11.29.2011

at a loss

could someone please come explain this to my three and a half year old?  because what i am saying isn't working.


my child is rude.  and no, not in the i-am-shy-so-i-refuse-to-speak kind of way.  rude as in when someone says hello, he screams and covers his face.  when someone asks him a question, he yells no.  he doesn't act that way with everyone.  but he acts that way to my grandmother.  and today to my former co-workers who were being especially kind to him despite his bad attitude.  it embarrasses me.  it makes me anxious.  and it turns me into the kind of mother i don't want to be; the kind who makes excuses for his behavior.  oh, he's hungry. he fell asleep in the car.  he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  he's three-and-a-half (complete with a knowing glance).  i find myself trying to predict when these outbursts might happen, so that i can preface it with a serious conversation with him about my expectations for his behavior.  by the way, it. doesn't. work.

i can handle sassy.  i can handle an occasional tantrum.  i often find them funny, like the other day when he yelled from time-out that his daddy and i weren't "cool" and that he was going to find new parents in georgia.  but rude?  i can't handle that.

time-out doesn't seem to work.  he could care less about the elf-on-the-shelf, three strikes, losing privileges.

part of me wants someone to tell me this is normal.  but the other part of me doesn't want to accept this behavior as normal because it upsets me so.  do i need advice?  sure.  do i need to commiserate?  you bet.  do i just need to vent?  probably.

my sister-in-law once told me that all of the "half" years were difficult for them and that holds true for our family also.  two-and-a-half made me want to run away to mexico.  and so far, three-and-a-half isn't far behind.

he is the true love of my life, i swear.  sometimes i just need to take a breath and remember that.



11.28.2011

in the spirit

thanksgiving food coma?  check.
leftovers for lunch and dinner?  check.
halls decked?  check.
christmas tree decorated?  check.
nasty cold?  check, check, check and check.


although it didn't help us breathe through our noses any easier, listening to this song while decking the halls put a little pep in our step.  'tis the season to be merry, y'all.  

my favorite time of year has officially begun.


11.23.2011

thankful


i am thankful for my boys.
i am thankful for my mom and dad's spot-on replication of my mawmaw's cornbread dressing.
i am thankful for stretchy pants and ugg boots.
i am thankful for surviving my bad attitude from earlier today.
i am thankful for bedtimes, mine and theirs.
i am thankful for cards and packages in the mail for the boys.
i am thankful for my parents and everything they do for us.
i am thankful for this little blog.
i am thankful for honest bloggers.
i am thankful for having a sense of humor.
i am thankful for you taking time out of your day to read my nonsense.


i love you.  happy thanksgiving!  i hope you get to eat your little hearts out and follow it with a long, satisfying nap.

11.17.2011

greatest hits

i have been so busy, *get this*, making christmas presents today, that i almost forgot to blog.  call me martha stewart.  just kidding, please don't call me that.  she creeps me out.

anywho, here is a picture recap of our week.  enjoy!

 play-date success.
 does anyone besides me take pictures of their children crying?  i can't help myself.
 pj's and cookies at school.
 watching his shadow.
 he has no idea how much he is loved.
 best buddies.
 lazy weekend afternoons.
 we finally met baby knox.
 his sister keaton was macking on ben, but he had none of that.
 food....finally!  he loves it, can you tell?
 bath-time buds.
 crosby in his tux.
a soccer trophy to the boy with "the strongest leg on the team"!

looking forward to a thanksgiving program and an aggie tailgate.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,
xoxoxo


11.14.2011

driving songs

i heard this song on the radio the other day on my way to work (thanks, kxt.), and as it turns out, i can sing just like tracy chapman as well.  i felt a bit like tom cruise's character in jerry maguire, singing tom petty at the top of his lungs.

hearing this song reminds me of a few things: a) how mildly obsessed i was with this entire cd in high school (you know, during my required indigo girls/tori amos/ sarah mclaughlin phase.) b) how the lyrics will likely break your heart and c) how this might just be one of the best driving songs ever.

what are your favorite driving songs?  yes, you.  y'all have been awfully quiet around here lately.  speak up, people!  i am feeling lonely.

11.11.2011

Buddha baby

my sweet chubby little monkey is officially six months old, in the 95th percentile of weight, and perhaps the cutest baby I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

11.10.2011

an aggie wedding

in college we would go to the kettle (picture a white trash ihop) to "study".  and by study i mean taking out our books and highlighters and placing them on the table in front of us.  instead of using our time wisely, we would eat biscuits and gravy at 2 a.m., play games, people-watch, and figure out which actors/actresses would play us in a made-for-tv-movie.


cortney: played by jennifer aniston (duh.)
joni: played by ana gasteyer (from snl)
suzy: played by tiffani amber theissen
chance: played by claire danes
stevan: played by john leguizamo
marcy: played by janeane garofalo
kelly: played by kerri russell
can you tell by our actress selections that it was the late 90s?  and that just covers some of us.


and in typical lifetime movie of the week fashion, ours would end with a "where are they now?" montage.  suzy came up with predictions for where we would be and what we would be doing in ten years.  mine involved becoming a high school cheerleading coach.  ha!  i don't remember everyone else's, except for becky's.


in the last scene of our movie, becky was driving a convertible down the highway, her hair wrapped in a scarf, smoking a cigarette in one of those fancy long holders with one hand, and flipping the bird with the other.  very thelma and louise.


flash forward ten(ish) years.  this was becky last weekend.


it looks as though she found someone to ride alongside her in that convertible.  i mean, someone has to hold her champagne, right?


she can throw one hell of a party/wedding, that's for sure.  we ate, drank, laughed, danced, watched football, drank, laughed, and drank some more.  some things never change.  we keep getting better with age.


congratulations, becky and paul!




to view the entire album of the wedding weekend, click here.


to read more about why i loved college so much, click here and here.

11.03.2011

greatest hits- catching up

having these photos just sit in my iphoto library makes me feel guilty.  how else are the grandparents going to see these if i don't post them?  right?
thanks for humoring me.
 two of a kind.
 post-soccer game patio dining.
 pumpkin patch.
 goodfriends burger.  omg.
 getting our hands dirty.
 the finished products.

 peek-a-boo baby.
 love.
 dr.ben
 a naptime that never made it to the bedroom.
 little monster.
 playdate with ben's gf.
 matt's patio.
 crazy pumpkin.
 mummies and ghosts for dinner.
 baby's first halloween.
one helluva songwriter.

whew!  i feel better now.  i am looking forward to a wedding weekend (out-of-town sans children!)/mini-college reunion.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

until next time,
xoxoxoxo


11.01.2011

happy halloween, mateys


by the way, i just ate 2 bite-sized snickers, a reese's peanut butter cup, and a mini heath bar like it was against the law.  like i was trying to win a race.  and if it had been a race, i would've won.

i hope your halloween was as cute as a pirate and a baby monkey.

p.s. here is a pic of my nieces and nephew from last night that i stole off of my sister-in-laws blog.  it's halloween at it's finest.