I Let My Kids Eat Crap.......And They're Just Fine

When I was growing up Twinkies were my favorite snack. Go ahead, click on the link. You know you want to. Told ya so. Oh, and Beaker from the Muppets. I loved them both so much!! Then I grew up, became a mom, then the internet came into my life and OH MY GOD THE FOOD I'M GIVING MY KIDS IS KILLING THEM!! I became obsessed. I researched everything, spent way too  much time at the grocery store reading every label, everything they ate was homemade, I watered down Lex's apple juice, which he hated, but his teeth!!! His teeth will rot if I don't water down his juice!! I was a SAHM so I had oodles of time on my hands and used every bit of it to make sure I wasn't going to poison my kids. Then one day about 3 years ago I was at the grocery store with the kids and Lex asked for some God awful snack that had tons of sugar and crap in it, I flat out refused! He looked at me and said "Mom, relax a little. You've got to let us choose what we want every now and then." and that's when it dawned on me.....I was not going to be able to control them, their lives or their choices forever. So I relaxed a little, let them chose their own snacks, and sometimes I let them chose what they want for dinner, even if it's McDonald's.

And guess what? They are alive and well, and very healthy I might add. Also, neither one of them has had a serious illness in a very long time. Don't get me wrong, they still need to eat healthy foods, but they feel like they have a choice now and they actually eat what is on their plates. Lo is into broccoli right now, which makes me super happy. Lex has always been my good eater, he eats almost everything, but right now he likes veggie burgers. One of my favorites. And blueberries. Oh my god the boy loves blueberries.

So yeah, we eat junk food. Am I worried about the crap that's in the junk food? A little, but I'm also afraid they're going to get hit by a car or kidnapped, that doesn't mean I keep them inside, away from the world. I let them enjoy their childhood, and if that means letting them eat a Twinkie, then gosh darn it all I will let them eat that Twinkie!!!! 

Me~

The First Month Is Always The Hardest

School has started. We have been trying so hard to get back into a routine. It isn't easy, especially when we have to be up and out an hour earlier to drop Lex off at middle school. For now the 3rd graders go to the middle school until the new school is finished, which means school starts at 8 for him, and 9 for Lola. That one hour gap is killing me. I'm still trying to find a schedule that works for us. I'm up at 6am every morning, making coffee, lunches, getting their clothes ready and they're bags all set. Bedtime is tough. On one hand I know they should be in bed by 8, but I like the quiet hour after dinner where we sit and watch something together, or read books, or just hang out. I just can't get them to bed by 9. We're working on it. The first month really is the hardest.

Lex started the 3rd grade and he seems to have grown up on me over the summer. He just....looks older, more mature. I'm loving that he still holds my hand and wants me to walk him to school and I even get a hug and a kiss!! In front of other kids!!!! So awesome. :) I'm so proud of the young man he's becoming.

Lola, my 1st grader!! She's sooooooooo excited about school, and having her very own desk! That was the one thing she really looked forward to. Such a simple thing, but it makes her so happy. She loves her class, she loves her teacher, she loves her desk, she loves that I can now braid her hair like Anna's from Frozen, she loves home lunch, she loves her new friends, she loves when I walk her to school, she loves sleep, she loves SunChips, but most of all, she loves donut fridays!! Every Friday I get donuts for breakfast. I know, I know....not healthy. Whatever. It's fun and they love it! Lola starts dance next week. They have a free class tomorrow and she is super excited about going. I mean super excited. She's been telling everyone about it. It seems like yesterday I was holding a not so little baby in my arms, and now I have a little girl growing into a wonderful young lady. I'm good with that. 

Me~

Is It Time For School Yet???

This past week has been tough. The kids have been fighting a lot, not listening and refusing to do any Summer Reading. It's all wearing on me. I'm exhausted from their late nights, I'm exhausted from getting up early, I'm exhausted from working more, I'm exhausted from being exhausted. I know that I cannot let one week do me in, I need to focus and remember that these moments with my children will be gone, they will grow up and not be little anymore and I will miss it. But God it is so hard!!!! Especially when the very first thing every single morning out of my son's mouth is "Can I have the computer?" NO!!! You can't!! Go read a book, or play with the $100 worth of Legos that I bought so they WON'T ask for the computer or say that they're bored. Yes, it's been that bad of a week. This week is going to be worse because I'm working every single day except Thursday. Great for my paycheck, but tough on my nerves and body. Lifting 30+ pounds of dog food 30 times a day will wear anyone down. I think I need a vacation. Or at least 48 hours of sleep. I'll take either one at this point. When I have weeks like this past week, when I've been up early, cleaning, taking care of pets and kids, then go to work and work my butt off, then go home to my third shift, I'm a wreck. And I swear to God if I hear one more stay-at-home mom say how tough her life is, I will smack her in the face. Toots, you've got it MADE!!! I used to be a stay-at-home Mom, and yes, it was tough, but not nearly as tough as this is.

So yes, today I am looking forward to the first day of school, but that won't last. It's just another bad week and this too shall pass.

Me~

Spring........And New Beginning.....

Winter is finally over and Spring is here. Sunshine, rain, gardening, way too high grass because our lawnmower needs to be serviced and birds chirping. Lots and lots of birds chirping. I don't know why everyone hates them so much, I love the sounds they make. It reminds me that winter is over!! I could not be happier. I need to be outside, hiking and exploring with Lex, gardening and planting with Lo, and just really enjoying the sunshine. I don't mind the rainy days, it give me a chance to get caught up on all the cleaning and rest. I've been exhausted for the past three months, it's been terrible for my health. Lots of blood loss, three ER visits, multiple procedures to try and fix the problem, and guess what?? Birth control did the trick. My hormones have been so out of whack for the past 5 years no one knew what was going on. I finally found a doctor who was able to fix me. Finally! This Spring started off really rough, but it's going in the right direction now. Never ignore your healthy, people. Never. 

Now that I'm on the mend I have decided to start my photography business back up. When Boss Lady had her baby I was needed at the store almost every day. Little Boss Man is a year old now and she's back to work more and more, so I'll have more time. I've been trying to get my photography groove back by using my kids as models.  Here are some of my favorites.......

I'll have my website up and running soon!!! Very soon! I can't wait to get back into it. :)

Me~

Spring Cleaning......Also Known As Torture

I hate cleaning. It's just so tedious, I have no time for it. Problem is, I'm the only one who really knows how to clean. Todd cleans, he does the litter boxes, dishes, folds the laundry and puts it away, and he straightens up, but he does not know how to clean. I like to spring clean. I open windows, move furniture, get behind the book shelves, I vacuum every inch of my house. Nothing is safe! You may be asking yourself "If this woman hates cleaning so damn much, why does she clean so damn much?" BECAUSE I HAVE TO!!! I was an Army Brat growing up, with a very strict/scary mother. Sunday mornings in our house was torture. Up at 7am, no breakfast till your chores were done. GRAB A TOOTHBRUSH!! And that is how I became this. I can't help myself!!

So it has begun. Spring cleaning in my house always starts with clearing out old toys, clothes and things that are just lingering around with no purpose. And there is a lot of that lingering around here. I blame my hoarding son. I ask that if you have it in you, you should definitely pray for poor Todd. He thinks this weekend is date weekend, it is not. It is SPRING CLEANING WEEKEND!!! Grab a toothbrush, Todd!

Mom~

BAM! New Blog Look!!!

Welllll??? What do you think? Am I fancy now or what? All credit goes to the wonderful Julie over at Leelou Blogs who took the time to put this all together for me!! I've used Leelou layouts for years and jumped at the chance to get a beautiful layout at a very reasonable price. They did all the work for me as well, because we all know there is no way I could have done this on my own. ;) I am very very happy, and fancy looking too!! :)

Me~

The End Of Summer...........

Summer is coming to an end, even though it's still hot as Hell outside, and today I am taking the kids to the Woodstock Fair to celebrate the end of Summer. I'm hoping the weather cooperates. I'm going to miss Summer. We've had a really good time this year.....beaches, lakes, parties and family time. I won't miss the heat and humidity though! I am a Fall girl through and through. I'm looking forward to wearing bulky sweaters, boots and hearing the leaves crunch beneath my feet, apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay rides, cool morning, warm sun, apple pies and our first night starting a fire in our fire place. I am soooo looking forward to that! Oh, and footsie pajamas. Those are my favorite. There is something so cute about seeing my littles all cozy and warm. :) Oh, and cuddles, lots of lots of cuddles.

Me~

Kids, Kids, Kids And Ever MOOOOOORE kids........

Dating someone with kids can be tough. I've been with Todd for over a year now and his kids have been coming over one night a week for almost a year. It's challenging, especially because I'm done with the "little kid" phase. You know what I'm talking about.....the nose picking, tantrum throwing, thumb sucking, crying over nothing phase. My kids are waaaaaaaay past that! It's hard establishing new rules to kids who do pretty much whatever they want at their house. Sammy says jump, you say how high. Spencer cries, you coddle him. That shit does not fly here. You say please and thank you, no thumb sucking or using furniture as slides and trampolines. You cry because someone said boo to you, I ask you to calm down and tell me what's wrong and stop the crying. It's been a very long road but I think they are finally realizing that we have new rules here, and you follow those rules or else. Yes, I am that Mom. Before you go and say "OMG you're a monster!! How could you?!" let me just tell you this........my children know how to behave, they are respectful of other's personal space and their belongings. They share nicely and listen when I have something to say......and I don't ever have to spank someone. Good parenting isn't about doing what's easy, it's about doing what's right even if it's hard. I have been parenting for 17 years and it is hard, very hard, not to just give in because it's easier to deal with than to "fight". So yeah, I am strict, but you know what, it works.

Me~

Blah, Blah, Blah....

Let the spewing begin!!! We are still looking for a new place to live, no luck yet though. Very hard to find a place that will take three dogs. I refuse to let my ex put them in a shelter. One thing I regret about the divorce, not making him agree to actually taking the dogs to live with him. He was crafty though and put that he would take responsibility for them. -_- So yeah, I'm going to keep looking. They deserve to live out the rest of their lives in a home, with us, family. :)

We are hoping to find a place far away from where we are now, preferably in a town with a better school system. Don't even get me started on that. Lex is having a hard time, the teenager is having a hard time and no one seems to know what the Hell is going on. I want so badly to pull Lex from school and homeschooling him myself. Yes, it's that bad. I know I could do a better job, but taking him out of school and away from his friends at the almost end of the year seems unfair. He may like it, who knows! Lo is looking forward to kindergarten. We've been doing our own learning here and out and about. I signed her up with abcmouse.com and she loves it. :) I'm teaching her the alphabet, numbers, shapes and we're working on fine motor skills. We'll see where she's at when they do kindergarten screening.

I think I may have my plate almost full at the moment. I'm keeping myself busy with several projects. One is, of course, working at the store more just waiting on Boss Lady's baby. Any day now. :) The second is my photography. I got my website up and running, threesphotography.com. Now I'm selling Arbonne. I've been using it for a few years now and I love their products. I have gotten a few friends hooked on it already, so I might as well sell it.

I'm currently obsessed with pallets. Palletspalletspallets!!!!! I have two outside just waiting for my loving hands to make them in to something beautiful. Just waiting for this snow to melt and some warm weather. I feel like I will never be warm again. -_- I am so done with winter.

Me~

I. Am. Exhausted.

I'm changing my name to Ms. Exhausted Casey A. Between work, the house, the kids, the pets, hospital visits, more work, laundry and breathing, I have no time at all to myself. I am only able to update right now because Lo is sick and I'm sitting here watching her sleep peacefully and hoping she wakes up feeling better. School hasn't even started yet and we're already battling nasty bugs. Wonderful. It seems that I just can't catch a break lately. One thing goes right, five other things go wrong. Found out last week that someone stole my identity and used it to run up a $1,500 heating bill and a $600 electric bill. Luckily my ex is a nice guy and kept everything in his name until I get things figured out. What a flippin' mess. My new man and I have been talking about him moving in within the next month or so. That is wonderful and very exciting. Again, one good thing happens and then I got dumped on again. My teenager had an episode two weeks ago and Todd and I had to drive her to the ER where she checked herself into the hospital. Now that she's 16 I'm pretty much only needed to sign papers and pay the co pays. No one would tell me anything at all. Nothing! Todd and I sat in the coldest room ever just waiting for them to find her a bed in the psych ward. It was horrible. She was the one who finally told me that she stopped taking her meds. ((sigh)) If she hadn't of told me I never would have known! So, FYI, if your kid is 16 the doctors don't have to tell you shit! Anyway, I went to visit her every day she was there until she checked herself out. I think being on the adult ward freaked her out. She's been home and has been taking her meds regularly. Let's hope it stays that way.

So yeah, life is hectic. Wonderful, but hectic. My teenager is on the mend, school starts soon, I still love my job, my ex and I are getting along nicely, and my new man is becoming a huge part of our lives. Life is good.

Me~

Life......Not Always The "Ideal Situation"

Tomorrow is "D" Day and I should be sleeping, but instead I thought I'd blog, get it all out so to speak. When some people ask me about the divorce and I answer honestly, they're surprised. Surprised that I have already moved on and I am actually looking forward to the divorce. What most people don't know, and I haven't even shared here, is that my soon to be ex husband was a cheater. Not just once, but many times over. When someone does that to you after promising you forever, then it is unforgivable. I stayed so long for a few reason, but one of the reasons being that I refused to "give up". "Till death do us part" and all that jazz. Then, last year, I realized that I would one day die, and I did not want to die thinking that I could have been with someone who was faithful, who did love me more than life itself, and also, I didn't want my children growing up seeing it. So I made the choice to move on. It wasn't easy, but life is never easy, is it? So tomorrow we make it final, and I am happy about it. I won't apologize to anyone for being happy to no longer be married to someone who obviously didn't love me enough to be faithful. It saddens me that it didn't work out, but we will be ok. Me, my ex and the kids. We've found a way to be a family apart, and everyone is happy. My ex has moved on and is dating someone, and so am I. We're both happy. I am not just happy, I'm actually falling in love. Scary, yet beautiful. He was a friend first, and I think that's why it was so easy. He's also so good with my kids. They love him already. I can't blame them. :)

So even though tomorrow should be a difficult/sad day, it won't be. It will be the end of one part of my life and the beginning of another. I am excited. :)

Me~

I Really Need To Stop Blinking.....

Every time I blink one of my kids reaches a new milestone that I am totally unprepared for. Just 3 weeks ago Lex and I realized that his tooth is loose. This is huge, people!!! Huge!! He hasn't left that thing alone since he realized it was lose. Needless to say, it fell out a few days ago as his Dad was picking him up from school. To say he was excited would be an understatement. He hasn't stopped smiling since. :D

He makes me smile. :) 

Focusing On The Positive....

Yes, there is a lot of bad things happening right now, but I refuse to focus just on the bad. So I thought I'd put together some pictures from the past few days of my 2 littles. I would post pictures of my teenager, but she's too cool to let me take her picture. :D

So that's the bright side. :)

Me~

Told Ya So.......

Kevin took Lex to see the new eye doctor, who is a Pediatric Opthamologist. Kevin said he was really, really nice, but very serious. They did the eye spray to dilate his pupils, did the various eye exams and told Kevin that Lex is farsighted, but the prescription the other doctor gave us was way off. He said that Lex's right eye is wandering to compensate for the farsightedness. He will need to wear his glasses for 2 weeks straight from the time he gets up till the time he goes to bed. Now, for the good news.......it will correct it's self!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never been so relieved in my life. We'll have to take him back in 3 weeks for a follow up and see how things are then. I am so happy! And I'm glad I don't just "take the doctor's word for it". :)