Pour Your heart out--Balance

Shell over at Things I Can't Say is hosting Pour Your Heart Out again.  Go check out her post and the others who have poured their hearts out this week.



Every one needs balance in their lives--between work and play, private and public, family and friends, being mommy and being a woman, being a wife and being mom.  I strive very hard to maintain balance especially in my life at home.

When we had Turbo I became a stay at home mom for the first fifteen months of his life.  It was very hard to not get lost in being mommy.  I had to remember there were other parts to me to keep my sanity.  There was the wife part, the friend part and the adult part.  Nick was very instrumental in keeping the wife and adult parts balanced, but the friend part was harder.  It helped when I went back to school.  I was able to make friends in my classes.

Nick and I have worked hard at keeping our marriage strong.  And it does take a lot of work and effort.  Anyone looking in from the outside would think it was easy for us.  In some ways it is easy, but mostly we work at it all the time.  It helps that we are friends (the lover part isn't too bad either).  I'm very glad he encouraged me to go back to school.  He is so proud of me and I'm very proud of him.

Balance is something that is not talked about in the baby books all that much.  Oh, they say you should make time for yourself but they don't say you need to make the effort to not let little Junior take over every loving minute of you time and thoughts and conversation.  I make time during my day to be me, not just a mom, or wife or staff member.  Me, the person who loves to read in the tub, scrapbook, play with my DS, blog, and so many other pursuits that can get pushed aside when the little people invade your life.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

It's Tuesday again--funny how it always follows Monday--it almost makes Monday worth getting through--but not quite. 


OK so we have the interesting purple button, let's random:

• Have you ever met someone and the name they have totally does not fit them?  Like they are named Ann but they look more like a Melissa?  And whenever you think about that person you can never remember their name, all you can remember is the name you thought it should be?  No?  OK, moving on.
• Bruiser can scale anything now.  I often find him on top of tables, chairs and such.  He's really proud of himself but does not have the self-preservation common sense to not stand up while on top of things like the arm of the couch.  Nick and I have had about 437 heart attacks in the last five days.
• We are hoping Turbo learns how to ride a bike this summer(without training wheels).
• Nick has rediscovered wind surfing.  We have a lake that is about 30 minute out of town but for the last ten years it has been more of a puddle.  This year, with the abundance of water, it is a lake again.  Nick dug out the old wind surfing gear and headed out this weekend.  He had lots of fun but also lots of sun.  Therefore, he is sporting a lovely sunburn on his legs.  At least he does not have the boot on his ankle any more.

Well that about covers the random I have for this week.  Go see Keely--she's hoping for the Apocalypse but she'll be glad to see you before that.

Monday Minute

It's time for the Monday Minute by Ian at The Daily Dose of Reality!  This week Jana from Boobies, Babies and a Blog is co-hosting!  So let's get started.




Has anyone you've known personally lived to at least 100?
Nick's great grandmother/aunt(the family tree gets murky) lived to be 100, I think.  She was an interesting lady--donated her body to science.  Which was cool.

What material possession do you value most?
Well let's see...there's the DS-no not that, there's the new fridge--no not that, there's the....hmm value the most?  Ummm....Oh! I know I value my book collection the most.  I love to read and my library of books are all old friends.

What do you think happens to us after we die?
Depending on what the will says--burial or cremation, a lovely service and then you get remembered on Memorial Day.

Most embarrassing item in your house?
There's this drawer in the bedroom---no I won't go there.  We have nothing embarrassing in the house--just don't get nosy.

And last but not least-
If you could rename your self, what would your name be?
I have hated my name and I have loved my name, but I really like the name we picked out for a girl--that we never had--Leanna Eilene.  It's my middle name and Nick's grandmother's name.  I think it's really pretty.

OK, go answer the questions for yourself and link up.

Five Question Friday

It's Friday!!
Time for Five Question Friday with My Little Life.

1. Do you know how to play a musical instrument?  No not really.  I had one year of piano lessons, played the trumpet for one year, and the recorder for one year--there might be a theme here.  I'm just not that musically inclined.
2. What is your pet peeve while driving?  Slow drivers--the ones who drive slower than the speed limit because that makes them "safer".  It does not make you safer it makes you a hazard to those of us who drive the speed limit.
3. Would you rather have a housekeeper or unlimited spa services?  Oh, the housekeeper--to never have to do laundry or dishes again, and let's not mention the bathrooms--that would be like going to the spa every day.
4. Is there a song that you hear that will take you back to the moment, like a junior high or high school dance?  Any number of songs will remind me of high school, but when I hear Kid Rock's All Summer Long I am reminded of my 18th summer.  I was home from my first year of college and lifeguarding at the outdoor pool in my home town.  I had lots of fun time that summer and this song reminds me of all that fun.
5. What song best represents your life right now?  Hmmm, this ones takes some thought.  I think for Nick and I, I'd have to choose Shania Twain's Still the One.  This came out the year we were married and it still works for us.

Friday Fill-ins

I'm doing the Friday Fill-in.


And...here we go!




1. On vacation, I like to do as little as possible--relax.
2. I love playing in the waves in the ocean.
3. One of my favorite vacation spots is Clearwater Beach, Florida.
4. You have to howl at the full moon.
5. Up, up and away is where I'd like to be this weekend.
6. Bananas are good in Banana Bread and Banana Splits.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with a daquiri, tomorrow my plans include going to the park and Sunday, I want to be lazy in the sun!

Writer's Workshop--Summertime

Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop is up and running this week.

The Prompts:
1.) The Love List. Write a list of 50 things you look for in a man.
2.) Write a poem about a picture.
3.) What does your child do that reminds you most of yourself? How does it make you feel?
4.) Write a letter to whatever is stopping you from losing the extra weight you’d like to lose.
5.) What summer means to your family.


I chose number five.

What summer means to your family.

Summer means:

• Hot days enjoying the sun.
• Camping
• Grilling on the back deck
• Staying up late
• Road trips
• Having the windows open
• Shorts--means less laundry or smaller loads.
• Longer days
• Spending time with friends outside--barbecue.
• Less structure to the days
• Eating watermelon, cherries, and fresh nectarines.
• Relaxing at the lake--this is new for us as the lake finally has water again.
• Red neck drive-in(setting up a small TV and DVD player on the back deck and watching movies.)
• Bug spray
• Grimy little boys after a day of fun.

That is some of what summer means to us here in our neck of the woods.
Go pick your own prompt and join up with the Writer's Workshop at Mama Kat's.

What I meant to say

OK, so it's time to do the What I Meant to Say with Angel and Brittany.  You know, the time you held your tongue but really should have said something else?  Well now you can say what you really meant.  Here are mine:


To the mosquitoes:  What I said:  Stupid biting bugs, I need more spray.
What I Meant to say:  Really, biting through my jeans?!  Jeez, if your that desperate find an easier meal, or do I just taste that good?

To My Back:  Please start feeling better.
What I should have said:  Get over your self already.  I'm not sure what I did to piss you off but be sure I'm getting pissed right back at you.  Get better already!

To my Mom:  When she told me why she was dropping her extra fruit on us:  Thanks.
What I should have said:  Thanks, but there was way to much info in your explanation.  I don't care if you have eaten too much fruit recently and I don't care what it has done to your digestive system.  Yuck--just yuck!

To Nick:  Last night when he asked if I wanted to eat outside:  Sure, I guess so.
What I meant to say:  Umm, not really, bug spray and dinner don't mesh well, and if I don't use the spray the mosquito beyotches will drink me dry.

Ok, go get What you meant to say off your chest and link up with Angel and Brittany.

Random Tuesday--It's Summer here--Finally

Kay, it's summer and finally warm here.  Of course the mosquitoes have come to visit too.   Beoytches.  Blood sucking beoytches.  Everyone here is sporting eau de bug spray.  It's a wonderful odor.  The stupid bugs love Turbo and I.  Bruiser has gotten bitten a couple of times but it does not seem to bother him.  Turbo still swells up and gets awfully itchy.  I do too.  It sucks.

We are looking forward to camping for the Fourth.  It's gonna be great.  We get to see good friends and spend time outside.  We are packing lots of bug spray and sunscreen.  However, one of the people we are going with has decided that we should all eat the same things at the same time--but cook for ourselves.  Not sure why they have decided this is the way to go--we may be rebels and eat what we want when we want--nanner nanner.

Our new water heater rocks.  We got a bigger one and we have so much hot water now.  That extra 10 gallons makes a difference.  The new fridge is pretty awesome too.  It has LED lights inside and they come on sort of gradually when you open the door--kind of like the fridge is saying Ta-da here I am in all my chilly glory.  I always feel like a choir should be singing when I open it.

I hate the dishes.  And the laundry, but right now the laundry is done but the dishes keep showing up.  Stupid dishes.

Now go check out Keely.  She has this random thing going.  Have a great Tuesday, cause you know it's not Monday anymore.

Spin-That's My (Kid's) Daddy!

My husband is the greatest guy.  But when we met he was not really excited about having kids.  I couldn't get him to even say the word, he stuttered on the word marriage too.  So we took thing slowly and worked our way around to the point that he could say married with out choking on the words. 

Once we were married, the next step and the question everyone asked was when are you having kids?  When we were ready was the general response.  However I told Nick that I wanted to have our first before I was 30.  The dead line was sneaking up on us quickly.  Nick was finishing up his second bachelor's degree and just had Field camp left to finish.  I told him that when he finished we were going to start trying.  It took us about three months to succeed at the baby olympics.

Nick was excited but a bit weirded out by the pregnancy--the movement was a bit to alienesque for his comfort (feeling it move was OK, but seeing it...).  When Turbo arrived Nick fell in love.  We both did, but Nick made a very proud daddy.

We had a bumpy road to getting around to having number two.  When we had Bruiser, he was a lot more difficult than Turbo had been as a baby.  Now that Bruiser is bigger, we are all enjoying him.  Nick loves watching Bruiser play and explore.  Now Nick is the happy father to two growing boys.  You couldn't find a prouder dad any where.

Bruiser and his daddy

Turbo and Daddy.

On another note--Happy 36 to Nick today!

Spinning the Mystery Spin

The spin cycle was a mystery grab bag this week.  If you wanted in, let Jen know and she would send you a  topic.  I got Pet Peeves!  Like Jen said, I love this topic!

Who doesn't have pet peeves?

I got to thinking about the words and decided to look up the meaning of Pet peeves.  Answers.com says Pet Peeves are: Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation.  Wikipedia says: A pet peeve (or pet hate) is a minor annoyance that an individual identifies as particularly annoying to them, to a greater degree than others may find it.  Yep that about sums up pet peeves.  What I find annoying is not necessarily going to annoy some one else.

I got to do a spin on pet peeves back in March.  It's here if you want to check it out. 

I do have some new pet peeves:

• The way Turbo likes to make nonsense rhymes--clothesy wosey or huggy wuggy.  He does this for lots of things and it makes me nuts--talk normal kid.
• Nick's socks are still left anywhere he takes them off.
• Appliances that die on weekends.
• Empty toilet paper rolls left on the bathroom floor.  It's not as if the garbage can is not right next to the toilet but those empty rolls just sit on the floor until I throw them away (or Bruiser finds them and snacks on them--soggy cardboard must taste delicious).
• The way the projects around our house are almost complete but not quite.  I'd like more lights in the laundry room, trim in the bathroom, you know, those finishing touches?  I love that Nick can do these things but I like the motto finished is better than perfect.  Let's finish some things soon.
• Getting I don't know in response to my question of what do you want for dinner.  Just a type of meat or pasta helps in the planning.
• Day when you look out the window and it looks all warm and sunny and then you go outside and freeze your tail off.
• The way Facebook insists on sending updates to any comment you have commented on.  This can sure fill up the inbox with useless emails.

I'm sure I have more pet peeves but I can't recall them right now.  My pet peeves are fluid and change with the situation.  The only thing I'm sure of is, I will always have something to complain about.  What are your pet peeves?