The A to Z of me

I've been seeing this on the blogosphere.  I thought this could be fun.  So, here goes.  The A to Z of me.

A. Age: 38
B. Bed size: full.  But we're looking at upgrading to a Queen in the near future.  PLEASE!
C. Chore that you hate: washing dishes.  Without question.
D. Dogs: Bert, but we can't forget Sadie :)
E. Essential start to your day: first thing -- brushing my teeth.
F. Favorite color: green
G. Gold or Silver: white gold
H. Height: 5’7″
I. Instruments you play: nada
J. Job title: civil engineer
K. Kids: 3 adorable little Boyd boys
L. Live: wild, wonderful West Virginia
M. Mother’s name: Sandra Aurelia
N. Nicknames: none really.  Yes, I'm pretty boring.
O. Overnight hospital stays: just to deliver the babies
P. Pet peeves: humble bragging
Q. Quote from a movie:  can't think of any!  (I don't watch movies very often. :)) 
R. Right or left handed: rightie
S. Siblings: one younger sister
U. Underwear: comfy cotton undies
V. Vegetable you hate: not many, but I really don't like beets.
W. What makes you run late: everything, especially my disorganization.
X. X-Rays you’ve had: teeth
Y. Yummy food that you make: lemon chicken rice soup
Z. Zoo animal: elephants are my fave

That's all, folks!

me and my boys at bedtime

❤

❤

So, so true.

courtesy of babycenter.com newsletter

Love this idea!

I love this idea at Children Inspire Design for recording your child's milestones.  I think it's intended for wee little ones, but I think it would be a great idea for bigger kids, too.  I really think I am going to have to try this out.  (I have all these crafty ideas but not enough wall space!)  It could be a neat idea for friends with little guys, too.  Hmm....Christmas is just around the corner, you know!

via jenjohnson.typepad.com

Is it wrong?

This little guy is growing up so fast.  Now he's entering the separation anxiety stage, you know, the one where he is fine until I walk into the room?  Then he throws a no-bars-hold fit until I hold him?  Yep, that stage.

I know it's not a great thing, but it's also nice to know someone loves me that badly and that only I can comfort him :)  Is it wrong of me to secretly love this?  I know it will get old really quickly, but....

Keep Calm and...

I originally copied this image trying to write about, "Keep Calm and Carry On."  That's what I've been thinking about this week as it's been so overwhelmingly crazy at work lately.  There literally have not been enough hours in the day.  I left work yesterday feeling just physically ill and mentally drained.  I woke up with a headache, and it escalated all day.  I know I did not drink enough water.  I know I did not eat anything until I got home yesterday.  I know I cried on the drive home.  When I got home, I went through the motions.  I fed Nash dinner, gave him his bath, played with Zane a little, talked to Ethan a little.  But I had to go to bed early; it's the only thing that helps.  And I felt bad about it.  Mommy guilt.

But today is better.  I got needed rest.  I drove to work this morning, I drank a Coke, I heard music to psyche me up, I made a plan.  I got things that needed to be done done.  I feel so much better now!  JOY!  RELIEF!

And now I look at this poster image.  There are so many ways I could have handled my stress of the past two days.  I chose to keep calm and carry on. 

Blow Out The Candles On the Cake!

We celebrated Jason's not-quite-40-but-almost-there-ok-39th birthday on Sunday afternoon.  His parents came to spend the afternoon with us.  They allowed us to go out to dinner (which we never get to do anymore) by watching and playing with the little guys at home for a couple of hours. 

The restaurant I wanted to take him to (Huntington Prime) closes at 3 P.M. on Sundays.  We didn't leave the house until 5.  Olive Garden, his second choice, had people waiting outside to even get a table.  Jason doesn't exactly have the patience of Job.  So, we ended up at Logan's Steakhouse.  I had him geared up to have a melt-in-your-mouth steak from Huntington Prime, so he splurged at Logan's and got the big filet.  Not quite Prime, but it was good. 

When we got home afterwards, we had yummy Dairy Queen Oreo Blizzard ice cream cake.  All I can say is that there's still some left in my freezer at home, and I hope the boys forget about it.

I had taken Ethan out Saturday afternoon to get Jason's birthday present and pick up the cake.  He picked out the cake, and it's delish.  We didn't get lucky finding Jason's gift; but it's the thought that counts, right?  Ethan, however, came home with Angry Birds backpack fobs.  They're in his bed rather than on his backpack, but whatever.

I wanted to post these pictures taken of Jason and the boys blowing out the candles on his cake.  (Since Ethan picked out the cake, Zane got to choose where the candles went on the cake.)  No one pic is awesome, but it shows how fun the moment was.  It's like stuffing kittens in a sack trying to get all 5 of us looking at the same thing at the same time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JASON!!!




Nash is like, "What are you doing, Daddy?"

 

 

Wow, that cake is lit up!  How old is Jason???

 


Blow out the candles!!!

 


I love the expression on Zane's face in this shot.

So, that's a wrap!  One more in the books for the Boyd boys.

Ahh, Sweet Saturday

The weather had been so fall-like and cool last week that it was nice to be able to go outside and just enjoy the day on Saturday.  We didn't do anything crazy, mind you; but it was nice.  We spent a lot of time on the porch swing, spending some quality cuddle time with the little ones :)

Zane loves drawing now, so he pulled out the box of sidewalk chalk.  (I swear that stuff lasts forever; I think it's been arounf since Ethan who is now 8 was little!)  I told him to draw/trace around my feet.  He drew ON my feet.  But he chose a lovely shade of blue.  And it matches the nail polish color on my toes :)

chalk-covered blue-colored toes

Ethan and Zane found sticks.  Boys in my house love two things most when outside - 1) water hoses, and 2) sticks.  Ethan has a blossoming interest in golf, so he found a stick that was a perfect club.  There is a persimmon tree in our neighbor's yard that drops the fruit into our yard.  Wah-lah!  Perfect for stick clubs!

Good form, Ethan!

Zane's itty bitty stick club -- perfect for whacking.

I think he must have stepped on a squashed persimmon.  (Yep, bare feet.)

Nash is just along for the ride.  Cute, goofy face.  Love!

Long Weekend = Short Work Week = A Really Long Week for Mommy!

We started off this week with Labor Day 2011.  That meant basically no work or school on Monday which meant a long weekend for us.  Is it terrible for me to say I have a love/hate relationship with weekends?  Right now, they are just so much work!  (Another reason why I am a totally un-fun mom.  Sorry, guys!)  Weekends are when we are officially responsible for the tedious parts of parenthood like meals and naps.  Seriously, meals or meal planning is a back-to-back activity spanning wake up to bedtime with no more than 2 hours in between.  I know we seriously need help with organization and meal planning, but why bother?  It's like a dog chasing his tail!  And naps?  Ethan hasn't really napped since he was 2.  And the little boys never seem to nap on the same schedule. *deep sigh*

Weekends are also when you have to catch up on laundry, go to the grocery store, get the oil changed in the car, clean up the house (ha!), blah, blah, blah.  See?  It doesn't sound fun at all.  I did notice that by not scheduling a specific activity last weekend, we became slackers.  There was no motivation for ole mom and dad.  Well, for mom at least.  I didn't get a shower Saturday until after the little boys were in bed.  I don't think I got a shower at all on Sunday.  Or was that Monday?

So, here we are, full circle back to Monday.  Our "day off." 

It also rained Sunday evening and pretty much all day Monday.  A lot.  That did mean that some old toys of Ethan's were resurrected -- the Thomas the Train set.  I had forgotten how many trains he had!  I remember going to any department store, we would always check to see what trains they had.  We usually bought one every trip for us -- I mean, him.  Ethan has played with the trains for years!  But suddenly Zane loves Thomas trains now.  Books, toys, train sets, everything.  Ethan and Jason built a huge intricate track in the basement.  We played with that thing for hours over the weekend.  We even set Nash in his exersaucer in the middle of the track so he could enjoy it, too.  (He was following the trains as they chugged around the track!)  That was fun.  The track is still set up a week later :)  Yep, that's the way we roll in our house!  Pick up toys every night?  It's like eating oreos while brushing your teeth.

Inspiration for an Un-Fun Mom