Is it too early for Halloween...Ten on Tuesday

My top 10 choices (in no particular order) for Leila's Halloween Costume! Please don't forget to vote for your favorite!!

1. Strawberry Shortcake

2. Snow White

3. Pumpkin Princess

4. Pirate (Malakai could be one also)

5. Pebbles (Obviously, Malakai would be Bam Bam)

6. Minnie Mouse

7. Elmo

8. Clown

To much?

9. Bumble Bee

10. Abby Cadabby

XOXO,

Best thing since I last blogged: I reached my half way point of 44 days and NO shopping!!

Worst thing since I last blogged: See Above

I'm in Funk...y town!

Ever feel like just going on Strike? I can’t quite put my finger on it this morning, but I am crabby! I feel like every. Little. Thing. Is just getting on my nerves!!

*Disclaimer: This is not a complain about Josh blog, because he is amazing, and does MORE than his fair share in this partnership of life. This is a more of a “how can I fix this myself, so I don’t go crazy!” blog. Suggestions are welcome!

I have voices in my head :) Voices that are constantly telling me all day long what I need to do during the day to make the people’s lives in my life easier. By people, I mostly mean Josh, Malakai, and Leila. But, I feel like if I DON’T do these things, that the world around me will simply just fall apart. Does that make sense?

I wake up and immediately start making a mental list of what needs to be done before I leave for work. Is it trash day? Set out the kids’ clothes for Carrie and Sarah so they don’t have to. Are the car seats where they should be?

While I’m at work, it’s the same thing. I need to get some Laundry done. Do we have plenty of milk, toilet paper, diapers, etc. No, I should stop on my way home. But I can’t because I need to relieve the nannies, I’ll have to take the kids. But the kids eat dinner as soon as I get home. I’ll have to go afterwards. But then I risk a meltdown since we will then be pushing into Leila’s bedtime. Guess I’ll go at 11:00pm after Josh has gotten home from work and I’ve gotten a quick run in.

Schedules….another thing I obsess over! I feel like I HAVE to though, or again, everything would be a HOT MESS! It is my job, as the mother, to handle schedules. However, it does me NO good when I have no control over other people’s schedules that CONSTANTLY screw mine up. Then it is again, my job, to fix it.

I just wish that sometimes, someone’s first, initial, thought in the morning is….How can I make Karissa’s life a little bit easier today?

XOXO,



Best thing since I last blogged: Going to see the Phantom at the Fox! Can’t wait, I’ve never seen it before!!

Worst thing since I last blogged: Oscar isn’t feeling well. It isn’t back problems, because Josh and I can spot those symptoms from a mile away. I truly think his old age is kicking in.

Ten on Tuesday...Phoenix Style

1. My brother Denny, his wife Rebecca, and my beautiful nephew Alex were here this past week. We had a fabulous time and I was so sad to see them go. It makes you realize how valuable having family close to you really is. Now we just have to figure out who is moving where!


2. We started off with an awesome photo shoot with my girlfriend Nicole at Spirit's Breeze Photography. Rebecca has never gotten the chance to see Nicole work, so she was awestruck that such beautiful pictures came from an experience that seemed like an hour of pure chaos. All mom's know how stressful photo sessions are. We stress, we sweat, and we almost end in tears. I told her just to hang back and let Nicole do her thing and once again, the pictures were amazing!

3. Spent some time at The Magic House

4. Had a couple's night out

5. Such beautiful weather allowed to spend a day at the St. Louis zoo

6. Malakai LOVES Alexander and has not stopped asking me when he is going to get a little brother!

Maybe that's a little harsh :)

7. Did you know...

8. Spent a lot of time playing this...Oh to be a fly on the wall!

9. The boys played golf...TWICE! Allowing them to play the second time was SO worth the deal of us girls getting to sleep in after our night on the town!

10. Last, but not least, I am OBSESSED with Big Brother!! OMG! I emailed BB with a new scenerio! Josh would be GREAT in the house, but I have the mind for the game! I told them they should let us play as a couple. Like with me in an ear piece in his ear, behind the scenes, while he is in the house! What do you think?

XOXO,

Ten on Tuesday

We no longer have a "baby" in the house :() (this is a bitter/sweet face, wasn't sure how to make it)!

As Leila just approached the ripe old age of 16 months, I realized I may never have a baby in the house again. This weeks T on T is related to the things I WILL NOT miss about babyworld! Of course I will miss the baby smell, morning sweet breath on my face and a tiny little hand pulling on my arm as they feed. But here are some things I can definitely live without.

1. Being pregnant/giving birth/having my abdomen cut open for the umpteenth time!! Why I hate being pregnant could be a list in itself, but I'll spare you the gory details.

2. Anything that is associated with "colic"

3. Cleaning 569098109374 bottles! They have more parts than a 747.

4. Trying to open a door while holding a baby in one arm and 12 bags in the other.

5. Studying poop like it is some sort of science experiment.

6. Reading all of those baby books and realizing 90% of it is bull s***!

7. Folding 100's of tiny onsies

8. Not being able to leave the house with out a 500lb bag that is stocked with anything that can help out with one of the million crisis' that almost always occur. Also, searching thru that black hole of a bag, mid-crisis, while sweating and trying to console a screaming baby.

9. Keeping track of every little milestone and the questions and expectations that come along with them. "Was that a crawl? I think it was! I don't know, was her stomach on the ground?" Ugh!

10. The constant aroma of baby vomit that no matter how much febreze/perfume/showers you do to try and get rid of it! I know most of you have seen this pic, but it's a classic :)

XOXO,


Forgot to do this last blog....

Best thing since I last blogged: Finishing my first 5k/race! I reached both my goals which were to finish in 30 minutes and not walk a single step!!

Worst thing since I last blogged: Missing out on some great sales!!

Splish, Splash....I HATE giving Baths!

It is no secret in the blog world that giving my kids baths ranks right up there with getting a root canal! I don't even try to pretend that I enjoy it! However, with Josh not usually getting home till late, and having two kids that I swear forget they are humans and believe they are wild banshees, it is a chore I have to endure every night. This is part of the reason that I don't have very many pictures of them during bath time, because the last thing on my mind is grabbing the camera before we head upstairs. However, the other night, my camera just happened to be in my bathroom (don't ask, that's a whole nother blog in itself) so I took the opportunity to snap some shots.

Don't they look so cute and innocent? Don't let them fool you! These were taken in between dodging rubber ducks being launched at my head and Malakai trying to dunk Leila! It hurts my back so bad to where I have contemplated even getting in there with them so I don't have to lean over the edge to wash them! Not to mention the fact that Josh has recently taught Malakai to do cannon balls at the pool, so now he seems to think the bath tub is the perfect place to perfect them! Ugh! Then there is the hair washing! I have never been a fan of the visors, or cups that bend so water doesn't get in their eyes. I just pour the cup of water over their head, face, body, etc. till all the soap is gone. They don't scream for long...usually :) It doesn't really burn does it? I mean the bottle says "Tear Free!"

I couldn't resist adding the video :) Leila doesn't quite get the difference between taking a video and a picture. Every time she sees the camera she immediately scrunches her face and says cheese!

Ten on Tuesday....Websites!!

Ten On Tuesday

In light of my now 42 day countdown of no shopping, this weeks ten on Tuesday is a list of websites that are I am going to spend my extra time on that will hopefully help me pass the time as well as add to the organization of my life J

1. www.gutenbert.org/catalog
The site has thousands of eBooks to download and print for free!! I haven’t had a whole lot of time to play on it, so I’m not sure what exactly is on there, but for someone who loves to read as much as I do, I’m sure I can find SOMETHING!!

2. http://www.half.com/
eBay’s non-auction sister site! You put your item up, name your price and are notified when someone buys. You can change your price at any time, and see prices of similar items! I have tubs and tubs of books, text books, dvds, video games, vhs tapes, and more!

3. http://www.cozi.com/
This is an online mission control system for families! We can use this calendar to keep track of appointments, color-code them by family member, and send them to our phones!


4. http://www.qipit.com/
We have A LOT of paper in our house!! On this site we can use our camera or camera phone to snap a digital picture of hand-written recipes, directions we want to save, just about anything!! I just have to email it to Qipit and they will email me back a PDF that I can store on my hard drive!

5. http://www.manualsmania.com/ or http://www.theusermanualsite.com/
Instruction/Electronic/Appliance manuals are cluttering up ALL of our drawer’s and I have a plethora of file folders with these as well. With these two websites, I can pitch my manuals and when I have a question, I can likely find the answer here!

6. http://www.knowyourstuff.org/
This site will assist us in doing an inventory on our belongings!! It will give us a handy list in case of fire or theft, plus we will finally know what is in those tubs in the basement!!

7. http://www.flylady.net/
This site is AMAZING!! There are lessons that guide you through the baby steps of organizing your chaos!! We all know how much I love and miss attending school, so these lessons make me feel like a student again!!

8. http://www.springpadit.com/
Tired of losing your umpteenth emergency contact sheet or travel checklist?! Spring Pad It will manage all the lists in your life in one handy online place!! I haven't actually tried this site yet, but I saw it in a magazine. If anyone has any reviews on it or personal experience, I would love to hear. Same goes for the rest of the sites I've listed :)

9. http://www.doodle.com/
Planning a girl's night out can get as complicated as coordinating a space shuttle launch. On this site you just create an online poll with possible days and times; invitees log in and mark which options work with their schedules. Good-bye phone tag and never getting there text messages!!

10. http://www.mint.com/
Normally I am terrified of financial websites, however, this one is pretty user friendly. It is an online financial management system which pulls in real-time information from all your accounts: IRAs, 401(k)s, 529s.

XOXO,

43 Days and Counting....

I'm sorry for leaving some of you hanging with my dramatic "Worst Thing" on my last blog. It really isn't that dramatic...I'm kind of a drama queen. Okay, so it is pretty dramatic from my stand point, however, I do realize there are a lot worse things going on in the world so before you give me the "your so shallow" or whatever speech, I get it.

Josh, Lisa, and my dad have challenged me to NO SHOPPING for 44 (now 43) days. Let me clarify a little. Of course I will still be doing the normal household shopping, however, I will not be purchasing clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, or hair bows for myself, Malakai, Leila, or Josh. There are a few bridges we are going to have to cross once we get there, for example, the fact that Leila grows out of her shoes weekly!

Here is exactly what went through my mind when this was proposed to me:

• Are there any holidays within the next 43 days where my kids are going to need coordinating outfits/hair bows?


• I'm very nervous that we are cutting this so close to a seasonal change!


• I'm missing a period of Gym Bucks


• I'm having a night on the town when my brother and Rebecca are here and I haven't purchased a new outfit yet!!


• We are going to the lake in August and there is a Gap Outlet AND a Banana Republic outlet there!!

Here is the thing. It's not a financial problem. I'm not causing us to lose our house, cars, food, etc. I don't spend un-godly amounts of money. I always find great deals! It's a quantity issue. My house can't hold it anymore. Open up Leila or Malakai's closet and it is full of stuff with tags still on it. I buy something everyday. Either online, or I stop on my way home from work at Old Navy, TJ Max, etc. I don't even step in to Target with out getting something out of the clothing department. Pajamas for the kids, a t-shirt for me, etc. It is CRAZY!! My little sister was with us all weekend and I just remembered as she was leaving that I had bought her, Malakai, and Leila, matching Gap Pj's for the Fourth of July. I FORGOT I HAD THEM!! They were still in the shipping bag on top of a closet!! It's a little bit of a different story with myself since I have had the recent weight loss, but that's not an excuse. Those of you that roomed with me in college know the problem very well :)

I will keep you posted on how it is going. I also plan on posting pics of the situation when I get a chance.

XOXO,

Miller

Playing Catch Up!

1. Josh brought home a turtle for Malakai to obsess over! Apparently he saw him on the road on his way home from work and decided to bring it home. We let it go in the woods behind our house, but not before I got a few pics.






2. Josh had a pretty good Father's Day. Unfortunately he had to work, but we had a nice bar-b-q when he got home, some quality sprinkler time, and headed to his softball games. The kids made him mugs to use as pen holders at work, and Malakai painted him a plate when he was in KC with Poppy and Tutu.

3. My weekend at the lake with the girl friends was Fab-to-the-Lous!! Even though it was short...we had a great time. It was exactly how we wanted it! Cocktails, fun in the sun, tubing, and total relaxation. A big shout out to Kristen's cousin and his wife for letting us stay at their lake house. It was perfect!

4. Josh took the kids fishing last week! We have a stocked pond that it open to the public a few miles from the house that he has always wanted to go to. Malakai caught his first fish ALL BY HIM SELF!! Josh was turned around tending to Leila and next thing he knew Malakai had reeled one in. They had a great time!!

5. We had a wonderful weekend!! My little sister has been with us since Thursday and we have been moving NON stop!! That of course, is a whole nother post itself, hopefully coming tomorrow :) I have a ton of pictures :)

I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday!

XOXO,



Best thing since I last blogged: Awesome Firework Shows!!


Worst thing since I last blogged: I always watch the show, but never thought it would happen to me! My family has hosted an intervention upon me!! They have posed a challenge that I'm not sure I'm okay with. More details to follow!!