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!