29th Birthday Recap

I've been working with some new video editing software and thought I'd share what I've learned. Here's a 2 minute snippet.

The February Curse

February is my birthday month, which most would see as a great thing. I see it as a cursed thing. Because, you see, every February without FAIL something always goes wrong and we end up having to spend all our money on fixing something, replacing something, or paying something and my birthday gets shoved in a box under my bed somewhere.

This year, in it's unfortunateness, is no exception. When the tire blew in the middle of January I just KNEW it was going to be a disasterous February. And, though it is MY fault that I spent the remainder of our money on groceries, I can't help but sigh and raise my fists up to the heavens. Ofcourse. February is cursed.

Recently, I was getting ready to go out and was listening to the radio. I heard this AMAZING song by the Script called "For the first time". If you haven't heard it, you should check it out. The song is all about how times are financially difficult and it really wears on a couple who have been together for a while. I must admit, I nearly cried the first time I heard it.

The last 10 years of my life have been much, much more than financially difficult. They have been financially impossible. But through it all, no matter what two things have happened: God has ALWAYS taken care of us, and Tim has ALWAYS stuck by me. That's what matters.

There's a line in the song that particularily gets to me and it's what I am now making my anthem this month:

"Oh these times are hard, they're making us crazy don't give up on me baby."

Not your average day

So tonight was a very special night, a night unlike any other. Tonight was the very last night that I was ever pregnant. So that I did not become completely depressed and dwell on this, I decided to try and make it memorable and fun. So here is what we did on Monday, October 25, 2010:

We had a pizza party.

We spent some time with our current baby, reassuring him that he would always be our baby.

We watched the NY Giants beat the Cowboys on Monday Night Football.

We did our civic duty and voted.

And then went to bed at a reasonable hour. Yeah we're party animals.
See you in the morning...

Bad Things happen in sixes?

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. I would have to say that a huge contribution to that has been the amount of things that have fallen apart in my home in the last 2 weeks. I have a february theory, and so far it has held up for 5 years. Every year in February, enevitably something comes up that costs a lot of money, and my birthday gets overlooked due to insufficient funds. This year, Tim was determined not to let that happen so he bought my present early. Which, I totally love, but unfortunately... February still came with hardships.

First, our computer pretty much shut down. It now only works for 10 minutes at a time, so writing blogs can be infuriating.

Then our vaccuum cleaner broke, that sucked....or actually it didn't.

Then our dryer broke. Let me tell you, committing to putting things out on a line when it is pouring down rain is difficult. Laundry takes like 4 times as long and I am feeling like a settler on the Oregon trail.

Then our dishwasher broke. Great, because I SOOOO have time to wash every dish by hand. You can imagine how clean my house looks right now.

Lastly, both our cars went caput. The Nissan we were given this summer continues to fail smog tests, and the only way it'll pass is if we drop $800 on a new air filter. Awesome, I so had $800 to spare. The Saturn has had issues forever, but we simply can't afford to fix both cars at the same time. So now we're back to one, not-working-that-well car.

I dunno, what I do know is I am out of patience, out of money, and out of energy.

Single Mom Experiment: Day 4

Yikes, I really hit a wall. Today was MOPS which is normally super exciting and fun to go to but was more stressful this time than usual because I had to be there EARLY and bring food. I got 3 hours of sleep the night before (thanks to both boys waking up multiple times during the night) and a Starbucks run was absolutely neccessary. Of course, that made me late. But what could I do?

I was so looking forward to 2 whole hours away from my kids, when someone came into the meeting holding my Noah boy who wouldn't sleep for them. Bummer, there goes my moment alone.

Fortunately, Leslie came over and helped the early afternoon go by. I really enjoy her company and Zach and Eli had so much fun together. I tried to take a picture of that fun, but my camera battery died.

I think the real breaking point for me today was when I tried to take a nap. Noah screamed for 4 straight hours this afternoon which ruined any plans I had for sleeping. By dinner time they were both screaming and I felt like I really might lose it.

Math lesson for the day: No sleep+ screaming all day= not happy mama.

Things calmed down eventually.It's now 10:30pm and I am trying to figure out what to eat for dinner. I may just skip it altogether in favor of sleep. One more day and I finally get some sanity back.

The Single Mom Experiment: Days 2 and 3

Have you ever heard of the term "Sundowning" ? It's a medical term people use for alzheimer's patients. In the mornings, they are much more alert, more happy, less agitated. But as the day goes by, their mood shifts, they become more isolated, more angry and withdrawn. I believe that children have a sundowning syndrome. The later the day gets, the more difficult they become.

Normally, I can handle this syndrome with my best friend by my side. Together, we take on the black moods that come our way like partners fighting crime. But when my partner is MIA, my kids tag team me, and the black overwhelms me.

That's what the last 2 days have been for me. Neither one talks, so it's mostly just lots of whining and fussing and puking, and pulling on me. And before the black can completely suffocate me, I put them to bed. But I know I will live to fight another day of crime.

So here I am, 3 days down, 2 more to go.

The Single Mom Experiment: Day 1

So Tim is away on business for 5 days. This is the first time I will be a single mom of 2 kids for this long. I am absolutely TERRIFIED.

But I am trying to be proactive about keeping busy and trying not to go insane. Today was Day 1, and in an attempt to get things done, or to drive me to my breaking point (not sure which one right now) I decided to paint the livingroom and the diningroom. I have been wanting to paint since we moved in a year ago, but then I got pregnant, then I had a baby, time slipped away from me.

So today my good friend Shellie came over and helped me paint.

Recap of the day:
9 hours of painting
4 temper-tantrums
3 timeouts
2 naps
6 feedings
7 baby einstein rotations
(have I mentioned I love the continuous play feature?)
3 gallons of paint

And my day is officially over. It's too dark to post pics, and my house is too messy.
Maybe tomorrow?

My guesthost tomorrow: Sarah
Stay tuned.

In the words of Tobias Funke "Let the great experiment begin!"

Lord of the Flies

I feel like flies have been the theme of this summer; the constant battle between me and them has been a part of each of these hot days. I am the fly killer in my house, not because I am particularily good at it, but because nobody seems to mind them as much as I do. Gone are the days of chivalry I guess.

Today was a particularily rough day as Eli threw up most of the morning, and Noah has the sniffles. I did about 4 loads of laundry, was puked on several times, and have been cleaning little messes all day. Fast forward to this afternoon when I went into Eli's room to change his diaper.

Before I go on, I must divulge that there is a garbage war in our house. It is a constant fight over taking the trash out. It isn't my job, so I try not to do it. But the trash taker-outer has figured out that if it sits long enough, I will get so tired of looking at it that I will throw it out. Again, I try desperately not to do this. So back to today.

I was changing Elijah's diaper and added it to the brimming and overflowing trash in his garbage can. I panned to his wall, and I saw 4 small flies near it. Gross, I thought. Then I scanned to the next wall, 8 flies. Sick, I thought. Then I scan to the next wall, 5 more flies. Nasty, nasty, nasty! So I locked me and Eli in his room that now smells like a toilet due to the 111 degree weather plus the disgusting garbage that hasn't been taken out.

There I spent 30 minutes chasing masses of flies around his small room. Whacking, and groaning, it sounded more like a tennis match then a firing squad. All the while, Elijah just sat and laughed hysterically, falling over at how funny mommy was huffing and puffing. There were so many fly carcuses on the floor that I had to vaccuum them up. And when I finally took the trash out and vaccummed his room, I found 4 more flies. How do they do that?

An hour later, I am now covered in bug guts, baby poop and puke and ofcourse, my own sweat. All over a garbage war. I am sooooo getting a pedicure.

A pond picnic

Today was a beautiful spring day and we took full advantage of it. I packed a picnic lunch and we met Tim at the school during his lunch break. Lately, Elijah has taken a particular likeing to the ducks at the pond- what boy wouldn't? Though I got a little afraid of them as they were inches from my feet (lame I know).

It was gorgeous out and we enjoyed our yummy sandwhiches while gazing do-eyed at eachother. There is so much to be thankful for, and days like this help me to remember that. I am so thankful that we have a daddy who loves to spend time with us, who can take time out of his day to play and explore and laugh with us. I'm thankful that he works at a place that has a beautiful pond just steps from his desk. I'm thankful that we got out of the house today- it was so worth it.

This time of year just brings out smiles, and I am eating up every minute of the sunshine and cool breezes.

You can't take the south out of the girl

All you loyal blogreaders out there may remember me not being able to find frozen okra on the west coast. Yesterday Tim came home and plopped this bag down that he had found at Winco. Yup, frozen okra. So I guess it's a sign that he wants me to cook it. Anybody up for some fried okra? It's yummy I promise.

p.s. I got a lot of responses about people's distaste of okra and I just have to say that boiled okra is the nastiest thing on the planet, so if you haven't at least tried it fried, you might want to reserve your opinion of it until you've tried MY fried okra!!

I wish

I wish I could hire a maid/nanny who would clean my house, make dinner for my husband and take care of Eli for ONE DAY. Then maybe I could throw up in my own toilet in peace and maybe take a nap.

Until then, I will be scrubbing the place on the floor where I threw up because I couldn't get to the bathroom fast enough.

Finding joy in the little moments

I am so thankful for the afternoon God gave me today. He gave me a few hours of relief from sickness and a chance to sprawl out on the floor with my guitar and my son. I must confess that it's been a while since I have really gotten to sit down and play music, especially around Elijah.

And as I sat there strumming away and singing my heart out to God, I looked over to see my baby boy just singing his heart out too. Ofcourse, his words sounded more like "dada mmmbenfgheup" but I am pretty sure the Lord knew what that meant. There really isn't anything like watching your little one sing, and teaching them to be passionate about praising the Lord. God gave me that gift today, and I am so grateful.

Moving Day

Ahhh the uhaul. It has been a constant in the 4 years we have been married. Though it was nice to have it to load up all our junk, it was equally as nice to give the keys back and wave goodbye to it for, gulp, hopefully many years.

Thank God for College boys, I don't know what we would have done without Brad and Travis. They totally saved us, or rather me, from back breaking work. They also provided us with their quick-witted humor and funny antics that helped make the day go by faster.

All in all it was a 10 hour whirlwind event. Here are the highs and lows of the day:

*Ants decided to infest our new home the day we moved in

*The plumbing in our bathroom went crazy

*I discovered that there was a drive-thru window at Little Ceasar's

*Our neighbors gave us the death stare as we moved, and we stared right back

*Elijah didn't know what the heck was happening and had a major meltdown

*I bruised my hand, scraped my arm, and totally anihilated my lower back by running into the railing on the stairs

*I learned how to use the icemaker in my freezer (schnazzy invention really)

So there you have it... move in day. But at the end of the day, it was all worth it.
This is now what we get to come home to:

My little pack rat

So this is the scene at my house this week. Boxes and toys. It's tough to know what to pack and what to keep out so that my son's hands are busy. Elijah has conveniently decided to enter a very clingy stage right now when I have to pack. I have tried everything to get around this.

I've sat him down next to me while I pack- he cried. I have sat him happily near a heap of toys while I packed in the next room- he threw a temper tantrum. And as soon as I sit him on my lap, he starts giggling and talking. It's so nice to feel loved and needed, but this is getting excessive. It's gotten to the point where I have to wait till I put him down at night to get any real packing done. And by then I am just exhausted.

Somehow, though it felt really hard at the time, I feel that packing with an 8 week old was a lot easier than a 13 month old. What a difference a year makes.

Labor day barbeque

Nothing like a good old fashioned barbeque with friends to really end the summer with a bang. It was so nice to see my girls, and ofcourse for the guys to hang. I love that our little community of Simpson veterans can so easily have new additions. That's the great thing about going to Simpson, it's the tie that binds.

There were 8 kids under the age of 4 running all over the yard and playing around, it was so awesome. It's such a weird thing to see how much our priorities have shifted. I never would have thought that being surrounded by so much chaos, laughter, crying and boogers would be such fun!

I also love getting advice from other moms about things. Cause I sure as heck don't know what I am doing and I will be the first to admit that. It was neat to hear from Danielle Fleck and Wreth Simon about their girls and there baby trauma. It just makes me feel not-so-very alone. They were super encouraging and totally understanding about things.

Then the kiddies went off to sleep and the adults hung out till late playing games and laughing. I love my friends.... they really know how to make my week awesome.

NEW YEAR, NEW GOALS

It's funny to me how January seems to be the time when people set goals for themselves. I guess a new year inspires people. I am NEVER motivated to try something new in January. In fact, I go against the stream. However, in September I am usually all fired up. Kinda strange that the school year motivates me. But for whatever reason, it does.

This year, I want our family to be more fit. Because of a spinal injury during childbirth, I haven't been able to excercise quite as vigorously as I had hoped. And the thought of doing hard workouts has made me cringe. But I think it's time to start working this old body of mine out. And surprisingly, Tim mentioned he wanted to start being more active as well. This made me very happy.

So, we have prayerfully made the decision to join a gym. I am excited about the free child care and I think that alone will be incentive for me to get out and do something. I can't wait for family gym nights too! I just hope this isn't one of those "I am totally gonna do it" moments that ends up flopping 2 months into it. But I guess that's why I have a blog, to keep myself accountable.

THUNDERFOOT AND THE NAKED HIPPIES: A NEIGHBOR STORY

I have no idea why my next door neighbors are quiet all day long, until I put the baby down for his nap. They couldn't pick the early morning when he wakes up, or even during dinner time. It has to be smack dab in the middle of nap. And the noise is EARTH SHATTERING. Because they have a 3 year old little boy whom I have dubbed as Thunderfoot. So annoying.

Then when it's time to settle in and relax for the evening, for some reason they think THAT is the perfect time to play their jimbay. I swear we live next to naked hippies. To the wee hours of the night we can hear drums and chanting. I wonder if they can do a rain dance?

I am sick of apartment living. I want a yard, I want a window, I want Thunderfoot and the naked hippies to go away. Anybody know a good house for rent?

BAD MOM DAY

Ever had one of those bad mom days?

You know the ones where you want to pull your hair out cause you're so frustrated with your kid and then you realize that you're frustrated at your kid because they are exactly like YOU?
And that the only person you can blame for their total stubborness and ability to be unyielding is yourself?
Then there's some crying involved because you think you're a crappy mom but you don't know how to fix it. And you're so tired from crying that you don't have the energy to fix it.
And then you look at your kid who is covered in food and grinning at you from ear to ear and all you can do is laugh?
Then, ofcourse, you forgot what you were frustrated at in the first place.

Yeah, I'm having one of THOSE days.

K-FAB REUNION

Don't you just love those friends that have known you forever? You know, the ones that were friends with you when you were in 7th grade and a total nerd? That's what Chad & Ruth are to us.

I think it's great how supportive they are and how familiar. But I also love that they don't mind having their pictures taken and that they humored us in our mini photo shoot. Though, as you will see, Chad did cross his arms a lot. That's cool, I think it just makes him look "tough".

Personally, I think we look like we should DEFINITELY form a band. Even if it was just a band filled with kazoos and tamborines. The pictures are too band-like not to. And seeing as I am always wanting to start a band, I feel the need to declare us one. So, I hereby declare us: K-FAB.

Not for any particular reason except that it sounds like K-Love and maybe because our name sounds so similar, they would be gracious and let us play at Spirit West Coast.
So, if you are planning on going to Spirit West Coast this year, look for us, K-FAB, in concert. We won't have one of those cool tents or anything, but we will sure bring the joys of kazoo playing to all surrounding port a potties.

HOW TO SURVIVE A TECH GUY ENCOUNTER

So I have decided that tech people should never be allowed to work in customer service.

I went over to my friendly neighborhood Office Max to print off some invitations I had made (via graphic design). When I got there, there was absolutely no one at the counter. I spent about 4 minutes just tracking someone down to ask for help. Finally when I found someone and asked if she could help me, she waved her hand in front of her face like a giant stop sign telling me to hold my ground (was she going to open fire on me?) "Someone will be with you in a few minutes, just wait over there ma'am" as she pointed to the opposite end of the store. I could have sworn I saw a tumbleweed blowing as I walked to the abandoned print section.

Finally, someone comes to help. I tell them I am here to proof something I sent. The guy doesn't even look up at me but fumbles through a stack of proofs asking for my name. "It's Erin.. Erin War.."
"Yeah uh-huh and what is the proof for?"
"My son's..."
"um yeah okay I don't see it. Are you sure you sent it to us ma'am?"
There it was, that condescending ma'am again. I assured him I had sent it and re-sent it.
"Well I don't see it here, you must not have."
Wow, great customer service skills. What happened to 'the customer is always right'?

In the middle of looking for my proof, he also kept saying stuff like,
"yeah it's on aisle 12 next to the printers."
or "2 and a half."
One time he said, "yeah I found it, it's right over here," and I started to say thankyou, I am so glad you found it, when he stared at me and said, "I wasn't talking to you."
How could I have known he was talking to someone in a hidden earpiece?

Finally after sitting and waiting for 25 minutes he finally finds it and asks for my approval. It's all pixelated and warbly, not right at ALL. So I tell him that and he proceeds to tell me in his high tech superiority complex of a voice how I probably put it in the wrong format and didn't have the right resolution on it. So I went into detail about how I made it (ofcourse he could care less and wasn't listening at all) and how it WAS the right format and resolution.
He then said, "Yeah, it sounds like you did it correctly. It should have worked."
So I asked him what could be done about the situation since clearly I did everything I was supposed to. And that's when I got a blank stare and silence.
The guy clearly did not want to help me. So I turned around, walked out and went to Kinko's where they answered my questions and printed what I wanted them to in 7 minutes flat.

Moral of the story: Customer service + tech guys= bad, unless you go to Kinko's.