Glamazon is hosting Friday Confessoinals.  If you have that confession that is bugging ou to get out just click the button above and go see her confessions.  The sculpture she has on her deck is worth it.

I confess:
-My dishes are not done.  I only put the plates and cups and utensils in the dishwasher.  The rest I hand wash.

-I wash the tubs when I'm going to take a bath in one of them.

-Commercials confuse me.

-I like to walk on the ice just to see if I'll slip.

-Turbo is trying to drive us crazy.

-I hate my kitchen floor.  When I get a new one I will take better care of it.

-I procrastinate laundry.  I do the clothes every two weeks and do laundry all day.  It works for us.

Go see the other Friday confessions.  Confession is good for the soul or something like that.

Year one Is over now. Happy Birthday Bruiser!

Bruiser, you are now one (well actually tomorrow but who's counting). One year ago you were ready to meet the world, two whole weeks before your due date, just like your big brother. I was hoping you would wait until February, but you were determined to get on with things. After four short hours of labor there you were. You were one whole pound smaller than your big brother when he was born. (You have made up the size difference and then some.)(To explain the mask, Turbo has a nasty case of the flu when you were born.)

Your personality has come out as you grew. You hated to sleep on your back, you did not want to start solid food, and you really wanted to be big like your brother. You loved snuggling with mom and Grandma, you liked your nugs, and you happily picked up every fuzzy in sight to stick in your mouth. Once you started to get mobile nothing was safe. You started by scooting around on your butt and then figured if you were going backward, just turn around and you will get where you want to go. As soon as you learned to crawl forwards all bets were off. Man you are quick. You love to pull to a stand and see what interesting things might be in your reach—the remote, telephone, Turbo’s toys—all the good stuff you’re not supposed to play with.

Both Mommy and Daddy are happy you have finally figured out nights are for sleeping through, not endless entertainment. I’m happy you are finally eating solid food. Your preference for our food is noted. You are like a little bird at our knees whenever we are putting something in our mouths. You definitely demand your share—loudly! You are giving the dog a complex because we feed you and not him, he’s jealous. You like oatmeal in the morning, yogurt and fruit during the day and whatever you can eat off Mommy’s plate at dinner. We are trying to wean slowly. However you want nothing to do with cups, bottles or sippy cups. You also don’t know how to use a straw. We are working on this one.

Your first tooth did not come until you were seven months old and it was a top tooth.  Yep, you had to be different.  You have fought each and every tooth you have gotten-all seven of them. (I think you are working on number eight right now.)  Your smile is so cute with those pearly white teeth peeking out.

Mommy was thrilled that you waited to walk for the first time until she was home. You then obligingly repeated the performance for Daddy. Now you are taking shaky steps everywhere. Crawling is still your quickest form of transport but I’m sure walking will soon take its place.

You still look like a baby and I love when you snuggle, but the little boy is starting to make his way out of you. Keep growing, Bruiser and keep exploring. You keep Mommy and Daddy young that way. Give your big brother a run for his money, he adores you (and keep growing, something tells me you will need the defense from his affection).

Happy Birthday Bruiser (even if technically it's tomorrow). You are amazing and very loved by everyone.

Chief over at (Hiding from the kids) has this bloggy carnival to help get you through Wednesday.

What I meant to say lets you get all that annoying stuff off your chest.  You know when you sy the correct thing but want to say the snarky thing.  Anywho here mine for the week.

What I said:  At least the sun is shining.
What I meant to say:  Damn, why is it so cold!  Come on, just snow already!

What I said: Get moving Turbo!
What I meant to say:  Stop screwing around and get with it.  We do the morning thing every day and you should know by now that you need to get a move on so we don't leave you behind.  Move it kid!

What I said:  Don't be up too late, Nick!
What I meant:  Don't be up until God knows when then expect me to get your butt out of bed.

Spin Cycle--Happiness

Jen at Sprite's Keeper is spinning up some happiness this week.  She has asked what makes us happy.  Happiness is something I have to remind myself about sometimes.  It's not that I'm unhappy but I'm often not truly happy.
I tend toward being depressed (it runs in the family) and I have to really try to keep the blues away.  I have started thinking about the things that make me smile and that helps.

So things that make me smile:
1.  Hearing my boys (both big and little) laughing.  Something about them playing and laughing makes my heart smile.

2.  Reading a great book (even if I have read it before--and the tub and a glass of wine make it even better).

3.  Seeing comments on my blog posts.

4.  Scrapbooking memories.  I have been slacking n this one but now that Bruiser is not as dependant on me I planning on getting back into it.  Now, I just need to decide where to start.

5.  Spontaneous hugs from Turbo and Nick.

6.  Cuddles with Bruiser.

7.  A full night's sleep (thank you Bruiser, lets keep it up!).

8.  A clean house.  I hate getting it clean but once it is clean I really like it.

9.  Planning trips--even if they are just road trips.  I love getting out of town.  Lots of tension just drains away when we get past the city limits sign.

10.  New Mythbusters shows.  Heck even reruns of Mythbusters are fun to watch.  It's a show that all of us like and there is no complaints or whining with Mythbusters.

11.  Cheesecake always makes me smile.  I only get it when we have dinner out but I really want to learn to make in myself.  I love cheesecake, all kinds.

Well there you have it.  these are thing that make me smile and can perk up my mood.  When I get down about things in general  I try to think of these things to make myself happier.

Post-It note Time

SupahMommy is hosting Post-it note Tuesday.  Go check her out and play along.

Well here goes:

Random Tuesday Thoughts

Hey, hey, hey, it's Tuesday again.  Head on over to Keely at The Unmom for some random fun.



I hate mornings.  They always come to early and go by to quick to get everything done.  I always feel so rushed getting everyone else up and moving.  Bruiser is easy but time intensive.  Turbo seems to think taking as long as possible to do everything is fun.  I mean really, how can it take him 15 minutes to put on clothes?  I like the mornings when Nick runs cause he gets himself up but the mornings when he doesn't he stays in bed 'til the last second.  Which requires that I bug him to get up repeatedly.  I love being an alarm clock. 

I hate figuring out what to have for dinner.  I don't mind cooking-mostly I enjoy it but figuring out what to have every night is tough.  Nick is often helpful but sometimes he has nothing for me and I'm on my own in the cooking department.  Standing in front of the freezer is not the best way to plan meals. 

In happier news, Bruiser is taking wobbly steps everywhere.  Both Nick and I were thrilled to be home when he took his first steps.  I think it would have killed me to have missed them.  It's not the same to hear about it from my mom.  And I would have never heard the end of it if he'd have walked first for my mom.  Love her to death but she never lets anything go.

Turbo is close to losing his other front tooth.  It's wobbling and wiggling in every direction.  It won't hang in there much longer.  Sigh, the Tooth Fairy is going to have to scrape up some more change soon.

And Bruiser turns one on friday.  No more baby, he is well on his way to toddlerhood.  He still looks like a baby and cuddles like one too so that helps.

Alright, enough random meandering.  Go see Keely and have a random Tuesday.

MEme Monday--Dealbreakers

SupahMommy and MommyBrain are hosting All About MEme Monday.  This week is all about dealbreakers.  You know, the one thing that just makes you say no to a relationship, family, friends, in-laws or co-workers.

I have five things that are sure dealbreakers in any situation:
1. Saying something about me behind my back that you wouldn't say to my face.
2. Not listening to my side of the story.  Or just plain not listening to me.
3. Being totally selfish.
4. One-upping me all the time.
5. Criticizing the way I do things, like work, raise my kids, keep my house or deal with family.

My most recent "break-up" was with a girl who had been a great friend but she crossed the line into complete selfishness.  She was single and lots of fun to hang around with.  But by the time of the "break-up" she had become sort of whiny and complaining.  When she accused me of not caring because she had not heard from me in a while I had had enough.  I had a two year old, I was in school and I had a home to keep up with as well.  The phone worked both ways, but she was a little to into herself so the freindship ended.

Back in the days of dating, pre-Nick, (eons ago, or about 17 years now--holy cow that's a long time!) I dated frequently.  Dealbreakers for me then were simple.
1. One guy I almost dated lost out because he couldn't kiss worth a darn.
2. Another guy always complained about being broke, so we never went anywhere but his room in the frat he belonged to.  Complaints about being broke broke the deal for me.
3. Then there was the guy who introduced me to his parents then told me he was not interested in meeting my parents at all--Dealbreaker.

Too bad right now most of my dealbreakers would apply to family.  My mom is the worst one-upper around.  No matter what you say she can go one better.  It can be frustrating talking to her.  She is also good at getting her little digs in--you really should do such and such, or I always do it this way.  Drives me nuts.  However she's my mom and she watches Bruiser.  I bit my tongue and just deal.

Do you ahve any dealbreakers?  Do you have dealbreakers but have to put up with them because it's family? 

Toddler in the house

It is official. 
Bruiser walked last night. 
All by himself. 
He's now a toddler. 
How did this happen? 
He's not even a year old yet.
 He turns one next Friday. 
Where did my baby go?

Anyway, Bruiser walked!!

Bad day

You ever have a bad day?
I'm having one.  Tax stress strikes again.  There is so much that no one tells you.  I hate being a grown up.  There are times when I would love to curl up in bed and hide from everything.
At least for the moment we are all healthy.  Got to look at the bright side (I just hope the brightness is not an on coming train).
Hope everyone's weekend is good.

Spin Cycle--Everyone has an Opinion

THe spin cycle this week is all about opinions.  Go see Sprite's Keeper for more spins on everyone's opinion.

Opinions—everyone has one or fifty. It makes us interesting people. At least we have the freedom to voice those opinions. Religion, Politics, Abortion, Capital Punishment, Gay Marriage, Parenting styles, discipline styles, oh the list could go on and on about those topics that can set people on edge. I’ll admit I have my own opinion about these topics but that is another post all together.  My take on opinions is that they are necessary for a person to develope into a well rounded person.


Have you ever noticed that you tend to gravitate to those who hold opinions similar to your own? And how much good sense they seem to have because they think the same way you do? Discussions and debate are good for the mind and the soul but being around those who have the same opinions you do makes you far more comfortable. And maybe a tiny bit validated in your opinions.

Nick and I often have discussions (lots of times they happen after a glass of wine or three or four). We tend to agree on most everything so the conversations don’t get really heated. Nick likes to play devil’s advocate and take the opposing side when he gets into discussions with his friends, even if that is not what he truly believes. He says he learns a lot about people that way.

I want to teach my boys that having an opinion is not wrong. Changing that opinion just to fit in is. They need to stand firm on what they believe and knowing the facts behind what they believe will make them feel more comfortable in defending their opinions. In my own opinion, being poorly informed is worse than having opposing opinions.

I have learned that there are some arguments that are not worth having. Agreeing to disagree is not a bad way to keep the peace—especially if it’s with family. My mother is very opinionated and not afraid to let those opinions be heard. I think I learned to be quiet in reaction to the arguments she and my step-father used to have. We don’t bring up certain topics around Nick’s dad because he is also very opinionated. There is just no arguing with him, it’s his way or no way.


Opinions, everyone is entitled to their own. Just don’t go trying to win me over without hearing my side of things. I’ll listen to you if you listen to me. Yelling gets you nowhere and makes you look foolish to boot.