Broken, Flooded, and Yet Still Alive

Y'all... I'm gonna share something with you today. I had every intention of linking up with Faith for the Golden Vlog, but this week has been A WEEK for sure. And it's not even at the end of the week yet. So I'm just gonna dump some stuff on y'all, deal?

If y'all follow me on snapchat and twitter then you know I had to say good-bye to the only pair of flip flops I own.

Why is it when you're having a difficult day, your flip flops decide to also say "screw you hippie"?? pic.twitter.com/bH2Lihu1dE

— Melissa Louise (@RamblingLlama) May 13, 2015

A few people on snapchat also saw I very nearly flooded my kitchen earlier this week. Pretty sure it was Tuesday.
You see, we have a relatively old dish washer. It cannot take liquid dish detergent... even the ones made FOR the dishwashers. We ran out of the powder, and to try and save me some time from having to wash dishes by hand, I borrowed one of those pod things from a neighbor. Guess what? The dishwasher doesn't like those either. Strictly powder only.

This was in 2006 in our first apartment. clearly I cannot operate dishwashers...

There were a few other cases of "having the monday's" all week, but I've shared some of those with friends over the phone. It's not really "blog-worthy",,, plus I don't have a fun picture.

What I've gained from this week is much better than what the actual week threw at me. 

Despite being in a bit of a rut, I know my bloggy friends still care about me. I think Cassie was secretly scared that I was going away again based on her tweet yesterday. It's important to remember friends are still there and looking out for you.

@RamblingLlama I had a dream last night that you quit blogging. It was awful.

— Cassie Lee (@thatsageblog) May 13, 2015

My sweet boy is finishing pre-k tomorrow. When I picked him up from school yesterday his teacher had a huge folder full of artwork and projects from the year. It was so refreshing to look at what he's accomplished throughout the year. One of the things included was "this is how I write my name: Aug 2014"... at the first of the school year. It was just dots and lines. Now he can write his full name with ease. Despite a rough week, it's important to sit back and enjoy the little things.

Zander at his school playground last week. :)

I'm going to end with this... 

I shared this picture with Meagan via text yesterday. I saw it randomly on one of my facebook friend's pages. She had shared it and it jumped out at me. I needed to see this yesterday. Meagan is one of my bloggy soul mates (along with Rebecca)... and something told me she needed to see it yesterday too. So now I share it with y'all.

So friends, happy Thursday. If you're having a week like I am, stay positive. It's almost over. If you have something to look forward to, remind yourself of that. Or, like, Emily... just get outside!

Rambles from The Llama

Turn back while you can... 

So... being the bad blogger that I am, I did not plan well. I had every intention of posting a Golden Vlog today. That didn't work because for whatever reason after filming three times. Yes, you read that correctly... THREE TIMES... the sound wasn't working on my webcam. The first half of my video(s) could be heard, but after question 5 everything faded into the abyss. I really have no clue what happened. But, I highly suggest heading over to the co-hosts pages and check out the other awesome videos! (I'll wait).

When the vlog didn't work for me, plan B was to link up with Kenji for her workout Wednesday. Mamas Tell All is on Wednesdays, so Kenji already expected a late post from me if I linked up. Sad news about that, I couldn't think of a damn thing to say about my working out. Nothing I felt like y'all wanted to read anyway.

So obviously instead of y'all not wanting to read rambles about me working out. You're going to not want to read rambles about literally everything else. I've gotta keep up with my blog name. Right? Right.

|| I'm panicking a lot. Pre-K has graduations. Graduations, y'all with caps and gowns and everything. On May 6 my OLDEST KID graduates PRE-K! When did this happen and how do I make it stop?

Make it stop! 
|| Something closer than May 6 is April 21. This is Zander's first real eye doctor appointment. When we went to his 5 year old well check back in February, the doctor and nurses said his vision was less than perfect. This wasn't much of a surprise considering I'm a four-eyes myself. BUT I didn't really think my kids would need eye doctor appointments as early as FIVE YEARS OLD. Sheesh. We'll know something then, and of course I'll fill y'all in.

|| Gardening Tips. I need them. I need to save money at the store and just grow my own food. I have the perfect area in my back yard for gardening. I can keep the flowers up front. I just really have no clue where to start.

|| Along the lines of saving money. Who knows anything about chickens? I legit have a HUGE chicken coop in my backyard too. I've been toying with the idea of getting chickens to have fresh eggs. Am I completely losing my mind here? Who knows how expensive or difficult it would be to raise chickens? (And would the dog leave them alone?)

|| I've been really bad at blogging this week. I feel like anyways. But I'm not sorry about it because I've had lots of time with my kids. Zander is on spring break, and it's been wonderful. Except maybe for yesterday when we had a bit of a meltdown. I think that was like a global kid meltdown day or something though because Faith's kids that she nanny's were hellish too. Per snapchat. But I promise to do better next week!

|| I'm not even a little bit sorry for the amount of Llama gifs that I have in this post.
So that's what's on my mind lately. Tomorrow one of my besties is picking up me and the kids to go play at her house. I'm just a lot excited. So Brandi... if you're reading this, even though we'll text a million times during the day... I might be counting down the hours! haha. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. As Kerri says, Fri-Yay!
last one I promise!

The Pointless Post

Y'all, guess what? Valentine's day is this week! I'm not sure what gave it away; the fact that it's all over T.V. or the countless blog posts about Valentine's.

Josh and I don't really do a whole lot for the "holiday". We're more in the mind set of we love each other all year,  and we don't need extra gifts or cards just because Hallmark says so. I should have prefaced with "honesty alert". Just sayin.
However, I cannot escape the fact that Zander's school is essentially forcing the holiday down our throats. Not even exaggerating a little bit, y'all. In the past two weeks we've gotten approximately 4 reminders that they're having a Valentine's party on Friday the 13th. "Treats are welcomed, valentine's will be passed out, and remember: we have 22 friends in our class!" (Exact words from one of the reminders). 

We already planned on sending Zander to school with the paper Valentine cards. We were restricted on those tho, though. We can send them but we can't put the "friend's" names on them. "Children are encouraged to sign their names." (Another direct quote from the reminders). Lucky for Josh and me, we have a super smart kid that really enjoys writing his name. Even if it is 21 times. My question to the world though, when the heck did kids stop writing names on Valentines? 

I remember in elementary school spending countless hours with my mom hunched over the table personalizing all of the valentine's for school. We'd get the cards with tootsie pops attached and write names and a little not on every single one. Sure, it's easier to just have the kids sign their names, but where's the fun in that? 

So I got to thinking. Since we're allowed to bring treats, why not have fun with that? I did the responsible thing, and checked with the teachers to see if there were any food restrictions. Of course there were. (whomp whomp). No peanuts, no red dye... the list went on. I had so many ideas from pinterest, too. And yet... shot down! (because all of my amazing inspirations broke at least one or more restrictions from the teachers). UGH! 

How is a newly stay at home mom supposed to have fun and be creative with my son's school when everything I propose gets shot down? The answer: Zander's birthday. I've gotten the all clear to send 22 cupcakes with Zander on the 26th for his birthday. I also found the perfect design that includes no red dye or peanuts. Monkey Cupcakes! Don't worry, once these bad boys have been created I will share. Even if it is a pinterest fail. ;) 

So I guess this is just a random rant post for today. I needed to rant and didn't even realize. I hope y'all have a great Tuesday. 

(just because)

Me, Myself, and I

Earlier this week Emily at Ember Grey posted some fun facts about herself. She was sweet enough to tag me to do the same! And of, course since great minds think alike, I'm singing the song this week too "I Wanna Talk About Me".

 

 

Josh frequently "makes fun" of my quirks. He constantly points them out anyway, so this was an easy post for me. I know I'm quirky and I know I'm completely random. So let's do this, y'all! 7 Random things about myself...

• I have a bad habit of wanting to share a ton of stuff about my day with Josh right as we're going to sleep. I've done this for as long as I can remember; ever since we started living together back in 2006. He gets so annoyed by it because he's trying to go to sleep. We talk throughout the day anyway, but I always forget to tell him stuff. I remember this "stuff" as soon as we kiss goodnight and lay down. Opps
 
• I cannot pronounce "Declaration". I just can't. Josh thinks this is the funniest thing in the world, and whenever we're around a large group of new people he always tries to get me to say it. It always... always comes out sounding like "Dec-a-lation" not sure where the "lar" goes, but my tongue just can't do it. Like some people can't say cinnamon I guess.
 
• If you ever hear me say "I have a very important question...", it's not an important question. It's usually something dumb like, "What does shiver me timbers mean?"
 
• I have a fear of corn mazes (I get scared that I'll never get out of them.), but Amanda and I totally went through one a few years ago.

 

 

•  I can totally nail the lyrics to Barenaked Ladies "One Week", and when it comes on the radio I totally think I look super cool dancing to the music. Based on people laughing from other cars, my guess is that I don't actually look super cool.
 
• Because I work in a manufacturing plant, I always look for products we make when Josh and I go to the store. I did this when I was at my old job too. I'm also the nerd that will loudly point out if I do find something we make. (PS: you'd be really surprised just how much stuff adhesives are used in!)
 
• I'm the weird lady in the checkout line at the store that will strike up a conversation with anyone.  Especially if you're in front of me and you have an adorable kid. (No, y'all I'm not being creepy)... I can ususally find something to talk about with the person in front of or behind me in the checkout lines. My mother in law does this too, so when we shop together we talk to a lot of people. Josh hates it. He's such the introvert.

So there y'all have it... seven random things that you may (or may not) have known about me!

I'm definitely going to call out a few ladies that I would like to see do this as well. Since Emily was kind enough to call me out! (Don't worry, Emily I enjoyed this!) I'd like to see this from:

 

Amanda at Knock on Wood

Ashley at That Southern Mama

Lora at Heart of Life

and

Meagan at All The Joys

 

Do y'all have any quirks you'd like to share?



My Current Situation...

I thought it would be nice to switch things up around here and let y'all get to know me a little bit better with a "Currently" post. To give some insight to how I spend my time at home. 

Currently I'm...

// Loving the fact that I'm home before 5:30 PM. At my old job I left work at 5, had to drive an hour home, and by 6 PM doing the nightly routine with the kids (and making dinner) was so stressful. I love that after work I still have time to play with the kids and still get dinner prepared without stressing about time to get the kids ready for bed! 

// Reading "Gates of Paradise" by Melissa De La Cruz. It's the final book in the Blue Bloods series. I absolutely love this series (and the writer!) Highly recommend! 

// Feeling really good today actually. A week ago I would've said I was anxious, stressed, and nervous about changes. Today I'm feeling really wonderful. 

// Watching Curious George. Don't judge, the kids are enjoying it. It's just background noise for me. 

// Writing this post!

// Listening to the TV in the back ground and the kids playing with each other while they watch. As I type this I also hear Zander yell at me, "MOMMY! Ainsley pooped in her diaper!" Great... 

// Wanting someone else to change the baby's diaper. Why does it seem like I'm the only one around when it's time for a diaper change? I also want a really big strawberry milkshake. 

// Needing a new car. Well, a second car really. All we have is Josh's. It's been working carpooling to work, and I have rides to get home, but life would be so much easier with a second car in the family. 

// Hoping the kids go to  bed easily tonight. Lately Ainsley enjoys her new-found freedom of the toddler bed, so bed time has been spent taking her back to bed for at least 30 minutes post tucking in. 

// Avoiding folding laundry. I washed clothes on Sunday, and they've been sitting in the dryer going through the tumble daily to get wrinkles out when we need a shirt or pants. 

// Trying to come up with a really good gift idea for my friend's bridal shower this weekend. Any suggestions would be helpful, because this is my first bridal shower. 

// Hating the fact that Zander is so incredibly whiney lately. I know he's testing limits, but I would really love if this phase would just go away. I'm so frustrated with the whining. Especially when he does it because I tell him "no" on something. 

// Missing my Grandma. A lot. I really wanted to call her when I got off of probation last week, but I know she already knew the news so that made me smile. 

// Thinking that I should really start cooking dinner instead of writing this, but I'm almost done (and dinner is burgers so Josh will be on the grill anyway... the veggies are easy!) 

// Considering taking two vacations next year. We usually only go on one to see Josh's family in New Jersey. Next year we'll still be going to see them, but it'll be for his younger brother's wedding. I want a real vacation.. on a beach.. or in the mountains.. something fun the kids will enjoy. 

What are y'all doing "currently"? I really love reading posts like this because I'm such a creeper!