Beach Trip!

We took a mini vacation to Gulf Shores, AL July 28th and 29th. We hadn't been since Sept. 2003 then Hurricane Ivan came through in 2004 and tore everything up so this trip was mainly to see how everything had built back up and scout out places to stay for our longer beach trip Labor Day weekend. Everything looked great, if not better really. Some things were gone or still the way they were left after Hurricane Ivan but not too bad. We also found a nice place to stay. Eddie's brother and his wife's family had a place right on the beach that we really liked. And we happened to meet one of the resident's there who fell in love with Chase =) She owns 2 condos in this unit...one she lives in and one she rents. So she took us up and showed us around. It was only a one bedroom but it was cute and that's all we need anyway. There's a pull out couch bed or the kids can sleep on their blow up mattress's. It overlooks the pool and the beach. And she can't wait for us to come back. She'll be surprised though because when we go back we will be staying in the condo next to hers. We have a few other people coming this time so her one bedroon unit won't work. But it will when we go back with just our family in November.

Anyway, we had a really good weekend and the weather was perfect! Stayed on the beach Saturday then went out to eat (which was a bad idea! There was over an hour wait everywhere we went!) then swam that night. Sunday we went to this really cool amusement park that had a really neat wooden go cart track that kinda went up and around like a roller coaster! The kids had a blast! We figured we would do that early before it got too hot or busy. Then we stayed on the beach the rest of the day and swam in the pool.
Of course Eddie got sunburned! I told him to put on the sunscreen but he just wouldn't listen. Oh well, he paid for that one in a big, BIG way! Kinda goes with the "I HATE THIEVES" story below. Had he not gotten sunburned he would have taken the video camera out of the car when he was supposed to instead of leaving it in there to get stolen!
Anyway, it's 2 weeks later and he's still peeling! I can't wait for Labor Day weekend to get here!

HOT!

It is HOT as H-E-L-L outside! Shit, it's hot as hell inside! Our temps have reached 100 for the past few days. I don't think my air conditioner has gone off. Seriously, it runs 24/7. By the time it reaches the temp I have set it's 4 a.m. I know this because I was up at 4 a.m. this morning when it finally went off. Only to come back on 45 min. later and it hasn't shut off since.
It is 100 outside right now and it's funny because my weather bug says the heat index is 173! Ha, it must be lying, although it really does feel that hot! It is 82 degrees in my house right now, that's as far as it can cool. They say that it can only cool 15 degrees below what the temperature is outside so I'd say it's doing pretty good to get it down to 82! I have all the ceiling fans on plus another big floor fan in the back of the hallway.
It's even to hot to swim! We've been swimming everyday but it's just gotten to the point to where we can't take it anymore. Jumping in the pool should be refreshing, right? Well, not here! The pool water is just as hot as the actual temperature! And jumping into a HOT pool is not cool! So today we skipped the swim and stayed in but then the kids (all 5 of them! my 3 plus the little girl I watch and my nephew) were going crazy being stuck in the house. We tryed to go outside but just couldn't do it. They'd get all sweaty and red faced within minutes of being out there. I was drenched and I was sitting still AND in the shade!
Louisiana summer's SUCK! Please someone send some cool no COLD air our way!

Diaper Cake!

Ok, I am a little behind here but trying to catch up!

I hosted a baby shower on July 21 for a neighbor friend of mine. We live on a small street with about 15 houses and the first 8 houses are all very good friends. So we all got together and brought food and another neighbor grilled for us and let us use his large covered porch. Another neighbor's friend owns a Spacewalk and let us use that for the kids! It went very well.

I made my first diaper cake! It came out so good =)

So here are some pics.

I HATE THEIVES!!!!!!!!!!

I have so many other fun, exciting things to blog about but first I have to get this out! Last night our new expensive ass Sony 60 Gig hard drive handycam was stolen out of our car! Doesn't that just suck! Now, we don't usually leave something like that in our car...we just got back from the beach and Eddie had forgotten he had stuck it in the glove box. When he got home last night he put it on the passenger seat to bring in. But when he got home I had the car port blocked with the truck since it was raining and I had to get the groceries out so he parked at the front of the driveway. Being it was raining he left it sitting on the seat and was going to go back out and get. Not only did he forget to go back out and get it dum dum also forgot to lock it!!
When he went to leave for work this morning he got in the car and started to back out when the door ajar thingy went off and he realized that the front passenger door was open and then he realized that the video camera was gone!
We called the Sheriff and they came out and made a report and dusted for prints. And I finally found the serial number on the box so now I can turn that in and if they happen to try to pawn it, it will come up as stolen. And another cool thing...my neighbor up the street has a surveillance system with 4 cameras on the outside of her house. I finally got in touch with her this evening and told her what had happened. She said she will call the surveillance company tomorrow and have them go back over the footage from 11 p.m. on the 30th to 7 a.m. on the 31st and see if anything comes up. That would be awesome!
Anyway, it is our bad for leaving it in there and not locking it which really sucks even more! We've never had any problems before but I guess it only takes that one time. Lesson learned the hard way I guess. All I want is my frickin' videos off the camera! Can't get back Chase's graduation and the beach trip ya know. Think maybe they'll be nice enough to make me a copy and put it in my mailbox, LOL! Wishful thinking I know.
So lock up your cars, homes and valuables no matter how safe you think you are cause it only takes that one stupid time!

More Fantasy Island Pics

Fantasy Island

So, we've been swimming like everyday this Summer. We started out with the kid pool in the backyard in late May early June. Then started going to the Country Club in June but the kids hate the chlorine. So we started going to my neighbor's house. They have a salt water pool! It's sooo much better than chlorine and is actually good for you. The water is SO soft and silky. Anyway, this place is beautiful. They are a retired couple in their mid-late 60's and instead of spending all of their money traveling they decided to spend it on transforming their backyard into an everyday Fantasy Island. This way they could enjoy it everyday instead of just on a week long trip! And that they did! Their house backs up to the lake so it makes it even more real. They started with a pond and then a few more ponds and then transformed their traditional square chlorine pool into a saltwater lagoon. Along with the many ponds and plentiful landscaping they also including a mini putt putt golf course! Then this past year they finished up with a new dock that surrounds the entire backyard overlooking Lake Sherwood. There are also ducks that swim up wanting to be fed, but we're not supposed to feed them. Although, Logan thinks it hilarious to do so =)

And they love our dog so we bring Snoopy (our 3 mo. old Beagle) with us every time. He loves to run around in the yard, sneak through the landscaping and pop out to scare you and run along the deck to see the ducks. We've also found out that he is a pro at swimming! He loves the water and swims so fast we can't catch up with him! It's so funny!

Anyway, the kids love it there and the couple is so nice and love to watch the kids enjoy what they've done. They don't have kids or grandkids of their own so they are like surrogate grandparents to my kids, which is good b/c they don't ever get to spend time with their real grandparents. I won't even get started on that!

I'm going to try to upload some pictures now and see how many it will let me do!

Hope you all are having a great Summer!

Enjoy =)

Holy Cow! I'm 36 today!

So today is my 36th birthday! It's really hard to believe. I'm not feeling so good today though! We went out last night and I had a little, okay a LOT too much to drink! (And as most of you know I quit drinking many years ago! Now I remember why!) My sister watched the kids for us and we started at Chimes. Had to be there early though because I wanted a table outside on the porch and I needed 2 tables! Usually it's packed on the weekend, well it's packed there every night but it wasn't too bad last night. We got 1 table right when we got there and then got the 2nd table about 40 min. after that. Shortly after we got there Eddie's brother Frankie and his wife Chantelle got there, then my brother and his fiance Jesse and our friend Hamed. We ate and drank and had a good time. After that we went to Spanky's, our local little bar hangout. It was pretty quiet in there too. This is where I had a lot too much to drink! I only got one drink, it was a malibu rum thingy that Jesse ordered for me. But then I had a few Taxi Cab shots and some Jello shots! It seemed like a good idea...then!

We had to leave early which really sucked. I told my sister we'd pick the kids up by 11, even though we didn't leave til almost 12! She's pregnant and tired and wanted to go to sleep, and I can understand that BUT how many times did I watch her little boy and she'd say she was on her way and then wouldn't show up for 3 more hours! Many, many times. Even when I was pregnant and tired...pay back is a bitch! So Eddie was driving, of course, we got the kids and they wanted Taco Bell so we stopped off there then went to my brother's apt. We all ate and then talked for a bit then it was time to go home 'cause I wasn't feeling too good at all!

I won't go into what happened after we got home, I'm sure you know! I finally got to sleep around 5 a.m. I think it was and then was up again this morning from 6:30 to 10:30 a.m. puking my guts up! I went back to sleep 'til about 12:30 then had to get up, UGH! I am so tired!

We finally all got ready and made it out to IHOP for breakfast or lunch, LOL, at 3:00 then ran some errands came back home and took a quick nap then went out for Dinner to this place called O'Henry's...they are the home of the FREE B-day steak dinner. How can you pass that up? Then we came back home and had some b-day cake that Eddie had gotten for me =)

Besides the rough start in the morning it was a good birthday.

Weekend Plans

Okay, so my birthday isn't actually until Sunday the 8th but we are starting the party a little early! Tonight we are going to Fernando's Mexican Restaurant. They are not my favorite but the atmosphere is what makes this a cool place. They are an indoor/outdoor restaurant so part of the place is indoor then the bar area is inside but these huge windows open up to the porch area where there are tables too. They also have a Mexican Band that plays on the weekend. Eddie and his friend JJ from work and his girlfriend were already there when the kids & I got there. We sat at a table on the porch. It was hot as hell and I have to wonder why I even bothered to flat iron my hair! By the time we left my hair was a big ole wavy poof ball, ha ha!
So anyway, we had a good time. The kids were pretty good. The music was loud but good. The food was okay. I was just going to drink some Sprite but ended up drinking 2 strawberry margarita's. We saw a few people we knew as well. Jason's girlfriend was really sweet and was really good with the kids.
I think Eddie and JJ must have drank about 10 margarita's! Plus the owner had brought them 2 shots of Tequila each, Yikes! You could say he was pretty messed up! We had a good Friday night =)

What's for Dinner?

That is the question! And most of the time I just don't have an answer. Not only do I not really like to cook, I'm also not very good at it! At least that's what Eddie tells me. And it's true. My mom was an okay cook but she never really taught us HOW to cook. Eddie says if it doesn't come from a box or can I can't cook it. It's funny, because I remember my Dad saying the same thing about my Mom!
So here's what I can cook pretty good...Spaghetti and meatballs or meatsauce, tacos with beans and rice, chicken spectacular and eggs! Of course, I can cook hamburger helper, tuna helper, chicken helper or anything else that comes from a box, LOL! But Eddie doesn't like that. Honestly, neither do I! But what else can I cook? I'm at a loss. I need some ideas, recipe's anything to make our nightly family dinner's a better experience!
Can anyone help me? Please!
P.S. I do have to say I am pretty good at baking and I love to make cupcakes and cakes and cookies, but then again those come out of the box too, HA HA!

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone is having a very happy 4th! Eddie was off today so we slept in and just chilled out most of the day. My brother and his fiance came over with the 4-wheeler to go riding in the back of the neighborhood and took each of the kids for a ride. They love that! This evening we went to my parents house for a BBQ. It was just my sister Katie, her son Jay, my brother Rush and his fiance Jesse and of course Eddie, me and the kids. My parents are still living in New Jersey but my sister is living in the house taking care of it while they are gone. It was supposed to be a BBQ but it had been raining and we weren't sure what the weather would be tonight so we just had hotdogs cooked on the stove! I made some potato salad and strawberry cupcakes and we had beans and chips also. It wasn't the same as a BBQ but it worked. Around 8:30 the neighbors across the lake started their firework show. Every year it seems to get better and better. We are all guessing that he spends at least $2000 for this display on the 4th and he also does one on New Year's eve. So we sat outside watching all of these huge fireworks set off over the lake. The kids popped their little fireworks as well. My brother usually buys about $300 worth but he didn't get any this year. The rain did hold off though so that was good.

We got home about 10, got cleaned up and in our jammies when I hear Chase calling me to Brenden's room to "come see". Logan had gotten into the snap poppies and had dumped them all over Bren's bed. He had also put on one of Bren's shoes and was trying to stomp on the snap pops to make them pop! ON the bed! Thank goodness we hadn't put his clean sheets on yet! I thought it was pretty funny...Bren did not! He worked really hard today cleaning his room up! Ah, but it cleans up! That's what he is doing in the picture above. (Someone needs to tell me how to put the pic where I want it! I want it here, not up there!)

Ok, well hope everyone had a safe & happy 4th. Hard to believe that in 4 days I will be 36!

Goodnight =)

Potty Training Dogs & Kids!

Okay, so back to where I left off last night. We are working on potty training the puppy. From what I have heard and read most dogs cannot be expected to understand potty training until they are over 3 months of age. Snoopy will be 3 months this Friday. I have been working on it since we got him because I figure why not? He's actually doing pretty good. He does not like to potty in his crate, probably because that's where he eats as well! Sometimes he goes to the door and whines but sometimes he just squats and pees right there on the floor! Same with the poop, but you can tell when he needs to do that because he starts walking around in circles so we rush him out very quickly! Last week was a bad poop week...I had tried this new brand of dog food called "Wellness". Well, this made him have the runs. Not cool! So I got him some puppy chow and he is doing much better now. Hopefully in the next month he'll get the hang of everything.



So, not only am I potty training the puppy but Logan has decided it's time for him to learn as well. I didn't push it. I never have with any of my boys. I let them tell me when THEY were ready. Lately he's been taking his diaper off and going to the potty by himself and then he comes and tells me =) So we bought some pull ups this last time at the store. They have Cars (The movie) on them so he thinks they're pretty cool! Both Bren & Chase were in undies by their 3rd birthday, Logan won't be 3 until February so he's doing pretty good.

Our New Puppy

Logan and our new puppy, Snoopy =)


Why did I get a new puppy? I have asked myself many times in the past 3 weeks. Our dog Caine passed away 2 Summer's ago. He was 12. They say he probably had heartworms and that's what caused some of his problems that led to his decline. He also had arthritis and cataracts. Anyway, I told the kids that we would eventually get a new dog. I have been reading about different breeds for quite some time off & on and for some reason I thought the time was right. Eddie has always wanted a Yorkie. I, personally, do not like them. Caine was half German Shepard half Chow and he was the perfect dog. Great with the kids and a great watch dog, he was big and everyone was scared of him. But I didn't want a big dog this time. I wanted a dog that would be big enough to withstand the kids torment but small enough to stay in the house and not be able to reach the counter tops. After looking around at the different breeds to fit our family and lifestyle I came up with 2 breeds in the size we were looking for. A Papillion and a Beagle. I could not find any Papillion's in our area. Found some online but the price was outrageous... $1,500 to $2,500, I don't think so! So, onto the Beagle it was. I found a guy in the paper selling them for $80. That was definitely do-able! So we went to look at them that afternoon. I really wasn't planning on getting one that day, just looking, but there was this one that just kept looking at me with these sad little green eyes. How could I not just hold him for a second? And of course once I held him I just couldn't put him back in the cage! I did try, but he kept looking at me! He was so pretty, chocolate brown with a little white on his chest and these beautiful green eyes. So I ask the guy if he'll take $60 and he says no...hey, it's worth a try, right? The reason I asked was because he didn't have papers. He said the Dad was registered and showed me the papers but the Mom was not, that's why he was not asking more for them. And since I really don't care about having an AKC or CKC registered dog I was fine with that. Sometimes I wonder if he's not mixed with something because of his coloring, but if he is that is fine too. The mixed breed dogs we've had in the past have always been the best dogs ever. We once had a Lhasa Apso and he went psycho on us!
So, we've had him for almost a month now. He will be 12 weeks old this coming weekend. So far, so good. The kids love him. And of course even though they said they would help I am the one who takes care of him. We're working really hard on crate training and potty training. He still yipes a lot when he's in his cage, especially if we leave, but is getting better. We don't put him in there often, only when we leave, when he eats or at night. The night thing hasn't worked very well though. He wants to sleep by me! And the potty training is coming along. He's only 11 weeks so I can't expect too much from him. More about that in the morning! It's almost 1 a.m., my kids are still awake and my left eye keeps twitching! Goodnight =)

Shopping 4 New Clothes

I remember the days when going shopping was so much fun! Now I dread it. We all need new clothes, really bad! Shopping for myself is a nightmare in itself...but for 3 boys! Brenden is the worst. He's almost 12 and kinda in between sizes. He's very hard to shop for. He's not skinny but he's not fat but yet he does not wear a size 12 or even a 14 but not a 16 either! Does that make sense? He's like a size that doesn't exist! So that's going to be the worst.
Then there's Chase (7). He is skinny and not as tall as most kids his age. But at least he has a size! He wears a 5/6 so he's pretty easy. Well, except for the fact that all of his clothes have to be a soft cotton and he won't wear shorts b/c of the eczema on his legs. So we have to find soft jeans or pants which I'm pretty sure they carry all year long even though it's Summer and like a hundred freaking degrees here!
And then Logan. He's 2 and wears a 3T. He should the easiest. Just some shorts and some T-shirts and really no need to try anything on, thank goodness.
Now where to go? Well, Walmart would be the easiest place BUT I've bought clothes from there before and I just don't like them. Not only is the cotton of really bad quality, but they do not hold up at all. It's like after the first wash they look like they've been washed 100 times! And Target is the same way, although not as bad. I have gotten Logan a few cute outfits from there. So, my places of choice are Old Navy, Gap and Children's Place. Maybe Gymboree, we'll see. Old Navy & Gap clothes have held up so well for my boys. I love them. And let's face it, they have really cute stuff that is great for your basic everyday wear. And Old Navy has really good prices! Children's place is good too. And they always have cute, very well priced stuff on the clearance rack.
So this is what I will be doing over the next few days starting Friday. Why Friday? Because the little girl that I watch will not be coming back until next Thursday so I will only have my 3 boys and no extras to tote around. It's going to be hard enough with just them!
And of course I forgot to mention me...I need clothes too and I'm probably the worst to shop for, LOL! Nothing like trying on clothes with 3 kids in the dressing room with ya! I'd leave them home with Eddie but he's been very busy with work they have inventory this weekend. Maybe I can hold off on me and go by myself one night next week?
Wish me luck!

Sleepless Nights and Sick Children

I've been having trouble sleeping lately and I think I know why...but that goes with another story that I will write hopefully this weekend. So, last night was like any other night I've had in the past few weeks...sleepless. I find myself wide awake until 2 in the morning until I finally drift off into a semi sleep I call it, only because I've laid there for so long. You see every night I am awoken by my 7 yr. old Chase, he's the one with eczema. He scratches all night off & on. I don't ever get a restful nights sleep. Because of this I sleep in he & Logan's room mainly so that I won't wake Eddie up every time I have to get up and stop Chase from scratching. He has to be up by 6:20 a.m. for work and needs his sleep. Well, I need sleep too, but then again I am home all day and can at least take a nap.

But tonight Logan is sick. He woke up Monday with a 101 fever and diarrhea. Diarrhea that smelled so bad even he held his nose and made puking sounds! I'm not one to run off to the doctor so a little motrin, extra fluids and rest is what we did. Before bed I gave him some Tylenol since it wasn't time for the Motrin yet and off to bed he went in my arms as usual. He slept, I just lay there praying for sleep. I think I finally fell asleep around 2 . But at 3:30 a.m. my stomach was killing me! So off to the bathroom I go! Of course Logan wakes up and realizes I'm not there and is yelling for me. He finds me in the bathroom and his tummy is hurting too. So when I'm done I had another really stinky diaper to change! By now it's 4 a.m. and my stomach's still killing me. All I wanted to do was go back to sleep, but no, now the puppy is awake and he for surely needs to go to the bathroom! So there I am outside in front of my house at 4 a.m. with a 2 yr. old and a puppy that I am begging to hurry up so I can get back inside to the toilet!
I think I finally got back to sleep around 6 a.m. but had to be up at 7! I did get to go back to sleep for a little bit thank goodness! Logan is feeling a little better today. Just a little warm and a little diarrhea. We need a nap but my sheets aren't dry yet! See, there's always something keeping me from my sleep! UGH!

Mommy only has 2 hands!

Okay, I've been thinking of things to write about. I actually have a lot of things to write about, just trying to figure out where to start.
So today I thought I start with a little about me and why I picked the title "Mommy Only Has 2 Hands!"
My name is Kristi and I am a 35 (I'll be 36 in 12 days!) yr. old wife and mother of 3 boys. My husband Eddie and I have been together for 18 yrs. and married for 14 yrs. Our first son Brenden was born in August 1995, he will be the big 12 soon and that is really hard for me to believe! They grow up way to fast. Our second son, Chase was born in May of 2000. He just turned 7, but has the wisdom and smarts of a 57 yr. old. Chase has had eczema since he was about 5 months old. But that's a whole 'nother story to be told later! Our 3rd son, Logan was born in February of 2005. He is 28 mo. old now and is our wild child. Had he been our first he might have been our last, LOL! No, just kidding, but boy he is a few handfuls! They are all very sweet boys, all unique with their own different personalities. I love them more than anything, they are my life =)
Will we have more? Well, I'd like to say we would but I am just not sure. But that's another story that I'll write soon.

We also have 4 animals. My husband has a 1 1/2 yr. old Bearded Dragon named Eddie. Bren has a Ferret that is 1, his name is Chico (or Chica as we're still not sure if it's a boy or a girl!) Chase has a 5 yr. old cat named Orange Cat (ok, yes, the cat is orange! He was only 2 when he named him!) And we just got a Beagle puppy 2 weeks ago. His name is Snoopy and he is 8 weeks old now. He's all of ours but Logan thinks it's his, so we'll say he's Logan's puppy =)

In addition to taking care of my husband, 3 kids and 4 animals, I also do in home childcare. I was watching 3, 2 yr. old little cutie pie girls but now that summer is here I only have 1. When school starts again I will have 2. This way I can stay home with Logan and not only does he have some friends but I make a little extra money as well.
I also used to homeschool and am thinking about going back to it again this school year. I'll get more into that later too.

Okay, so do I really need to explain why I chose the title "Mommy Only Has 2 hands"? LOL! I feel like lately that is all I ever say! It's like they all want me to do something for them at the same time. MOM, MOM, MOM! I WANT THIS, I WANT THAT, HE HAS ONE I WANT ONE TOO! Now, I have no problem doing stuff for my kids but goodness gracious I can only do 1 thing at a time because... Mommy only has 2 hands =)

My First Entry...

This is my first entry! I have no clue as to what I am doing or what I will write but I'm giving it a try!
I am not good at writing. At least I don't think I am. I am really good at thinking! But then when I try to put it on paper...or e-paper as we'll call this, it just gets all jumbled and I can't get it out.
Okay, so I am going to leave it at this for now and hit publish so I can see how it comes out.
Bye!