This is My Forties

After all the hustle and bustle of overcoming sickness, unpacking bags, and sterilizing the post-apocalyptic disaster that was "Pukefest 2011"... we ran out of time for Easter shopping. Everything was closed by Wednesday. No candy, no white eggs, no Easter lamb. Not a big deal. We are not really Eastery people. We celebrate Easter as the arrival of spring, longer days, the end of winter. We enjoy family time, and allow our children the joys of candy spoils (that they are not normally allowed) and fun easter egg hunts to build "esprit de ninos"... give mommy and daddy an excuse to gorge on delicousness from our own kitchen and enjoy a little more wine than normal. Our boys don't believe in the Easter bunny. We do not associate it with any religious beliefs, and that's easy enough to do. But, I digress. Either way, Josh was gone and Tom is back in the states (we miss you, Tom!!) so it would have been pointless to do a huge dinner anyway. I was sa...

I don't like to share personal information with people I know. Now... I can tell a stranger my entire life story and be fine with it. But, when it comes to spilling my guts to family and friends, I clam up immediately. Plus I am awful with keeping/hiding my emotions so I tend to isolate myself to avoid questions. Doesn't fool anyone, I know. It's obvious that I drop off the face of the planet when something is bothering me. So anyway, this explains the long break I have taken from this blog. Other than being a Mommy, I am also a wife and... get this... an individual! Who knew ;) I was working on those. I love my kids, but being their mother is not enough to make myself or my husband happy so... lots of personal growth going on. Marriage is difficult. Anyone who seems like it's not is currently riding a high, but there are always lows... it's inevitable, but it's ok. It happens, they make you stronger if you get through them, and you learn a lot...

Last night my nearly 4yr old FINALLY pooped on the potty. Huge success!!! He would hold it for 4 days and refuse to go until he finally ruined countless outfits. But then last night he finally went. VICTORY!! (and yes the use of "finally" in every sentence was intentional) So reeling in my motherly prowess I felt super awesome this morning and suddenly had a thought to combat back-talking, fits, general misconduct. I don't know if I've seen it before or something... I mean I doubt I invented it. Anyway, I tried it. It worked. I have yet to test it on an ultimate toddler fit, but I am hoping this method will stop the fits from ever happening. So, here's what I did. Scenario 1: Tristan is jumping up and down screaming because Brennan drank the leftover milk from his cereal bowl. I calmly dropped down to eye level with him, grabbed both hands in one of mine, lifted his chin with my other hand and said very very calmly "Tristan look at me" (until he di...

I haven't been blogging on here lately because, frankly, I have very little to say that is appropriate for this blog. This is where I update about the boys and tell of our adventures in Spain, not where I bare my eternal soul ;) Actually, everything is going so well right now!!! The 100 day challenge I am in has done so much more for me than just help me get into shape. The emotional well-being challenges are doing wonders... and it's only the 2nd week. SparkPeople is a place where I can go and blog about my struggles, my challenges, my victories, MYSELF and not say a word about my kids. We Mommies all do that on there. It's a magical place... it's not often you can get with a group of Moms and not mention baby milestones, husbands, sales at walmart... it's been such a great experience so far. I am going to be sad when the 100 days are over. I don't think we realize how much our lives revolve around everyone else. Well, that's what the 100 day ch...