We go to the pet store for entertainment

Please tell me it's not lame to go to the pet store and pretend  like it's the zoo?

Because that's what we did this weekend--took the kids to the pet store for entertainment. It was a rainy Sunday so we figured why not, since we had to run errands anyway. The kids loved it!



I mean, we're clearly not fooling anyone. The zoo > pet store, which we'd know since we just went to the zoo a couple of weeks ago (I should probably get those pics off my camera and blog about it, huh?). But the zoo is an hour and a half away, and the pet store is less than 10 min. Convenience wins.



Birds, fish, reptiles, mice, ferrets, hamsters...and even a pair of guinea pigs humping (yikes). Yeah, we totally laughed behind the kids' backs and pretended nothing was happening. See? Free entertainment.

Although, the begging has already started for a guinea pig or hamster. That's SO not happening. But I do have to admit--those guinea pigs were pretty dang cute when they weren't getting frisky in front of our eyes :)

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

Conversations with Lorelai

Another round of Lorelai-isms to share, and as always, I'm mad that I can't remember every single one of the many funny things she says.


Her forehead is looking better, but she's still got a noticeable mark. I'm getting worried it's going to scar forever...


Lorelai: Mommy, I want to say something: DUKE.
Mommy: Duke what? (Of course in my head I was saying "sucks")
Lorelai: Duke. (That was so totally random. At least she didn't say 'Go Duke'--a travesty in this Tarheel-lovin' family!)

Lorelai (listening to a song on Pandora during dinner one night): Daddy, do you like this song? (She was very intent and serious as she was asking)
Daddy: Yep, do you?
Lorelai: I do! (starts jammin')



Aidan: Ewww Lorelai, did you fart?!
Lorelai: No, I burped.
Mommy: That was out of your mouth?
Lorelai: Nope. Hahaha!

Lorelai: (In a high-pitched voice) Aw, no fair, I didn't get chips! (while she shrugged her hands.)
Aidan, in response: She's so cute.



Lorelai: Mommy, I need chapped lips (she meant ChapStick)

Lorelai: Mommy, I've had SO many birthdays!
Mommy: Oh yeah? How many?
Lorelai: (holding out some fingers) 2 3 4 7 birthdays!



She just slays me. So much personality. I love this phase where she's vocal and has legit, hilarious grown-up(ish) conversations. She's still a good mix of sweet and sassy, and the sassy is mostly still cute (though I know my days are numbered there...yikes).

 I often wish I could stop time, or bottle up her innocence and cuteness to keep forever.

Wacky Tacky Wednesday

Over-sized polka dot shirt, green tank top (so people "don't see my nipples"--what Lorelai literally said this morning), floral skirt, blue reindeer socks and mismatched pig tails. NAILED IT.



In my opinion, I think we topped the tacky from last time. Although...this morning Adam's ONLY comment was about her hair. So maybe it's not as heinous an outfit as I thought? Or maybe she's just totally on trend with all the pattern mixing. ;)

It's Week of the Young Child at daycare, so in addition to today being Wacky Tacky Wednesday, there was also an ice cream social this afternoon. It was perfect timing since the boys were out for early release and could join us. Pretty sure they ruined their dinner with two bowls of ice cream each, but they were sure happy to eat and get to play on the baby toys.



And then we played with inchworms, because apparently that's what we do now.



Lorelai was extremely eager to show her friend the inchworm the Aidan found.


Hope everyone's Wednesday was slightly less tacky, but equally awesome.

Pick a different book, please!

I know reading is fundamental, and one of the most important things you can do for your child is to read to them on a regular basis. I know that. And we do. Adam and/or I always happily read at least one book or chapter to the kids every single night.

But when Lorelai insists on the SAME book every night for days (and days) on end, it gets a little old. But since it's not worth the fight right before bedtime...I admit that sometimes I skip entire pages of the book. Or change the words. Or summarize so I'm not reading every word. Shhh, don't tell on me.



Thankfully she doesn't know the difference and she's still seeing the book, hearing the words and having quality snuggle time with me. But I know my days are numbered before she's onto my tricks. I just hope by that point, she's varied her choice of reading materials. I mean, I like Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail as much as the next guy, but Easter was weeks ago. Let's move on. Please. :)

Linking up with Heather and Megan:

Spring fever

We've got a serious case of spring fever in our house. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, the air is warmer, and I'm loving it. And the pollen has even subsided, so we can be outside without turning yellow!




The kiddos seriously can't get enough of playing outside. Scooters, bikes, basketball, football, tag, races...you name it. All weekend, every day after school. Obsessed.


Speaking of obsessed, Lorelai is weirdly attached to this infant push toy that I've had in in the garage for goodwill for over a year now. She plays with it every time we go out and won't let me get rid of it. Whatever floats her boat, I guess.

From the time Lorelai went down for her nap both days this weekend, the boys were outside. I love that they're at an age where I feel comfortable letting them play out front by themselves. I probably wouldn't do it if we weren't in a quiet neighborhood on a cul-de-sac with virtually no traffic. But they know to keep an eye out for cars and not wander off.

They're both particularly obsessed with basketball and scooters. Occasionally at the same time. I should also note that we've bandaged up our fair share of scraped knees as a result of all this playing outside...






When Lorelai woke up, she was eager to join the boys. She pretty much stole the big basketball from Logan. She gets away with things 'cause she's so dang cute. I just know it.



He was a good sport though. He loves playing with her and even indulged her when she literally grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the little car so she could push him (usually it's the other way around). I think she interrupted a heated game of HORSE with daddy and Aidan. :)



And then there was the inchworm we befriended. Unfortunately, the friendship quickly ended after Lorelai tried (and failed) to squish him.



So inchworms, I can handle. But for the record, I have not stepped foot in the back yard because you know,  snakes. CANNOT handle. My spring fever would be quickly cured at the first sight of a snake in my front yard. That, or the first day of 90+ degree weather. Whichever comes first...

Oh Spring, I love you so much. Won't you please stay forever?

Flashback Friday: The dating years

In honor of mine and Adam's 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow, I thought I'd dig up some old photos of us during the dating years. We're high school sweethearts, so we've been together a looong time. Almost 17 years total without any breakups! I had trouble finding photos of just the two of us from every year we dated (where in the world are all of my old photos?!)  but here are a few gems.


Funny story about Adam's hair in the prom picture. I was out getting my own hair done and when I got home, there was a message from him on my answering machine that started with something like "please don't freak out, but..." I remember immedaitely thinking he was cancelling on me. Turns out, he was trimming his buzz cut and when he went back to touch up some stray hairs, he didn't realize there was no guard on the clippers, so he had to shave his hair REALLY short. I totally didn't care, just as long as he was still taking me!






That's me and Adam with my mom and my sister after my UNC-CH J-School graduation.

I took extra summer classes to graduate a semester early so I could wedding plan without worrying about school.

...And then we got married on April 20, 2002. The rest is history. ☺

Morbid thoughts.

Sometimes my mind gets stuck on a worst-case scenario and I can't stop my brain from going down the rabbit hole of what would happen.

For example, yesterday when I was running, I kept picturing myself collapsing on the sidewalk. I was really struggling with my run (so maybe the jogging stroller isn't the cause of my problems...?) and I've also been having this weird issue where twice in the past two days, it's felt like my heart or lung is ripping inside me when I try to breathe deeply. So I guess that's where it came from. But instead of just brushing it off and moving on, I started picturing details about what would happen. Someone would drive by and see me laying there, and would grab the phone off my arm to find out who to call. They'd probably call the number labeled Home, Adam would answer, and they'd describe a person laying (dead?) on the street. He would freak out, get the kids in the car, and pull up as the ambulance was loading me in. Very detailed. I just couldn't get my brain to move on.


Obviously I was fine, but exhausted. And I should also mention that I waited to get Lorelai from daycare so I could run without the jogging stroller. #don'tjudge


It also happens regularly when I'm driving on a bridge over water (I admit, I have anxiety when it comes to bridges--driving to the OBX was really scary for me and you will probably never see me with fewer than two hands on the steering wheel over water). In my mind, I can't help but picture and play out what would happen if I drove off the bridge. Not that I would purposefully drive off the bridge, but if we had an accident that caused us to go over.

And I do it with the kids, too. It'll be a completely harmless situation--like they're at school when I get a call that something tragic has happened. It's always very disturbing. Kind of like a nightmare, but I'm wide awake.

I don't know, maybe it's just me subconsciously confronting my own mortality in the wake of senseless tragedy like the Boston Marathon bombings. Or my kids' mortality whenever I (often) get sucked into terrible news stories of kids dying...

Do other people do this too, or am I mentally unstable? And did I just admit that I'm mentally unstable to the entire interwebs? Maybe I should also ask: has anyone else had a similar feeling like your heart's going to tear or like your lung can't expand anymore or it'll tear (it's hard to describe)? I know better than to google...(or do I?)

They're baaaack...

And so begins my annual avoidance of the back yard. This guy just came out, and I know all of his snake friends are on their way, ready to swarm my yard and give me nightmares.

Although unlike that other terrible terrible time, I was warned (by Aidan) of his presence while I was safely inside. He was definitely sluggish, but it's not long before he's ready to party and bite my toes off or strangle my neck. (What? That's not what "harmless" black snakes do? Tell that to my nightmares, and the fact that we definitely have copperheads lurking as well.)

Maybe I need to adopt a honey badger? ☺

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Jogging with a stroller is NO JOKE

Now that the weather has finally gotten nice, we've been enjoying a lot more time outside. I've been getting back into running, and the boys have been going with me around the neighborhood with their scooters. Last night, I loaded Lorelai into the jogging stroller and we all went for a run while Adam made dinner.


The way she crosses her legs in the stroller just kills me. She's just chillin' all cute and stuff while I'm willing my body to keep moving.


But HOLY MOLY, it was rough! I don't know if it was the junk food I ate at lunch weighing me down or the yellow haze of pollen messing with my lungs (or both), but I was huffing and puffing WAY more than normal. Not that I normally run with Lorelai in the jogging stroller anyway--I really prefer to run without it. I mean, who wants to make running more difficult? Not me! Plus, my jogging app doesn't magically account for the extra calories I MUST be burning from pushing a 35lb kid in a stroller to help motivate me...

Side note: the last time I went on a good run with her, I ended thinking I had some sort of breast disease because it felt like someone was stabbing my right boob for like 4 days in a row. I was thisclose to calling my doctor. Only later did I realize that it was probably just radiating pain because my pec muscle was sore from the way I was pushing the stroller with my right arm as I ran (lame).


And this was the time I learned my lesson on how to NOT hold onto the jogging stroller...

But she had fun "chasing" after the boys, they had fun trying to leave me in their dust, and we all got some fresh (-ish--quality debatable with the previously mentioned pollen onslaught) air and exercise, so I'll quit my whining. Until the next time. :)

Patting myself on the back

I'm not ashamed to admit I won't win any kind of homemaking prizes anytime soon (good thing I'm not a homemaker?). I don't clean as often as I should (seriously can't remember the last time I mopped the floors), I don't like to cook, my home is disorganized, etc. I am kind of ashamed to admit just how lazy I typically am on the weekends when it comes to these things, because I'd rather sit on my butt.

BUT! I do have to pat myself on the back for once because I had a pretty kick-ass productive weekend. On Saturday, my sister and I helped my mom sort/clean out her garage, which is no small feat (hoarder alert! Love you mom:)). Adam even changed all of her locks while we were working and the kids were enjoying the weather.

Then on Sunday I totally raised the bar for myself. We did our grocery shopping and I planned out all our meals for the next 2 weeks. Our meal plan board is finally not blank! I also did laundry, made lunches, prepped dinner, cooked lasagna for later in the week, made spinach smoothies and breakfast muffins for the boys for the week, put away all of the Easter stuff and switched out our mantle decor, and I was even motivated enough for a 4.1 mile run! The kids played outside, we grilled hotdogs, and life was grand.




Spring seems to have finally(!) arrived here in NC, and I swear that's the motivation I needed to get off my butt this weekend. I felt energized and refreshed and good! Amazing what a little sunshine a fresh air can do to you, right? Who knows how long the motivation will last, but here it is, documented on the internet for eternity--I was not lazy all weekend! Ha!

Ok, so we won't talk about the fact that I'm swamped at work this week and I can already see the motivation I had at the beginning of the week slipping through my fingers...but it was good while it lasted. See also: I started this post on Monday and I'm just now finishing it. At least we still have nice weather--no more 44 and rainy like last week, thank goodness!

5 random things

In the spirit of getting to know me better (and because I like to copy good ideas--this was has been going around the blogosphere for a while), I thought I'd share 5 random things that most people probably don't know about me.

1) I take showers at night and I don't wash my hair everyday. I'm training my hair to go longer between washes--I'm comfortably at every other day now, but I can occasionally go two days. Mostly because I'm lazy and hate having to do my hair. And I love that little bit of extra sleep in the morning with not having to shower OR do my hair. But also because my hair was looking unhealthy and damaged. I think my new routine is helping! Oh, and I've started deep conditioning my hair with organic unrefined coconut oil.

Sporting 3rd day hair to work for the first time. Turns
out, it was apparently profile pic worthy hair, ha!



2) I like my m&ms a little melty. As much as I try to avoid the constant stash in the kitchen at work, if I do give in, I like to put them in a cup and microwave them for like 20 seconds. I know, weird. I always cross my fingers no one sees me. :) (Semi-related: when I was a kid, I remember microwaving my ice cream at my friend's house because it was too cold.)

3) I'm a slave to Proactiv. When I was younger, I was very fortunate to have mostly clear skin. The occasional breakout every now and then, but nothing bad. That all changed during my first pregnancy. My skin was so bad, and it got even worse for a while postpartum. I'm not brave enough to post any before pictures, but let's just say I got really good at using the blemish tool in Photoshop. My acne fluctuated for years after that, and through my other two pregnancies. Although it wasn't quite as bad with Lorelai, I do still have some dark spots from acne scars. Finally, I was fed up enough to try Proactiv after other failed attempts, and it worked! I've been using it for about 18 months and my skin is finally clear (aside from the occasional blemish--ironically a whopping two on my face as I'm writing this). I'm scared to stop using it at this point though...

4) Graphic design interests me. In hindsight, I wish I had taken some of those classes in J-school. But I really enjoy working in Photoshop to design things like our Christmas card, Lorelai's birth announcement and even my new blog design. If you follow via a reader or email, you may not have noticed, but I gave the old blog a bit of a face lift a couple of weeks ago. Clearly nothing professional, but doing it made me happy. (Though the verdict is still out on whether I want to change my blog button to match--I've got a weird attachment to my first blog button baby with a pic of my kiddos on the beach.)

I created the header, social media buttons, and heart dividers in photoshop and tweaked the font colors in blogger to match.


5) I'm done having babies and I really truly feel as though Lorelai perfectly completes our family. But I get baby fever like whoa on a regular basis. I'm nuts.

A squishy/super chubby/milk-drunk baby?! How could I not miss that?! Also? It's crazy looking back on Lorelai's baby pictures and seeing how dark her hair was!


Anyone else like melty M&Ms or have any other random quirks to share? Or have an opinion on whether I should change my blog button to match my header? I'd love to know!

 

(Ok sorry, that's a LOT of my face in one post, geez!)

PS:  There's 25 more random things about me here.

Raising Imperfection blog hop

I'm so excited to be co-hosting the Raising Imperfection blog hop this week! As I mentioned here, I've seen the kind of amazing support and friendships the blogging community has to offer, and I'm looking forward to "meeting" lots of new people!

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It’s Sunday! ~ Welcome to Week #21 of Raising Imperfection!

We hope you all had a fantastic Easter Sunday last week and enjoyed the day off from hopping around! But we are BACK!

Link your funny stories, best recipes, parenting successes, parenting fails, DIY projects and tips, photo bomb posts and more! We want to learn more about the people we connect with daily. Then…come back for Feature Fridays! Leslie and I choose our favorite links from the link up and feature them!

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