Photgraphic Evidence...

...of the existance of Godzilla!!!
(Careful, he's already going after innocent Halloween decorations!)

I've Been Tagged

I've been tagged (don't worry - I'm fine, it didn't hurt much)!! Jaime at Just Add Laughter tagged me and ran!
I'm supposed to show you the 4th picture in my 4th album/folder.
I'm not sure I did this right because when I pull it up in my pictures folder it's in a different order than when blogger pulls it up so I went with what blogger told me was the 4th folder!! :O)



This isn't a very good picture because it was taken with my old cell phone, but it's a picture of Bug from February, 2007. I had bought her this cute Valentine's onesie because my mom was making a calendar with a picture of Bug for every month of the year!

Now I'm supposed to tag 4 other people:
Ginny @ Monkey Memories
Kira @ Life Creates the Music, I Create the Dance (well I don't - she does) ;)
Kids Taxi Driver @ Shark Boy, Soccer Queen, & Monkey Boy
Lacey (& Wyatt) @ Wyatt & Lacey's Fabulous Blog (Careful when you click on that link - the adorable-ness of their family is sickening! *wink*)

Bow Klepto & Wrapping Paper Queen

I thought I'd (finally) share some pictures from Christmas. I didn't get very many because trying to keep up with 2 toddlers and a room full of wrapping paper and toys was not easy, despite the fact both of them had colds (poor kiddos)!

The kids made out like bandits! They got lots of good stuff from mommy and daddy, and Santa brought them each a BIG gift. THEN we went to Grandma & Aunt Becky's house where they REALLY got spoiled! We had so much fun and I really had a good day for a change!

Dude experienced his first Christmas where he was an active participant (he was only 6 months old last Christmas so didn't get to do a whole lot)! He had so much fun and he quickly became Bow Klepto - every single bow on every single present was HIS! It was hilarious because he even did it when we went to Grandma's house and opened presents there! He would pull the bow off the gift but wouldn't unwrap it! So funny!

This is a really cute airport set that comes with a biplane and helicopter - the biplane makes noise when you push the propeller.

CHOMPA CHOMPA (that's what T-Rex says you know)! Little Dude got a toy dinosaur set too - it came with a Stegosaurus, T-Rex, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, and a volcano! I was trying to get Dude to say the names of the dinosaurs. He now says "dactyl", "dino", "rex", and "cano". Stegosaurus and Triceratops we're still working on!

This one is from the day after Christmas - Dude is apparently checking the tire pressure on his new dump truck he got from Santa (which is something he does on all of his toy vehicles) - you just can't trust those elves to get it right - what do they know about vehicles with tires?! :)


Bug had a good time too despite a horrible runny nose that just wouldn't quit! She was Unwrap Queen - Dude stole the bows, she'd unwrap! Poor girl had an overwhelming Disney Princess saturation this Christmas but she absolutely loved it all! The Dance With Me Aurora doll was from Santa and was a big hit with both kids because she sings, which caused both kids to break out into random dancing!

This dress is an Alice in Wonderland costume. The detail on the little apron is little stacks of teacups! It's amazing the detail in it for just being a costume/dress up dress!

A Snow White dress to go with her new Snow White doll!


This last picture is the TOTALLY AWESOME retro kitchen they got at Grandma & Aunt Becky's house! It is the cutest thing EVER! It has a fridge, microwave, sink, oven, and an adorable little phone too. Bug also got a play dinnerware set, pots and pans, and fake food for her kitchen too! They were having so much fun with it we practically had to tie them down to get them to open other presents! If you notice, Bug has an apron on, which came with the kitchen and she had it on the WHOLE day. She even got mad at me at one point because I was playing with her hair and accidentally untied it - she thought I was trying to take it off of her!

Both dresses came with matching headbands that we couldn't convince her to put on with the dresses, but Dude put them on a couple of times which caused mommy and daddy to laugh until they cried!!

Before & After

Several people have asked me lately how Little Dude has been doing in regards to his eczema. Well, I thought instead of telling everyone how he's doing, I'd show you.
They say a picture says a thousand words - but how about 3 pictures.
(Just a warning - the 'before' picture is pretty icky.)

BEFORE:
This was taken towards the end of June. We had started some of the treatments but nothing was helping yet (obviously). He had already been like this for several months and we just hadn't found that "magical" combination yet.


AFTER:
This hilarious little photo (don't you like his underoos over the diaper look) was taken at the beginning of December. We still have some issues once in awhile with his face still on his upper lip and chin because when he's teething, he drools a lot which doesn't help. We also still have a hard time keeping his feet clear because he likes to scratch them on the carpet all the time, but other than that, what an improvement, eh?

Daredevil Dude Strikes Again!

OK so the blue pajama blob in the middle of the photo is actually my SON climbing from the rocking chair to the highchair to get some waffle crumbs apparently he left behind...*sigh*...I can see the hospital bills are going to be numerous with this one...
(Incidentally he's totally fine, as soon as I snapped the picture I grabbed him before he did fall!)

I Believe!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how I'm supposed to get in contact with Santa now that I've got kids. I have no idea how my mom did it. I mean does Santa just KNOW that I have kids and just starts showing up?! I mean he came the last 2 years, but I assumed that was because my mom had told him when she took the kids to see him in the Mall! I think this mom needs some help going forward with how to take care of the whole Santa business. I mean the kids aren't old enough to write letters yet, so do I need to make sure and take them to the mall so Santa remembers to add him to the "nice" list (well Dude is debatable, but he's little so we let it slide)! It's just a little overwhelming for me as there isn't a "How to Contact Santa" handbook! Other parents, can you help me out?! ;) How can I make sure Santa knows to stop here & how can I make sure that my kids BELIEVE in him as they get older?!
I believe 100% in the magic of Christmas - I just have no clue how I'm going to pass that onto my children so that in turn, THEY believe!

Christmas has been a very trying time the last few years, I hate to say it but I really dread it due to past Christmases that have been very, very bad - some of the worst things that could happen to a person have happened to me during the Christmas season so if it were up to me, I'd just skip the whole darn thing. But THIS year it's different...Bug REMEMBERS Christmas (or at least bits and pieces) - she recognizes Santa, she remembers snowmen & the lights and tree. She asks me to change the radio to the all Christmas station in the car, & she recognizes the characters from some of the movies. I'm sure Dude will "remember" next year too, but its been soooo much fun with them this year because they talk and walk and sing and dance now and that wasn't the case last year with Dude only being about 6 months old.

So those few of you who read my teeny little blog - do you have Christmas traditions that you do with your kids to help them believe or was there anything that was done for you as a kid that made you really believe in the magic?

Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus

I've really taken this little girl's letter to heart this year as I ponder how to help my kids believe as they grow up.

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.



You can still see the actual article as it appeared in the New York Sun on Sept. 21, 1897!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so excited for tomorrow!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Thanksgiving!! The food, the family, the parades, ALL of it!! I think it might just be my favorite holiday. I like Christmas, but don't like the feelings that go along with it - so and so is mad at you because you didn't get them the gift they wanted, another so and so is mad at you still because you didn't "bother" to call on their birthday, blah blah blah. I'm so tired with how Christmas has turned into a mud slinging holiday and who can say the meanest thing about you when you're not around. Thanksgiving is so not like that!! It's just sitting around, stuffing yourself more than the bird was and not really doing much else. It's a time when I really get to "hang out" with my mom, and for the first time this year, my Aunt Becky too which I'm really excited about! I think that's my bit 'I'm thankful for...' this year - I'm so very thankful that my Aunt Becky is here. It's been a little strange for all of us, she's not really used to this much attention but I'm sure she'll get used to it!

So now that I'm done rambling - I wanted to wish all of my blogging friends and family a very Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thank You Veterans!

I voted, but I'm not sure why!?

OK, this being my first presidential election that I voted in, I had no idea how the whole process "worked". Here's what I think I learned though...at least this is how I feel anyways...it's really actually isn't important whether or not I vote, because I didn't technically get to pick the president anyways - whoever these "Electoral Vote" people are who decided who decided the winner, not me and the MILLIONS of other people who voted. Now don't get me wrong, I totally agree with the choice they made, however, I really don't feel like my vote even matters because they announced that Obama was president before Idaho (and a lot of other states) had even reported all their numbers in. Does my vote only matter when the electoral vote people are tied or something? I do know that for the local and state races my actual vote counts, but still, I was really excited to vote for president and I feel totally let down, even though the candidate I picked won.

Maybe someone can explain it to me because I feel like I waisted my time voting yesterday when originally I was so freaking excited.

HEY YOU! GO VOTE!!!

I'm not going to lecture you about WHO you should vote for, just get out there and do it!!

I got another award!!

Wow! Today's a busy day (that's what happens when you have a week from hell aparently!
I got an award from Jaime over at Just Add Laughter - it's super cute and I LOVE IT!



Gotta pass it on to my gal pals kids taxi driver, threeundertwo & of course Bothy!!!

Halloween Party

Here's a couple of photos of the kiddos at the Halloween party from Saturday night!

Week From Hell (sorry so long)

Can I just say how happy I am last week is over? I swear it was the worst week!! I don't even remember the exact order in which everything happened, but I remember it alllll started Sunday night at work. I got stuck on the phone with this crazy woman who kept me on until over an hour past my shift, the woman would NOT SHUT UP! Ugh - when I tried to go get help with her account after I finally got her off the phone, the only senior rep I could find was this total bimbo who did nothing to help me, only lectured me on doing something outside of policy when all I did was ask a question, I didn't actually DO what I was asking about...I left work that night in tears...again.
Dude came down with a really bad runny nose and a little cough earlier in the week, usually not a big deal, kids get colds, heck I get colds. Well, that night before bed the runny nose cleared up and he started getting kinda wheezy - kinda odd for a cold to move to one's chest so quickly, but whatever...well that night he couldn't sleep at all, no matter what position I put him in, laying down, sitting up, it didn't matter. Well not only that but the wheezing was getting really bad and his heartbeat was horribly fast. I finally got him to conk out at about 8:30 am and he woke up an hour later still wheezing. I called the pediatrician and took him in about an hour and a half later. The pediatrician walked into the room, but a stethoscope on Dude's back and said "he's got asthma". LOVELY! Unfortunately with Dude's eczema and allergies, it was pretty much a guarantee that he'd get asthma too. NICE! Poor kiddo! So now we have a lovely little machine called a nebulizer. Say it with me kids - neb-u-lizer. It's a charming little air compressor that shoots medicinal fog into my kids face to help him breathe better (I'm sure it's much more complicated than that but this is what I'm going with). The funny thing is, the mask that Dude has to wear while he breathes in the medicine is shaped like a fish head - so funny - Dude however is not amused. The pediatrician told us that he probably will only have breathing trouble when he gets sick until he gets older and starts being a lot more active, then it could show up more often or not, who knows...
To top all of this off, the couple (VERY good friends of ours) that host the Halloween party that we go to every year almost had to cancel the party because the husband had a heart attack (luckily it was a mild one and he flat refused to cancel the party no matter how bad he felt)! Then the same day we find out about our friend having a heart attack the day before, I get a text from one of my very best friends (you know who you are monkey memories) that she's in the hospital with a kidney infection and stones.
My mom left for Indiana on Thursday to be with her sister who had just had surgery on Tuesday to remove tumors (yes the cancerous kind). She'll be there for 2 weeks. (Incidentally, some of the only good news that week was the surgery went very well and my aunt may not even have to have any kind of treatments, they think they got it all.)
With Dude being sick, and then lovingly sharing with her sister, Daddy couldn't take the kids trick or treating on Halloween like he wanted to, but we did still end up going to the Halloween party on Saturday night. The kids had a blast with all of the glow sticks and popcorn and pretzels and a (fake) cemetery with all kinds of places they could run through and scare each other. Dude was dressed up as a dragon and Bug as Marie (the kitten from Aristocats)
Thankfully the week ended on a good note or may have had to check myself into the loony bin!!

My Seventh Sense

Do you ever get that feeling when you're driving down the road and you just reeeaallly need to stop at a certain store? I mean it's like some kind of seventh sense (remember that sixth one is for seeing dead people) that tells you "pppppuuuuuuullllll iiiiinnnnnn ttttoooo tttthhhhheeeee pppppaaaaaarrrrrrrkkkkkkkkiiiiiinnnnngggggg llllllloooottttt". Anyways, I hope I'm not the only one with this inate ability because it happened to me yesterday. I was taking the kids to Grandma's house before I went to work, and I started to drive by the strip mall where one of my favorite thrift stores is. I haven't been in there in a really long time because I usually don't go that route to my mom's house anymore unless we're coming from Dude's doctor appointments (which we were).
Anywhoot - I really felt like we needed to stop in and check things out. Now mind you, I still hadn't gotten anything for Bug to wear for Halloween because I really wanted to dress her as a princess but was having no luck finding a reasonably priced one that looked decent. Well, we went in and they had a rack of Halloween costumes right by the door. I found this really cute lion costume that would have fit her, so I threw it in the cart and kept looking. A few Spiderman and Vampire costumes down the rack, I found it! The perfect Bug costume! She's not going to be an actual princess, but it sure is close enough! It's Marie from the Aristocats!
It's super cute and super warm and fuzzy so I don't have to worry about how I'm going to keep her warm yet still cute in a princess dress! I tried it on her in the store (bad idea because she didn't want to take it off) and it's too big, but not so much that she can't wear it this year (and maybe next year)! The best part? It was $5.75! SWEET! Almost as good of a find as threeundertwo's Pyrex (sorry 2/3 no Pyrex at this store - I looked)!
The funny thing is, that wasn't the REAL deal of the seventh sense shopping trip, the deal of the century was actually 2 - not one, but TWO Build a Bear bears that were buried in the stuffed animal pile in the toy aisle. Oh I'm not joking - the awesome part is one of them was $1.75 & the other was $2.75! Someone actually gave up (whether intentional or unintentional) 2 Build a Bears!!! I couldn't believe it! I've been wanting to get BABs for my kids but DH cringes over the price (whatevah). So they really didn't get the joy out of stuffing them and naming them (which they're kinda too young anyways), but they both have BABs now, they just need clothes! Oh, and DH promises that they can still do their own BABs when they're a little older.

Here's what the litle guys (or girls, we're not sure yet) look like:



And from the time I found them in the store, the kids each had "theirs" picked out!

My Blog List Disappeared! :(

I have no idea what happened, I'm sure it was probably while I was messing around trying to fix the background and header that I have now that my bloglist disappeared the other day! I hope I have everyone back on there that was there before. If you're reading this and you're missing, please let me know as I'm pretty sure there might be some that I couldn't remember with my 2kidsrunningamok brain.... :)

My first memes (I have no clue what that means)

So I got tagged (twice) to do these meme things. I have no clue what that means other than it looks a lot like those bulletin board surveys that are on myspace all the time!
Thanks to monkey memories for the first two and just add laughter for the second two! I feel so loved!!

This first one is a one word only:


1. Where is your cell phone? here


2. Where is your significant other? work


3. Your hair color? blondish


4. Your mother? worried


5. Your father? eh


6. Your favorite thing? kiddos


7. Your dream last night? unsure


8. Your dream/goal? secure


9. The room you're in? unnamed


10. Your hobby? photography


11. Your fear? death


12. Where do you want to be in six years? home


13. Where were you last night? bed


14. What you’re not? content


15. One of your wish list items? photoshop


16. Where you grew up? everywhere


17. The last thing you did? potty


18. What are you wearing? jammies


19. Your TV? PBS


20. Your pet? everything :)


21. Your computer? annoying


22. Your mood? annoyed


23. Missing someone? always


24. Your car? Intrepid


25. Something you’re not wearing? overalls


26. Favorite store? Disney


27. Your summer? short


28. Love someone? tons


29. Your favorite color? purple


30. When is the last time you laughed? earlier


31. Last time you cried? days



OK the other one was to post the 6th picture in your sixth album.


This is a picture of Dude's smash cake for his first birthday party. He didn't really seem all that interested, but he was pretty tired at that point too!


OK here's the two from just add laughter:

The first one is I have to come up with seven random things about myself (I hate these)!
1. I am originally from Indiana, but we moved A LOT because my dad was in the Air Force.
2. I met my husband when we were both seniors in High School. We were introduced by a mutual friend who discovered we had the same birthday.
3. I love to bake, expecially brownies. I can turn a plain box of brownie mix into fabulous creations.
4. I collect otters. Magnents, figurines, greeting cards, clothes, stuffed animals, books, you name it - love 'em.
5. My favorite movie is Drop Dead Gorgeous and can pretty much quote the entire thing from beginning to end!
6. I am addicted to the TV show America's Got Talent. I'm pretty good at it too! The last 2 years I chose the winner. (I mean not me personally, but the person I wanted to win did both times.)
7. I love to travel. If I could just buy an RV and travel the country for the rest of my life I would be totally content! I would love to be able to "home school" my kids this way - I remember taking trips as a kid and I learned more from those trips than I ever did in a classroom!

OK the other from Jaime is attached to an award I guess (again no clue how this stuff works). I mean it's cool - my first award and all!! WOO HOO!



Along with this I have to post 6 things that make me happy, and then pass it on to 6 people.

1. Bug
2. Dude
3. Being around my true friends
4. Disneyland
5. Halloween
6. A nice cold Mountain Dew

I have to say I feel really silly that I can only tag 2 people with it, considering my blog list is super tiny, and 2 of the people on it are the 2 who sent me these!

So I'm tagging the 2 I can:

1. Kira @ Life Chooses The Music, I Create the Dance

2. kids taxi driver @ sharkboysoccerqueenandmonkeyboy

Dude plays mindgames with mommy!

OK so I'm pretty sure that Dude is messing with my brain (again). He's still not sleeping through the night, so I figured it was time to just go ahead and put his crib back into his room. I mean he's going to wake up in the middle of the night no matter where he's sleeping, so might as well just put him back in his own room. Plus, now it's more exercise for me because now I have to walk out of our room and around the corner to his room now instead of just to the end of the bed!! LOL!
Well ever since he's been back in his room he's progressing slowly to sleeping through the night. By my calculations, we have about another 5-6 days and he'll be sleeping until 8 am in his own bed!!
Here's why:
The first night he was back in his own room he woke up at 11:30pm.
The second night he was up at 12:25pm.
The third night 1:30am.
The fourth night (last night) he was up at 2:45am.
So I am convinced by the end of next week he should be sleeping through the night!!


I know I hadn't mentioned this in the blog yet, but we had night terror issues with Bug all last week. She would wake up 3-5 times per night. Well let me rephrase that, she would cry and stand up in her crib, but I really don't think she was actually awake 90% of the time!! If I walked in there, put my arms around her and told her it was ok & to go back to sleep, she would just go limp in my arms & I'd lay her back down. Well for the last 2 nights in a row, no waking up! So I really hope that was it and we're done with the nightly terrors, but we'll see!

Help Rolling Dog Ranch win $10,000!!!

I don't normally beg people to vote for things because very rarely do they actually help out anyone. THIS one is important though! Care2.com is running a contest for America's favorite animal shelter & the winner will receive $10,000!!! Now you all are adults and I'm sure some of you may have a shelter in mind already, and I will not stop you from voting for whoever you want to, but if you don't have one in mind, will you PLEASE take a moment and vote for Rolling Dog Ranch Animal Sanctuary in Ovando, MT.
If you go to the Ranch's site, please take a moment and read the story about Bridger and Madison, two blind horses at the sanctuary. It's a story you usually never hear about or only read in books. The reason I specifically mention these two is because Radar (renamed Bridger after she got to the Ranch) was taken to the sanctuary by my mom who volunteers at the shelter here. See, in 2005 the Idaho Humane Society seized almost 90 horses from a lady who lives just a few miles from me. This woman had previously had animals seized from her but because of the lack of any animal cruelty laws here at the time, she was able to start hoarding again (let's not get me started)! These poor horses were in HORRIBLE condition, some blind, most starving, living in unthinkable conditions. Luckily the lady was convicted of animal neglect because the laws had thankfully changed. Anyways, back to the real reason I'm bringing this up is because the wonderful folks at Rolling Dog took Radar (the name we gave her at the shelter) in with open arms. My mom took her up there and she lives a wonderful life with her new family (and apparently long lost sweetie from another life if you read the story on the website).
So, if you have a minute and don't have a shelter in mind for the contest, please vote for Steve and Alayne and they're fantastic furry family at Rolling Dog!

Welcome October!

*SIGH*
I love fall!
It's quite simply my favorite time of year! I mean it's all about leaves turning colors, the weather getting cooler, time to plant new flower bulbs and dig up and seperate the old ones, going and cutting firewood for the winter, and the 2 most important things about fall....Halloween and Thanksgiving!
I love fall!
We went to the Dollar Store yesterday and I got a couple of really cool halloween decorations. They also had some Christmas stuff out (I know, I know - I usually refrain until at least after Halloween), but they had these little skinny garlands that were made with some heavy duty wire that will go around the front porch supports perfectly without falling down - and for a dollar! I'm soooo excited to decorate this house. We never decorated our old house, it was too small, too dirty, and by the middle of October we were already putting the plastic up on the windows because it was so drafty. I'll post some pictures when I get the stuff up - I still haven't located everything out of the storage shed yet!
Oh I almost forgot, we also went to another store yesterday and they had 2 different Disney pumpkin carving kits! I am so excited because one of the kits had Stitch and also Mike from Monster's Inc. I laughed so hard at the Mike one - its just a big eyeball on a pumpkin! I've never been good at these kits but I'm willing to give it a shot again - I haven't tried it in years.