Molly VS. My Mac

So at night when I am done on with my MacBook I close it up and put the power adapter in my bag on the table. That seemed like a perfectly safe place for it. I was wrong, I didn't notice that Molly is now tall enough to get reach up on the table and pull my bag down, which she did. And she turned my power adapter into her latest chew toy, It might be the fact that Bobo constantly steals her bone, which she cherishes. You can't be mad, she is just a puppy. Bonus to the power cord chewing is that I needed a new one anyway, mine was working only when it wanted to and i got to buy it using my Business card so I can write it off. Yeah...

Do they know that Dad lives here too..

For some reason in my house all day and night all I hear is Mom, Mama, Mommy, Mom... For every predicament, grievance, ailment, every boredom dilemma, all damage control it's Mom. They automatically call out my name first. I have never heard them call out Dad, Daddy, Dad, Dad... Oh no, why ? Because they know Dad isn't gonna deal with it. Men are geniuses about getting out of doing stuff at home, and dealing with the kids when they are being crazy. Dad's know if you want them to fix something all they have to do is mess it up one time and we will make them stop. Ask them to do the dishes, they know if they do them wrong that as Mom we will automatically take over so it gets done right. When it comes to the kids, I think this applies more to stay at home moms because we are always and have always been there 24 hrs a day taking care of everything. So it is hard wired into their brain to come to Mom first for everything. I have tried to break my kids of this habit but it never seems to work. On those days where you have just had enough there is no easier way to drive you over the edge than the sound of Mom, Mommy, Mom, Mama, Mommy, MOM, MOM, MOM..... That sound just finds your spine and crawls up it into your brain until you just want to scream.. Do they not know that we heard them the first time, that if we do not jump up to their beckon call at that very moment then maybe we are busy.. The worst thing is, I used to do this to my own Mother and never understood why it made her so crazy, but thanks to the good ol curse she put on me when I had my first child, I know all to well why this made her crazy. Now every time it is done to me for a second I feel so guilty for ever doing it to her..

Auto Focus

Watching BoBo last night and the intense focus he had while starring at Molly with her bone, it made me think. My biggest problem with my son Xander is his utter lack of focus. From getting ready in the morning, to eating his dinner at night, all day you are yelling FOCUS XANDER FOCUS. Everything is a constant struggle with him to just get him too focus and get it done.

Now my biggest problem with BoBo, is his Focus. He is the most focused animal you have ever seen. From sitting in the Kitchen watching the cat eat her food, just waiting for some of it to fall so he can catch it. To sitting in front of the coffee table for 2 hrs crying because he knows there is a Red Vine up there. BoBo never gives up.

So if I could just find a way to switch Xander and Bobo's focus problems, I would have it made. Just think how much easier my life would be if Xander was able to focus on his homework the way Bobo focuses on the Red Vine I am eating or if BoBo focused on the cat and food as little as Xander focuses on his chores. Just imagine it. Life would be great

Feeling Old and Young all at the same time..

Why is 34 turning out to be so exhausting.. I have a theory. I really think it's because I lost a year. See when I turned 34 I thought I was still 32. I went all of last year thinking I was 32, it wasn't until a month before my birthday that my husband informed me, no honey you are 33. No, I said, I am 32. I sat there and did the math, omg I am 33. I have lost a whole year. I still don't know how this happened, but it did. I had one month of being 33 then came the big 34. Now ever since I seem to have lost some energy and believe me I didn't have any left over to lose. I still think I should get to do 33 over again, I mean it's only fair. What if 33 is my lucky year and I missed it. Or is it all in my head. I have never been one to stress about getting older, because I still look pretty young and I still act young, but 34 is a little different. I am starting to feel my age, I found a gray hair this year, my first. My crow's feet are a size larger this year and my energy has gone to some other place. It is such a weird feeling to be in your 30's. Because no matter how much you joke about feeling old, it's you finally realizing how young it actually is. When you were younger, your 30's seemed so old, I mean our parents were in their 30's. But when you finally arrive, especially mid 30's you think, but I am still so young. Ya, your beginning to lose a step or too, those wrinkles have set their sights on you, those gray wiry hairs are playing peek a boo with you, your hair doesn't grow as fast anymore. Yes you are constantly looking in the mirror at that brown spot on your face, trying to figure out how much time you actually tanned when you were younger without sunscreen. That's the worst have you ever looked at your face through one of those special cameras they have at the make up counters, you know the ones that show you just how much damage you did as a teenager. When you were young and cocky and said, oh please Mother, by the time the damage from this amazing tan shows up, I won't care. Well guess what, I care.. Now all of our money goes to trying to reverse that awesome tan we had.. Foolish girl, why didn't I just listen to my Mother. It is just an odd age, feeling old and young all at the same time..

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader ?

I don't know about everyone else but at my kids school, they get a lot of homework. Sometimes I think it's actually more for the parents than for the kids. When I help my kids with their homework I feel like I am in a game of "Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?" Math has never been and still is not my subject and trying to remember fractions is taxing enough but now they need to go throw all this new math out there. Thankfully my oldest son is a natural math genius, he is in advanced math and helps his little brother. But when he does run into a problem it becomes this puzzle that I get obsessed with trying to figure out, all the while feeling totally frustrated that I cannot remember any of it. It is amazing as you get older to find out what information has escaped for good. I sit there laughing wondering how many other parents are sitting at home with their 5th graders feeling the same way. It is a bit of an ego tester let me tell you. I swear I did not learn half the math that they seem to be teaching today, it is the word problems that I am usually best at, but even some of the ones they bring home get me stumped. I remember one night last year, Xander had this word problem that he did not understand. Now I knew I was in trouble if he was having problems, usually he can do his math with his eyes closed. So I must have read this thing about 20 times, and for the life of me I could not get it. So I asked my husband he is the math brain in this house, he of course gave up very quickly, I called my mother she was just as lost as I was. I looked on the Internet, called a few of my mama friends, nothing. Nobody could figure this out, I started to think well if none of these adults can get it then that is just ridiculous, maybe there was a typo ? I must of spent a few hours mulling over this word problem. Finally my son comes in and says let me see it one more time, he reads it again and figures it out on the spot, oh I must have read it wrong the first time; he says. I just looked up in total shock, are you serious; I said. I started laughing so hard I almost peed myself, I couldn't believe I had spent all this time torturing myself and he just read it wrong. How is my 5th grader smarter than me, I asked him. he replied; all 5th graders are smarter than their parents, they even made a show about it...

Wide Awake @ 4 am..Thanks Earthquake...

So yes we just had an earthquake 4.4 apparently. Now everyone is awake, yeah... I was already awake just getting ready to go to bed when the earth had itself a lil shake. My husband woke up, then Nolan. Right before the quake Molly and BoBo were acting really weird, they were both laying on the floor just starring up at the ceiling being really still. How do dogs know these things? Thank god it was just a lil one but it still freaks me out given what's going on in the world. I mean I worry are we next in line for a major quake? You can't help but think about it. So I went online to see how big it was and I noticed that just over the last 7 days we have had quite a few, 3.0, 2.8, 3.8, 4.0 etc. that is unsettling. I didn't feel any of them and I am sure we have quakes all the time, but I like it better when I am not aware of it. So note to self "Do Not Go Online and Look at the Earthquake Maps", stay blissfully ignorant..So now I am going to attempt to get Molly to sleep, but first I have to convince Nolan to go back to his own bed. This should be a lot of fun. Since he is now wide awake spouting his theories of what causes an Earthquake. Nolans theory as he explained to me is this "Mom I think the Earth just has gas, thank god it was only a fart and it didn't take a shit on us" now how can you argue with that logic. FYI when we do have a earthquake it's nice to know that you can count on your twitter family for instant info and support. I mean people were on twitter tweeting before the quake ended, it's a lil freaking but entertaining and since I also got on twitter to get info I guess I am officially a twitter freak as well and am basically making fun of myself right now..lol Good Night.. and Dear Earth Please Stay Still, Thank You, Love Jen

What's with the Monsters ?

Everyone is always asking me what's with the Monsters..My Husband and I have a slight addiction to Monster Energy Drinks the blue can, low-carb, no sugar ones. Not because of the low-carb but because the blue ones tastes better. Anyway, people treat us like we are doing crack. I am one of those people who always has to be drinking something, I used to drink about 15 Diet Cokes a day and very little water. Well my Husband for most of our marriage worked the graveyard shift and a few years ago he started drinking Monsters to help him stay awake at night, and he got me to try one and one thing led to another and we were hooked. So I started drinking Monsters instead of Diet Coke, we actually do not drink any soda anymore unless we go out to eat. I also started drinking more water, I now drink about 4 liters of water per day. We drink about 4 or 5 of the 24oz Monsters each per day, we drink them because we like the way they taste. As far as them helping you stay awake that does not work for us, because we are both immune to caffeine. Granted we are probably immune because we both have always drank a lot of caffeine. People love to comment all day long about our Monster habit, It's not that big of a deal. We do not drink alcohol so as a vice Energy drinks isn't a bad one. I realize that yes we drink a lot of them, it doesn't really hit me until it's time to take the cans in and I've got 4 or 5 large trash bags filled with Monster cans. I love the looks I get from the people at the Recycling place. Someone can be standing right next to me with 10 bags filled to the rim with empty beer cans and no one even notices, but as soon as they see My Monster cans it's like I brought Crack cans. It is so funny... When we go to a bar-b-ques or other functions at our friends houses we always come in with our big ol bag of Monsters and everyone gives us shit as they are lugging cases of beer thru the door. So why are people so obsessed with us drinking Monsters ? I really don't know. There really is no rhyme or reason to why we drink Monsters other than we like the way they taste, I do however think there is something in them that is addictive because if we run out of Monsters , my husband and I both start to Freak Out a little bit and get anxious like "OMG what do we do now"..lol.. But yes maybe we do drink too many, but they are so good and now soda just tastes weird to me and honestly I cannot imagine not having my Monsters everyday..And I say if it makes me happy, SO BE IT....

From Girly Girl to Casual Girl...

For most of my life before I became a Mother I was a bit of Girly Girl. Then as all you Mama's out there know, once you have kids especially back to back and especially boys and become a stay at home Mom, all that Girly Girl goes out the window. Now I still love clothes and have an addiction to Jeans, I must have my True Religions, Frankie B's, William Rast's and Hudson Jeans. I am tall, skinny with long legs and for some reason the expensive jeans just fit better and once you have worn them, your hooked. Now I wear jeans pretty much everyday, jeans or sweats so spending the money on them is worth it for me, and I have one of those great Husbands who has really good style and appreciates good clothes. [He also loves to go shopping and understands that if there is one pair left in your size but it is 50 miles away that you have to jump in the car and go get them right away, I am lucky in that regard] I also love my Juicy Sweats and Hoodies and most of all my Juicy PJ's. As far as tops, American Apparel comfy Tees and Sweatshirts and Tank Tops are all I need in my wardrobe, I like to be comfy. To be honest their Hoodies are starting to win my vote over Juicy lately because they are so much more comfy. Luckily nowadays you can still dress cute and stylish with comfy clothes, there are so many great cute comfy clothes out there and I know where they all are. Now as far as shoes, that is not really my thing, my Husband is the one with shoe addiction in this household and it is a big one. For me a pair of Uggs for the winter and my Havaianas Flip Flops for the summer and I am good. I do have a bit of a Scarf thing going on lately. I also love make up and I love to buy it but rarely wear it that also goes for hair products. I love getting my hair done partly because it is my time to relax and get pampered and because I have the best hair stylist in the world and I love to buy the products but rarely do I use them. 99% of the time my hair is pulled into a pony tail. As much as I love make up and pretty clothes I wear pretty much the same thing everyday, Jeans, tee or tank or sweatshirt and Uggs and flip flops, because I am a Mom raising 2 boys. It's all about Skate Parks and Bmx, or running around with the dogs or being in the Car Shop. I have no reason to dress up or wear make up. I don't understand those women who go to the gym or the grocery store in full get up gear, give me a break people. Do you really need to be in full make up to buy food or run and errand or work out. I am of the, I am just running errands and am not gonna go get ready to do it philosophy, because I don't care and I don't have time. If you don't wanna see me all natural then don't look. If you have ever seen that woman that is in the grocery store in PJ's, that is me.. My husband always asks me why don't you fix your hair or put make up on, yet when I do he asks me, "Why are you all dressed up?" "Where are you going?" "What, are seeing someone else?" So I cannot win. Even at the shop if I wear make up or wear my hair down all the guys are asking me the same thing " What's going On?" " Where are you going, Why are you all dressed up?" Plus I just am too tired. Unless I am going somewhere really special, then I go all natural. Women always tell me, wow you are so brave to go without make up all the time, I wish I could do that but I am too insecure. Listen ladies it's not bravery or being super secure with myself, it's just plain old fashion exhaustion. I wish sometimes I had the energy to get up everyday and fix my hair and put make up on, but honestly just saying it makes me tired...If I had a job where I had to do all that, I would never make it or always be late, thank god I work for myself and can go to work however I want. Now I admit that as a woman getting all dolled up or even just wearing make up does make you fell better about yourself, it makes you feel like a woman. I have my moments where I need to get Girly and feel sexy just like I have my moments where I am so busy with the house and the boys, dogs, husband that after 2 days I am sitting there asking myself " Have you even taken a shower in the last 2 days?" Oh ya, those moments are many...lol..

They need Pupppy Sleeping pills..

So Sunday night was fun. At 1:oo am my oldest son Xander woke up crying because his throat hurt, I felt so bad. I hate when your kids don't feel well and there is nothing you can do to make the pain go away. I gave him some Motrin and had him gargle with salt water, he calmed down and insisted on laying on the couch with me and Molly. Of course as soon as he was on the couch Molly woke up, something about just seeing the boys gets her so excited. Now Molly is wide awake and BoBo has come over to see what is going on. Usually I can just give Molly her bone and she chews her little heart out and tires herself back out, but BoBo thinks it is hilarious to steal her bone. He has to have the one she is chewing on. So now Molly and BoBo are going at it, so I just decided to let it play out , this will definitely make her tired. I was wrong, they love to play fight and instead of it getting her energy out it seemed to just have given her more energy and now she is on one. She then proceeded to attack Xander, she tore his PJ bottoms as I was trying to pull her off, now you have to realize that this is funny as hell, so now Xander and I are laughing and now everyone is wide awake. Bobo finally gets tired and tries to sleep but Molly see her chance for revenge and she took it. Blop, Boom, Bam she jumps on his head, wrestles him into submission, he freaks out and gets his 2nd wind, Boom Molly goes down, it is now 4am, we are all still awake. Now my bright idea is to just put Molly in the boys room with her Bone and let her calm down, but she thinks running into the door head first is a lot more fun. An hour goes by it seems to be quiet so I let her out, she comes running toward me with this cute little look on her face like I'm Free, I'm Free... So I decide to pick her up and carry her around while singing to her, this works with babies so why not a puppy, I think she gained 10lbs since Saturday, so this didn't last very long and although it did not calm her down I did get a lot of good kisses. At 6am Xander finally went to sleep, but Molly was still wide awake, she ran around for another hour before she finally passed out. She is lucky she is so cute, that's all I have to say...

Now it's Monday yeah... It is 5 in the afternoon and Molly has been napping most the day, must be nice...

It Happens Everytime...

So yes I am a klutz, and stubbing my toes seems to be daily occurrence. Why is it that I cannot get through the night without stubbing my toe. Last night was probably one of the worst toe stubs I have had, a little tear actually came to my eye, we have blocked the hallway and the kitchen because we don't want Molly to be able to get in the bathroom or back bedrooms,or the kitchen this means in order to get to a bathroom in our house you either have to get over the barricade that is blocking the hallway or the extra tall pet gate that blocks off the kitchen. Now the barricade in the hallway is my very own nemesis. Every freakin night I stub my toes trying to get over that thing, then of course there is the obligatory grabbing your foot, banging the wall, and spouting out every curse word you can think of... It's like there is a magnet on that thing that just draws my poor little toes to there doom...

The " Divide and Conquer" Method

So Sunday is supposed to be Mom's Day. The day where I get to sleep in, and then relax and enjoy some alone time while the boys play outside with their friends. The Key to a Successful Sunday is the "Divide and Conquer" method. Where my husband takes our oldest son Xander to the car swap meet with him and leaves Nolan home with me. If we do not divide them up, then this is what happens... My husband is gone to the swap meet, the boys wake me up at 7am arguing about something, then it's "Mom, I said I was gonna play video games when I woke up but Xander won't let me play" "Mom Nolan hit me for no reason"etc.. They have also woke up the dogs at this point and now the dogs are hyper and growling and play fighting as loudly as possible as well. Now by the time my husband gets home I am wide awake and exhausted and ready to kill one of if not both of the boys because they won't stop fighting. Now my husband is Grumpy because I am yelling at him and now he is yelling at the boys for making me yell at him. This is why the " Divide and Conquer" plan is so important, on Sunday especially. Because Sunday is my day. Now this morning the whole system broke down and broke down in a big way..

Last night Molly went to bed at 11:30, but then Xander woke her up at 1:00am. She then proceeded to be as hyper as can be and would not calm down. Finally at 5:30 this morning I got her back to sleep. Then I fell asleep only to be awakened an hour later by the sound of my husbands alarm clock which went off for 7 mins before I finally went in and shut it off, I eased my way back to the sofa next to Molly trying my hardest not to wake the beast. My husband then stumbles in as loudly as possible, coughing and hacking as loudly as possible and plops down on the sofa. Molly peeks up as I lay as still as possible pleading with God for her to close her eyes and lay back down. I tell my husband, shhh... Please don't wake her up she just got back to sleep, my husband who is not a morning person, just looks at me and shrugs. He then tries to wake Xander up again as loudly as possible and decides to get dressed in the living room, Why? I don't know.. Long story short by the time he leaves, Molly is of course wide awake again and both of the boys are still here..So my relaxing Sunday didn't go quite the way I planned, in fact in went exactly like described above. Maybe next week...