Booby Juice

July's been a big month

My mom is a wonderful help to us, but boy does she baby my boys!  Well, she is away for the month so I took hold of the opportunity and what a month we've been having!

Not only have hubby and I lost a couple pounds each (my mom cooks big, extravagant dinners and has been known to pick up a stray cake while grocery shopping), but also the boys have passed some big milestones, as least for us!

I'm happy to report that Lucas has been going to bed all by himself since July 5th.  Hubby or I lie down with him to read a book or two and then we get up, turn out the lights and skedaddle.  This is a HUGE change from the prior routine which entailed Hubby or I lying down with Lucas until he fell asleep.

And I am extremely proud to report that Justin is officially potty trained!  He's so potty trained that he made me take all of the old diapers out of his room, which by the way, I had a lot of because I had just bought a box of 128 diapers 3 days before Justin's miraculous transformation.  We started the training on a Thursday evening a couple weeks ago and in 2 days he had the hang of it.  He's even been practicing tinkling standing up. 

The only other milestone to get through this month is my 37th birthday.  :-(

Sample conversations with my children

Conversation with Lucas while going through security at the airport -

Lucas:  What are they doing with my bag?

Me:  They have to run it through the machine again and take another look.

Lucas:  What are they checking for?

Me:  They want to make sure there's nothing dangerous in your bag, like a bomb.

Lucas:  A bomb?  That's so silly!  We wouldn't pack a bomb........ Would we?

Conversation with Justin while getting ready for bed -

Me:  What was that noise?

Justin:  (Grinning) I farted.

Me:  You mean you tooted.  I don't like the f-word.

Justin:  No, I farted.

Me:  No, you tooted.

Justin:  Well, I might have tooted, but my toot farted.

Argument with a preschooler who can read and write

Lucas: Who is putting me to bed tonight?

Me: Daddy.

Lucas: Nooooo!!! I want you.

Me: But I put you to bed last night. It's your brother's turn.

Lucas: How come I never get a turn?

Me: You just had a turn last night.

Lucas: I don't like you.

Me: I'm sorry you feel that way.

Lucas: (spelling & sounding out the words) I-D-O-....tttt-T llllll-L....iiii-I-C .... wait, I forget the 'N' ..... Y-U. Good night.  (followed by an abrupt exit and harsh closing of the door)

Justin-isms 1

I'm going to get right into this post, ignoring the fact that it's been oh.....5 months since I've last witten anything!  Just play along with me, will you?!?!?!?

This post is long overdo.  Justin began talking, I mean really talking in fragmented, yet thoughtful sentences last summer.  Here is a small list of the some of the cutest euphemisms he's held onto over the past 9 months. 

Justin Speak = Translation

Goo-kus = Lucas

Up sleeves = Short sleeves

Down sleeves = Long sleeves

Up pants = Shorts

Vini Van = Mini Van

Farfellow = Marshmellow

Eat-mall = Oatmeal

Dude = Ronald McDonald

Of course, as I was thinking about this post over the past couple of days, I had a list of 10+ of Justin's euphemisms, and now that I've actually sat down to write, I can only recall a measley 6.  I'll update the post as I think of more.

What boys do when they're alone

Last week I did a rare thing -- I went out to dinner with some girl friends.  No kids in tow.  No husband beside me.  Just me and some other XX kin-folk.

When I broke the news to Lucas, I expected the usual protests with a few tears for good measure.  But when I pointed out to Lucas he could enjoy the all-boys' night with his brother and father, Lucas cheered, "Yeah, just the boys.  Now we don't have to say 'excuse me' when we toot and burp."

Oh, the things fathers pass on to their sons.

Angelina Jolie breastfeeding

Angelina Jolie will be on the November cover of W magazine breastfeeding. 

According to an AP story, she appears, "in a sleeveless top, which has been opened to reveal part of her left breast and a tiny hand ostensibly belonging to one of her twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in July."

Yeah for such a wonderful endorsement of breastfeeding!

Is this a sign????

So I just typed this huge post, mind you my first post in almost 3 months, and I went to preview my work and Typepad instead navigated away from the page, thus losing the post.  Gone.  Poof!

UGH!!!!

And it was a good post if I do say so myself!  It was about how Lucas told Justin to step in dog poop and Justin did it, and I didn't know how to punish Lucas who had never been so naughty and was being unusually fresh and defiant, so I made Lucas clean the poop off Justin's sneaker, and he was crying and I felt so guilty I haven't been able to forget about it. 

I'm not doing my orginal post justice, but I am just so frustrated!  Is this a sign that I really should give up the blog for good?

Update

Three posts in 10 months -- that's pitiful.  I'm shocked myself at my inability to keep up, even with my new job!

I've gotten a few emails asking about what exactly I do for my husband -- I think many people, myself included, thought I would have the flexibility to post again.  But when I actually gave it some thought, I've been doing quite a bit, and most of what I do doesn't stop at 5 when I leave the proverbial office.  In fact, I often work along side of my husband well into the night. 

For those of you who don't know, my husband created and runs Cheap Stingy Bargains, a deal and coupon site.  So here's a quick recap of some of my main responsibilities:

• My main job is to import coupons and coupon codes for my husband's newly created coupon page.  Unfortunately, this has been slow going given some of the other stuff I've been working on (see below!!!) and the fact that I first have to add merchants individually,
• I've also been helping to update the HP coupon page with new HP coupons and deals,
• I edit all of the pieces that are submitted for our money saving articles page and correspond with people interested in writing for us, plus I write some of the tips articles myself and also post links to relevant news stories,
• And I am also the book-keeper/accountant/controller/penny-pincher/bean counter

I hope the above gives you some insight into what's been keeping me so busy.  It's been quite a transition from "corporate America" to the land of entrepreneurship, but I am so happy and very grateful that I have this opportunity.  And if for whatever reason things don't work out, I will gladly go back to outside work, knowing that I gave it my all.

As far as the boys, they are doing absolutely fabulous.  Besides my husband, they are the loves of life and I don't know what I would do without them (have I said that before?!?!?).  I hope to start posting some Lucas-isms again soon, as they are getting cuter and more clever as he gets older!  Justin's vocabulary is just starting to explode, but he is more in the copy-cat phase, so it might be a while longer before I can introduce any Justin-isms.

So there it is.  Yet another monster update.  I sincerely hope this marks the last of its kind and I will be motivated, and have the time, to post some regular updates.

Time sure does fly

I can't believe I have only posted twice in 6 months.  Has it really been that long?  And have I really been that...well, absent?  Time sure does fly by.  But I don't need to tell all of you other moms how quickly the days pass, especially when the hours, the minutes, the seconds are spent working, caring for kids, cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, shopping, and all other things that it takes to be a good wife, mother, daughter and friend.  I guess "good Mommy blogger" just didn't make my list much in this new year!

But I hope to change all that.  Remember in my last post when I mentioned I had this great "new" job (I started back in May 2007)?  Well, I just resigned from that great new job.  Yes, I had only been in the position for a year, and yes it was a great job, and at a level that I had spent many years working to get to, but my husband was getting crushed by the mounting work from his business.  In March, when my husband couldn't take one full day off while on our family vacation, it became glaringly obvious that if I was going to be directing any business, it should be his.

So 3 weeks ago, I submitted my resignation and as of May 1st, became an official employee of my husband's.  While this is an incredibly scary and exciting change for us (I had a senior management position with nice pay and all of the health care benefits), we are hopeful that with my support my husband will be able to replace my income and then some!

But even more importantly, we really didn't feel like living the next 20 years always wondering "what if" -- it's far better to fail with no regrets knowing you gave it your best, then to always wonder.  And if we can grow his business into a family business, then there certainly won't be anything to regret!

Where to begin

It's hard to believe it's been sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long since my last post.  I guess this is what a school girl feels like picking up her diary after month's of not writing.

I received quite a few emails from my virtual friends checking in to make sure I was still alive and that the kiddos were both ok.  My heartfelt thanks to the three of you (you know who you are)!!!!

I'm not really sure why I was away for so long except that I just didn't feel inspired to write.  It seemed that everything was going well, the boys were good, life was busy -- things I didn't either feel inspired to write about or didn't think would be of any interest. That said, I think the best way to bring everyone up to speed over the past 5 months is a super-easy, bulleted post!

• In May 2007 I started a new job that has me traveling overseas one week per month.  It seems to take me another week to shake the jet lag and catch up with my life at home.
• The boys are both doing great and remain my absolute pride and joy.  Lucas is in a pre-k program 5 days a week from 9 - 3 and Justin goes to a little program 3 days a week from 9 - 12.
• While Lucas hit the physical developmental milestones right on cue, he was far advanced with his verbal development and was speaking in almost full sentences by the time he was 18 months.  Justin, on the other hand, will be 2 y.o. April 3rd and is not only still toddling along, but he also barely speaks 30 words.  I certainly don't mean to compare the two, but even by "textbook" standards Justin appears to be lagging behind -- an issue I plan on raising as soon as we walk into the doctor's office for his 2 year well-being visit.
• Since last Spring Justin had been battling spontaneous, recurring ear infections.  After a spat of 4 infections in 6 weeks in January, Husband and I finally opted for tubes.  Justin had his surgery February 13th and has been doing wonderfully since.
• When not working or tending to the boys, I have been helping Husband a great deal with his sites, which has been keeping me up well past a respectable bedtime.  I usually don't crawl into bed until between 1 and 2 am, only to wake up at 7 to start the day all over again.  My utter exhaustion most nights means I have just enough energy to do the absolute bare necessities.
• The holidays were fairly uneventful, spent locally here celebrating with friends and family.
• In December, I finally made the commitment to lose weight and went on a great diet.  I even asked Husband to buy me a packet of sessions with a trainer for my big holiday present.  Well, almost 3 months later of restricting myself to 1,200 calories a day, keeping a food diary and working out 4 days a week (2 times with my trainer and 2 spinning classes), guess how much weight I have lost?  Come on, you will never guess............ ZERO.  That's right, I haven't lost a single pound.  I also haven't lost an inch around my thighs, hips or chest.  Nor are my clothes or jewelry fitting differently.  Can you feel the bone crushing frustration?  I'm sticking with the regime for fear of what might happen to my weight if I stop!  My best friend, who happens to be a clinical psychologist trained in weight management, says that my lack of sleep and stress are probably the contributing factors and that I should see an endocrinologist to rule out anything serious, like postpartum hypothyroidism.  I've added it to my "to do" list which never seems to ever get totally done....
• With both boys in school, there has only been two week-ends since December in which we haven't had a birthday party (or 2 or even 3!) to go to.  I should have bought stock in Toys 'R Us!
• We redid our entire 1950's basement to bring it to the 21st century!  We also got rid of all of the furniture in what we now call the "adult den" as it was all mismatched, random hand-me-downs from one parent or another.  Unfortunately, the new furniture we ordered for the basement and "adult den" has been delayed, so we have been without anything to sit on for 4 weeks, except Lucas' Pottery Barn chair, a beanbag chair and 4 plastic IKEA kid chairs.
• In the process of redoing the basement and cleaning out some old furniture, I'm also trying to declutter my home and life, a task that is taking me way longer than I expected.  After my mom moved in with us and my in-laws downsized, Husband and I were overrun with stuff, junk and chatchkes, not to mention all of the stuff I had accumulated over the years and 2 kids.  In fact, I have so much crap to get rid of, it takes up an entire room in my house (thank goodness we ran out of funds to buy furniture for the living room!), as well as half of the unfinished part of our basement.  I have finally begun to list most of it either on Craigslist or eBay, and I suppose what doesn't sell I will try to donate.  But who knew getting organized would take so much time?
• I can't believe it's been 5 months almost to the day that I weaned Justin.  Since then, he's only asked for the boo-bahs twice.  I think more and more about having a third, but I am not ready to commit either way.  Lucas said on his birthday candle he was going to wish for a baby sister -- if only it were that easy!
• I also can't believe that Lucas will be 4 on March 28th and Justin will be 2 on April 3rd.  I look at how fast both boys are growing and I can't believe that at one time not so long ago they were small enough to fit inside my tummy.
• Husband and I tried unsuccessfully twice to convert Justin's crib to a bed.  The first time we were told that the wrong hardware was included with the kit and so we were sent a new packet of screws, cam locks and pegs, only to find that nothing still fit.  Now we are told that lay-offs in the plant meant that the holes weren't drilled properly in the rails, so an entire new set of everything is being ordered.  At this point I don't trust the company at all, but the store where we purchased the furniture has agreed that they will come out and put the bed together for us, which I guess provides some warranty should the bed collapse in the middle of the night!
• Justin right now is in an "I want everyone else but Mommy" phase, which is really, really hard to handle.  Adding to the pain is when I scoop him up and he screams, reaching out for my mom, yelling "Mama, Mama, Mama" even though he knows she is "Nonna."  Takes that working Mother guilt to a new level.

Well, I think this probably does a fairly good job of bringing any of you who are still out there up to speed with the goings on of my life.  Husband is currently away at a conference, and both boys are sound asleep in my bed, so excuse me while I try and get myself to bed at a respectable hour and cuddle up to my lovies!