Some things I did today

Took down our Christmas decorations and deep cleaned our house, organized my mess of a closet, began compiling homeschooling materials to start doing with Naomi when she turns 3, hung beautiful picture frames on our walls in our new basement so that it is finally finished, by now you should have caught on that I am lying and did none of these things today...

But we did have a fun day. First we went to Starbucks and got some delicious donuts and coffee, it really set the stage for our Saturday excursion. Then we went to the library where we got a plethora of books on tape and listened to a bit of a beautiful live concert going on in the library lobby- random. Then we snatched up a pass from the library for the History museum, our new favorite place (lest you be duped into thinking we are actually cultured or educated, there is a phenomenal kids play place in the basement of the museum, hence our frequent trips). It is the best:

there is a canoe

and a stable with hay and rocking horses

And an entire mini pioneer village with a little house, a one room school, a post office, a blacksmith, and a store... oh and a covered wagon... and fake hills with a little lake where they can fish for magnetized fish and cook them over a fake fire and there's a tepee. And you get in free with a library card. free. Yet ANOTHER reason you should all move to, or at least visit, SB. Moms and dads can just sit on the benches right there in the middle and let their children run wild and do anything (anything but take the hay out of the stable, you MAY NOT take the hay out of the stable- they are serious about this.) So I sat and drank my starbucks and ate a donut- bliss. We made it home in one piece with only one major tantrum throwing event from the Nomes on our way out but luckily the staff lady came to the rescue with a snowflake made out of q-tips and everyone was happy.

While the wee ones napped I busied myself finishing up altering another pair of old college jeans from Gabriel Brothers, if you've never been to one you have not lived. They're flashy and they have diamonds on them, that's right diamonds:

yeeaahh

So here they were the other morning

fresh out of bed with pajama shirt and bed hair

and now they are better, not great, but better

dressed in every day clothes

dressed in something I would never actually wear

While I was sewing these Naomi made her first honest to goodness pun. She looked at me and said "you're sewing jeans. mommy, you're a jean-ious" then burst out laughing, it was awesome. 

Alrighty, and lastly (you did not think you were in for such a looong mother of a post, I am killing like 5 birds with one stone)... we had some fantastic friends over last night and my dear friend Megan was donning what was, in my opinion, the cutest little handmade hair clip I had ever seen. And since my hair is at a super awkward stage where it doesn't fit into a normal looking pony tail and if I don't flat iron it I look like a grungy teenage boy, I have been wanting some cute hair accessories. Every time I go to the store I stand in the isle with the hair clips for at least 5 minutes and pick out a few cute clips and then put them all back because they are so darn expensive. Anyways, I tried my hand at this little fabric number and came up with this.

It is not that great good, but I am going to work on it, like maybe by purchasing some cute colorful fabric and using that instead of this brown on brown combo. Megan's was waaay better, but it is something and it works.

To those of you that stuck out this, I commend you. Good night and God speed.
Ana

Mean mom

 I am always telling people that taking 2 kids to the store is not that bad and I am sure that compared to taking more than 2 kids to the store, it's not that bad. However, I am realizing more and more that when I take both girls to the store I am a straight up mean mom. I am sure that onlookers are shocked and horrified and are feeling utterly justified in their ideas about not having kids or definitely only having 1 or 2 and then being done.

It always ends up coming down to several options: not going/going and being a jerk face/going when their in bed/going on Sunday. I am probably going to shift to a Sunday evening shopping trip by myself so as to not inflict my evil alternate personality on my poor daughters any longer.

I am sure that it didn't help that I had about 5 different errands that I needed to run and made sure that I did each. seriouslybadmom.

 We had to get loaded up for Mike's big Christmas birthday bash and we hit the mother load at Aldis. I LOVE ALDIS.

New throw pillows for our basement couches, thank you Aldi

 The girls were actually really good, and SO helpful with unloading scooting the groceries all over the house.

 This was the best part of the trip. In order to make it past the first 2 errands, we mad a pit stop at Krispy Kreme (very close to my heart because of my best friend from college who's dad was the VP of KK and fed me copious amounts of donuts during my college career). I purchased this amazing calendar and words can scarcely describe just how excited I am about it. It was a whopping $5...

 And there are over $90 of coupons inside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our weekly donut run will be taken care of for an entire year! I almost wept tears of joy after the purchase.

I am off to the store AGAIN with these children and praying for loads of extra grace to not be a grinch of a mother, pray for me please.

Stay tuned for a *hopeful* alteration later today!

Ana

Monday, Monday

When your morning goes a little something like this: greeted immediately with a diaper full of what could most likely definitely pass as toxic waste, followed by 2 accidents resulting in urine soaked cushons requiring an emergency load of laundry needing to be done post haste, compounded by a fussy early-awoken baby who will not let you put her down and an even fussier toddler who will not stop screaming NO! at you and then throwing tantrum, after tantrum, after tantrum, and then culminating in a deluge of rain pouring right as I have finally gotten the children loaded into the car to take them for your weekly grocery trip- yes I chose today- and mind you tears have been shed by ALL partied by this point. Well when your morning goes like this, your groceries look a little something like this:

5 donuts: 1 for each child, 1 for me, 1 for Mike and the security donut, I always buy a security donut

fitting that they are in the same bag

coping mechanisms

And your children look a little something like this

I am glad to say that all parties are now happy, thanks to the donuts that provided me with this opportunity to vent and the promise of liquor and ladies night this evening.

Tomorrow will be a happier post, full of flowers and blessings being counted, I promise

Until then, happy Monday,
Ana