Midweek Confession Link Up!

Y'all... I'm typing this alone.... in sweet, blissful silence. Parker is playing at a friend's house, Liam is "napping," and Avery actually is napping. HUZZAH! I should be putting up dishes and other housewifey chores but instead I'm taking some "me" time. E, at E, myself and I is hosting a midweek confession link up and you know I can never pass up a good midweek confession link up!

Here we go!

1. I often find myself watching Antiques Roadshow. Sadly, I find it super entertaining. I don't own a single antique. In fact, I don't really like antiques but I am SHOCKED at what some people's crap is worth! It almost makes me want to become a hoarder.. cause you never know what you're aunt's step father's best friend's carved horse pipe might be worth! In the head to toe Dale Earnhart fan's case on the last episode I watched, it would be worth $25,000. Yes, you read that right.

2. I think my computer is an alcoholic... this week alone it has had a glass of wine and a margarita. I'm gonna have to have a talk with it... or its user.

3. I LOVE my life... but once in a blue moon, I'm envious of my sister's lack of responsibilities. My younger sister lives in NYC. I live in the suburbs of Charlotte. These are our lives.

Note: I would want her life for 1 day (and night and until noon the next day so I could sleep in) ...  and then I'd want my chaotic but blessed life back!

4. I've never owned a pair of Toms. Apparently I'm the only person who hasn't jumped on this bandwagon. I hear camo shoes are SO in this year so I finally tried on a pair of Tomish shoes (they're Steve Madden brand) and I'm in love. I've got not a clue what I'll wear with them but they're like little clouds on my feet.

5. There is a spelling mistake on Avery's preschool "what I did today" report. It bothers me... a lot. I can misspell things all day but when someone else does, it irritates me. #doublestandard

6. I don't have a twitter account but I LOVE to hashtag. Over hashtagging, however, is obnoxious. Keep it to 2... 3 max, friends!

7. Today, I abandoned a cart. {GASP} I NEVER leave a shopping cart in the parking lot. It's rude and lazy. There may be 2 types of people I dislike more than cart abandoners.... 1. terrorist. 2. child abductors. In my defense, Avery and I parked at one end of the shopping complex but the weather was so nice that we walked all the way to Target on the other side. Then, Target happened and I couldn't carry all our treasures to the car. So really, it was Target's fault... or maybe the weather's fault. I still feel guilty.

Well the little miss has woken and is now back asleep in my lap which means I should really spend this time catching on up the DVR and sniffing her. Please tell me you also smell your sleeping babies so I don't sound so strange.

Anyone want to join me? Confess away here or on facebook!

Mid weekish Confessions

Life is funny. It's also hard. And frustrating. And overwhelming. And unfair. BUT with the right perspective, it's really freakin' funny.... especially with 3 toddlers. Let's all take a moment to laugh at my life....

1. I took all 3 kids into the Target bathroom last week which happened to be very busy. Avery is just recently potty trained so we hit up every public bathroom in site to avoid accidents. You should know I have a phobia of public restrooms to the point of having Parker pee on our tire in the parking lot to avoid them. This time I needed to go too and Avery asked if I was pooping or peeing (hello privacy?!). I told her I was just pee peeing which ended up being a lie thanks to 2 cups of coffee (TMI but hang in there). When I went to flush she yelled, "Mama, you pooped big! BYE POOP! BYE BYE!" while waiving to my swirling poop. I was MORTIFIED.

2. Yesterday, my friend Carrie, came over for a few minutes and the kids were kinda chaotic. Granted, she came over at 4:15 and here's a fair warning... from 4-6:00, someone is usually crying or whining or cracked out... it's my witching hours. Parker yelled for help because he climbed the pantry trying to reach fruit snacks and couldn't get down and Avery climbed our console table to blow out my candle (lesson learned) and then peed... all over the top of my table. There was also a pile of dishes in the sick (oh the horror!) These things don't normally phase me because it's my "normal" but when someone else is over and witnesses my "normal"... it feels not so normal!

3. This one isn't about pee... Parker will only wear Iron Man or LEGO shirts. You think I'm kidding... it gets better. ONLY the Iron Man Mark 42 suit and only the classic LEGO man. He has a closet of POLO and Kelly's Kids and OH the visions of sending P and A to school in coordinating outfits. I feel silly even being super kinda upset about it but I HATE character shirts! Don't ask me if your kid looks cute in his Superman shirt or her Tinkerbell shirt because the answer is no. This is a HUGE lesson in swallowing my pride.... a lesson I'm not super fond of. Fingers crossed that VERY soon he only wants to wear madras shorts and polo shirts. We have family pictures October 27th and I'm already fretting that he'll be wearing an Iron Man costume.... so much so that I asked his occupational therapist if I can pay her to dress him that day... I would, in a heart beat. 

4. Parker isn't very good at blowing so I've started lighting my pumpkin spice candle and having him practice blowing it out. Each time, he sings me happy birthday.... I pretty much love it. 

5. Dear neighborhood friends.... it was Avery who pooped on the side of the pool during the labor day party which then inadvertently got squirted in the pool. In my defense, she DID do her business in the toilet TWICE while we were at the party but apparently she contracted the 12 hour tummy bug because the next 12 hours were not so fun at our house! Every party has a pooper....

6. I LOVE preschool. Yes, I love the Bible stories and the education, but mostly I love the 4 hour break and the nap that Avery takes when she gets home. It's worth every penny in tuition fees... and the education is a great bonus.

7. I wore white after labor day.... yes that is a confession. 5 years ago, these clothes would already be put in the back of the closet for next year and I'd be wearing jeans, even if I were sweating to death in them.

8. A friend told me recently that her mom likes to read my blog and they talk about my confessions on the phone.... it made me SO happy! I love hearing that more than my mom and husband find 5 minutes of happiness out of it! I also recently discovered a friend's husband secretly likes my blog... and to think, I thought only my husband reads it! Your secret is out GB!

That being said, PLEASE comment here or on the fb link so I don't feel like such an out of control, crazy lady! Today I ACTUALLY feel someone together. Y'all, I showered, shaved my legs, curled my hair and wore a dress today... BIG day in the Wise household.

Midweek{ish} Confessions!

It's still *kinda* mid week so let's roll with a little confessing! I really need to start writing this stuff down throughout the week because I always leave out some good ones. Life around here has been a bit heavy hearted lately but I can always count on 2 things..... 1. My sister to send me inappropriately YouTube vidoes to make me laugh and 2. My kids to do/say something hilarious.

1. Yesterday Avery peed IN MY REFRIGERATOR! Potty training her has been SO much easier than Parker but like any 2 year old, she has the attention span of a puppy. Clearly, climbing the fridge for pickles was way more important than taking a quick potty break.

2. Speaking of pickles.... I ABHOR pickles... the smell, the texture, the juice.... I HATE PICKLES. If my Chick-fil-a sandwich comes with some after I've requested that it not, it's gonna have to be "their pleasure" to replace my whole meal. It's tainted. Side note: How adorable is it when a cute teen smiles and says "it's my pleasure".... The Chick-fil-a employees are usually SO sweet... even if I know they're forced to say it. I love manners.

3. You know what I don't like hearing? "Have a magically wonderful day!" Dear Disney store employees, when you see a frazzled mom with a crying 2 year old and an inconsolable 1 year old strapped in a gigantic double stroller with bags spilling everywhere and you tell her to "Have a magically wonderful day".... expect it to not go over very well. Does *this* look like I'm having a freakin' magically wonderful day?! Maybe try "We've all been there." "It gets better." "You're doing a great job, mom!" or at the very least "I hope you get a nice break during nap time." Discretion, people.

4. Parker REALLY wants the light up Iron Man costume at The Disney Store. He says things like "Nana. oh no, I don't have a light up Iron Man costume! What are we gonna do?" with a sweet face, hands in the air in the "I don't know" pose and head cocked to the side in true bewilderment. I'm all like "Yeah, nana?! What are YOU gonna do about that? Kid needs an Iron Man costume or he'll be shunned and humiliated amongst his fellow 4 year olds." I've tried to get him on board with knock offs because it's $60... yes... SIXTY dollars for a costume... that's like 3 outfits. I'm considering buying it for him because, let's be honest... I won't need to buy him any play clothes. I'll be the most protected mother at the grocery store with Iron Man at my side 24/7.

5. Since having Liam (we're fostering a 15 month old boy), I've found a renewed fondness for baby boy clothes. Yes, baby girl clothes are ADORABLE but sometimes I feel like little girls get lost in the ruffles, bows, flowers, ric rac, and mismatched patterns. I know... pot calling the kettle black but it's getting a little ridiculous. I look back at newborn pictures of Avery in pettiskirts and I think she looks a little too flashy for her size. They swallowed her. What happened to simple, classic girl clothes... or at the very least colors and patterns that match?!  Boy clothes, on the other hand, I can easily find a nice madras short, collared shirt or seersucker Jon Jon. They're usually tucked away in a corner of the store right past the "Daddy's Little Sluggar" shirts, "Mommy's Handsome Man" onesies, and skull and cross bone swim suits everyone seems so fond of. I'm really enjoying shopping in the sweet infant section again!

Your turn! Make me laugh!

Friday Confessions

Usually we do "midweek confessions" around here but life happened so welcome to "Friday Confessions!". Hopefully this light-hearted post will bring some cheer on day #2 of dreary rain!

1. When I saw it was supposed to rain for 2 days straight because of the tropical storm, my first thought was that it was going to make the pool cold. Selfish much? Forget the flooded streets and power outages.... my pool that has just become tolerably warm enough to swim will now be cold again. Lord forgive my selfish thoughts!

2. I made a photobook this week on Shutterfly that I agreed to post on my blog for a $10 coupon... Making those  photobooks is one of my favorite hobbies but I refuse to make one without a groupon or coupon so excuse my shameless Shutterfly post but hey.... it's a free $10.... Anyways, I made this one of fall/winter/spring iPhone photos and tried to make one spread (2 pages) of the "Queen of Mischief" photos.... I had enough pictures for 8 pages of Avery doing things she shouldn't be. I had twice as many photos of her being mischievous than I did of her being sweet or good which sounds about right. I bet I'll cherish those photos more one day anyways!

3. Along the same photo lines, I have probably 4 times as many photos of Avery as I do of Parker. He just doesn't like picture whereas Avery will ask you to take one of her. But on the flip side, I have WAY more videos of Parker than I do Avery. Kids, I promise I love you both equally... mama's just not good about Even-Stevens when it comes to family documenting I guess!

4. I have deemed today "jammie day" at our house. We have been going going going lately and I was SO looking forward to a lazy rainy day like I used to have back in college where you lay on the couch and watch Gilmore Girls all day... except I have kids so while I'm in my jammies and "watching" Wreck it Ralph {again}, I have accomplished more before 9am than I did in college over a whole weekend. I would never trade my life but a rainy day alone to watch whatever I want and nap might be on my Christmas list this year. PS- Wreck it Ralph is a really cute movie... the first 43 times.

5. For breakfast today, Avery ate 6 mini blueberry muffins, blueberries, strawberries and half a banana... while upstairs putting the dog bed in the washer, I hear Avery yell, "MOMMY! Pancakes!" and I couldn't help but giggle and think of the scene in Wedding Crashers where Chazz screams for meatloaf. Unfortunately, I couldnt find a clip that didn't include the F bomb at the end to post for your viewing pleasure to understand my reference. We call Avery "The Hungry Hungry Caterpillar" because the caterpillar's "Saturday" is Avery's every day. How is she only in the 1st % for weight?!

6. We have family photos on Sunday morning... at 7:30am.... an hour from our house. My husband is about ready to divorce me.  My plan for them to go well includes coffee for my 2 year old and a run through the Krisy Kreme drive thru. This could be a disaster... but we sure will have pretty light!

Your turn! Post your confession in the comments below or on facebook!  Happy Rainy Friday!

Midweek Confessions!

I'm a day late on the midweek confession link party at E, Myself and I but better late than never! ;)

Let's dive on in!

Today, while on the elliptical, I turned the TV onto PBS and watched Super Why for a good 10 minutes before I remembered I was at the gym and could watch "real" TV!  If it's 9am, my brain just naturally thinks "Super Why." Spoiler alert.... the Super Readers saved the day.

Speaking of the gym... I've been going to the YMCA consistently now 3-5 times a week since February... I have gained 3 pounds.  I do; however, feel much stronger and more toned in my legs, butt, shoulders and arms. 28; however, has not been kind to my torso. Do you know the muffin man? Because I sure do.

As I've mentioned before, Daniel and I are building a retaining wall (The Great Wall of Wise Part 2) and a massive garden.... like feed the neighborhood veggies all summer big. We have 28 strawberry plants... so come on down to the Wise Family Farm. But that isn't the confession... since I've been spending every day (and night) in the yard, I've neglected laundry big time. Not only do I have a "Mt. Saint I hate folding laundry," it has spawned a whole mountain range of clean, unfolded and now wrinkly laundry. I'm praying for a rainy day so I'm forced to fold it all. Who am I kidding... I need a rainy week!

My kids have been super into tracing my body with chalk on the driveway. They're awful at it. I always look obese with broken legs and webbed fingers. I've been trying to teach them to trace up against my body to no avail. I think I'm getting a complex looking at all these "chalk mommies" all over my driveway! I may or may not hose them off every night if I know it's not supposed to rain.

Last weekend was Daniel and my anniversary. We went to a nice dinner and had a pedicure together. Daniel's first! Is there much more embarrassing than when the nail lady points to your face and says "Want me to wax that?!" It was super romantic, as you can imagine.

Your turn! Add your confessions below in the comments or on facebook. I always love hearing them!

Midweek...Thursday....Confessions

It's been a while since doing midweek confessions so I thought that might be fun to liven up this windy, cold Thursday. Thursday is still midweek, right?

1. I got "the call" from preschool 30 minutes after drop off to pick Parker up from school. He had been home sick this week and his only symptom remaining was a cough so I sent him.... kid was hacking his lungs up at school.... since being home... maybe once or twice. Can my 3 year old really know how to fake sick already? He's currently jumping on the indoor trampoline yelling "to infinity and beyond!"

2. I ate leftover tacos for lunch.. and by "taco" I mean leftover taco meat in a tortilla wrap. I am HORRIBLE at estimating a week's worth of food. We always seem to have plenty of dinners, bits and pieces of leftovers that don't make a full meal (ie the "meat taco" with no condiments) and no snacks. I swear I look in my fridge and see tons of groceries and can never seem to make a full meal of it all. I'm in desperate need of meal planning 101.

3. You may have seen this on Facebook but Parker has a recent fascination with private parts which I think is a)hilarious b)mortifying c)developmentally normal or d) all of the above.....The answer is D.

He asked the check out lady at CVS "Excuse me, do you have a hooha or a pee pee?" which was mortifying but I may have been wondering the same thing. It was questionable if you know what I mean. This question has now become common conversation with strangers. He told my grandfather's renal doctor the other day: "I has a pee pee and my mommy has a hooha." FABULOUS. Thankfully, the doctor took it in stride and proceeded to tell us the story of a kid with a dead chipmunk head in his mouth... and I'm not sure how it correlated but I was glad to not be talking about my lady parts anymore. All that to say....  if you pass us in Harris Teeter or Target, prepare yourself to discuss your genitals.

4. The potty gods felt bad about how difficult Parker was to potty train and decided to cut me some slack with Avery. She has started stripping and running to the potty and is about 50% successful right now. She's had maybe 2 accidents and does the rest in a diaper if we're not home or she's being lazy. If she's naked, she'll go in the potty... which is a great strategy for at home... not so great at the grocery store. We've had the "we don't pee on our princess panties" chat and she's all like "You may not but I do..." So if you come to my house... there is a good chance my kid is naked... but it's all in the name of being done with diapers, halleluiah amen!

5. Sometimes I host play dates or girl's nights as motivation to clean my house... I'm always excited to see my friends and I want to get together but that added pressure of hosting is what really kicks my butt to clean when I don't want to. Awful, I know.

6. I've already started stressing thinking about what we'll all wear for spring family photos... which I haven't even scheduled. We all know how the "A Very Old Navy Christmas Card" shoot went.... and I only stressed about that for a month. The good news is, I have a vision and maybe even a color scheme picked out so I think I'm on the path to that elusive frame worthy family photo! ...and it does NOT include Old Navy...

I'm hearing the phrase "Avery, that's dangerous" being spoken upstairs so that's my cue to quit! Your turn! Comment here or on FB with your confessions!

Update: She was sitting in my sewing chair which is a no no. Clearly Parker was listening when I told him my sewing machine is dangerous! 

Midweek Confessions!

It's been a while since I've done some confessing so I thought that might be fun!

1. Parker and Avery ate Doritos for breakfast one day this week. We had them in our home after a poker game... someone forgot to take them home...Parker found them... Avery poured the crumbs on my face as I was "fading in and out" on the couch which is how I discovered they ate half a bag for breakfast. I can't blame them... those things are tasty.

2. I put a whole bunch of the kid's outgrown clothes for sale on facebook and various other places. The minute I notice someone has paid their invoice I'm scouring for more cute summer clothes. I'm like a kid with an allowance who must go spend it the second it's earned.... except I'm 28 (in 2 weeks!) and spend my $ on Kelly's Kids coordinating sibling sets instead of video games. Is it summer yet?

3. I had the carpets professionally cleaned today. I could have fed the local homeless with the amount of random fruit snacks and chip crumbs under my couch. I was horrified. New rule... food only in the kitchen.. until tomorrow when I'm asleep on the couch that is and the kids have to fend for themselves. When will they learn to toast their own waffles? Mama's still tired at 6:15am.

4. I signed up to run a 5K.... I ran today. It wasn't pretty. But do you know what will be pretty? Me... Crossing the finish line with no sweat, hot rolled hair and a cute matching work out outfit because if you aren't first then you might as well look darn good being last.

5. Parker and I got locked in the men's bathroom at our neighborhood clubhouse this weekend while I was setting up. Men, y'all are gross... but Parker discovered a new love of urinals so there's that... Thank goodness for cell phones and best friends who now live 2 doors down or we would have been in their a while!

Well I guess that's it. Nothing too radical :) Your turn!!!!

Midweek Confessional

It's been a while since we've done some confessing! I hope you'll join with me by commenting below or on the fb thread where I post my blog!

Ok... lets dive in....

1. As you may know, we're on a pretty strict new diet since Parker was diagnosed with food allergies. We're still trying to figure it all out and it's a big learning curve. I've definitely made some mistakes but I'm now working with a nutritionist to help me out. While we were on the phone with each other yesterday, she mentioned food I need to purge from my pantry to "heal our bodies" such as coffee.... which I was consuming while on the phone with her and alcohol.... which I enjoyed a glass (or 2) of when the kids went to bed.... so I'm off to a great start...

2. When Parker is in school, I consume a weeks worth of carbs. Today, Avery and I stopped by Qdoba for lunch and it was so good I took a picture of my burrito that weighed about as much as Avery. I believe the phrase "just smoother it in cheese sauce" may have been spoken while I was ordering. I ate every bite and regretted not adding chips and queso to my order.

3. I'm TERRIBLE at Elf on the Shelf.... he's currently riding our knife set. Totally appropriate, right?! I have also "tanned" him on the toaster, hung him upside down on the chandelier and made it look like he was stealing Parker's fruit snacks. The only problem is that I forget to do it most nights so I'm always telling Parker "looks like you've got a few more minutes to make a good impression on him before he goes and tells Santa!" Then, when P isnt looking, I move him.  I'm pretty sure I'm ruining the magic of this little game by constantly forgetting. BUT.... lets be honest... Parker is still totally uninterested in Santa. He thinks Santa is what you call the inflatables in people's yards. He thinks mommy and daddy give him presents on Christmas because it's Jesus' birthday and for some reason Jesus gives his birthday presents to Parker. He doesn't quite have the concept down yet but that's alright with me!

4. I don't floss... ever.... I went to the dentist this week and thanked her for my every 6 month flossing. I'm not sure she was amused but maybe she was charmed by my honesty.

5. Speaking of the dentist.... y'all know I'll befriend a brick wall so the hygienist and I were chatting since the TVs were down (ie.... the only good reason to go to the dentist.... 45 mins of non-cartoon TV!) and we discovered we're neighbors. She dropped by prom dresses for me to try on for a party I'm going to this weekend and we talked for an hour. I'm very pleased to have a new friend even if it does mean I feel pressure to floss... I've also discovered that I am no longer a "junior" and prom dresses and I aren't friends. I'd also like to add that brides are evil because I've been trying on my fair share of borrowed bridesmaids dresses in hopes that one won't be awful and it's just not the case. No, we won't be able to "wear them again!"  Where do you wear a satin lavender, floor length, side ruched dress, bride?  No where!

6. Back to our elf... we named him Lester... Lester Lester the Child Molester to be exact.... and I wish it hadn't "stuck" but it did. We had a very sweet moment on Thanksgiving where we read the book and explained the elf and asked the kids to name him. Avery so sweetly said "Jesus" which is what she calls every man. Parker said "no thanks!" because Christmas isn't his thing until he gets a present or Christmas cookie. Daniel announced that he looks like a pedophile which is sadly true... he's a creepy little thing and the concept of him staring at you all day is a little peeping Tomish. That spun off it's own conversation of calling him Chris Hanson (to catch a predator... remember that show?... "I'm just here to be a father figure and the beer and condoms are totally not for her.." Yeah right creepo...) Anyways... that spun into Lester Lester the child molester and then Parker picked up "Lester".... Whoops. Why couldn't we have named him something cute like "Jingle" or "Elvis" or "Buddy".... anything but LESTER!

 What did you name your elf? Do you have any good ideas other than sitting him on your knives because clearly I've got that one covered.

Your turn!

Midweek Confessions - It's YOUR turn!

I'm a day late but Thursday is still mid-week, right!?! Time for some mid-week confessions!

1. I cannot for the life of me do those "make sure you're not a robot" things where you have to type in jumbled letters and numbers. Seriously. It took me no less then 10 tries today to post "she's so cute!"... I almost gave up. Some times I click the handicap/hearing impaired button... because apparently while not hearing impaired, I am handicapped... or at the very least "special."

2. Last night I forgot to put Parker's sheets in the dryer so they weren't dry in time for bed. I convinced him because he was "so good today" he got to sleep in his tent. Do you like that spin?! Mommy fail.

3. I started couch to 5K last night after stepping on the scale and confirming my 6.8 pound weight gain this summer isn't magically falling off itself.... it was embarrassing. I was sure I could skip to week 2.... yeah not so much. I have no intentions of running a 5k and I'm almost never on my couch so I'm going to call this operation "flowy dresses to skinny jeans."

4. I"m still *gulp* nursing Avery. Well technically, she is still nursing me since I can't remember the last time I offered "it" to her.... she just takes it... literally. For example, last night after my wun (walk/run), I was doing crunches and she walked up to me, laid on the floor next to me, pulled my tank top and sports bra to the side and self served. After she was done with that side, she announced "done!" and crawled across me to the other side. When she was done with THAT side, she said "thank you" and walked away... it has gotten THAT bad. I have decided to throw my hands up in defeat until turtleneck season. I sure hope they're in style this fall. 

5. I signed up to be room mom for Parker's class and I hope no one else checked "the box" on the volunteer sheet sent home this week. I seriously REALLY want to be room mom. It's my 1st step to being PTA president one day. Type A?  No. not me! 

6. My high school English and yearbook teacher reached out to me this week about doing a "where are the outstanding seniors of the 1st graduating class now" post. Yes, at one time, I was outstanding at more than  online baby clothes shopping and ... (is it bad I can't think of anything else I'm outstanding at? ....my husband answered "making soup" YIKES!) Anyways, I went to email her back and immediately felt a huge rush of anxiety. Did my subjects and verbs agree? Does a comma go there? What is the actual use of the "..." I love so much? It took me forever to write her back and in the end, I don't even think it sounded like me. I'm STILL trying to please my teacher... from 10 years ago. And to think I was offended by winning  "biggest brown noser" as my senior superlative.

SO... week after week I air my dirty laundry (speaking off.... the mountain is back in epic proportion) and I always write "your turn!" at the end of the post; however, no one has EVER even shared a teeny, tiny, not-so-bad confession back so this week I'm expecting REALLY good ones! (mega run-on sentence!) 

READY? 

Your turn and make 'em GOOD!

Midweek Confessions!

Time for some midweek confessing! I'm linking up with E today from E, myself and I.

1. I want a minivan SO badly! Like so badly that its embarrassing. I have a great SUV. It's paid for. Kid friendly. Has 115K on it but it's a Toyota so that's only like half it's lifespan... and I feel guilty for wanting a new car when I have a perfectly fine one. Maybe if it were a gift I wouldn't feel so bad. Anyone want to give me a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna? It would be rude of me to turn it down.

2. Tonight my husband was supposed to work so I already made plans with the DVR to watch Pretty Little Liars and do some sewing. I know I was supposed to be excited when his work project got canceled and now we get to "spend time together tonight".... but I'm disappointed about pushing back "my date with myself" until TBA....

3. Avery LOVES shoes which works out nicely because now that her feet have FINALLY grown out of 6-9 month shoes (which as a side note are SO hard to find for a child who walks!) I have gone baby shoe buying crazy! :) Think polka dots, bow, fun colors! Oh the fun shoes out there for little girls!!!

4. Recently, I've started ebaying some of Parker's clothes (that make it past one season on a 3 year old boy) and lots of Avery's clothes. It has become such a fun game for me! It's funny to see what people start bidding wars over and what people completely pass over. If you want to check out what I have listed, I'm taylorlwise on ebay. I usually list in groups of 10-12 items because it's time consuming to post items! If you have an "Avery" or know of one, you can score some great monogrammed stuff right now! :)

5. Last night at prayer time, Parker thanked Jesus for "Super Why." Amen, Parker... Amen.

Parker with his great grandmother's newspaper reader. He was SO intrigued with how big everything was!

6. I don't watch a ton of TV but I am a very faithful follower of a few shows. Army Wives is almost over FOR GOOD and I may slide into a slight depression until Modern Family comes back on to distract me from my Sunday night loss. 

7. It's almost football season! I am more excited about dressing my kids in "spirit wear" than I am about the actual games.

8. I'm STILL nursing... Avery is 15 months old... I thought weaning would be easier.... heck, I even went out of town for 3 1/2 days and we started right back where we left off within 5 minutes of me being home. Sometimes I'm SOOO over it.... particularly when she self serves in public (yes that happens... almost daily) and other times, I'm still glad we're doing it. She's my baby... she's tiny... and I'm a sucker for this face.

Avery with her great grandfather

Confession #9 should be the condition of my kitchen but as opposed to confessing it's disarray, I think I'll just go clean it! To the bookclub dishwasher! (super why fans.. did you catch that?!)

Midweek confessions- I've got some good ones this week!

I'm back linking up with E, myself and I this week for a little confessing. SO fun!

* When I went to the grocery store today, I literally went for chicken nuggets and booze but was too embarrassed to check out with just nuggets and booze so I threw bananas and blueberries in the cart. I then proceeded to take aforementioned alcohol to the park where my girlfriends and I poured mikes hard cranberry lemonades into starbuck's coffee cups to be "discrete" and let the kids run wild. Don't judge.... They were cranberry so it was kinda medicinal... No uti's for us!

* I packed Daniel sandwiches shaped like penises on Monday to be silly. He didn't think it was as funny as I did!

* Parker isn't potty trained...in fact, he could care less. I might be serious when I say Avery may potty train before him. No one is pressuring me to train him even though all my friends kids are potty trained but I sure am pressuring myself and feel like a bad mom.

*Do you know something I don't feel bad about for the 1st time in a LONG time?! My body. I'm actually at a point in my life where I feel confident in my shape and size. For a woman, thats huge and I can't say I've felt that way since I worked out a bunch 2 semester freshman year of college. I weigh the least I've weighed since 6th grade and I'm in a size I never remember being in....and yes... I'm bragging and gloating and I kinda feel bad about that but not really. I've worked hard! I haven't been to a gym but I chase after the kids, we walk, run and play. I carry 18lbs on my hip half the day, nurse more than I should which is a full time job and mostly eat scraps off the kids trays and small, frequent meals. If only I could learn to dress cute and keep my makeup and hair up to par I might look pretty good!

*Mt. Saint I hate folding laundry is back and it's 8 loads huge. :(

*I don't "pinterest" because I know I'd be addicted and go broke doing projects that I could probably buy cheaper at homegoods or would look way too DIY for my taste but my Facebook newsfeed is blowing us with things people pin! Most of the time I feel annoyed at the 23,497 quotes people pin because they're so inspirational that they make me feel bad that I'm not saving the dolphins or training for marathons but instead wasting time reading what my friends "must have for summer!" or "I die for this" or "wedding ideas!" (ps- one fb friend who pins a gazillion things to wedding ideas.... We get it, you want a shabby country wedding...in love, quit pinning wedding stuff ALL DAY long and find a spouse first! You look desperate and you don't need to be!) anyways, I digress. I found one I liked the other day and made me think which is a rarity on fb since I use that as my veg out mentally time... It said "dress how you want other women to dress around your husband." I really like that. I usually dress for other women, not men but this was an interesting and thoughtful perspective. I totally agree!

* I just wrote this entire blog from my bath tub (Tuesday evening) while Alice, robot vacuum #2 (RIP Consuela) cleans downstairs and it feels AWESOME! Percy, Nemo, Captain and Squirt have accompanied me and the Toy Story bubble bath is proving quite therapeutic.

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Your turn!

Confessions and iPhone pics!

Hello friends! I know you're here for your weekly dose of "What silly things did Taylor do this week" BUT I have a treat for you! PHONE PICS! Which leads to confession #1:

1. I haven't taken a single picture with my SLR (or any real camera) since Christmas. BUT here are some iphone treasures!

2. I was at Home Depot yesterday with Avery and a lady told me my son was handsome which would be a compliment if I had Parker with me but I was devastated. Avery had pulled her hair bow off in the car and I figured, "it's home depot... the hair bow may be a bit too dressy!" It seriously ruined at the least the next hour of my day.

3. After aforementioned Home Depot trip, Avery's hair bow was now ON and we were walking into SBUX! 2 little old ladies starting gushing and saying "look how cute!" I smiled and said "Thank you! I'm smitten!" and then realized they were talking about the Maltese tied to the table behind me. I felt like a dork. 

4. For my birthday, I asked for a tile backsplash and a vacuum. How old am I? But seriously... can I tell you how excited I am about this glass mosaic tile?! I basically stole it from Lowes. It rang up as $1.57 a square foot. Thank you tile gods. Pictures to come after Friday's installation!

5. I bought scrabble cheese its. Quite a confession, right? Parker's favorite snack (other than fruit snacks) right now are Cars2 Cheese its. They didn't have them at Target so I bought the letter embossed ones. Holy Mother of Pearl. The freak out was comical only since I was at home and no one was there to see my almost 3 year old freak out over what is embossed on his beloved cheese it. 

6. It took me an hour and 35 minutes to get Avery to sleep in her own crib tonight. I am TERRIBLE at getting kids to sleep in cribs! It took me a week of drinking margaritas on the back patio while Parker cried to learn to sleep. It is MISERABLE, I hate hearing my babies cry and it is too cold to drink margaritas on the back porch. I KNEW I should have sleep trained Avie in the summer! ;)

So nothing TOO juicy this week.... I'll have to give myself a pat on the back for the lack of bad parenting this week. In fact, let me brag. I've even set my alarm each day, showered and looked presentable EACH day the last 2 weeks. My laundry is washed, folded put away and ironed (shoot out to my mom for ironing) and I'm feeling pretty darn good about life. Doesn't that deserve some sort of award?! YAY for a happy, put together week after the CHAOS of moving!

Spill the beans? What are you confessing this week?

My dirty laundry

Remember when I said I would post more than just my midweek confessions? Apparently I lied. For now, until the house is unpacked, the old house is fully cleaned and we have our new tenants moved in, my occasional bullet point blogging will have to suffice! Linking up with E, myself and I again!

1. I didn't wash Daniel's dress shirts this week. Instead, I took them out of the suitcase, rubbed dryers sheets on them and repacked them. Daniel, if you're reading this, I'm sorry! I knew I wouldn't have time to iron them.

2. Parker colored, glittered and feathered red cardinal birds during craft time at preschool. I asked him what it was expecting to hear "a bird" or maybe surprise me with "a cardinal." instead he replied "an angry bird. Die pigs!"

3. A certain someone who shall remain nameless or he/she would absolutely freak if I spilled who it was all over the internet accidentally dropped the f bomb this week in front of Parker when he/she dropped something. This morning, Parker dropped buzz off the high chair and exclaimed "oh f*," ah! To be fair to aforementioned individual, while in the process of moving/ dealing with time Warner cable, Parker has probably learned every curse word in the book but has only chosen to use the very classiest one. Ugh! I totally felt like Cam from modern family. Kinda hard not to laugh but you know you're not supposed to!

4. I haven't cooked a real meal in over 2 weeks. The only thing that has been on my stove is cars Mac n cheese. The drive thru people within 5 miles of my house should all know me by now. I'm actually looking forward to cooking a good family meal and settling down next week once the tenants move in, I don't have multiple contractors at my house every day and Daniel is home to enjoy it!

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That's it for this week's addition of "well at least I don't do that!" Admit, you thought it! Your turn! Spill the beans!

Midweek Confessions

Lately this blog has just been me spilling my secrets with E, Myself and I's midweek confession linkup but I promise after the move we'll be back in blogging business! Until then, we're in survival mode around here!

1. I fed the kids dinner while in the bath tub tonight. It was actually really efficient. I had JUST cleaned their high chairs, they're MESSY eaters and they love the tub so it worked out PERFECT!

2. I can't remember the last time I had "me" time. SO for 20 minutes today I let Parker play angry birds on the iPad (which he calls his Zegra? ... so cute!) and Avery whined played on the floor while I turned my back to the growing pile of boxes in my den and read a good 'ol gossip magazine my dad gifted me today! (longest run on sentence ever!)

3. My den is looking more like an episode of Hoarder's by the day. I know we're moving and this is just temporary but it's STRESSING ME OUT! My car may get the boot to the driveway so the things that were once in the attic and are now in my living room can be relocated to the garage. 

4. The kids and I went grocery shopping today. This week's meal plan includes the word "Stouffer's" way too many times. 

5. Parker peed through his diaper 2 nights ago. I washed his sheets but then noticed his quilt also needed a run through the wash and didn't get everything back on his bed in time tonight SO... he's "camping" with a sleeping bag as a comforter.

What are your confessions? Air em out at E, Myself and I if you blog and if not, comment here or on my FB wall! :) It's SOOOO therapeutic!

Midweek Confession Time!

I'm linking up with E, Myself and I again to air out my dirty laundry. 

1. I have WAY more pictures of Avery than I do Parker and I feel guilty about it. When I bring out the camera she smiles.... He runs screaming "NO!" The only exception is if he's strapped into his highchair and occupied with food. 

2. I have 40+ mini cupcakes sitting on my counter. I asked Parker what he wanted for a snack. He said "cupcakes." That sounded like a FABULOUS idea. We each ate one.... 40 something more to go. My waistline wishes I'd given him an apple instead!

3. I signed Parker up for 3 day preschool starting in the fall and I feel guilty about having him in school so many days at age 3 1/2. He currently goes 2 days a week. It's so counter-intuitive to send your child to be watched by someone else when you're a "stay at home mom."

4. I got a mom cut. It's a happy/sad. It's WAY more manageable as my long hair took 45 minutes to wash, dry and hot roll BUT... it was MY hair. The hair I grew back after cancer took it. The hair that I loved because it was long and was SO beautiful rolled. (I get to rave about my hair being so pretty because I went through ALL of the awful, awkward stages to grow it back.... it's like an unwritten rule) I just didn't have time to do it everyday and then it looked terrible. SO... until I have time to do it again.... mom cut it is.

5. I bought my dog, Moses, doggie diapers. Sometimes he pees on things even if I've just let him out and I'm not about to let him do that in our new house.  Here's the best part of this confession... I bought him fashion ones... I didn't even read about how functional they are. He may be wearing a diaper, but at least its made of designer fabric. right?

6. I got some Christmas money and I really want this:

How awesome would a Roomba be?! I don't know if they actually work but anything that cleans for me sounds like an EXCELLENT use of my Christmas money! Anyone have one? 

What are your midweek confessions?

UPDATE on last week's confessions: I have officially shaved my legs.

Midweek Confessions

I'm linking up with E from E, Myself and I today to post a few midweek confessions. I've been writing confessions in my head for weeks but haven't actually blogged them yet or linked up. Today's the day!

1. Avery is 7 months old and has never slept a full night in her crib. In fact, she's never slept through the night. She has NO method of self soothing other than breastfeeding. We've tried letting her cry it out. She doesn't quit crying. She has also woken (is this a proper English word? It sounds so weird!)  her brother up many times. We're moving in late January and I plan to start fresh in the new house with better sleep habits. It's going to be a rough few weeks when we start!

2. Parker (2 1/2 years old) pretty much only eats "branded" foods. As in "Nemo Fruit Snacks," "Cars 2 Mac n Cheese," "Cars 2 Cheese its," "Toy Story Campbell's Soup." If some company made carrot sticks in the shape of Woody, I bet he'd eat them. He does eat some other things but he's definitely in a food rut! Help! (Parker is currently eating Cars chicken noodle soup with his hands.... sigh)

3. It's past noon and we're all still in our jammies.

4. We got an iPad for Christmas and downloaded a bunch of toddler apps. Lately, all Parker wants to do with it is watch YouTube videos of kids playing with toys that he has sitting in his toy box! Some of the videos are just people opening the packaging... who films them self doing this?!?! There are hundreds on YouTube... Parker appreciates them. I've gotta figure out locks and limits on the iPad so he actually goes back to playing educational games or take it away so he actually plays with the toys he's watching other kids play with online!

5. I got Daniel a Dairy Queen ice cream cake for his birthday. He has had one slice... I've eaten a slice each night since his birthday.... I ate the last slice of HIS cake last night. Isn't that awful!?!

6. I haven't shaved more than the bottom 4 inches of my legs in 3 weeks due to lack of alone time. Avery isn't known for being too content in an exersaucer or doorway jumper anymore now that she's on the move but she gets into too much stuff (ie the dog's water bowl) to not be contained while I'm showering. I haven't felt put together or pretty in about a month. 

Well that's enough confessions for this week! I can't share them all or I'll sound like the worst mom ever.... gotta space them out over time!