It's been a while...

I feel like it's been a while since I've really done anything outside of kids, work and church, so blogging hasn't been at the top of the ol' To-Do list.

BUT, the kids are playing nicely right now in Sarah's room and entertaining themselves and so here I am, sitting on Sarah's floor and blogging... Good times.

Sometimes I get so frustrated that I'm so busy. I'm a mom. Sometimes when I think about that statement, it still sounds odd. A mom of a two year old and a one year old. If that doesn't make you say, "WHEW! I'm tired just thinking about that", then I'm not sure what will! Busy isn't even the word when it comes to my kids. Sarah is a busy, fun, smart, and HILARIOUS two year old. The things that she comes up with, just make us laugh! She's very expressive and a bit dramatic (She clearly gets that from the Husband!)

And then there's Wyatt. My sweet, laid back (except for food), happy, easy going child. Except for when he's teething. Then someone else overtakes my child and he's not himself for a few days. You know Wyatt doesn't feel well when he doesn't eat. Man Child LOVES to eat! Pretty much anything... He's not big on bananas, but other than that, he's pretty open to trying things. He loves ham sandwiches. I know, random for a one year old. But that's Wyatt. It's kind of like he's an "old soul" in a tiny body.

Things I Can't Live Without

Okay, aside from the basics (yes, I understand Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), my family and Jesus, here are some things that I just can't live without:

1. Target: I go here to get out. It's on the "approved" list of places that I can easily go with the kids, by myself.

a. What's better than the popcorn combo? A buck fifty and I get a soda (with free refills) and Sarah gets popcorn.
b. Target diapers. Cheap, effective.
c. Target wipes. Cheap, effective
d. Random great deals. Like the shower curtain rod, a nice one, that I got for $6 or the $1 section. Or the shirt that I got for $3.74. These things make me happy.
e. Kenny will go with me (and not complain about shopping). Odd random story: When Kenny and I first started dating Target was the one place that we couldn't go without having a fight. We had to leave Target while doing our wedding registry because we were having such a heated "discussion". We used to pull into the parking lot, I'd look at him and say "Repeat after me." "I will not fight with you in Target today..."

2. Sam's Club:
a. I can get a pretzel and a HUGE soda for $2. SOLD.
b. Sam's Club Formula: Cheap, effective.
c. Sam's Club Diapers: Cheap, effective.
d. Cheap Milk.
e. Free samples. Need I say more.
f. I can buy the things I need in bulk. Paper towel, toilet paper, plastic red cups, spinach, Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal... you know, priorities in life.

3. My hair straightener. Becca, you say, I haven't seen you straighten your hair in ages... That's true! That's because I have an almost 2 year old and almost 6 month old. I'm doing good to be dressed before I walk out the door. Fixing my hair is out the window :) However, my hair straightener is something that I don't know how I lived before I bought one... It changed my life. I'm not even kidding!

4. OxyClean: The spray, not the powder. This stuff is amazing. Billy Mays seriously made my life easier.

5. Baby Wipes: Seriously, how did I survive before we started buying Baby Wipes in bulk? I use them for everything! Something spilt on the carpet, get a baby wipe. Someone wrote on my leather chair, get a baby wipe. Someone peed on the couch, get a baby wipe. The list goes on and on.

Two blog posts in one day... Guess I had lots to say today...

Peed, Puked, Pulled, Pooped

Getting peed on, puked on, pulled on and pooped on is all in a day's work for me. And I love it. Okay, most of it. Maybe I should say that I'm used to it and it doesn't bother me anymore. With our little girl, I'd been pulled on and pooped on, but I entered an entirely different world when we had our son.

I have the sweetest, most handsome, snuggly boy in all the world.

He has substantially increased the amount of dirty laundry in our home. It took us a while to master the "new" way to change a diaper. Boys are very different than girls when it comes to changing. I thought before Wyatt was born, "Oh, no problem, diaper changing is the least of my concerns... I have an 18 month old". Little did I know...

Not only did he pee all over the place (which got significantly better after about a month, but has recently returned), but he was our puker. Reflux isn't even the word. He was a puker. If you saw us at home, you'd see that we had a washcloth instead of a burp cloth or bib, or a paper towel sometimes. Ah, the luxiuries of all things disposable. (I've said many times that if it doesn't go in my dishwasher or my washing machine, I don't want it.) Thankfully, this has gotten much better. Once he started to eat some solid foods, this signficantly improved.

All this to say, it just doesn't matter how much I'm peed on, puked on, pulled on or pooped on. It's all worth it. Every bit. Even when he won't nap or wakes up at 5:45 in the morning ready to go for the day, when he smiles at me, I'm reminded that the Lord allowed us to have our children to teach me more about Him and how He loves us, unconditionally, without reservation and without stipulations. If I can teach my children not only about Jesus, but to know Him, I've done my job as a mom.

Sarah and the Old Lady

So, my sweet princess and I (and Wyatt) were at Sam's Club. This is one of the places on the "Becca Approved Places I Can Go With Two Kids By Myself" list. The list is pretty short...

So, I usually bribe Sarah with either a pretzel or a hot dog at Sam's. My goal is to keep her in the cart for as long as possible and it usually works (at least for a while). And this also gives me a lovely excuse to get a huge soda...

So, we were sitting down sharing our pretzel. I put Wyatt on the table (in his carrier) so that I could feed him his bottle. Things are going smoothly until Sarah spots an old lady. When I say old lady, I mean old. Think white hair, hunched over, with a cane.

The lady sits down at a table that Sarah has a perfect view of. The Sam's club tables aren't always easy for me to get in and out of, let alone an old lady. So, the lady sits down and drops her cane. Sarah sees this and thinks that it's the funniest thing ever! She laughs, loudly! Keep in mind that my kids and I and the old lady are the only ones sitting in the Cafe at this point. So, Sarah's laugh echos which just eggs her on to keep laughing.

Apparently, the old lady hasn't lost her spark. The dirty look for shoots at Sarah first and then for me, as if to say, "Can't you control your child!". Then as if to prove that she didn't need her cane anyway, she gets up, walks past us and gives us the dirtiest look ever!

At this point, I'm laughing hysterically on the inside... And thinking, great, is this what we're teaching our kids? To laugh at old ladies? I love her.

It's Amazing

The things that I never thought I'd hear myself say to someone else...

Here are just a few of the random things that I've said to Sarah lately.

1. No, you can't ride the cat!
2. Oh no, you just broke the princess' face off!
3. It's not poop, it's chocolate pudding. You can eat it.
4. Please don't lick the floor.
5. Don't use your crayon as a spoon...
6. Thank you! (When she hands me her booger.)

I never thought I'd say Thanks (with enthusiasm!!) when someone else handed me something that they just worked so hard to get out of their nose. And actually hurry to try and retrieve the said booger before they went for option number 2... (Having it as a snack...)

It's amazing as I hear myself saying these things, I just laugh. I love being a mom!

Blog

Okay, so I've decided to blog... There are so many things that happen with my kids that are so fun (and funny) that I want to have these memories for when they are older. I have two under two (for just a few more days), so I want to chronicle these adventures.