30 On The 30th!

Happy Birthday to me! Ha! I am old now. Chuck played a pretty funny prank on me today. Yesterday, at church, he handed out postcards to people that gave my phone number and said to call me on my birthday. It also said not to leave a message but to make sure to talk to me on the phone because I don't really enjoy talking on the phone all that much. Plus, he had a bunch of my family members do it. Altogether, he contacted 30 people to call me for my 30th birthday. It was pretty darn funny. I didn't catch on until about the 10th phone call. I finally realized that he must have said something yesterday in church. People were calling me nonstop all day long! At one point, I got 4 phone calls within like 10 minutes! My family was cracking up!!! I want to say it was a sweet gesture to have people wish me well on my special day, but we all know better than that, don't we? :) Still, I was impressed at his amount of planning and thinking ahead. That doesn't usually happen! Thanks Chuck for making me laugh all day long. I love ya!

Cherene

My funny 3 year old

Austin's observation today: "Everyone has yellow pee."

Gotta love him!

Cherene :)

Summer Days

I just posted a whole darn post, and of course as I go to publish it my internet goes out. Man, I hate that! Well, the gist of it was that I am actually starting to enjoy the summer with my boys. I have started trying to schedule our days a little more, and that really seems to be helping Aidan. Both of the boys have been better behavior wise. I just let them know what I have planned for the day, and knowing the schedule seems to empower Aidan to be more in control of himself. We'll see where this takes us...

Cherene

Whew! Where Did June Go?

I can't believe the month of June is almost over? Where did it go? With the end of school, birthdays, and a trip up north, we have been busy!!! The trip up north was tiring, but fun. It's hard traveling by myself with the boys, but I'm getting the hang of it. My mom and dad were so great, and the help was so much appreciated.

Without the structure of school, Aidan has become a bit squirrly. Ok, more than a bit. He can barely control his body at times. It's so frustrating. I am sure the lack of sleep (due to several late nights in a row) doesn't help any! And then Austin just feeds off of Aidan. I know I need to put more structure and schedule into their day, but it's so not me. It's hard because I just like to be laid back and do whatever. But it's very obvious that Aidan needs that structure in order to maintain any sort of sanity in his little body and brain. Threatening, rewarding, taking things away, doesn't do any good with him. We have to figure out some other way to deal with his behavior. It's just so hard because I know half of the time he really can't control what he is doing. The other half of the time, he's just being a typical 6 year old who doesn't want to listen to his parents. Ahhhhh!!!

Ok, I am off to bed. I need to start trying to go to bed earlier. I am so darn tired and cranky in the morning! I never want to get out of bed, and I have no energy. Now, I do realize most of that has to do with the fact that I am a biggen'. I'll add losing wait to my ever increasing To Do list. But going to bed earlier has to help a little, right?

Good Night,
Cherene

I Hate Packing

I hate packing. I am stalling by means of blogging so I don't have to pack. It's pathetic, I know. Plus, my gall bladder is acting up and so I feel pretty crummy right now. The boys and I are taking a trip up north to see family. I am not looking forward to driving, but am looking forward to spending a few days with family. Chuck is away all week at a conference with some youth from the church. I figured if I stayed here all week, one of us would not survive.

Ok, I don't think I can put it off any longer. The suitcases are calling my name. I've got a lot to do before Aidan's first T-ball game tonight! I probably won't be able to blog much while I am gone, so sorry about that to my millions of fans in cyberspace!

Cherene

The Season of Birthdays Is Officially Over!

Well, we have finally come to the end of celebrating the boys' birthdays. They had their party today, and they had a blast! I have included a few pictures of the festivities.

The cake didn't turn out too badly, especially when looked at from far away. It took forever to make and frost, but the boys loved it. I realized last night, after I had the entire Pikachu made and frosted, that I forgot the tail. Luckily, I had picked up another box of cake mix! So I had to make a whole other cake just for the stinkin' tail. Aidan came in my bedroom this morning after seeing it and told me I could be a pastry maker. That made my day!

The party went really well. The weather was perfect, and they even got to go on the slip n' slide. When everyone sang happy birthday to them, Austin conducted through the entire song. It was great!

My sister-in-law, Kristie, got the boys each a Savings Bond. A while back, Kristie had asked them what they wanted for their birthdays, and Aidan told her he wanted a Savings Bond. What she didn't know was that they had recently watched the new Alvin & The Chipmunks movie. In the movie, Dave gives the chipmunks Savings Bonds for Christmas. Hence, the odd request from Aidan. He loved it though, so I'm glad she did it. Austin wanted to know what it was, so I tried to explain it to him. After doing so, he looks at me and says "what is it?" I gave up on that one!

It was a good time for all, but I'm so tired now!

Cherene

Ow, Ow, Ow!

I wrote about my poor big toe yesterday. Now, the rest of the story! Right before bed last night my big toe was really throbbing. There was an enormous amount of pressure under the nail because of the blood pooling under it (sorry for the graphic details!) Chuck said I would have to poke a hole in my nail to drain it. Well, that sounded rather awful to me. But the pain was only getting worse, so I decided to research online. Everyone said the same thing. Grab a trusted friend, a needle, and a match. Well, I didn't have a trusted friend around, so I grabbed Chuck (kidding!). He took a needle, got it hot with a flame, and poked three tiny holes in my nail. The first didn't hurt, the second two did! Anyways, I did manage to drain it some, so it feels a little better. I gotta tell ya, having him jam a hot needle into my big toe was actually quite terrifying for me. I cried like a baby! :) But it's over now, I hope. Now I just have a gross, black, ugly big toe to show for it.

Cherene

Point Taken, Chuck

Since I started this blog, Chuck (my dear, sweet, encouraging husband) has pretty much mocked me continually. That's Ok, I would do the same if he had started one. Anyways, every time I post, I ask him if he read it. Well, today he answered me by saying "No, I haven't read it. Isn't that the point of you having a blog." Meaning, didn't you start this so I wouldn't have to listen to you flap your jaw all the time. I added the extra sarcasm, but he did make sense. That is the reason I started this blog. So, I guess I'll stop asking him if he read it! Now he is having a fit because I am blogging twice in one day. But I had to blog about him not wanting to read my blogs and making fun of me blogging!!!

On another note, entirely not related to what I just wrote, I seriously messed up my big toe tonight. As I was trying to get ahead of schedule and make the cakes so I can frost them tomorrow, I dropped a pan right on my big toe. The really stupid part is, it wasn't even a big pan. It was a small round cake pan. However, that small pan packed a good punch. As I stood in the kitchen yelling and moaning in pain, not one of my boys (including my loving husband) got up off the couch to see if I was OK. Thanks a lot guys! Of course, being boys, they all wanted to see my black and blue toe. Maybe if I yell "blood" next time they'll come runnin'! I can't even walk on the thing it hurts so bad. Seriously, I am the clumsiest person ever. I'd post a picture of it, but really, that's just gross.

Cherene

Birthday Cakes

Ok, so we are celebrating our boys' birthdays together this Saturday. I love planning their birthdays. I feel like kind of slacker this year cause I haven't gotten into it as much. But still, I am trying to do my part as the "coolest mommy ever." Every year I attempt to make their birthday cakes to fit whatever theme they have chosen. This year it's Pokemon. Ok, so pretty much Aidan chooses and Austin just gets stuck with whatever. Good thing he really doesn't care. The only thing he says is that he wants a "yellow birthday." That I can do! I am going to try to make a cake in the shape of a yellow Pikachu tomorrow. It's going to be interesting. I am really not that good at making cakes! My father-in-law still mocks me for the Adidas soccer shoe I tried to make for Aidan's first birthday!!! For those of you who don't know, I have included a picture of Pikachu the Pokemon creature.

We were sitting at lunch today, and I mentioned to my family that I would be making the cake tomorrow. Aidan says "mom should open a pastry store." Chuck and I just looked at each other and laughed. I told Aidan that "pastry" was a great word and asked him where he learned it. He just looked at Chuck with all sincerity and said "pastry means cake." So we laughed again. He said he just heard it somewhere. That guy picks up on everything! And then Austin picks up on everything that Aidan picks up on. It's like we are living with two parrots.

A few examples:
The other day we were driving through Toledo and passed what I believe is another blasted Rite Aide being built. Aidan says from the back of the van "those building are taking over the world."

I made Pokeball cupcakes for Aidan's class at school to celebrate his birthday (see picture at right). They didn't turn out too bad. When we took them to school he told his teachers "my mom tried to avoid Pokemon as long as she could, but my neighbors like it and now I do." Oops, I think I tell people that a lot!

Ok, last one. Aidan had to go see the ENT for a check up. He kept talking and talking and talking. When there was no one in the room, he turned to me and said "I'm going to talk their ear off." Oops, I guess I say that all the time, too!

Wish me luck tomorrow on the cake! It has the potential to be a huge disaster! I'll let ya know how it turns out!

Cherene

Birthdays...

Ok, for my first rant on this blog (see Murdoch, I told you I would rant) I want to talk about restaurants in Toledo. My boys each had a birthday this week. Aidan's was last Friday and Austin's was today. We usually take our boys out to the restaurant of their choice on their birthdays. Of course, we always tell the waiter or waitress so they can prepare dessert and come marching out singing the appropriate birthday song for that particular restaurant. Practically every restaurant in Mt. Pleasant did this. Well, apparently in Toledo they are too good for the birthday song and dance. We went to Olive Garden for Aidan's birthday and got nothing, not even dessert. Needless to say, our drama king who loves attention did not appreciate this. Today we went to Applebee's for Austin and our waiter did bring dessert, but no song. Seriously, is it that hard to drag a few workers out and make my kid's day? They look really forward to it, darn it! And I'm not just trying to be some cheap parent who doesn't want to buy dessert, although that is nice! Aidan and Austin just get such a kick out of the whole thing. We always clap along for other people's birthday songs in restaurants. It's just a good time all around.

I will give props (yes Chuck, I did just use the word props - how many cool points do I lose for that?) to Red Robin. We went there to celebrate an early Father's Day for my father-in-law when he was visiting. On a whim we decided to mention the boys' birthdays (it is after all the "season" of their birthdays!). Well, thank you very much, we got the whole obnoxious song and dance and dessert, and my boys loved every single moment of it! They had to stand up on their seats, hold their sundaes over their heads, get a balloon, and a loud song that went on forever. Our waitress even took 3 seconds to learn their names and how old they were in order to announce it to everyone sitting around us. Now that's what I'm talking about. Not only did they get to enjoy the moment, but they got to annoy every person sitting nearby. And there were at least 3 other birthdays just while we were there. Gotta love Red Robin. So, thank you Red Robin for making my kids smile. And it only cost you two scoops of ice cream and thirty seconds of your workers' time.

Okay, my first official rant is now over. I know, it was a big one. Next time I'll try to tone it down a little!

Cherene

What Is Mommy Brain?

Ok, so I finally decided I needed to give this a try. I figured it would give me somewhere to purge my thoughts when my husband was tired of listening to me (or pretending to listen). Since most of our days revolve around our two sons, we rarely get to say complete thoughts, let alone have entire conversations. So there ya go, I can type away and not worry about anyone screaming "mommy" in my ear twenty times. That assumption of course is based on the fact that I will never, ever, ever be able to blog when my children are awake!

Anyways, on to the really important stuff. What is "Mommy Brain" you ask? I believe this phrase was coined by my sister-in-law. She told me that is what I had when I was pregnant with my first son. I think I once heard that a woman's brain shrinks when she is pregnant. Hence, Mommy Brain! Every mom knows what this is. You suddenly can't remember anything. You are forgetful, absent-minded, clumsy, and downright stupid at times. Every smart thought you ever had has left you for good. I fully believe that Mommy Brain never goes away. I have been cursed with it for the rest of my life. My sons are now 6 & 3, and still, I am dumber than rocks. My head is so full of doctor appointments, T-ball practices, snack schedules, and homework assignments, that my brain really can't compute anything else!

So, I have decided to fill this blog with all the mundane things in my life that drive me crazy, make me laugh, or simply puzzle me. Thanks for reading, and I hope you visit often!!!

Cherene