Tuesday, March 29, 2011

This and That

My sweet friend Laura sent me an email about 9 months ago.  It was entitled, " A little something we have been working on for you birthday."  I open the email to find an ultrasound picture of a sweet baby girl due right around my birthday. 



I used to work with Laura at John's New Classic Shoes and have we continued to stay in touch.  She visited me in the hospital when I had both of my children and has shared many special events with me.  Not only do I love Laura, but her husband, Pete is a UK fan and a U of L hater...and well that just makes him super cool!




Laura tagged me in a post about Stylish Bloggers!! I don't really even know what this means, but I love to write about my kids and well now I have an assignment so....here are the rules:

1. Make a post and link back to the person who awarded you this award
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Award recently discovered bloggers the award so it will be their turn next.
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they’ve won.

So 7 things, huh?  Here we go!

1.  I LOVE Christmas.  I love the lights, the smells, the tree, the food, the whole nine yards.  I guess it goes back to when I was little.  It was just always such a special time.  I remember the anticipation and the excitement on Christmas morning.  Mom always made sure that Matt, Tyler, and I had the exact same number of gifts under the tree and our stockings were always full of the greatest presents. We spent alot of family time together playing games and watching movies. Believe it or not, I still feel that same anticipation and excitement now that I have children of my own. 


2.  I'm a little OCD.  Things must be organized and in their place.  I can't leave a dirty kitchen until morning.  I refuse to eat in the dark and will only use one brand of lotion on my hands.  If my cell phone dies when I'm talking to someone, I have to call them back.  I will not end a conversation because of a dropped call.  The kid's toys must be picked up at night and put up in their proper place.  You know, Barbie shoes with their matching outfits, Pet Shop on the table, balls in the basket.  Sadly, I could list many more of these OCD type issues, but let's just say these few are the only ones I have..(wink, wink)

3.  Watching Amelia do gymnastics makes me so proud.  She's just so darn cute and works so hard.  It's so awesome seeing her improve and have fun.  It's probably safe to say that I look forward to gymnastic day more than she does.  It is also so enjoyable for Maddox.  There are several girls in Amelia's class that have brothers around the same age.  The brothers bring toys and get to play while the sisters are flipping so it has become a little play date for him.

4.  I still sleep with my baby blanket.  Mom worked on it while she was expecting me.  I don't really ever remember a time sleeping without it.  I remember in grade school girlfriends would ask me to spend the night and I would take my own pillow so I could hide my blanket inside and no one would know.  Eventually, the blanket gave out and basically disintegrated so when I went off to college, Mom made me another one.  It has been with me through the birth of both my kids and now....Amelia and Maddox both have blankets of their own.

5.  I say I like the outdoors but really, I'm not that big of a fan.  First of all, I hate to be sweaty and now that I'm older, I don't wear shorts and well, I sweat.  And I hate birds.  They totally and completely freak me out.  Mosquitoes love me.  If I were outside with 50 people, they'd pick me and only me. Spray doesn't help, candles don't help..only going inside helps!

6.  I'm a reality TV junkie.  American Idol, The Real Housewives of wherever, Cake Boss, Teen Mom....You get the idea.  I don't know why I'm obsessed but I am and have come to deal with it!

7.  I am 100% confident that I married the perfect person for me.  Not only do I love him more now than the day we said I do, but he complements me in every way.  If you know me, you know that I'm a little high strung, stressed, out going, passionate, and little unpredictable.  Drew, on the other hand, is very level headed, confident, calm, and well, he's basically everything I'm not.  Having said that, we still have the same views on how to run the house and raise the kids.  He's a great father and a great partner and am so glad I at least made one decision in my life that I will never regret.


Okay, there you go...7 things!!  I tag Jessica, who has finally, with some urging, started an awesome blog about her and her 3 children... Kelly Jo, who has the two cutest kids ever and has a killer background that she has worked so hard on;)....and Amy.  Amy is a dear, sweet friend that I met selling jewelry.  Her relationship with her husband and her children reminds me so much of mine and have enjoyed reading so much about her life.

Done...Ta-Da!!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Leaky Sippy Cups

Last night, as I pulled the sheets down to hop into bed, I found Maddox's leaky sippy cup.  I was so annoyed.  I just wanted to go to sleep and I found myself doing more work....changing and washing sheets.  I brushed my teeth and just before heading to bed for a second time, I checked on the kids.  There they were, sleeping like angels.  I stood at the door and started to think about the time when there will be no leaky sippy cups, and when there will be no toys to dodge in the family room, and when there will be no crayons to clean off the walls.  I began to think about what I did 5 years ago, when I had no children.  I honestly can't even remember that time.  I started to think about how they had changed me and how full my heart was now.  So, through tears, I write to you... Amelia and Maddox.



My sweetest Rose,
Oh, how I love you!  You will be starting Kindergarten in just a few months and there are a couple of things I need you to know.  The last 4 1/2 years with you every second of everyday have been my favorite.  I have watched you grow into the kindest, sweetest, and most caring 5 year old.  Keep that generous heart.  It will get you very far.  Keep worrying about other people and sharing what you have with others.  I hope you will always care for your baby brother like you do now.  It will be one of the best relationships you will ever have.  I hope you continue to laugh and giggle and enjoy the small things.  I love to hear you sing and watch you dance, so please don't stop having fun. Remember to come to Mommy or Daddy for anything and know that we are always in your corner.  I love you, sweet girl, and want to thank you for being you!!

To the moon and back,
Mommy

My little Prince,
I never knew I could love another boy until you came along.  You stole Mommy's heart!  We have had so much fun these last 16 months.  And now, you are really starting to understand this thing called life.  You are full of energy and never stop running.  You have a smile that will brighten even the most dreary day.  Never stop smiling!  You follow Amelia wherever she goes.  I hope you will always look up to your sister because she loves you very much.  I wish you would always laugh the way you do now.  It's just so perfect!  And coloring, you love to color.  Keep on creating! You cry when I leave the room, and yes, I hope that doesn't continue... But, I do hope you will always want Mommy and Daddy in your life.  Seeing that face of yours running towards me everyday is priceless, and I'm going to need that next year when sis goes off to school. We are going to have to stick together, little man.  I love you, Maddie!


Kisses,
Mommy

Mamas love their children.  Nothing new about that.  But I just feel so lucky and so blessed to raise these babies.  I have always heard that once your children begin school, time really starts to fly by.  I want a pause button.  I want to stop and stay here for awhile.  So here's to markers with no tops, stepping on toys barefoot, crying, whining, poop, and leaky sippy cups.  Because, if I know one thing, I know for sure....I will miss those sippy cups.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Snakes, Markers, and a Little Diarrhea

Hate is a dirty word in our house.  Amelia is not allowed to use it and neither am I.  But I have to admit I busted it out yesterday morning.  We were just coming home from preschool and as I opened the door to step out of the car, I saw a snake slither by.  I jumped back in and locked the doors...you know, just in case the snake could crawl up the side of the Saturn and unlock the door.  I screamed, "Oh my gosh, Amelia, I HATE snakes."  Both kids started to freak out as soon as they realized we were prisoners in our vehicle.  There was absolutely no way I was getting out of that car.  I decided I would back up the drive way and park at the top.  As I was leaving, I could see down the hill and realized I had a perfect shot at that snake.  I told the kids to hold on and proceeded to drive right over it....or so I thought.  I began to back up again and could see my job was not finished.  I backed up and down my drive, over and over that snake at least 20 times, both kids in tears.  After all movement had ceased, I sat in the car and tried my best to explain to Amelia what happened.  It went something like this.  "Amelia, Mommy loves all animals!  We share this Earth with so many creatures and we should be nice to all of them.  But sometimes parents have to protect their children.  Do you understand?"  Amelia said, "Yes, you HATE snakes!"  No arguments, here!  Prepare yourself for a picture of the largest, meanest snake you have ever seen.....



I know, right?  ENORMOUS!!!!  Ok, maybe not, but it did manage to give me the heebie jeebies the rest of the day.  It was so bad, I wouldn't even take the kids out to play that afternoon.  You could see that stupid thing through my office door and I couldn't stand it.  Amelia asked me if she could "color" the door with markers so we wouldn't be able to see the snake in the drive anymore. Sounded like a great idea to me......



....if the markers would have stayed only on the door.

Needless to say, it was an eventful day.  As the afternoon progressed into evening, Maddox became a tiny bit cranky.  I changed his diaper and his little bottom seemed red so I decided to let him run around naked and "air out."  Before I knew it, we had a situation CODE BROWN in the floor.....Twice.   Just another day in the Ulmer's house!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Chore Chart...CHECK

I have been wanting to create a "chore chart" for Amelia for about 3 weeks now.  But somewhere between school, gymnastics, ballet, and the normal house stuff I managed to keep it on my To Do List for nearly a month.  Finally, this morning I decided that I was going to get it done, no matter what I had to do...or not do.  I dropped Amelia off at ballet and Maddox and I headed over to Michaels (with a 40% off coupon, I might add.)  I picked up the supplies, grabbed Amelia and we headed home.  As soon as lunch was over, I told the kids that Mommy needed some time to finish (and start) a special project.  They were given these instructions..."Do whatever you want but no fighting and no crying."  And that is exactly what they did.  Maddox used every marker in the house to write on the walls and himself...even his forehead!




Amelia literally climbed the walls and furniture. And they both successfully destroyed the basement.




 But after a a couple of hours, this is what I came up with....and Amelia approved!!


It's almost impossible to call any of these tasks chores.  I mean brushing your teeth is just basic hygiene but it's a struggle around here so it made the list.  Along with feed George, pick up toys, and set the table.  And the great thing about the chart is it works...or at least it did tonight.  She wanted to brush her teeth at 4:00pm.

When I became pregnant with Amelia, she became very clingy and only wanted me to put her to bed.  Sixteen months later, she is still wanting only me...So I came up with the idea to alternate nights with Drew.  Amelia can move the moon every morning so she knows who is putting her to bed that night.


The kids and I attended a baby shower a couple of weeks ago and in my friend, Laura's thank you note, she mentioned how well behaved Amelia and Maddox were.  I wanted to find a way to reward her for special things like that, so I added a "Naughty" or "Nice" box. 


For every deed worthy of a reward, Amelia is allowed to move one "little stick girl" to the Nice box.  When she fills it up, she gets to choose from 5 different rewards.  And I'm happy to report the Nice box has 1 already;)
I guess at this stage in the game, it's the little things, that make me feel happy.  Finally, a chore chart for Amelia...and a house that needs to be cleaned!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Flyin' or Dyin'

The only thing Amelia loves more than dogs is chocolate.  When she was denied another cookie last night, she yelled out those words I knew we would someday hear.  Granted, I thought she would be at least 10 or 12 but Amelia is Amelia and she uttered them at age 4.  "I'm moving out!"  She grabbed the house phone, a candle, her pjs and the keys to the garage.  She headed for the door and barely reaching the door knob said, "You are the meanest parents ever!"  Drew and I tried not to laugh because she was so serious. She was crying and pulling on the door for all she was worth.

We informed her she could not leave the house in her underwear and reminded her she was not allowed to go outside without us.  She grabbed her pajamas and said she would get dressed when she got where she was going.



Through her tears, she said, "Maddox, I'm going to miss you!"  Totally oblivious, Maddox went over to her and peed in the floor right at her feet.  (My house is a circus and it is a circus all the time.)

I think its save to say Maddox wasn't too worried about the situation.  The crying went on for a couple more minutes and we were finally able to talk her down.  Let's face it...the keys to the garage weren't going to get her too far anyway.  We caved in and let her have a pack of smarties candy and peace was restored.  A whopping 5 minutes late this is what she looked like.

And Maddox was totally stoked that Amelia was distracted enough to get her sunglasses.

God bless her heart!  She is absolutely like her mother.  We are flyin' or we are dyin'.  Thankfully, she's usually flyin'.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Spring's a comin'

Yes, yes, yes!!!  My favorite time of the year is slowly approaching.  It's getting a little warmer outside and of course, raining more...so I know it's on its way.  Monday morning I got up and looked outside and saw two sweet ducks trying to make it to the pond down the street.



This was particularly awesome because Maddox got the chance to say "quack, quack" for 10 minutes. He was seriously obsessed with trying to get out the door to see the ducks.  Drew and Amelia ran and got some biscuits and we fed the ducks before school.  What a great start to the day!

Another sign that spring is on its way is when the bubbles come out.  Honestly, they are not my favorite.  They get everything wet and that stupid wand always falls too far down in the bottle but wow, my kids love them.  It was raining outside so we decided to blow some bubbles in the house.

Needless to say, the kids had a blast.  My carpet was soaked but they were smiling like crazy...so who cares, right?


And now...my favorite thing about spring.  It's those 2 words that make me so happy!  March Madness!  It starts tomorrow.  My SEC bracket is due by 1:00 so you know what I will be working on later.  There is so much to love about the tournament.  I always look forward to "The Road to the Final Four" stories.  You know, the ones that talk about the kid who was sick and was told he would never walk again.  But then, in their conference championship game, he hits the winning shot with only .6 seconds left.  I live for those feel good moments.  I also love the upsets.  I am always aware about the 12 seed upsetting the 5 seed and I live to see those games.  ( This year, I will not only be cheering for UK but for Belmont, too)  Hope the Bruins can hand out some of those upsets.  And finally, I just love cheering for the Cats and seeing all the crazy fans.  I can't get enough of the interviews with the people that quit work and drive to Altanta in their RVs.  (Btw, this is Drew's dream when he retires!)  So better head over to ESPN and start some research.  I need to print out my bracket and set the DVR to record Selection Sunday...oh, and find my highlighter....I have a feeling I'm going to need it alot!!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

You want your what????

I only have myself to blame.  I left them lying all over the house.  They were supposed to be used for Amelia's baby dolls and stuffed animals but it seems one little man in the house has become very fond of them.


I only tried 345 times to get him to take a pacifier when he was a newborn and then again when he was teething and one last effort when the poor thing was dealing with all of those ear infections.  But now and only now has he decided he needs one. He is fifteen months old and he is constantly sucking on one.  It was cute at first.  Amelia and Maddox would be playing and he would come around the corner with one in his mouth.  Then he started using it when he was fussy and now it is all the time. 




 Oh dear!  But seriously, who can resist this face coming toward you?
or this face for that matter....

I guess I had it coming.  According to my mother, I loved my paci and apparently I didn't give it up easily.  Doesn't every one's mom say ,"I hope you have a child just like you so you will understand what I went through."  I thought I was out of the woods with that statement with my little mini me, Amelia....but she never took a pacifier.  So, Maddox, let's start the process of putting down the paci.......but let's start tomorrow!

My mom and dad were very fair with us kids growing up.  Everything was equal ....from the number of Christmas presents under the tree to the size of our slices of pizza.  Having said this, there is NO way and I mean no way that I could write about Maddox and not Amelia so here we go.

I mentioned before about Amelia's obsession with dogs but I don't think anyone really understands it entirely until you visit our house.  All her dogs have their own leash, collar, toys and bed.  Yes, bed.  Before bed every night, Amelia puts all her animals to sleep in some sort of box, crate, or crib.  And a lucky 15 of them get to sleep in the bed with her.  This decision is not an easy one.  It usually delays bedtime a good 10 minutes.  Actually, those animals seem to delay everything we do for 10 minutes. 
Like here, we were trying to get out the door for school and I couldn't get her to put the dog leash down!!  And now, to complicate things even worse, we have added a new addition.  It was a "tax season guilt" present from Daddy.  Amelia has named her Charlie and for now, she gets the bed with Amelia at night.


I guess there are worse things to be crazy over.  Pacifiers and stuffed dogs...I think I got it pretty good!