Ice Cream

Your love is better than ice cream

Better then anything else that I've tried

And your love is better than ice cream

Everyone here knows how to fight

-Sarah McLachlan Ice Cream

The above lyrics are from one of my favorite Sarah McLachlan songs. I use to love this song...it was on all my favorite cassettes and later on all my burned cds. I loved it, my friends loved it, my sister and I loved it until a guy I dated in college heard it. He turned to me and asked me if I loved him more than I loved ice cream. And I didn't. And I told him that. And then I quit listening to that song...especially around guys I was dating.

In all fairness to this guy I LOVE ice cream. My love for ice cream started when I was younger and my mom would make homemade ice cream that would cause me extreme brain freeze because I would eat it too fast. My love for ice cream grew even more when I became a runner and realized I could eat anything I wanted without gaining weight (yes you can hate me now if you want).

But what really solidified my love for ice cream was when a Brusters appeared a mile from my parent's house the summer after my sophomore year in college. It was love at first sight for me. That was the summer my sister taught me how to enjoy long runs so we would accomplish a 6-8 mile run and reward ourselves with ice cream. Around this time we discovered Brusters rain policy which is if it is raining you get a second scoop free. From that point forward that summer if we saw even a storm cloud we were headed to Brusters. Life was good that summer...

I am also reminded when I think about ice cream of all the dinosaur kids sundaes at Brusters I took the boys I babysat for to get. Because no one really appreciates a meal centered around ice cream more then kids. Except for my kid...who hates ice cream. It makes no sense, but I still order Cooper ice cream everywhere we go so he can at least try it again. On a positive note it means double ice cream for me:-).

So I didn't love that boy in college more than ice cream...I never loved any guy I dated more than ice cream. Except John. The one guy I will actually share my ice cream with. I'm pretty sure I never shared my ice cream with even my dad...but in all fairness I don't remember my dad ever sharing his ice cream with me either. Now that I think about it I think my whole family is made of ice cream-aholics!

New Orleans Inspiration

Last weekend John and I went to New Orleans for a conference John had to attend. The first day we were there I ran on a treadmill assuming that Bourbon Street and New Orleans wasn't a safe place for me to run. That treadmill run was the longest of my life...a crappy treadmill set to make you view yourself in a mirror the whole run. The next morning as John and I set off for Cafe Du Monde (beignets...yum!) I saw a lady from our hotel leave to go running outside through New Orleans. I happened to run into her at the pool later and she convinced me that running through New Orleans in the morning was fine.

So I did it and it was awesome. I started my run by going down Bourbon Street where, although it was 7am, some guys were coming out of the bar and they sang me the Rocky theme song. I then somehow found Canal Street and ran down there and planned all the shopping I was going to do later (poor John). I ended up back on Bourbon and went towards the River Walk and that is when my run received the title of "coolest run ever". Running by the river was spectacular, but what was really cool was on the way back looking at all the street performers before the tourists arrived. The guy who was spray painted head to toe in gold was making plans to go to the bar later with the local artist. The two guys dressed as transformers were buying coffee. All these people in crazy costumes were acting so normal...like planning to act as a statue all day was as normal as me going to work to teach.

As I arrived back to my hotel I realized that the run I just went on was "Bucket List" material. How many people can say they ran Bourbon Street? I quickly came up with some more items I want to accomplish. I think my life is going to need 2 Bucket Lists. One for me to accomplish before I hit 50, and another one to accomplish between 50 and death. So here goes Bucket List One:

1. Run Bourbon Street (accomplished!)
2. Sky dive (I know this would terrify me...)
3. See a Hawaiian sunset with my husband (hint hint John)
4. Surf (I'm positive with how uncoordinated I am I would injure myself but still I want to try!)
5. Run a half marathon
6. Go to Disneyland...the right way. Where you go for a whole week and do it ALL.
7. Get my masters in Elementary Education.
8. Be on a reality television show (because nothing says classy like reality television)
9. Go on a spa weekend.
10. Start a charity...I have a great plan for one that gives money to kids whose parents die without having a life insurance plan.
11. Successfully grow a garden.

Have you made your Bucket List yet?

Mommy Dearest

My son and I have a special bond. We are each other's world. Every night it is me he wants to put him to bed and he makes me promise that I will be the one who gets him up. He asks me all day long to play with him and if I can't he follows me room to room. He helps me make breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He even helped me clean toilets the other day. I think the picture below (made in a photo booth at Chuck E. Cheese) really sums up our close bond.

Because really, if you can't bite your own Mother while she is innocently posing in front of the camera, who can you bite?

My two-year-old...the most frustrating person I've encountered so far and yet being his mom is my favorite job I've ever had.

To Err is Human...

Lately I've been feeling almost like I'm in a state of mourning for the people I've lost. Not really to death (I mourn those people in a different way), but for the people I've lost touch with. All for different reasons...moving, my immaturity at sustaining relationships, depression during and after pregnancy (sometimes I just wanted to be left alone), and bad decisions made on my part.

I have learned that throughout the years no matter how remorseful you might be there are some relationships not meant to be fixed. There are people that did you wrong or that you did wrong in a way that can't be made right. There are people who you are not sure how to apologize to and so you continue missing them. There are many childhood friends that you lose touch with (however thanks to facebook it is getting easier to reconnect). And there are people out there (family included) who you might miss terribly, but they refuse to let you back in...and you might not ever understand why.

To try to get myself out of this "funk" I've been feeling I try to stay positive and remain thankful for those who've stood by me. I have a best friend (and her family) that I have had my whole life. I have a CRAZY college friend who although she lives far away, I still stay in touch with regularly. I have some old track buddies I talk to (both from high school and college) and (once again thanks to facebook) I am able to communicate with almost everyone I graduated high school with (quite the accomplishment when you went to as big of a school as I did).

I've also been trying to forgive. Forgive myself for any wrong doing I did people to make them think negatively of me. Forgive others for any wrong doing they might have done me. But mainly to forgive myself for bad decisions made in the past and promise myself to make wiser ones in the future. I try to make sure I am a good friend to everyone I meet, and I make sure to keep all commitments I make.

Because in the end what good are words without actions to back them up?

"Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."

-Paul Boese

Potty Training Blues

I am slowly failing as a parent at potty training my child. This is especially ironic since as a preschool teacher nothing annoys me more then parents who don't potty train their child all the way then try and sneak them to my class in underwear...I think we all know how that ends.

My fear is that the apple might not have fallen far from the tree. I actually remember being potty trained. For my non-parent friends I'm sure you don't understand why that is a bad thing. I remember being potty trained because I was well into my threes. I just couldn't give up my Mickey Mouse diapers and wouldn't until I was out shopping with my mom and we found Mickey Mouse underwear...I remember it vividly (It was in Boaz at the outlets).

I have tried everything: candy for going potty, cheering him on, reading books about potty training, pull-ups (which I hate), and even just throwing him on underwear and hoping for the best. My child actually begged my mom to put his diaper on him when we tried underwear. It's official, my child is going to college with a box of Pampers. Well I guess it will actually be Depends by then.

The strange thing is I'm not sure why Cooper not potty training seems like a personal failure of mine? Every time he uses the bathroom I feel great success and every wet or dirty diaper feels like I have failed. Maybe I feel like I am failing because when I tell other Moms my problem they are quick to tell me how their child uses the potty now and how they did it and it was so easy. Or maybe it's because my own mother scolded me tonight for him not potty training...like I am not allowing Cooper to use it.

So as Cooper and I enter the 5th month we've tried potty training I hope that this is going to be his big break through. That this month he is going to decide to use the bathroom. And if not I guess he can use the money he gets for graduating high school to buy his on diapers in college.

Hanging with Mr. Cooper

So I stole my blog title from a show I watched in the 90's. I actually did not name my child after it, but a girl I worked with at Spa Moksha constantly sang the title song to me while I was pregnant and even now asks me how's Mr. Cooper. Oh how I miss my spa friends...it's like having your own sorority except that group of girls could make my face look clear, my back feel awesome, and give me free manicures and pedicures. But oh how I digress...


Life with Cooper this summer has been interesting to say the least. We are in the middle of what I fear may not only be the "terrible twos", but might follow into the "terrible threes". This summer he has discovered a whole vocabulary of words that make me cringe...it's strange how even the word "shut-up" sounds vulgar when a two-year-old says it. He has discovered how fun it is to use his sister as a punching bag...especially since she doesn't hit back (trust me I encourage her to hit/bite/hair pull back...how else will he know it hurts? She just won't do it!). And he has decided to hit any grown-up who isn't following his orders. Great...just what I was hoping for, a two-year-old wanna be ninja for a son.


But he has also learned to tell me he loves me without me having to get him to say it. He has learned how to kiss and hug me when he knows he's pushed me too far. He's learned how to snuggle me just right, and he's learned how to tell me this time he really is going to behave right before he gets a spanking. Basically my son has learned how to be a guy. He reminds me of a boyfriend who treats his girlfriend like crap and then right when she is about to leave him he swoops in, kisses her, tells her he loves her, promises to do better next time, and so she stays with him. Maybe I am in an abusive relationship with my two-year-old-ha!


Either way fortunally for Cooper I have an unconditional love for him so I won't be trying to leave him anytime soon and truthfully he does do as much good as bad-it just isn't as fun to blog about!


So onto my story...4 days ago I left Cooper playing with his train table while I ran upstairs and got a "Mommy shower". Confused at what a "Mommy shower" is versus a regular shower? A "Mommy shower" is a 3 minute shower where you wash hair, condition hair, lather down, rinse, and get out of shower. Compare this to my old 25 minute showers where I walk away relaxed and feeling good and you get the picture. So I come out of my "Mommy shower" in time to do my Mommy getting ready routine which basically lets me accomplish getting completely ready in 7 minutes (yes I've timed it).


While in the middle of blowing my hair dry Cooper comes into the bathroom and he looks so excited. I put the hair dryer down to hear Cooper begging me to come downstairs and see his toys. He has never asked me to do this and I am curious as to what he wants to show me so I take his hand and let him lead me downstairs. I am all prepared to walk into toy room when we take an unexpected right turn into the half bath. He then leads me to the toilet where I am met with this:

For those of you wondering that is a sippy cup (still full!), 4 trains, 17 alphabet letters, the DVD remote (still works!), and a few other random things. To top it all off he was trying to flush it. At this point in the story I have been asked by many, "What did you do?". I did the only thing I could think of-I got out my iPhone and took a picture. I then went searching for gloves to fish all the toys out and then had a talk with Cooper about why we don't put toys in the toilet. In all fairness to him I had never told him not to...I just assumed it was self explanatory! At this point I was a little upset...I hadn't really planned that day to get toys out of a toliet, do some plumbing, and disenfect toys, but my little Romeo stood beside me the whole time kissing me, hugging me, and telling me was sorry. Just like a guy...apologizing while he watches me do all the work;-).

Living with a two-year-old is many things, but dull is not one of them!

Belly Button Rings=My Youth?

I am 26-years-old...not old at all, but out of my "fun" early twenties. However, while I am only 26, I feel like I am an old 26. A lot of my friends are not married, have no kids, are even still in school. Yet I am married, I have an almost 3-year-old, a 10-year-old step daughter, I graduated from college now 4 years ago, and my career is a preschool teacher. In my free time I wash clothes, clean house, carpool, go to parks, and cook dinners...and I sometimes find time to go running. I sometimes feel like my life resembles a 30/40-year-old and not a 26-year-old.

So I find ways to hang on to my youth. I stay the same size I was at 20, I still go to the tanning bed once every two weeks (begin the lectures), I color my hair every 6 weeks (I have made my hair dresser swear to never tell me when my hair goes grey/white), I wear ridiculously short shorts (I debated this one but the husband requested they stay), AND I still have my belly button pierced from when I was 18 and snuck and got it done.

That's right-I am a belly button pierced Mom and preschool teacher. And I like it.

Recently I had surgery and was asked if I had any more metal on me. I said no until John pointed out my belly button ring was still in-I had forgotten I even had it. It has become more of a part of my body after 8 years then an accessory. I took it off, handed it to John, and he lost it. I think he did it on purpose. When I brought it up 5 days later (once the pain killer fog lifted) he told me he didn't want me to wear it anymore. It didn't seem like a bad request so I agreed and moved on.

Then last week while John was out-of-town, I decided to surprise him and clean out his car for him, wash it, and vacuum it...quite the job if you've seen his car! While cleaning it I found my belly button ring in his car door. After thinking about it for a few minutes I decided not wearing it was like giving up my big rebel move of my youth when I turned 18 and snuck and got it pierced. A piece of my youth I am not willing to give up yet. So I slipped it back in and made the deal with myself that I will wear it as long as my stomach is still flat. Pending that body change, I will take it out. Until then I will hold on to one of the few things that reminds me I am ONLY 26:-).

My advice at 26-years-old

I was talking to one of my long time friends (we've known each other 12 years) the other day. We were "discussing" (okay maybe gossiping) about a mutual friend who recently divorced. She actually dated the guy longer then she was married (I can breathe a sigh of relief, I hit that benchmark month 5 of my marriage-ha!). The friend I was talking to will be tying the knot pretty soon and I instantly assured her that marriage was the opposite of what our other friend made it out to be. Marriage is a blast. And I truly mean that.

When I met John I knew I had met my match. I fell in love quick and hard and was married on August 1st, 2008...5 months after our first date. I have never thought I made too hasty of a decision (although I'm sure some thought we were) and I am married to my best friend. Cheesy but true. I told my friend all this and could tell she was glad to hear it. I believe in marriage. I believe in my marriage. And I believe that being married has made my life completely fulfilled. I'm positive many do great single (I did before I met John), but I believe life would be lonely if I had never met my husband.

That said we then moved on to the topic of babies (after doing some random catching up gossip...typical girls!). Another one of our mutual friends who we have known almost as long as each other is pregnant (and another testimony to being in a happy marriage). I was so excited for her and found myself campaigning for my friend who hasn't even gotten married yet to hurry up and get pregnant (I blame it on working for the Birmingham diocese!).

Considering I have been married a whole 21 months and I considered myself the marriage expert surely I could dispense a compelling argument for birthing a child; I've been a mom 33 months (note the sarcasm)!

To explain my argument for being a Mom I must first tell you some about my day. I had told my friend that for me (others might differ) one of the biggest benefits is getting to relive your childhood (this is especially true because I take the kids to the same zoo, parks, and so on that I grew-up with because I live where I grew-up). Today Jaylyn and I took Cooper to my church for a 2 hour cooking class (I can only imagine what it was like-it was for ages 2-5...they are so brave). We left Cooper and went to the new Treetop Family Adventure. Where $20 later we had played enough arcade games to win 450 tickets and go bowling. Now don't be fooled. I was not sitting there watching as Jaylyn played in the arcade. I was playing every game she was and I had a great time doing it.

We then picked up Cooper (who told me he had "made dinner"...so cute!) and went grocery shopping (blah) and came home. The kids and I laid down and watched the movie "UP" (another perk to having kids...you get to watch all the cute kid movies) and then ran some errands. Cooper went down for a nap, I cleaned house, and then Jaylyn left for her mom's house. When Cooper woke-up he requested snuggle time (which I gladly gave) and he told me how much he loved me, how he was Mommy's boy (not Daddy's boy), and gave me kisses. Then I remembered one thing I forgot to tell my friend...that having a child is great because for all you do for them, you get it all back when they kiss you and tell you they love you.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not disillusioned. Will John and I have fights? Yes. Will Cooper and Jaylyn make me crazy as they get older? I'm sure they will. Will other problems arise that will never make it on this blog? Most definitely. Do I feel blessed and know that John and I will walk through this world hand in hand dealing with whatever comes up? You better believe it (unless our hands start to sweat and then I might walk beside him instead).

Moral of the story to my friend of 12 years (who I'm sure will read this blog)-get married, reproduce, and enjoy life;-). Oh and I am sooo ready to sing at your wedding...Celine Dion here I come!

Oh What a Morning...

Last night John and I discussed babies...as of this morning I am canceling our discussion from last night on. Why? Read on...

My morning so far:
5:51 am-Cooper who normally sleeps until 7:45 or later crawls into our bed...wide awake
6:00 am-After listening to John tell him to be quiet I give in realizing my face is throbbing anyways (I am only 2 weeks post surgery, 4 weeks to go). I get up, change his diaper, and make the requested chocolate milk (aka chalky)
6:10 am- TV is requested. I see an opportunity to turn the TV on and meet my husband back in bed. He wants Thomas the train so I put that on. Wait he doesn't want Thomas. He wants Cars. I put that on. Wait, no he wants Shrek, which is still in my purse from taking it Grandparents. I locate my purse and put Shrek on. No never mind King Cooper wants Cars after all so I put that on and run (actually sprint) out of the room before a new request is made.
6:20am- Back in bed to find husband playing on IPhone NOT asleep. I try to fall back asleep as he decides to try to talk.
6:30am-Cooper comes into the run and wakes me up to tell me he wants to now watch Flinstones in his room and needs me to do it. I get up and set it up...not even bothering to walk downstairs and turn off Cars. During this time husband escapes to computer downstairs.
6:40am-Cooper decides to crawl in bed with me and wants to watch TV in my room. Awesome. Somehow I find Sprout and once again try to fall asleep and ignore my throbbing face.
7:00am- Cooper runs into the kid's bathroom where John has decided to shower to remind John not to play with any of his toys. A lesson on sharing begins (for the record John was not playing with his toys).
7:10am-John leaves for work. Kisses me goodbye. Cooper refuses to kiss then chases John down the hall begging him to kiss him.
7:15am-Cooper begins crying because John forgot to hug him. I hand him a teddy bear to cheer him up. I give up on sleep. The Wiggles are on so I opt to read a book on parenting by Alex McCord of Real Housewives fame. I always like to read a book on parenting so I can block out my own child. Nice.
7:30am-Cooper begins tossing his bear in the air and catching it right beside me. Bear hits me in the face. The same face broken in 4places. I cry. Cooper is scared. He stops throwing bear.
7:35am-Cooper wants my attention. To achieve his goal teddy bear hits me in my face. Teddy Bear gets put in top drawer of chest of drawers. John gets called but can't hear me over two-year-old screaming. I cry some more in pain. John comforts, tells me to beat said two-year-old, and lets me go.
7:40am-I give bear back to end crying and talk about throwing and hitting Mommy in the face.
7:50am-Bear hits me in the face. I cry. Bear is now dead. I get a diet coke, take two Advil (I'm alone with the two-year-old so pain killers are out), and lay back down with child.
7:55am-Cooper asks for some coke. I let him have a sip. He spits it all over bedroom floor. Great. 8:00am-I give up. I put Dora on TV and try to escape to shower. Two-year-old follows and sits in the bathroom with me while I shower. He turns lights on and off, finds my hair brush, and uses it as a drumstick on my toilet, shower door, wall, floor, etc. Of course I can't yell because of broken face.
8:05am-Take away hair brush. Redirect Cooper to Dora. Get ready. My mom calls. I try to stay calm so she doesn't worry.
8:15am-Get Cooper breakfast. He sees Cars from earlier and wants Mater and the Ghost light. Turn that on. Check e-mail.
8:30am-After restarting Mater twice (It's only 7 minutes long) Cooper wants more food. Get more food.
8:35-Kill the bug that has Cooper crying.
8:40am-Clean up more spit out diet coke that Cooper found.
8:45am-Clean up from Cooper's breakfast.
8:55am-Cooper starts playing with trains. He is definitely pooping in his diaper. I ignore this fact and decide cleaning up poop (in his diaper) is worth getting 15 minutes free (Cooper has to be alone to poop).
9:00am-Take to blog to vent and scare all my child-less and pregnant friends.
9:09am-Feel mildly better. Getting ready to change poop diaper. Hoping face doesn't get kicked. Waiting for Becca to get here to help.

The Mouth of a Two-Year-Old

My sweet baby only 6-weeks-old (October 2007)

For all 8 of my "followers" (who are mostly family) I thought you would like to hear some of the funny things Cooper is saying.

- "I no do that." What he says to get out of anything he doesn't want to do.

- "I just want to behave!" What he says to try and get out of a spanking or time out.

- "My doggie is E-O." His name for Oreo.

- "I want to give doggie a walk." Almost everyday he walks Oreo a mile.

- "Granddaddy aggravates me." I think Grandmommy taught him that one!

- "I want to go to Grandmommy's house and play with Granddaddy." Because in Cooper's mind women own the house men live in. He also tells me he want to go to Mommy's house and see Daddy.

- "I'm not funny!" Oh yes you are Cooper.

- "Wov you too Mommy." Cooper's version on love...and I love it:-)

- "Mommy I hold you." Code for pick me up Mommy, I'm tired!

- "Can I snuggle you a second?" Everything use to be '5 more minutes'; now he wants everything for a second. Unfortunately snuggle sessions only last a few seconds.

- "I want 5 minutes!" He says this to delay naps, bed time, dinner, etc. Taught to him by Jaylyn.

- "I want a sucker-it." Cooper adds the "T" sound to a lot of his words
- "We go to the cookie store and I be good." The cookie store is code for Publix...where they know my child by name and have his cookie ready before we can even walk over there.

- "The floor hit me. It's in time out." The table, wall, chair, and bed also hit him a lot and have to go to time out.

- "It's scary...I think there's a monstert." Again with the 'T' sound at the end of a word. Apparently monsters live in his room at night (they also live in my closet sometimes).

My now 2 and 1/2-year-old (Feb. 2010)

Lists, Lists, and More Lists!

7 days until JB-Day. What does "JB" stand for? Jaw breaking day. Everyone get their drinks ready it's going to be a party...oh wait, not so much.

So I officially have 7 days until I begin my 6-8 week mending period and you would think I would be enjoying all the things I will miss during that time like snuggling with Cooper, running, spending time with my family, eating solid foods...yet instead I am crying like a baby every night because I'm scared out of my mind, I'm being short with John because my nerves are so shot, I'm eating cookies (my comfort food), and making lists. LOTS of lists.

Today I made a list about the trash days (like John doesn't already know). This turned into a list about watering flowers, washing clothes (detailed to the point of how much detergent to use), and how to run the dishwasher. As if that wasn't enough I found myself making detailed list on dust moping and sharking (steam cleaning) my hardwood floors, how to clean bathrooms, where the various 100 cleaners I use are located, how to clean out the refrigerator (I'm not kidding), what cleaner to use in the kitchen (trust me John already knows), and how to iron. As if that wasn't enough I went back to the list to give detailed instructions on how to press the button every day on our automatic shower cleaner. Seriously.

It's official-I'm losing it (or might have already lost it!).

So of course this is exactly what every man wants to be greeted with when they come home from the office. A crazy wife who can't stop eating cookies handing him a mile long list. Of course he didn't read it (because he knows how to do it!), but I felt better knowing the list was made. SO I sat down and made another list...this list is a list of all the things I need to make list about before my surgery.

Anyone want to wife swap now??? Ha!

On top of all that I just realized the Biggest Loser finale is the same day as my surgery...I have a feeling I'm going to miss that one. I think I better go make a list about who I think will win!

$10,000

Jaylyn and I were watching Biggest Loser Tuesday when Darius won $10,000. He then had the choice to keep the money or get a one pound advantage on the weigh-in. As Jaylyn and I waited to see what he would do we talked about what we would do with $10,000. Here is what I came up with...of course in my mind I was not thinking about taxes:

-Choice One: Pay off the Malibu and one of John's student loans (responsible)
-Choice Two: Pay off Malibu and then trade it in and apply the rest of the money to a new car (semi-responsible)
-Choice Three: Buy new living room, den, and master bedroom furniture (not so responsible since we already have furniture)
-Choice Four: GO SHOPPING (like John would ever let that happen-ha!)

Then Jaylyn started coming up with her idea. I preface this by saying that Jaylyn has almost no concept of money. If I told her our house payment was $100 she would believe it and think that $100 is a lot to pay a month. She very rarely has to use her own money to buy anything, and has yet to really learn about managing money. On the flip side she very rarely asks us to buy anything for her.

So what did she come up with (I'm sure you are all on the edge of your seats...)?

She told me if she had $10,000 she would buy 7 dogs and chocolate chips. I loved it. What a great innocent answer. Not Justin Bieber tickets, not a Hannah Montana looking wardrobe, not a big screen TV, and not anything that made me cringe. Just 7 dogs and chocolate chips...and never did she give a thought to whose house would host these seven dogs! Thank God Jaylyn is still so innocent:-).

Since Tuesday I have changed my mind about what I would do with $10,000 if I won it on Biggest Loser (although I think my chances of making it on Biggest Loser are small). I would landscape my backyard and paint my shutters and get a new front door. I am always making big plans for this house:-).

19 days...but who's counting?

19 more days until I get both my upper and lower jaw bone broken and reset. Sound fun anyone? I am absolutely terrified.

For awhile I would YouTube video search people who had documented their similar surgery. Big mistake. I had nightmares until finally John forbid me from watching anymore videos (and we all know I do everything he says-ha!). Now I find myself thinking about the surgery all the time. Trying to tell myself it will be fine, I'll recover quicker then anyone else ever has...and then I remember the all liquid diet I will be on for 6-8 weeks. The same diet that most people lose 15-20 pounds on (heavier people 30-50) and then I almost fall apart again...mainly because I am terrified of how my body will react if I lose 15-20 pounds...putting me anywhere between 85-90 pounds at 5'4. Gross.

And then there is my precious two-year-old who won't understand why Mommy can't hold him-if he touches my face or hits my jaw it could mess everything up and well, hurt! Cooper and I do everything together and for a little while Cooper will be doing everything with John, my mom, and my dad. Not exactly how I like to parent.

So everyone pray on May 25th I make it okay (because of course I am also terrified of being put to sleep and not waking up). And if anyone wants to come make me milk shakes or smoothies (that have to fed through a syringe because I can't suck a straw) I'm sure John will be willing to turn me over to your care...because what my husband doesn't know yet is I'm a horrible patient. There is a reason my mom volunteered to watch Cooper and not me:-).

To have, or not to have...that is the question

If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." -Woody Allen

I love being a Mom. I love being a Mom and step mom. I love it so much that thinking about my two favorite mini people can make me smile when things are going bad. I love it to the point I miss Cooper 5 seconds after I drop him off at school. If I don't get Jaylyn from school I catch myself wondering how her day went. These two kids are the center of my world and I plan my days around their schedules.

But I think 2 might be enough...maybe.

Before I go into it I know what people think (people being my husband). I know that sometimes the best planners get surprised with babies (I of all people know this). I know that God will give me more if that is what he plans. I know this...yet still I can't stop thinking, planning, and trying to decide.

I also know that people who don't know me or my family very well think that perhaps I shouldn't count my step daughter in the "how many kids I have" category (one rude person at my work said this to me recently and I was not amused). They would be very wrong. I realize she is only mine by marriage, but that doesn't mean I don't have unconditional love for her. It doesn't mean I don't worry about her. And I never mind doing "parent" things with her. In my mind, while I might be "just the step mom" (although evil I'm not), she is not "just my step daughter". So she counts as me having two kids...even better I didn't have to gain 20 pounds to have her in my life or change any diapers!

So right now I have in my life what I call manageable chaos. Meaning, with only two kids schedules to worry about, and only having one kid active in sports, John and I can manage everything without losing our minds. Throw another kid in the mix and it won't be so easy. It will be back to lots of naps, bottles, burping cloths, and so on. And we are soooo close to being done with diapers...do we really want to sign back up?

There are many other factors weighing the decision that seems to make it easier to stop now and count our blessings that we have the two we have. There is the cost of another child, the fact that we would lose our spare bedroom that is a playroom right now, and more personal reasons.

But then there is John's cousin who is pregnant. It makes me want to cry every time I see her baby bump as I remember having my own child inside me. And then I see newborns all the time at work and want to stop everything, pick them up, and remember how good a newborn baby feels snuggled up to your shoulder. And smell the sweet baby smell. And I tear up some as I think that this is something I might never experience again...

Then I come home and some days my two-year-old is acting possessed and I tear up, thinking this is something I may experience again?!?

Isn't it every woman's right to be indecisive?

I Want To Get Away...

Last weekend John and I took a break from life and went on a long weekend (I actually got him to take a Friday off work!) to Tennessee. I wanted to stay in Chattanooga, but John wanted to stay in a more out of the way location so we picked Monteagle, TN and prepared for a "romantic" weekend.

Of course there was the guilt factor. I would have to be away from Cooper for 4 days/3 nights; even though it was Jaylyn's weekend to be at her mom's house we would still miss soccer games, and I would have to get someone to substitute for my class when we are already short numbered at work due to people on maternity leave. Still, we needed to get away and so we set off Thursday at 2:00 to try and remember what it's like to sleep-in (for the record I was awake before 7:00 every day), to get to eat at restaurants without a two-year-old crying, and to enter the world of housekeeping (my favorite part) and room service.

On Friday morning we set off for Lynchburg, TN so we could tour Jack Daniel's distillery and explore the town. As you can see, John and I got to take pictures with Jack:

The tour was so much fun and was both of our favorite thing we did the whole trip. The town of Lynchburg was not really our thing seeing as how we aren't big on antiquing or motorcycles, but I did love the ice cream parlor! We didn't buy any whiskey because Lynchburg is a dry town, but we did try whiskey ice cream.

Once we drove back to Monteagle we hit up the winery (where we purchased yummy blackberry wine that has now all been drank). Once we got done there we decided to go see Sewanee's natural bridge. This is when we discovered John is not the only one scared of heights. For the first time ever I was terrified. I think I was so scared because we were so high up with no railing or anything and I am so clumsy (example-I feel down the stairs at McWane center yesterday). It was beautiful though and worth risking my life for:
This is John on the bridge and me at the bottom taking the picture. He tried to get one of me like that, but there was no way I was going on the bridge without him holding my hand!

On Saturday we went to hit up the town of Chattanooga (big time Mommy guilt as we went to a town known for trains and my train loving two-year-old wasn't with us). We went to so many places this day. We started at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo so I could buy Cooper a new train and Jaylyn a t-shirt. Next we drove to Rock City. Rock City was such a neat place with LOTS of great views. We had a blast there...my favorite was "Fat Man's Squeeze.

Don't worry everyone, we made it through!

Next up was lunch (at Guthries...we went all the way to Tennessee so we could eat at a restaurant we live 4 miles from in Birmingham). Then we headed to Ruby Falls. We walked in an underground cave for about a half mile, saw the falls, and then walked a mile back. Not the best idea I've had with me having claustrophobia, but it really was beautiful and romantic:-).

While in Chattanooga we also got to have a movie date (something you don't do very much when you have kids). And we went to an art show at Chattanooga's River Walk. It made me wish Birmingham had a River Walk, but I guess first we would need a river going through the city...

On Sunday we went to Monteagle's Flea Market and then decided to head home. When we got back to Birmingham, Cooper had a surprise for us! He had learned to pedal a bike!

We also found out Jaylyn had been picked as the MVP of her soccer game. So it turns out both our kids can actually make it without us in Birmingham...that means it's time to plan romantic weekend 2011!

Going Wireless...

So the other night John and I are laying in bed and John got on his IPhone (how did we live before we got them?). All the sudden I hear him laughing and he tells me to look at the different wireless connections available. So I do and that is when I saw that one of my neighbors has an interesting choice for what they named their wireless internet connection. As in it rhymed with peez cuts...use your imagination people.

It made me wonder in today's society just how much privacy do you have? As I drive down the road or am stopped in carpool if I get on my phone all wireless internet connections are shown to me immediatly (normally their owners aren't as "creative" as my neighbors). Granted you can't see whose wireless connection belongs to who but you can normally figure it out and it kind of seems like an envasion on my neighbor's privacy that we saw it.

On a funnier note you have to understand I live in a very suburban neighborhood and their are only little kids around us so an adult must have set that name. Strange but I guess to each his own...

The Cycle of the Shot Glass

There are many things in life that take on new meaning the older I get. For example as a kid a purse was something I would stuff with junk and carry around trying to look older. As a teenager a purse held my make-up and later my license and car keys. As a college student I quit carrying a purse-it seems like no one did. After all my life revolved around class, running, and parties-no need for a purse. Now a purse is used for carrying kid toys, juice cups, wallet, membership cards, make-up, grocery lists, and whatever else I can cram in there.

I found the other day something else that had taken on new meaning the older I get-a shot glass. In my kitchen a whole shelf in the cabinet is used to hold shot glasses that my husband "collects". As in once or twice a year he remembers he collects them and buys one when we are out-of-town. I don't even think he's bought one in over a year, but still his collection takes up room in my cabinets.

The other day Cooper picked me my first "flowers" (aka weeds). The closest he had ever come to giving me something before this was last summer he gave me a sweet gum ball that he picked just for me and I still have. I was thrilled to get flowers from Cooper, but by the time he gave them to me they were a little crushed and the stems were so small. Of course he wanted them put in water immediately so I looked in our kitchen cabinets and decided only a shot glass would work.

As I put the flowers in the shot glass I realized here was another item that had taken on new meaning. In high school it was always a "cool" thing on youth trips to buy a shot glass. I'm not sure why but for some reason this was something that just made you feel a little bit older and cooler...in reality I'm sure we looked like silly little kids. In college a shot glass was used for taking shots, playing drinking games (power hour anyone?), and when all cups were dirty could be used for small drinks of water. As I reached early adulthood and shots no longer appealed to me (honestly they never did and I am feeling nauseous thinking about it) shot glasses could be used to measure liquor to turn into mixed drinks.

Now here I am as an adult and Mommy who no longer has a use for shot glasses (except to use up precious cabinet space!) and all the sudden they are back in my life. For they are the perfect weed flower vase:-).

Mulch...even the word sounds awful!

Over the last two weeks I feel like I have gotten my life under control. I had weeds taking over my yard so I hired Trugreen. i had red wasps taking over my porch so I hired Terminix. And I had funky green stuff popping up in my shower (that I promise I do clean on a regular basis) so I bought an automatic shower cleaner (that I highly recommend). I felt very liberated and less stressed!

Then I looked at my yard...even with Trugreen I still had weeds all in my flower bed that needed pulling and a yard that needed mowing. I still can't control the bugs in the world no matter how much poison I begged Terminix to spray. And I still have to manually clean my shower once a week to really get rid of the mold. Apparently reassigning work to other people/things only goes so far!

So this weekend John and I set out to reclaim our yard. After purchasing a lawn mower and weed eater we were ready! John mowed the whole yard and ran the weed eater (luckily he views this as a "man job"). The good news is that under all those weeds, grass does still exisit! I went to work on the flower beds and FINALLY finished pulling all the weeds (this was my fourth day to work on them). The two of us went to bed feeling very accomplished.

That is until Monday afternoon when I drove up and was sad to see my weed free flower beds desperately needed new mulch. So I set off to buy some but it turns out the mulch was too heavy for me to get by myself (who knew?). Luckily my dad was able to take a hour off work on Tuesday to help me get mulch and drop it off at my house but that is where his assisstance ended. I was left opening all the bags and spreading it out. Yuck.

As I viewed the mulch I realized this is everything I hate about yard work rolled into one. The mulch was ridiculously heavy, it required me to get my knees all in the dirt next to bugs, and basically mulch is a brother to dirt and I was left having to touch it (gardening gloves only go so far). And did I mention it was mid-80s yesterday so in yard work terms it was freaking hot!

But I was determined so I got to work on my front flower beds. I'm not going to lie, at one point I did call my mom begging her to come help me but she turned me down so I went back to work...full of self-pity. I had decided that I was in my own personal hell until Jaylyn showed up.

Right away she looked at my flower beds and told me how beautiful they looked. Now granted Jaylyn is one of those few children with the gift to know the right and polite thing to say, but I could tell she was being sincere. Her telling me how beautiful the first half looked was enough to get me ready to tackle the second half.

She sat there and talked to me while I worked and before I knew it I was done (sweaty but done!). She was even impressed with my estimating mulch skills lol! I stepped back to view my flower beds and I swear I was as proud as when Jaylyn is the top scorer on her basketball team or when Cooper uses good manners. I think I even forgot that I don't like yard work when I saw how great the results can be. Who knows...maybe this summer I will actually successfully keep a plant alive a whole season. After all the apple can't fall that far from the tree...(or can it?).

One of the finished flower beds:-)

WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!

"You have to wonder sometimes what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense ofachievement." -Steve Prefontaine

"GO MOMMY! BE CAREFUL!" -Cooper before my race this morning:-)

I'm pretty sure if you're reading this blog and know me then you know I'm a "runner" (I've blogged about it several times). I put runner in quotations because running and I have a long history of breaking up (because of stress fractures, pregnancy, baby, laziness) but we always seem to find each other again. My stepdaughter asked me recently how long I've been running and when I did the math I was amazed-I've now been running on and off for 14 years-surely I'm not that old yet!

So today was another day...another run for me. But instead of another day on the treadmill listening to Fergie belt it out I decided to enter the Run to the Cross 5K at a local church. I thought it would be the perfect road race because it coincided with the churches Easter Spring Fling so my son Cooper would have something to do while I was running.

I signed up for this race about 3 weeks ago and of course the next day my ankle starts giving me major problems...as in after one run one night I thought I was going to have to call John to carry me out of the gym I was in so much pain. So I backed off running and trained with an elliptical which left me feeling very nervous about this race. I began doubting myself and my ability to run this race.

My dad of course played right into my doubting myself and bet me that there was no way I could run under 23 minutes-this course is very hilly and I primarily train on a treadmill so I'm sure he was thinking between that and my elliptical only training he had this one in the bag. So the two of us bet on our favorite drink in the world- a half case of diet coke...and boy do I love diet coke!

So today I set out for this race determined to win diet coke from my dad and basically not embarrass myself. I was however still doubting myself and was about to line up on the starting line towards the back until John yelled at me from the sidelines to get to the front. Even he has gotten competitive with my running!

I ended up being the first female winner and running somewhere around 22:10 (my complaint on road races is no one tells you your time!). To say I was excited to win is an understatement! I wondered to myself why this win and this race was so important to me?

It was important to me for many reasons...mainly because over the past 5 years since running my last cross country season I haven't won anything (except maybe the winner of having the cutest little boy ever haha). Even that last cross country season, while I was the fastest on the team and never lost to a teammate, I never won first place at any of the races. At Mississippi State I definitely never won a race and I think I was one of the slowest girls on the team (little fish, big pond syndrome). Even my senior year in high school I was set to get 1st in the half mile in state only to be dealt a surprise runner who went under the radar and ended up beating me giving me 2nd place at my last race in high school. So to win now feels gggooooooddddd!

So there I was on my winner's high when all of the sudden a miniature version of myself comes running at me yelling, "Mommy!", and jumps into my arms hugging me and telling me good job...a word I had just taught him this morning. And then I remembered why this really feels so good-because now I get to share it with my son. Granted he has no idea if I win or lose, but he doesn't care; he just loves going to Mommy's race and cheering for me (and seeing his Grandparents).

What is about children that just make life so much more worth it? And how did I ever think I was really living until I had Cooper, Jaylyn, and John to share it with? I think though that I am finally learning what my mom has already learned-the lesson that kids make life more fun (minus the teenager years!). After all, she wouldn't let my dad leave today until she saw me get my 1st place award.

What I Learned at an Andalusia Bonfire

I recently went to my first bonfire party...remember everyone I grew-up in the suburbs where big fires are illegal 9-10 months out of the year. Here are the lessons I learned (if you're not from Andalusia you may not get all my lessons):

1. Burning anything is fun for guys...add kerosene and it's an even better time. The guys took this fire seriously-some were even working up sweats dealing with it all. And it was worth it because the fire was perfect!

2. Guys from Straughn High School suck and if something happens to John I can't marry one (I am yet to meet a guy from Straughn High School but this is based on Red Level Alumni).

3. Roasting marshmallows...good in theory, bad on taste. A burnt marshmallow does NOT taste as good as I remember them tasting when I was a child. (But thanks to my wonderful cousins-in-law for bringing them, they made my bonfire 100 times better!!!!)

4. Just to be clear, do not use a burnt stick when roasting marshmallows...this does not help with the taste.

5. When playing an IPod at a bonfire in the country, if the music is from a dead person who wrote the song 30 years ago (or more) OR if the person looks dead but is till alive (Hank Williams Jr., David Allen Coe, etc) this will be very popular music. Don't play Jason Mraz or your husband will get angry (and to clear up it wasn't Jason Mraz it was The Script which sounds similar!).

6. Bar-B-Que...good before you start drinking, even better after you've been drinking.

7. When you have kids at home a bonfire ends in your mind around 10:00 so you go home and go to bed. The next morning you wake-up to hear about the bonfire party that lasted until after 2am and a lot of people never even knew you were there.

And last but not least 8. Fire+Friends=A VERY GOOD TIME (and lots of dirty jokes and old stories)!!!!!

(take these lesson with a grain of salt-they were mainly written to make John, Corey, and Scott laugh and not to offend)

Confessions of a Busy Housewife

Tonight I feel the need to tell the truth. Over the weekend I had a self discovery. I actually found it pretty surprising-I had never thought I would feel this way. I find myself a fairly easy going Mom. I try to give my two-year-old free (but supervised) reign to discover things and have fun so when I found out my self discovery I was shocked, a little embarrassed to admit it right away, and quick to fix it.

You see, I HATE mud. Hate, hate, hate, hate it. I am watching Cooper play outside today and he got a badminton racket and swung it in mud splashing it all over himself. I ran out telling him no just in time to stop myself from having to get him because I would have to step in mud (gross). So instead I went inside to run him bath water and then returned to get him-making him come to me. He of course had covered himself even more in mud and was not happy to leave his mud puddle and enter a bath (too bad so sad for him because I'm the Mom!).

After getting him cleaned up I realized I now had a pile of muddy clothes to wash and a pair of muddy shoes. So I picked them up with my skin crawling...it turns out I also hate touching mud/dirt. I threw everything in a dirty clothes bag and decided to deal with it when we got home.

Now before everyone thinks I just hate mud because I'm from the "city" (a joke to people who have lived in bigger cities) I would like to clear up that I use to play in mud. Becca and I were quite the outside chefs growing up whipping up mud pies all the time. As a child I had no qualms about playing in mud and dirt (and luckily it didn't phase my mom). So why now? I guess because now it is just another mess I have to clean. An extra bath Cooper needs. Floors that need sweeping sooner because dirt got on them. Clothes that can't wait to be washed. And I'm not a big fan of getting dirty and all Moms know if your child is muddy it's only a matter of time before you are muddy.

So tonight when we got home (Mudgate 2010 had occurred in Andalusia) I dumped all the clothes out from the weekend ready to tackle the yucky muddy, wet, and dirty clothes. I sprayed Shout on them and threw them into the washing machine, praying all the mud would get out of Cooper's favorite jacket. I then turned and began sorting mine, John, and Jaylyn's clothes. That is when I noticed Jaylyn's clothes. None of the pants needed Shout sprayed on them and all of her shirts were stain free. Yet Jaylyn had been playing in the same yard, just a few feet from Cooper.

I called John in to show him Jaylyn's clothes and in that moment I wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that I am going to have to deal I'm sure with about a hundred more muddy messes that Cooper will make, or that Jaylyn is getting so old you can no longer tell she even played outside.

So I guess I am going to have to learn how to accept mud and dirt. I'm sure the day will come Cooper will want me playing out there with him...which I might as long as I can wear my gardening gloves:-).

On a lighter note

Two blogs back to back:-) To make up for my "witch" fest I have a funny quick story.

Jaylyn saw my arm IPod running band today and asked what it was. I told her it is what I put my IPod in when I run. She looked at it and held it up to her waist (that only went around half of her waist because it is an ARM band) and she announced, "Man you're skinny!".

Thanks honey but it's for your arm, not your waist! I love her:-)

"You Have Braces?!?"

It mmay be lack of sleep, the busy day at the PACKED McWane center, or the fact Cooper has decided this week he hates naps and screams when I put him down, but I feel like complaining. Normally I save all complaints for the president of the complaint department-my husband, but today I will take to my blog so I can share some wisdom-ha!



My complaint is my braces. Not the fact I have braces (although they do absolutely suck) but the fact people love to comment on them. Okay people we all know I have braces. There is no way to see me without seeing my braces. However, at least once or twice a week I run into someone I haven't seen in awhile and their first reaction is, "You have braces?!?".



To me this is equivalent to me walking up to someone and saying, "Wow, you've gained 15 pounds?". Why would you walk up to someone and point out something they are obviously not thrilled about? Now in all fairness, not everyone does this. I was around a friend's sister the other day and when I said something about braces she asked how long I had had them. So obviously she had been aware I had braces but had enough sense to wait until an appropriate time to ask about them. God love her.


Now maybe I am a little sensitive to the fact I have braces. I did agree to spend $400 more just so the top braces would be clear and not show up as much in pictures (they still very much show up). After we upload new pictures on the computer, when no one is looking I delete all pictures that show my braces too much. And due to the fact the braces are prepping my mouth for surgery (get ready in May for that blog!) and making my under bite worse, my profile has changed a good bit and I constantly criticizing my appearance-until John assures me it's all in my head and I'm crazy (that man is a good talker when he needs to be!).


So the fact that twice this week people pointed out my braces within 10 seconds of saying hey to me has made me feel self conscious about them even more. And not only self conscious but annoyed. To the point where the next person might get hit in the face:-). Okay maybe that's a little extreme but I do have a MMA fighter who I'm not afraid to send out!!!!


So there is my life changing serious topic for the day! :-)

Wedding Bells and Tears

"And then all of the sudden oh it seemed so strange to me how we went from something's missing to a family..."

Yesterday I went to a friend's wedding to go and support the union of two people. I wanted to go and smile and be happy for my friend and instead found myself crying and being happy for my friend. I was fine until I saw her walk down the stairs with her little girl who is a few months younger then Cooper...that was when the water works came.

I was quickly flashing back to my own wedding 19 months ago when my son who was almost 11 months and I became a family with John and Jaylyn who was 8 at the time. With Jaylyn I knew I would be taking a stepmom roll since she has a very active Mother and Father in her life; I became more of a bonus parent. But with Cooper, John knew he would be taking the Father roll in his life and was 100% prepared to do that.

With our family starting I had a different kind of love for John then many wives get to experience-I got to watch John love the thing in the world I loved the most (until I met my husband and stepdaughter) as if Cooper was his own. He wasn't required to do this, he wanted to do this.

As I watched my friend walk with her daughter I cried for her out of happiness-because I know from experience that God has a way of making your toughest times quickly turn into your happiest. I knew that this was her light at the end of the tunnel and that everything was going to be okay for her and her child just like it was for me.

Later in the ceremony I watched her now husband give his new daughter a necklace after the rings were exchanged. I found myself once again bawling as I reflected on my own love for my husband, son, and stepdaughter.

Then her daughter said it, "Thank you Daddy!". So natural and sweet and once again my mom was handing me kleenexs as I thought about how we originally were teaching Cooper to call John by his first name and how he quickly rejected this idea and instead called him dat, then dada, and now Daddy. Proving to us that you can't tell a child what to call a person or what a person is to them...a child knows in their heart.

After I was done with my crying fest I enjoyed one of the best wedding dessert receptions I have ever seen and spent some time with my best friend who is moving back to Birmingham.

Once I got in the car I quickly called John...anxious to remind him that I love him. And to let him know I'm thankful. Thankful that he gave me my family, thankful he put Jaylyn in my life, thankful he gave Cooper a real Dad, and thankful that he is the Dad that he didn't have to be.

(My quote is from Brad Paisley's song "He Didn't Have to Be")

GO COOPER!!!!

Cooper "sprinting" the last part of the fun run! He did great! We both had very fun race days!

On Your Marks, Get Set, GO!!!!!!

Tomorrow is the day every Mom dreams about...the day they watch their child compete in their first running race! Ok, so maybe every Mom doesn't dream about that but surely somewhere is another Mom who can't wait to see their child race!

Since Cooper was born I have always looked forward to him being old enough for sports. I look forward to days of T-ball, soccer, basketball, and so on. Never did I think his first "sports moment" would be the sport that I love/loved-running (track specifically). I never thought about it because I never ran a race until we had a "track meet" when I was in 4th grade so I assumed running was going to take another 6 years or so.

That was until I signed up a month ago to run my first 5K in 5 years and saw the mile fun run. I decided it was a sign and quickly signed him up. Everyone who heard about the race that had never met Cooper laughed that I was entering my two and a half-year-old in a race (I got many strange looks), but anyone who knew Cooper knew this made perfect sense. He comes from good runners (me being the worst in my family and I think I'm even above average) and has always been fast-the fastest crawler turned into the fastest runner in his class.

And thus began day dreams of my favorite son and I running together in matching shirts...until I picked up the shirts today and his shirt would fit me it's so big and until I remembered his race is after my 5K and there is a chance I will have lost the function to walk.

So now we will not match our shirts and I have recruited his grandparents to walk/run his mile with him. But I will still be proud as my mini-me completes his first race-even if I am having to cheer while John carries me:-).

So tonight I am making Cooper and me a spaghetti dinner to carb up for his first race and am getting his warm running clothes out for tomorrow morning (he will be competing wearing his Lebron James Nikes). And I can already tell (wishful thinking) that this will be the first of many nights I am preparing him for a race...

Mommy I peed in my bed!

This afternoon approximately one hour after putting Cooper down for a nap I heard him scream that scary scream/cry that makes a Mom crazy with fear. As I ran/sprinted to his door I started making out the words, "Mommy I peed in my bed!".

At this point I did what any other Mom would do...looked at the clock and wondered if he could wait it out until his dad came home. I realized it was 4:00 and I was going to have to take one for the team. I opened the door and there laid my precious angel...drenched in pee. Laying beside the diaper he somehow got out of.

Next I did the only thing I could think of-screamed for Jaylyn to run him a bath, threw him in it (more of placed him in it), put all his bedding and stuff animals in the wash with hot water, disinfected his bed (thank you God for plastic mattresses) and reached for the phone to call my mom. One of the few people who would see Cooper's side of it (it was my fault since I had let him sleep without pants on) and calm me down.

Now for my friends who have no kids you are thinking "big deal". But for all of you who have kids you understand not only did I have to deal with the great flood of 2010 that occurred in Cooper's bed this afternoon instead of catching up on Melrose Place:) but I also lost two precious hours that Cooper normally naps. Mine and Jaylyn's quiet time...where we tackle the fraction homework that she needed help with, we start cooking dinner, she helps me with some housework, and we watch tv. Now instead, in between writing this blog, I am linking Thomas the train up to other trains, making chocolate milk, helping Cooper put on train house shoes, and listening to Barney (I love you...).

I'm chalking this afternoon up to me getting what I deserve. I sit at work and hear other Moms complain about lack of sleep, kids sleeping in their bed keeping them awake, kids not napping, kids waking up grumpy, and so on. While my child on the other hand always takes his three hour nap (as long as we are at our house), he always sleeps about 12 hours a night (sometimes more on the weekend), and he always wakes up happy. John and I never have Cooper wanting to sleep in our bed and aside from one time, he has never given us a sleepless night.

So maybe it was my turn to have a nap interrupted and me to actually have to play Mommy to my two-year-old between the hours of 3-6 (I'm still in shock lol) and instead of stressing I should be grateful this is a rarity instead of the norm (I'm still wondering though how Melrose Place ended).

Or maybe I should open a bottle of wine and self medicate so I can deal with a grumpy two-year-old who missed his nap the desperate housewife way.

I'm FINALLY doing it

Most who know me know I've been saying I'm going to start a blog for about 3 years (since I was pregnant with Cooper). I thought if people could only hear about my life at that time I was sure to get a book deal:) and then be able to afford the computer which stopped me from being able to blog at that time (probably a blessing in disguise). Of course back then I had plans to blog anonymously. Today though I chose to start a blog with my name behind it, my stories and life are still entertaining...just a little more toned down now!

I am blogging for several reasons. The first being, I have always been one of those people who feel like everyone needs to know whatever I have to say (some call this self centered, I call it baby of the family syndrome!). I am blogging because as a Mother and wife (aka maid, personal chef, and in general every one's doormat) it is nice to believe people care what I am doing, thinking, reading, etc. I am blogging for the same reason I post on facebook whatever is happening in my world-because sometimes you want to believe people want to know! I am also blogging for my own "thing". For the same reason I started back running a little over two months ago. I need something to call my own...besides Cooper's poop diapers which John assures me are all mine!

Just like I hope blogging will give me an outlet for different things, I have been using running to give me an outlet and alone time. And why would I feel the need to be alone? For several reasons:

1. I can't remember the last time I took a shower without someone talking to me outside the door, or a two-year-old crying by the shower door.

2. I no longer get to use the potty without a two-year-old accompanying me OR a 10 or 31-year-old talking to me outside the door (notice a theme?).

3. Since my two-year-old goes to work with me and leaves with me (I'm a preschool teacher) I am never in a car alone and I am almost always listening to Barney or Roger Day.

So my IPod and I joined the Hoover Rec (my husband did too but since he doesn't go my IPod and I consider it our place!). And so over the last 9 weeks I have killed my legs on a treadmill and Stairmaster and have LOVED every minute of it.

Now anyone who uses the Hoover Rec knows that the average age of the members has to be around 60 or higher (seriously...a few weeks ago I ran on a treadmill by a guy who was walking with his portable oxygen tank and another guy discussing his pace maker). And yet that makes me love my gym even more. There is none of that nonsense of flirting at the gym and checking each other out (nonsense now that I am happily married lol), no girls with great bodies that I have to despise, and because most of the members can't run due to hip and knee replacements there is never a wait for the treadmill!

And I have even started making friends with all the 60 and 70-year-old who stare at me and my treadmill when I hit mile 5 as if I am an Olympic athlete and not just a former high school/collegiate runner who is disappointed at how out of shape I let myself get. I laugh now as all my new older friends smile and wave at me on the treadmill...I laugh because as they wave at me I am typically jamming on my IPod to Papa Roach, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and anything else that falls into the playlist I named "hate music" for lack of anything more creative. This music is angry, loud, full of words that would make my Southern Baptist Mother break my IPod (as she did break many cds she found when I was in high school), yet I love this music because it is so not me.

It is not the music a preschool teacher, Mommy of a two-year-old, stepmom to a 10-year-old, and wife to a fairly conservative man would listen to. It is typically angry and I am not an angry person. Part of me loves it because it is not what you would expect me to be listening to, and then the other part of me loves it because of the beat I can run faster. It is my "thing" and it is also a hidden "thing" that only me and my headphones know about...my 60 and 70-year-old "best friends" have no idea and neither did one of my preschooler's moms when I ran into her at the gym.

I am hoping this blog will be what my "hate music" playlist and running is...a way to break the stress and daily monotony that life can become and also an outlet to show that I am more then just Mom, stepmom, wife, and teacher. Somewhere inside me is still that hell raiser that almost drove my mom insane (her words, not mine) in high school and college...lets just hope she isn't released anytime soon!