Now it's Officially Official

It was official before....but I felt hesitant because we still hadn't 100% organized financing our new home purchase.  Risky, right?  Well...yes and no.  Technically, we had been pre-approved for more than the amount of mortgage we need for this purchase, however, we do require mortgage insurance for CMHC (boooo....we just don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars as a down payment, evidently)!  So that was the risky part.  After speaking with our agent we were very confident the house value would not be questioned so we went ahead and made a firm offer.

Well everything is now verified and we have obtained confirmation of mortgage!

So...it's officially official.

And because writing about a house and not providing pictures is just plain mean....here you have it:

We hope to eventually do some landscaping and get rid of the wine/burgundy door & trim:

Front entryway with a good closet for our many (many) shoes and coats:

 

Hallway looking towards the den:

 

Living Room:

 

Kitchen/Dining Room:

 

 

 

 

 

Den: 

 

Recreation Room:

 

Back Yard:

 

Can't wait to host friends on the deck in summer:

 

Mortgage, Here We Come!

....Well it's official!  We will be homeowners once again on May 15, 2015!

As mentioned in the last post, we made an offer (okay, we made a BULLY offer) on a house that we absolutely love and felt we would be miserable if we didn't give it our best shot.

The current owners signed our offer back (at $10K higher than our initial offer) and we signed back offering $5K more.

SOLD!

So as I alternate between moments of euphoria and intense panic, I dream about moving into our new pride and joy.

Now I suppose it's time to organize a little thing called a mortgage. 

Is Barfing an Option?

Well I think we can all agree that after not posting for more than a year posting twice in a single month is pretty freaking stupendous, don't you agree?

To be honest, I'm creating this post for very selfish reasons.  I may combust if I don't blog.

As mentioned in my previous post, Super Husband and I are furiously (desperately) house hunting right now.  Every time I tell someone we are looking I hear "Oh how fun"!  NO!  It's not fun!  It is sucking away my will to live as a matter of fact!  For the last 3.5 years we have been renting.  During at least two of those years we have been actively looking.  Let's also not forget about the year we spent sharing a house with a drug dealer.  But I digress.

So here we are.  FINALLY in a position to snatch up a new pad and I literally want to barf.

Why?

The money
The emotional toll the last few years have taken on us
The competition

Honestly, the competition is the worst of all these evils.

Currently it is a sellers' market.  They hold the upper hand in this nasty game of real estate.  We live and are targeting an area that is hot and lousy with investors (aka: developers) ready to pay top price for a piece of property only to rip down the house and erect a 2.1 million dollar monstrosity.  They have resources that we cannot compete against.

Super Husband and I had resolved ourselves to buying a real "fixer-upper" as long as we could find one in our budget.  And then we went to the house viewing to end all house viewings last night.  I mean it was like there were freaking angels singing to me as I toured this place.  As a matter of fact, I actually cried when I saw the kitchen.  And the house is listed in our budget.  How awesome is that?!?!

But like all things too good to be true we fear it is.  Naturally, they are holding off on offers until next Thursday.  Sigh.  What does this mean?  It means that they want to create a bidding war. 

Now, the interesting thing is, our agent also happens to be the selling agent.  In other words they are representing both sides.  They have a lot to gain (commission-wise) if they bring the winning bid to the table.

So in my fit of terror during the viewing last night I turned to the agent and said "can't we just make an offer now"?  Apparently the answer is yes.  It's known as making a "Bully Offer" when you jump the queue, so to speak.  Technically, the house is still not public knowledge as it will not appear on MLS until tomorrow.  So we have today to make our best offer as attractive as possible and snag it before other buyers swoop in and shatter our dreams.

So as I sit here and write this, the bank is preparing a certified deposit cheque that we will provide with our offer (which is well above the list price).  We are waiving all conditions and targeting a close date that is in alignment with the desires of the seller.

Will it be enough?

I don't know.  Super Husband and I both hope so.  We have alreadyy fallen in love.  We hope to not end up with broken hearts.

Whaaaat?

Holy Crap!  How did that happen?  I blinked and suddenly came to the realization that I didn't make a single post in this blog in all of 2014.  And here I am....in 2015.  The ultimate blog fail, apparently.

I will humbly forge ahead. 

So here we are, in January 2015 (Happy New Year)!  Let me bring everyone up to speed.

Buddy is 6 (going on 33) and in Grade 1.  He is currently obsessed with Minecraft, Stampycat and winning.  Yes, winning.  Part of me is appalled, however, the other part wants to give him a high five. 

Little Man is 5 and like a non-stop tornado.  He loves to draw, document his life in his notebook (future blogger)? and bike like a rockstar.

As for myself and Super Husband?  Not too much to report.  Lots of work, routine and house hunting these days.  Yup, that's correct, we are FINALLY (maybe) going to purchase our "forever home".  If we can find one that we can purchase AND still affort to eat afterwards.  Tall order.

Anyone familiar with the series of pictures posted on the internet about "Why my toddler is crying"?   Google it.  It's hilarious and every parent can identify.  It has pictures of random kids screaming and melting down.  Under each picture there is an explanation telling why they are so upset.  Things like:  "I told her that her sweater looks warm" or "I wouldn't let him play with the dog poo".  Well, I may be able to gather enough material single-handedly to create a site displaying reasons my SIX year old son is crying.  Last night I could have added some beauties like "Because his Tiddlywink landed in the incorrect point category" or "Because he recalls being a better soccer player last summer than today".

These meltdowns were happening while Super Husband cleaned the kitchen furiously.  Why, you ask?  Because he removed the blender lid and shoved a bamboo spoon in while it was turned on.  What was he making, you ask?  Blueberry smoothie, of course!  Our previously white kitchen ceiling (and blinds, backsplash and walls) now have a lovely blue hue.  Oh, also Super Husband's face.

The really shitty part?

The smoothie was undrinkable due to the bamboo shards distributed throughout.

I think we can all agree that wine would have been the better option.

Stick It

I keep forgetting to rant about something that I find completely annoying.

Now, before I start my rant let me say I am sorry if you subscribe to this phenomenon.  It does not make you a bad person.  I just don't get it.  And for some strange reason annoys me in ways it should not.  I apologize but cannot help the way I feel.

That was my disclaimer.

With that out of the way, what the hell is the del with people finding it necessary to adorn their vehicles with stick people?  You know the ones I'm referring to:  the happy family including dogs, cats and, heck, even fish (yes, I've seen fish in fishbowls) included are displays of their hobbies of choice:  hockey sticks, glasses of wine and tutus to name a few.

My first question is why?  It's also all subsequent questions.

Do you really want all the creepy people who lay eyes on your vehicle to know your family demographics?  Do you want to announce that you have 3 kids (1 boy and 2 girls), 2 dogs and spend most of your free time on the soccer pitch?  I've even seen these with NAMES included (gasp).  Congratulations.  You've just given the pedophile driving behind you all the info they need to lure your child.  I know it sounds terrible, but the reality is it's true.  In a world where information is already waaaaay to easy to obtain (hello facebook) I am a firm believer you need to keep information close to you and that includes not advertising your family dynamics wherever you park your car.

Plus, it kind of makes me want to rear end you.  Except I don't want to hurt your baby and poodle.

My rant is over now. 

Smash Week

Damn, I am bad at every day posting. 

Last week was an epically shitty week.  At least from my perspective, and that's my best excuse for not posting.  Besides, I thought I would save it all up and amuse anyone who has the time to read about it.

As I have been recently complaining, my work situation is a bit out of control.  Not enough hours in the day and not enough energy in the world to do it.  As a result, I have been known to be, let's say, less than pleasant on the home front.  I try to not let that happen but alas, I am human.

Monday evening as I was cleaning up from dinner, Little Man turns around in his chair and starts talking to me.  I have my back to him and we are talking back and forth when suddenly, BOOM!  He manages to fall backwards off the chair and smack his head on the wooden cross beam of the table.  Screaming ensues.  I scoop him up and immediately see a HUGE bump sprouting on the back of his head.  I mean, this thing stuck out a good 2.5 cms.  And was dark purple.  After icing it and assessing, Super Husband announces he needs to see a doctor.  Which means off to emergency we go.  The whole family.  With Little Man Screaming the entire way.  The good news is he's okay.  No fractured skull but needed to wake him up through the night to make sure all is well.  Disaster averted.

So, Tuesday morning I get up and actually set off to work in good time despite being awake half the night.  I am thinking, "Gee, I'm so super awesome.  I look good with my new cream coloured pants on"!  I continue to think about random things as I drive.  So much so that I manage to plow right into a pole in the parking garage while zipping around the corner.  Fucking awesome.  Might I add this is not the first time this has happened.  I managed to do the EXACT same thing almost three years ago.  Except, of course, it was a different car.  So now BOTH of our cars have smashed up right sides.  How incredibly idiotic, right?

So I smash my car and proceed to go up to my office.  Shut the door and call Super Husband:

SH:  Hello?
Me:  I did it again.  I'm so stupid.  I smashed the car! [starting to cry]
SH:  What?  Again?  Are you Okay?
Me:  NO!  I'm so stupid and angry at myself
SH:  How bad is it?
Me:  Bad
SH:  Ummm...well....I was just writing you an email to let you know I've been told I need to fly out to Quebec tomorrow morning.
Me:  Well that's fan-fucking-tastic
SH:  Yes.  Is there anything I can do to help you?
ME:  Yes.  You can get a gun and shoot me.

Okay, I admit it.  Not my proudest moment but I was a little irrational at the time.

I then composed myself and trotted down to my all day meeting.  Where I realized that I managed to get grease or something similar (black) on my new cream pants.  I have since washed them three times and said stain is STILL THERE. 

Thankfully, I made it through the week and weekend without Super Husband.  He arrived back Monday. 

Moody Morning

Do you ever wake up and just know that you have an uphill battle ahead of you?  That was me this morning. My alarm went off as always at 5:40am and I thought to myself:  Holy shit. How many hours until I can crawl back in here?

Sad.  But oh, so true.

You see, I woke up knowing that today was going to be a challenge at work. In fact, this whole week has been what one of my old coworkers liked to refer to as a "cluster fuck".  Back to back meetings, presentations, confrontations and stressful situations.  Not something I want to get out of bed for.

On top of that, I barely get out of the shower and realize I am already running late. I put on a new dress feeling confident that I at least looked good attire-wise. As a side note, it was not until I got home this evening that I realized I had gone the entire day with the price tag still dangling from my dress. Whatever. We got the guys up and bribed them to eat breakfast and get dressed. As we were finally getting shoes on to leave I realized that it is "Halloween" day at Buddy's day camp. Crap. I run to his room and convince him that the fireman jacket and hat he had in his closet is super awesome only to find Little Man in full meltdown mode. Screaming and lamenting the lack of Halloween at daycare.  Ugh. I get his shoes on and he rips them off. He also throws off his sweater. Then yells at me because it is not on. The clock continues to move forward at an alarming pace. I am ready to combust. Literally.

At this point Super Husband hightailed it with Buddy in tow leaving me to deal with the wrath of Little Man.

We get outside...finally....

I open the car door and ask Little Man to get in. And...

He bolts.

Around the side of the house to the back. I chase him. In my new with tags dress. He stops and runs the opposite way. This continues about three full times around the house. I finally catch him, scoop him up and cart him to the car. Breathing heavy and breaking out in sweat.  Not impressed.

I must have really looked a sight because by the time I got to Little Man's daycare, his teacher took one look at me and said, "uh oh...looks like mom needs a hug".

Yes, I did.

Now the good news is that I indeed made it through the day and when I arrived home my beautiful, spirited Little Man ran up to me and apologized for running away. Unprompted. Bliss.

Bedtime With Little Man

Little Man is a talker. I mean, the child could talk passionately for 76 minutes on demand about a piece of lint. 

He especially likes to illustrate this talent at bedtime. Partly because he has the undivided attention of either myself or Super Husband and partly because it is a very effective delay tactic. 

Tonight's conversation: 

Little Man:  Mommy?

Me:  Yes?

LM:  Have you met The Grinch?

Me:  No, I haven't

LM:  Me either. He's a stranger. You should not talk to strangers. 

Me:  That's good advice. 

LM:  I would hug The Grinch

Me:  Really?

LM:  Yes. Does he see us?  Does he know what we are doing?

Me:  You mean like Santa?

LM:  Yes, like Santa. 

Me:  No, I don't think so. 

LM:  [while poking me in the right breast]  Do you know what this is?

Me:  Ummmm......what?

LM:  A horn!

I cannot help but laugh!

There are moments I am filled with sadness at the thought that one day our beautiful boys will suddenly realize that me and Super Husband are not the center of the universe after all. 

We Made It!

Holy Crap!  The last week has been a blur and all I can say is that my mission to post every day this month has been an EPIC fail. It was, however, somewhat out of my span of control. I quickly realized that the wireless Internet offered at the hotel was not of the same caliber as at home, work, Starbucks, or pretty much anywhere I've ever connected. Seriously. It actually took 5 solid minutes to load a page with local weather. So, I decided on day one to put my online life on hold for the week and simply enjoy my family and friends. And that is EXACTLY what I did :)

Now I just need to get myself out of vacation mode and gear up for work and timetables tomorrow...

Road Trip: Day 1

I know I missed my post yesterday. Yes, I also know it was only day two of my month long blogging challenge.

Moving on. 

Today in a nutshell:  lots of driving, nonstop interrogation by my inquisitive children, and interesting moments. 

We made it all the way from Toronto to Bridgewater, West Virginia. We are currently what I would consider the middle of nowhere. Except there is a lot of traffic. And rain. 

This place will forever be remembered by me as the place where I risked life and limb in the middle of a pelting rainstorm to save three puppies. 

I truly believe things happen for a reason...

So when Super Husband missed the turn for the K-Mart we were trying to infiltrate causing us to be essentially trapped on a highway, I thought, okay, we will turn around and go back. No problem. Two seconds later we see not one, not two, but three small dogs on the teeny tiny sliver of a median separating the highway lanes. Super Husband slams on the brakes, puts the hazards on and I jump out in an attempt to stop traffic. Which, by the way, is barrelling by. Super Husband jumps out and starts running towards the dogs to corral them. I'm screaming at cars to stop like a crazy woman. The dogs start running into traffic and my heart almost stopped. One of the dogs was within mere feet of being shucked by some oblivious (or uncaring) woman. Thank God my screaming and frantic waving worked and she slowed down at the last moment. 

In the end the dogs got across and ran down the mountain on the other side - away from cars. We have no idea where they came from or where they went but if it weren't for us stopping those dogs would almost certainly be dead. 

I'm so happy that we were there to help but sad that so few people care enough to go out of their way. I hope those puppies have found their way back to or into a loving home. 

Now onto our chuckle of the day. Super Husband could not contain his enthusiasm for the following sign we saw in Erie, Pennsylvania. Awesome. 

Repurposed

When Super Husband and I got married we decided to pool all our wedding gift money and purchase a really, really expensive hand crafted Mennonite dining room table. We love this table. Plus, frankly, it is worth more than anything we own excepting my engagement ring and, I suppose, our cars. We bought it with dreams of hosting beautiful dinner parties and gatherings.

Then we had kids. 

Now our table serves a different purpose. Often, it is my sewing station. Today....a packing depot.  This is what happens when you plan a road trip with children. For days on end I have been gathering necessities and squirrelling them on the table. Now we have 30 hours left before the rubber hits the road and we head to Myrtle Beach. 

I bet my table is looking forward to our departure. 

Enter Sandman

Yesterday I had a revelation. I was on my commute to work and wondering how time keeps alluding me and how damn long it's been since I've posted on here on a frequent, recurring basis.   I realized the only way this would improve is if I make a promise to myself. So, I have decided to devote the month of August to this blog. I will commit to publishing one post per day for the entire month of August. I have no idea how I will come up with daily material (especially considering we no longer have the Troll drama to lament about) but this is my commitment, nonetheless!

So,  stay tuned :)

In the meantime I would like to share the lovely surprise I had waiting for me after draining the tub one night last week. To clarify....this wasn't after MY bath.

Identity Crisis

Well I can hardly contain my excitement now that we are finally moving towards summer!  Now, if only the weather would cooperate.  Anyhow, with the onset of (quazi) summer comes outdoor soccer season.  This is the first year we have both boys enrolled.  Buddy is in the U5 division and Little Man un the U4.  This means being committed to spending Monday AND Thursday evenings on the soccer field.  Rain or shine.

Now, I know that organizing hunderds of children and their overbearing parents must be a really, really painful task.  This is exactly the reason why I do not offer my services for these things (sad but true).  BUT......you knew there would be a BUT in here......what the hell is the issue with people?  We signed up the kids months ago.  Like in February.  And waited for eons before finally getting some communication in the form of a very convoluted email message.  Despite the fact that we had signed up for Mondays and Wednesdays we were expected to join the "opening weekend" festivities which, conveniently, coincided with Super Husband's Grandmothers 90th birthday celebration.  Hmmmppph.  Needless to say we could not make it.  This meant we forefeited meeting the coach and team lead as well as getting their uniforms in advance. 

So here we find ourselves Monday night rushing to the field for Buddy's first game.  This was after reading the details no less than THREE times with BOTH myself and Super Husband trying to figure out who they were playing against and what the format was.   Apparently it really didn't matter after all because we ended up on the opposite side of the field that it indicated on the map but hey....that's okay.  So we arrive 10 minutes early all set to go because we wanted to be able to meet the team lead and of course get his uniform all squared away, however, when we get there we are advised that the uniforms are with the team lead and ours has yet to show up.  It became clear as time went on that the team lead had no intentions of showing up so while the other kids ran around in their red and purple uniforms, Buddy sported his street clothing.  I felt so bad for him but in all honesty he didn't mind and had fun.  Once the game ended, I marched over to the coordinators and the conversation went something like this:

Me:  Hello.  Excuse me.  My son is on the Red Team and.....
Girl:  [interrupting] Oh.  Yes.  The RED Team.  We are having issues with that.
Me:  Apparently
Girl:  Sorry.  We have been trying to get in touch with that person.  We will figure something out for next week.
Me:  Ummmmm....okay.

So that was that.

Next up:  Thursday night with Little Man.

This was even more fun.  Showed up in pouring rain.  Confirmed that surprise upon surprise his team lead decided not to come.  Fantastic.  What the hell is wrong with these people?  You sign up to be a parent volunteer as a team lead and then pick and choose when it is convenient to you????  Not cool!  Did any of us enjoy the cold or wet?  Nope.  But we dragged our butts there anyway for the kids.  And I didn't have anyone else's kids depending on me!! 

GRRRRRR!

The talk of the evening was that one of the two other kids that actually showed up from Little Man's team has the same name as Buddy.  Which is unusual as it is not a common name.  The mom asked me what Buddy's middle name is and guess what....same also.  I felt like they had violated us in some mysterious way.  For the record, Buddy is a full year older than their son.  So he's the original :)  The funny thing is though.....as bad as I feel admitting this.....the kid was super annoying.  More specifically the parents were super annoying.  We are now going to have to work hard for the rest of the season to avoid the Buddy #2 (or Buddy Imposter as we like to refer to him).

Hopefully next week we will actually make some headway on uniforms.

I'm Still Here

Oh dear.....I officially suck at updates. 

Anyway, I was taking a look at our finances (yes, again) and made a happy revelation. 

In less than 2 years (21 months, to be exact), we have:

Paid off more than $46,000 in debt and increased our assets by $24,000....which means we are $70,000 richer now than we were then.

I am very proud of our accomplishments.  Looking at it this way is motivating and shows how every little bit counts.  I am trying to stay focused on the positive because the reality is....we still have about $20,000 in debts.  Sigh. 

What else is new, you ask?

Hmmmmm.  Buddy is awesome and almost done JK.  Meanwhile, Little Man is getting himself beyond excited to start JK in September.  He asks each and every day.  Is it time?  I respond no and he immediately launches himself into tantrum mode yelling, pumping his fists and lamenting, "But s takes a looooong tiiiiime"!  I try to stifle my laughter but I love his enthusiasm.  We will see how excited he is when he has to eat packed lunches........

Finance Update

Well, well, well.  It's creeping close to the 2 year anniversary of our life changing decision to sell our home and take on living the renters life in order to pay debt (and move within a reasonable distance to work).

When we made the decision to do this, our intention was to simply get finances (debt) a little more manageable and then buy a new place.  I can now say the plan has changed.  When we moved into the apartment (shudder) we had an astounding amount of liabilities.  $74,211.91 to be exact.  No wonder I couldn't sleep at night.

Well, at this point I am happy to report that while we still have debt it is getting much more manageable.  We have paid off 43,809.91 in just over 1.5 years.  Pretty freaking awesome!  At the same time we have increased our assets (retirement savings) and we are very happy to be in a place where our living expenses are declining.

Last year, our child care costs = $2,400/month
This Year = $1,300/month
September 2013 = $700/month

We have been working to pay off our term loan that runs us $950/month (choke, gag, barf) and if all goes well that will be paid in full by the end of August freeing up almost a grand per month!

In addition, I just found out our car insurance has decreased by a whopping $50/month.  Why?  Who the fuck knows!  But I don't care!

At this point, we are hoping that effective September 2013 we will be able to allocate >$1,500 per month to savings so we can finally buy a house again.  Although, truth be told....I'm quite content to stay in our current (rented) home.  I'm in no rush to move again :)

50 Shades of Awkward

Yes, I know it's been 2 months since my last post.  It's not for lack of trying. I *think* about posting much more frequently than I actually post.  Does that count?

Awhile back we spent the day over at the in-laws.  Luckily I get along well with them so this is not a painful event.  I do consider myself lucky in that regard.

Anyway, we are over there and I get into a conversation with my father-in-law about e-readers.  He had bought a tablet recently and wanted to know if I had ever read an electronic book on my iPad.  So, excitedly, I pulled out my iPad and demonstrated to him that I had a Kindle app.  I opened it up quickly not thinking and of course it immediately opens up the book I am currently reading:  50 Shades of Grey.  Oops.  I then closed it quickly but it was too late....

FIL:  Oh!  Reading a little bit of S&M I see!
Me:  Uhhhhh.....ya......little bit
FIL:  I've heard all about it
Me:  Uhhhh...ummmm.....it's not that great.  It is poorly written (this is my attempt to move the conversation away from the subject of the book)
FIL:  Well S&M is very popular now as a result
Me:  Ummmm....oh.  Is that right?
FIL:  Yup.  Those sex shops are selling out of all their S&M stuff
Me:  Wow.  Interesting.
FIL:  You know that reminds me of the family trip we took one summer
Me:  <Blank Stare>
FIL:  Yup.  Super Husband and I stopped for gas and when we went inside to pay the back of the gas station was a sex shop.  FULL of S&M.
Me:  I'm surprised Super Husband never mentioned that fond memory

Father-in-law then proceeded to call Super Husband into the conversation to ask if he recalled the S&M store.  Apparently he did not.  Thank goodness the conversation ended there.  At this point we gathered the kids and left for home. 

Happy Belated New Year...and Other Lamentings

Gah!  Why are there always too many things to do and not enough time?  I am lamenting the speed of life these days.  When I was young, I recall days lasting FOREVER.  Hours upon hours of nothingness.  No to-do's, demands or resentment of not having "time".  When did that all change?  Looking back to even 5 or 6 years ago - pre children....I remember thinking I was busy.  And tired.  And had too many demands.  Yes, these feelings were valid and I do not want to diminish that but seriously....I had no idea.  I was clueless to the fact that I would walk down the aisle AND have two babies in the span of just over 2 years.  Fast forward to today.  Super Husband and I are both full time working parents of two very busy little boys.  After factoring work, child care and related tasks, household management and sleep....we are left with a grand total of:  1.5 hours/day to do anything else.  This includes watching TV, connecting with Super Husband, hobbies, exercise....

It kinda blows.

I am struggling to understand how other families manage their time.

It's impossible not to compare to others.  This is something I continue to "work on".  We have very good friends (that we adore) but I hate to admit I am green with envy when I compare our situation to theirs.  Now, I know I should not....but I am compelled.  I cannot help myself.  These friends had parental support when they embarked on their post secondary education.  They both graduated debt free.  They got good jobs (and worked hard) and saved for a modest house in a good location.  They are now in their late 30's and are mortgage free.  They have great parental support and a great balance.  They have full access to a cottage at their disposal and, during winter months, a condo in Florida free of charge.  They have parents who want to look after their children at any time and the means to hire sitters and take dates.  They also have house cleaners come in once a week.  As a result they have lots of dates.  They are both active and train and run marathons.  Trips to the spa are part of the regular routine.  I can't even seem to manage 30 minutes on my treadmill or slap a coat of paint on my toes while squatting on the bathroom floor.  I have issues.

I need to start to "make" time.  Sure I do spend some evenings camped on the couch but damn it I'm tired!  I've been up catering to endless demands since 5:30am!  I need a good kick in the ass, apparently.

*sigh*

This is not to say I don't love or cherish what we have.  I have a beautiful, healthy family.  And that's something that is more valuable than I can say.  We are working towards achieving our financial goals and I am proud of what we have accomplished so far.  It's a long journey to the top of this mountain, though.

I am so thankful for all we do have and frankly my family makes me howl with laughter (when I am not super irritated by them).  For example, this morning I was in the bathroom looking in the mirror and Buddy came in:

Buddy:  Mommy, I have to go pee!
Me:  OK.  Go for it.
Buddy:  (pulls down pants and starts peeing) Wow!  My penis is getting reaaalllly long!
Me:  Well....you are growing all over
Buddy:  Ya, but....my penis!  It's so big...and long!

* Enter Little Man who runs into the bathroom like a tornado *

Little Man:  Let me see!  I want to see your penis!  Can I see?
Buddy:  It's really big
Little Man:  Ooooohhhhh....yes.  Mine is big too.
<end conversation>

And so it starts...yes, I live in a house of penis.  I am warned this will only escalate as the years go by.  Yikes.

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

Holy Smokes...where does the time go?  I know, I know....all parents say that but really.  It's astonishing.  I find myself in moments of panic when I think about how my boys will soon be all grown up and not want to hang out with their mommy anymore (wah)!  So unfair!  I try to remind myself of that reality when they are doing something that makes me want to thrust myself off a bus travelling at a very high speed.

Anyway, yesterday was Little Man's 3rd birthday.  I guess he's not a baby anymore.  Or even really a toddler.  He's a little boy.

To celebrate we had a little family party on Saturday complete with "Monster Truck" theme.  He was thrilled.  On Sunday we set off for a night at Great Wolf Lodge.  Yes, again.  Yes, I recall our last trip to Niagara Falls was a disaster.  But we don't learn from our past so we went again.

Overall, we had a good time.  The boys had a ton of fun and Buddy was now over the oh-so-critical 42" mark so he could go on some "big" slides.  He was thrilled.  Little Man....not so much.  We will hold off on another trip there until he also hits the 42" milestone.

Of course, none of our excursions happen without some drama. 

Drama #1:  Dinner Debacle
We decided to purchase the "all inclusive" meal package.  This meant we had buffet dinner, breakfast and then lunch at one of their fast food-ish outlets.  Perfect.  Well our first meal was dinner and got the boys all hooked up with food.  Buddy was as good as gold but Little Man wanted no part of it.  Took about 1.25 bites and announced he was "done".  Followed by sliding under the table an endless number of times.  All the while, Super Husband and I are trying to alternately eat and grab more food for Buddy who apparently hadn't eaten in a month or so you might think with all the food he put away.  We finally bribed Little Man with dessert and I ran off to fetch a pudding cup.  Came back and after taking one bite, Little Man coughed and then barfed.  All.Over.the.Plate.  Amazing, really.  He got the ENTIRE contents of his stomach (mostly juice) neatly deposited on his plate.  Also amazing was the fact nobody seemed to notice.  Super Husband promptly jumped up and announced he was taking Little Man up to the room.  Leaving me and Buddy with the pukey plate.  What the hell was I to do?  Act casual, of course!  I managed to disguise it with a mound of napkins and all the other crap on our table.  When the waitress appeared I told her to be very careful as we had an "accident".  She was none the wiser.  We made a hasty exit.

Drama #2:  Sucky Sleep
Poor Little Man recovered from dinner but then had a cough that would not quit.  We finally got them into bed and it was clear neither would sleep due to being in the same bed and coughing.  So we split them up.  We all layed in bed for the next 1.5 hours listening to Little Man cough.  Thankfully, it eventually stopped and we all dozed. 

I woke up a couple of hours later only to find that Buddy had wedged his head under my pillow.  In a moment of panic I put my hand on his back to ensure he was breathing.  I could not feel a thing.  No movement.  I could feel true panic set in.  I loudly whispered:  Buddy?  Buddy?  BUDDY!  Nothing.  Now I'm in a full meltdown state.  I reach over and grab him with both hands and start to shake him.  Not in a gentle way.  He casually rolled over and continued to sleep while I nearly burst into tears thanking my lucky stars he was just soundly sleeping.  Let me tell you - I was terrified.  I honestly feared the worst.  Now I am reminded as to why I never co-slept.  I love my clildren but I HATE sharing a sleep space with them.  We all (with the exception of Buddy) woke up tired and grumpy.

Overall, we had a good time and as always I was happy to return home and put them in their own beds for the night :)

Well Hello, Santa!

Sunday marked my office's annual Children's Christmas Party.  They do a great job and a good time is always had by all.  Of course the kids just wanted to have fun but I had my Mommy Agenda and insisted that fun could happen AFTER the Santa picture.

I envisioned a lovely picture of my two beautiful boys sitting on Santa's knee, gazing into his eyes and telling him exactly what they were hoping he will bring them on Christmas Eve.

Instead, I had two terrified little boys who refused to come within a 4 foot radius of the man.

Not to be deterred, Santa proclaimed that both Super Husband and I should sit on his knee.  Not being one to pass up an opportunity to schmooze with the big man, I obliged.  Surprisingly...so did Super Husband.

So it came to be that the family descended upon the poor man.  Notice that Super Husband and I look thrilled while the boys do not.  In fact, Buddy is so distraught he cannot bring himself to even face the camera.  Little Man is holding himself together by a thread with the promise of a chocolate treat to follow the picture.

Oh well, there's always next year!

Oh Poo!

While I was tidying up the other night...don't ask which night as I can not seem to distinguish one from another...but that's another story.  Anyway, while tidying, Super Husband and the boys went to the basement (perhaps to check on the dead man - see previous post if that makes no sense) and were playing.  All of a sudden all I hear is:

Super Husband:  Oh My God!  Little Man!  Why do you have poo in your hand?
Little Man:  I don't know
Super Husband:  Where did it come from? 
Little Man:  I don't know
Super Husband:  (really worked up and almost panicked)  Poo is dirty!  No!  No!  No picking up poo!  Did you pull this out of the litter box?  (doesn't wait for a response)  No!

I suppose this isn't funny to the average person but sadly, to me, it was.

In an attempt to feign ignorance over this situation (I really wanted to avoid getting involved in anything poo related) I decided to vaccuum upstairs.  Super Husband recently purchased a new shop vac so I decided to try it out since sparks flew out of the wall when I last attempted to use the regular one.

So, I turned it on and started my task.  About one minute later I started to smell something.  Something undesireable.  Poo?  How could that be?  I then realized the Shop Vac blows air out the back (can be used as a blower....very handy I am sure).  The air is HOT because the motor is hot.  The hotter it became the nastier the stank. 

Apparently someone tested the shop vac out on the litter box.

Yes, it had poo in it.

Seriously.

That's what I get for attepting to avoid it.

All in a day of parenting two young boys.  Never let your guard down!