make a pair of mittens or finish a Christmas Gift...... please? No, nope, not today for this mama. I had a crying almost 2 year old having constant meltdowns today, his brother punched him right in the face and then the little one took a back fall off the couch, landing right on his lumpy little nugget.

And of course these kids don't nap. EVER. Even when I beg and plead and bribe. Nope.

And I still haven't fixed my iPad so that I can upload photos... Add that on the list of things that aren't going to happen with to wild animals.

But we put up our tree yesterday and today I caught Zachary, my darling little goat/dog, eating an ornament. Like crunching right down on the top of the bulb. Really? I know he's not even two, but what goes through a person's head where they rationalize that eating an ornament might taste good or be beneficial to them in any way? Any why choose a plastic bulb? Was it the shiny blue color? These are silly questions for the boy/dog/goat who likes to rub all his food in the dirt before he eats it.. so in his head, why WOULDN'T an ornament taste good? I should just know by now that no amount of rational thought will be happening with this boy...

Now I'm off to bed since my eyes have been wanting to close since 5pm.

XO

What is Normal?

You know those days where you feel like a bad parent because you look at the clock after a super long day with your chaotic tiny tyrants and realize it's only 5:00 and you still have at least another 2 hours until bath and bed time and you really cannot wait until they go to bed? You do? Oh, well, not me. NEVER. Except that's a lie. It happens on the reg for me and it makes me feel like an awful parent. I find myself questioning why my kids won't just sit at the table and partake in a holiday craft with me? Why can't you both just play with Mr. Potato head so I can put your clothes away in your dressers without having to "nicely remind" (ie. nag) you to be kind to each other and to share. I get it, sharing is not a concept that kids handle well, generally. The whole grass is always greener mentality. I really understand it. I know as a kid I probably went through it. But come.on. We have plenty of toys. More toys than we really need, or even know what to do with. I'm sure we have at least 8 fire trucks and just because your brother has one and you have the other 7 doesn't mean you need that ONE to be happy with your life. He's not going to keep it, I promise. This is my daily life now. So tonight, the boys were playing nicely with each other- which WOAH. Ever since Luke has been going to school, these moments are happening more frequently and it's LOVELY!!! I love when they get along, but you know how it goes, neither wants to nap so now at the end of the night they are SUPER overtired and every little thing that happens is life ending. Zach sat on your head, yes I saw it, I laughed, but now you're saying that he hurt you, but he barely even sat on you... Oh and then he scratched you. Well yeah, ok, I'll take the blame for that because trying to cut his nails is like trying to put a cat in the bath tub - painful and I haven't geared myself up for it. So all they were doing was crying, so Eric, being louder and more stern than me, spoke loudly to the boys telling them to knock it off or they'd go to bed early. They were then told to sit on the couch until they could calm down enough to play nicely with each other again. Giving the boys a common enemy was probably the best idea he's ever come up with - not that he's the first person to do it, but let me tell you, it totally made a difference and we might be using it more often. The boys then fogot about their fued and with common ground of being sad about getting yelled at, they were back to playing. And all that happened in the last 20 minutes of the night. But these apes of mine, they're nuts. Completely nuts. And they never stop talking. I'm not one that likes noise just to have noise. When I get a free minute to myself, I don't even turn the radio on unless I'm cleaning but all these boys in my house need constant noise in their lives... I don't understand it. I need a few minutes here and there just to hear myself think. The little boys just chatter constantly. About random stuff. Because they're kids. And they repeat themselves 1000 times. Playing the quiet game does not exist because they have no concept of what quiet actually is.

So needless to say, today would have been a day for a glass (or bottle) of wine if I drank and to put some ear plugs in and go in a quiet room. But instead I had some pumpkin pie, finished crocheting a winter hat and watched some Street Outlaws, greatful that my two little loves are tucked quietly safely in their beds and prepare myself for another day.

goodnight

Black (and blue) Friday

Black friday started at 4:10am for me. My alarm went off (honestly, the same time as every day but today felt MUCH earlier due to the obscene amount of turkey intake from yesterday) and I headed out with my mom. We has no plan. I knew I wanted to get some things for my "pick." In our house, we pick names among my immediate family- it cuts down on stress and cost- two of the biggest factors to avoid during the holiday season. Anyway, so we decided to brave Walmart. Can I tell you how much of a nightmare I thought it was going to be? I worked retail for a million years before getting the job I'm at now (for the past almost 5 year- woah. Let's talk about how fast that time passed!!!) and I was always the opening person. My favorite Black Friday was when I was a manager at Borders Bookstore. If you don't already know, Borders was the best bookstore on the face of the earth and I miss it almost every single day. I picked up SO many of my craft books from there that it really re-insipred my crafting. OK- where was I? Retail, right. So I had always opened the stores when I worked in retail. There were the occasional years when I was asked to switch to the night shift and I was able to go Black Friday Shopping, but they were rare. When I started this job, I could never head anywhere because others already requested the day off and I had to be in at 7:30. Since I have been going to the gym before work and waking up at 4:10 every day, even though I had to work, it didn't seem like such a big deal to get up this morning. Driving in to the Walmart parking lot I was expecting chaos. Found none. Really, the rush had already passed, but when we got there, they still had the big ticket TV's and all the kids toys so it didn't even seem worth it to camp outside as some people had. We grabbed a bunch of stuff that we probably didn't even need and I obviously picked up some yarn. I mean, really, $1.88 each skein for yarn that goes for $4-5 is a total bargain and I totally needed 15 skeins, right? Actually, after we checked out, I was waiting by the registers and I watched a woman purchase 2 skeins of yarn and actually had a mini-stroke. How do you live with yourself, only buying 2 skeins of yarn? I then proceeded to have an entire mental conversation about how this person at Walmart at 5am wasn't really on top of her game this morning because she was preoccupied with all the toys she needed to get and clearly wasn't thinking when she only picked up TWO skeins because no one only buys TWO skeins of yarn!! She had been up forever and had a mental block. That's my rationalization to myself, why I had to buy 15 skeins, I was making up for her lack of yarn purchase to put the earth's rotation back in alignment and to bring balance to the force. Can you tell the mind wanders at 5am the day after Thanksgiving.

So here I sit. 9:02pm. The kids fell asleep even before their doors were closed and I have basically hidden the bags of yarn under my sewing table because they don't fit in my 36"x84" cabinet specifically made for yarn and I can't even say I feel guilty. I pretty much just speedballed on yarn. Oh, and I totally forgot to mention the 21 skeins of yarn I ordered for 50% off online. Shh... Forget I even mentioned it. What I really need to tell myself is that I need to start crochetting to make all the grand ideas I have planned for this yarn rather than writing this blog... But I've kind of missed writing. Even though this is just ramblings on a page, I feel better when I do it.

Kid story- beware.

When did kids get so smart. My big buddy Luke is too smart for me. I was trying to joke around with him in the car on the way back from shopping with my brother and he was talking about how he was going to run me over with his new front end loader. So I asked if it would smush me, being a big front end loader. And he had this "duh mom" tone in his voice when he answered "it's just a toy, mom." Thanks buddy. Got it. Way to make me feel silly.

More ramblings:
Am I the only one whos kids get more miserable after they nap? Like, is this my life now? Miserable if they nap, and miserable if they don't. A lose/lose situation for the entire neighborhood.... because my little one is like an air raid siren and I'm sure the entire neighborhood can hear him when he's wailing because he doesn't want anything but wants everything and the only thing to snap him out of it is asking him where the moon is, which doesn't calm him down when there are too many clouds and you can't see the moon, and you literally have to drag him outside so he can see for himself. Thank god it was 55 out this evening so it wasn't so bad to let him look outside, but really, what I'm going to do when it's like negative 20 out and he's crying about the moon?!? Yup.

I guess that's enough random thought for tonight.

XO

Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We've made it through another year (almost)! I've been prepping the boys for a few weeks that Thanksgiving is coming and we're having a big dinner with Great Gram and Big Papa and they are to behave and be kind. I think all of my coaching has paid off! They were absolutely fabulous. I've dreamt up all scenarios from them sleeping through dinner (which would not have been the worst) to being absolutely evil minions with many tears and pushing and beating the everliving crap out of each other. But alas, they were lovely little bahved mini people and I could not be more proud of them. There were no major accidents (aside from Zach taking a bite out of his tongue when he fell up the stairs) and they generally got along. It was really all I could hope for... The worst thing that happened was the self cleaning timer on my 1970's stove decided to make this awful, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad noise. But thankfully my dear husband helped with that situation and took the stove apart and disconnected it! Hooray... but, and you know there's always a but... we found a bunch of mouse poop... Not awesome, but fixable and cleanable. Just hoping my little puppy of a child doesn't mysteriously find any mouse droppings and think they're chocolate sprinkles.... The meal was successful, great company and great conversation. How many people do you know that can actually say they enjoyed an entire day with their families. I cooked the entire meal by myself and felt SO accomplished. Photos of the spread are coming soon. Or follow me on instagram - jenmiller23.

On to bigger and better things, I suppose. Tomorrow is Black Friday and although I basically buy everything online- and I CLEARLY don't need any more yarn, I really want to go to Michael's and pick up some yarn for a sweater for Luke (and some for a sweater for myself.) I know it'll take me a while, but he's been asking me to make him a green sweater for months and I've been putting it off but 30% off my entire purchase is calling my name. Yarn is literally like crack to me. I'm addicted. I can't get enough. I constantly have to buy some and if there's a sale- FORGET IT- I'm like a kid in the toy aisle!

But on a side note, isn't it amazing how yarn can go from just a ball of string to an actual usuable/wearable item with just a little bit of time and effort. I started making a hat last night (finished it this morning) and like a magician, with a few waves of a magic stick it became something! I'd post photos, but my everything is acting up. I'll post some in a few days once I clear up the issues.

For now, that's all. Have a lovely relaxing weekend- be safe out there!

I always say I'm back

I always say I'm back... but I never really stick around long enough to do much. Life gets in the way of blogging for me. I have a full time job as a Projects Specialist at an asset servicing company. Sounds super fancy, right? It's pretty legit. I'm also a mom to two of the craziest boys I have ever met. So that's a 2nd full time job. On the side I run Jade Monarch Designs on etsy. It's been pretty slow going lately, but no big deal, right? I'm a busy lady. I have also been creating items to donate to Knots of Love- an organization that provides hand knit/crocheted items to cancer patients and blankets to babies in the NICU. That pretty much sums up my life right now. When I'm not wiping snot off my clothes or cleaning up pee on the floor, life is pretty good.

Right now, I'm sitting in Starbucks trying to recover from my evening. No, not partying. I spent the night with my (almost) 2 year old sleeping (aka tossing and turning and playing with my hair and picking at me) on me on the couch. I give you credit you co-sleeping parents. There's nothing like getting punched and kicked all night by a 25lb creature from another universe. Because honestly, in the middle of the night, kids are from another planet. Not only do they not grasp the concept of time, they have zero regard for anyone else. So because I spent the night (not) sleeping on the couch, my darling, angel 3 1/2 year old decided that 4:30 was a great time to break out of his room and grace his brother and me with his presence but promptly dropping a matchbox car on the floor while entering the living room. Needless to say, with my lack of sleep I was not a happy camper this morning... Which continued when I asked my midnight attacker to put his shoes on so we could leave the house- the boys to their grandma's and me to work. I get it kid, I really do, I hate shoes too. But it's 20 out and you need to wear them. And yes we're going to grandma's because I need to go to work, and no I don't care that you don't want to go because I don't want to go to work either. If my biggest issue in the morning was because I didn't want to go to work, I'd be pretty happy, but no, that's not my only worry. 

Everyone says that the second you become a parent your life changes. It does. But not in the way you think. You have these little people (or one little person) and they are now the center of your universe. Which is awesome. I'd tend to think of myself as a pretty independent person, I don't really require a lot of attention and usually don't need anyone to help in my day to day. With these little humanoid creatures I'm told I had a hand in creating, I am constantly needed, called, picked at, pulled at, but more importantly, told that I'm loved, hugged and once again needed. Not only have I become a personal servant to two little tyrants, I am the booboo kisser and the owie-make-better-er. You constantly have to worry if your kid(s) poop during the day, if they're getting enough to eat, if they're eating too much, are they growing, are the things they are doing normal? How long does teething really last? How much dirt can one kid really consume without internal organ failure? Is there some rare condition that can contract from dipping their ice cream cone in ketchup and bbq sauce- because ew. Am I messing you up in ways that are irreparable? Are you going to grow up to be a good person? I'm doing all that I can to make sure they grow up in an environment that encourages talking out our problems but some days, I just want to sit on the floor and cry just as long as they do... But parents are supposed to have self control, right? nah. We're just doing what we think is right. Don't get caught up in the facebook syndrome of comparing yourself and your life to others. What works for you might not work for everyone. Someone will always have something negative to say about the way you do things and anyone who tells you that parenting is a piece of cake is full of crap-o-la. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during their average day- I bet it's not all sunshine and unicorns. I too often watch others tear each other down, I'm an Instagram girl (@jenmiller23) and the amount of negative comments I see on other's photos is horrifying. I use mine to keep in touch, to share funny tidbits of my life. I'm not perfect, I'll never claim to be. I'm just doing what we're all doing - #wingingit.

I want this blog to be about my craft but it will probably contain a lot of antics about my kids, my life, my thoughts on the world with possibly a little bit of crafting mixed in. Let's all just spread the love and not worry about what we look like to others. Let's celebrate other's achievements and be on board when people make life changing decisions rather than just openly and harshly criticize. I just want to make things that make people happy and be the best mom that I can be. That's not too much to ask, is it?