A few changes

I've been playing around with my blog today trying to change the look, could anybody please give me some feedback on if this is better or not? Thanks!

I made a button!

Yay me!!! I just managed to make a button! I know I'm probably being silly but I'm still new to the blogging world so everything I learn to do is a huge success to me. So please, everybody, grab my button! And if anybody has any words of wisdom for a new and totally obsessed about it blogger, please, educate me. :)

Our vacation adventures

My hubby and I have been together for 8, sometimes very long, years. In that time we have never been able to take a family vacation. Well, this weekend that finally changed. Not only did we get a family vacation, we had a double family vacation with our best friends. In total, there were 10 of us, 6 kids, and 4 adults. Is it just me or were we taking a big risk by being that out numbered by the kids?
 
 

 

Jordyn and Holly on the way to Columbus

 

I don't like having my picture taken but I sorta played nice






Hunter and Jordyn on the way to Columbus

 
This was a completely last minute get-a-way. Friday afternoon the hubby got the idea to go camping, that evening! So we rushed around getting things ready, everybody was excited. Until we started calling around to get a campsite. Every place was flooded, the fire pits were totally underwater. And all the cabins were already booked. Now imagine 6 kids all grumbling and complaining at once! So hubby had his next idea...The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Can you hear the 6 cheers of "YAY!!!"? 

Holly on the luggage cart

 The reservations were made and the bags were packed. By 9am the next morning we were all ready to go. The cab (yes I said cab) was coming at 10am to take us the 55 miles (you don't even want to know how much that cost!) we needed to get to our weekend paradise. Here enters the next problem. We discovered the hotel check-in time was 3pm. Have you ever heard of such a thing? More grumbles and complaints from the children, although the adults joined in this time. So the cab was rescheduled and by 1:30 we were hitting the road. 4 huge sighs, and 6 giant shouts of glee!

 We arrived at the Quality Inn Hotel just in time for our 3pm check-in. Our rooms were beautiful and blissfully air conditioned! We dropped our bags and headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant, the Thai Lagoon. Let me tell you, it was wonderful! It had an awesome atmosphere, beautifully decorated, attentive staff, and the best tasting food I can remember having in a very long time! It was the perfect way to begin our trip.

Dinner at the Thai Lagoon

Yummy Strawberry Mango Margarita

It was too late in the day to visit the Zoo and Aquarium so we headed over to Magic Mountain. This place was Heaven for the kids. It has a HUGE climby thing in the middle of it with only one way in and out of it, laser tag, miniature golf, water bumper boats, and more arcade games than you can imagine! All the kids loved it. Except Holly. But that was partly our fault. While waiting for the cab, I realized we had forgotten the diaper bag upstairs. So hubby goes back up to get it. Then when we get in the cab, I realize we don't have her bottle. With Holly, that's a major crime! Hubby doesn't feel like going back up to get it and says we'll find her something there. I think he's out of his freaking mind but let him learn the hard way. Everything is fine at first but after about an hour, she's had enough. At this point it's probably about 6pm, she's been up since 9am, and only napped about 20 minutes in the cab ride. She's fed up with all of us! Brilliant Hubby hands her a cup of soda. Kept her quiet for a minute until she starts spitting it all over herself. I can't handle that, so I take it, and she proceeds to scream some more. She's tired, she's mad, and she's pitifully crying ba ba ba...So my BF and I leave the men with the other 5 children and we venture off into the unknown in search of a bottle and some milk. Thankfully, we soon found Target. God Bless Target!!! My baby was happy again and no longer cussing us in baby talk!

Holly and her new bottle

Hubby and Hunter

 The next major set back came when we were ready to leave. We called the cab at around 10pm, two hours later we were still waiting for them! (We won't ever use Yellow Cab again) Can you imagine the torture of waiting around with 6 tired grumpy kids? It was not pretty!!! Eventually, our friends got directions and took their bunch back to the hotel, then one of them came back for the rest of us. Not exactly easy when you don't know where you are. In the end it was ok though.

Holly and our critters

 The next morning we were off for our Zoo adventure. Luckily we found a different cab company and they picked us up within 15 minutes of us calling them. Everybody we talked to had told us that you really need two days to see the whole zoo and aquarium. We're hard headed, we did it in one day! At one point Hunter, who is already a slow walker, was eating Dipping Dots (which if you don't know is like the best ice-cream ever), and I told him to walk a little faster. He looks at me, and while holding his fingers about an inch apart, says "Mommy, I walking as faster as I can!" I just had to laugh! And don't worry, I packed 2 bottles for this trip! So luckily all the kids were happy and we all had a blast. Although by 6pm I was begging to be done, my feel hurt so bad. But we stuck it out until closing time at 7pm.

Hunter and his safari hat

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium

Jordyn and Hunter

The polar bears were the best part!

 Thankfully there were no more mishaps, we all crawled into our beds totally happy and worn out. Now, we're home again, we're still tired, my house is trashed, and I've never been so happy to be home. All in all, it was a great vacation! Though I did tell the hubby that it was kind of funny, you think of vacations as having at least a little romantic time, but with the kids there was definitely no hanky panky for us!

Hunter and Jordyn all tuckered out

Holly out cold

Jordyn Says...

Here's the first post from Jordyn Says...Everything I post here will be copied directly from her writing, in her words, and with her spelling and punctuation. The first batch is from her journal writing at school. Feel free to leave coments for her. She's so excited about this! And please remember she's just in first grade.

10-15-10

I am a big help to my mommy. I help my mom by cleenin my room and by playin with my sistr. I play with my bruthr too.

10-7-10

I can eat is crem all by my self. I can play a gyam. I can play all by my self. I can cleen my room all by my self.

-12-10

My friend is my mom. We play with each other. We go to the park. I like to swing with my mom. I like to play like a grl with my mom.

10-19-10

I love winter. In winter you can make snow fort. I can see snow. I can hear Santa said how how how!

10-21-10

I got a pritee dres frum my mommy for my brthday. I love it. I said thanc you mommy.

11-2-10

My special person is my boyfrin! I love my boyfrin! My boyfrins name is Gyab. My boyfrin is special! I love you Gyab!

11-9-10

One day I lost my game boy. I was sad. But my mom fond it. Then I was viree happy.

12-2-10

At school I sleep in the clasroom. I eat in the cafeteria. I will bring my favrit stufanumole. I will bring my favrit blacee. I will bring my favrit piloe.

12-9-10

Today I will clean my room. First, I will eat ice creem. Next, I will lisin to myoosik. Then, I will make my bed. Last, I will pick up my toys. My mom will like my room.

Jordyn Says...

This is a new post I'm going to be working on over the next day or two and posting from time to time. It's going to be a collection of things my 7 year old daughter has written. Who by the way just got 6 awards at school today, one of which was for her journal writing. Future blogger maybe?

Seriously Thursday

Today I'm linking up with From Mrs. to Mama again for Seriously Thursday. 

Seriously...Thank goodness for my BF, most days she's the only thing that keeps me sane.

Seriously...Hunter wouldn't let my hubby sleep in the bed with me last night. He said "No Daddy that's my bed!" lol

Seriously...I've already figured out that my youngest daughter is going to be my dare devil and probably a tomboy too. Seriously, how cute is she?!

Holly on her four wheeler. I can dress her up cute but can't make her act like a lady! lol

Seriously...I don't know who coughed more last night, Jordyn or me. We just can't seem to shake this damn cough!

Seriously...Only 3 more school days left, then freedom for summer! Yayyy!

Seriously...I love Walmart clearance racks. I found the cutest shirts (for me this time, imagine that!) ranging from $1 to $5

Seriously...Jordyn looked so cute yesterday. She was wearing a new shirt ($1), new earrings (also $1), and had a new haircut ($12)...Seriously, priceless.

I haven't figured out how to rotate this yet! lol

Seriously...Sometimes I hate my hubby doing animal removal. He just walked in my house holding a dead squirrel by the tale...Seriously, yuck!!!

Seriously...My BF's hubby has got Holly addicted to Mt. Dew

Seriously...Why can't Holly poop in anything other than a fresh diaper!!!

Seriously...That's enough venting for one Thursday.

Terror in our home

There's a certain phrase that sends a shiver of terror down the spines of everybody in my household. It's not spiders or snakes, or even the threat of a natural disaster. It's something much more nightmarish. Do I have your complete undivided attention? Are you ready to hear the words that makes men, women and children shutter? Here it is.....

"Hunter needs a hair cut!"

I know you're probably laughing at me, thinking I'm being completely ridiculous and such a drama queen. But just ask anybody who has been a witness to this horrid event. It's not pretty! It starts off with the phrase "Sweetie, you need a hair cut." Simple statement right? But it's quickly followed by a loud shout of "NO! I NOT NEED A HAIR CUT!" We try being calm, telling him how handsome he's going to look afterwards..."NO!" Hubby chimes in with "But buddy, you're starting to look like a girl."..."NO, I NOT A GIRL!" We cajole, "Come on, be a big boy, let us cut your hair."..."NO, I NOT BIG ENOUGH!" By then our patience is wearing out. So off to the bathroom we go with a struggling, screaming 3 year old in tow.

That's not even the truly scary part. Now that we're in the bathroom, I sit on the lid of the toilet and wrap my arms around the boy, while at the same time trying to hold his head still and stay out of the way of the clippers. What follows is more screaming, from the child as well as my hubby and myself. We bribe, we sweet talk, eventually we threaten everything we can think of as well as legally do to him. His sisters keep peeking in cause they think we're killing their brother, hell the neighbors probably think we are too.

Just when I finally get him to hold still for a second, he jerks again and the hubby accidentally cuts too much hair off. So now we have to redo what we already managed to get done so that it's even and he ends up with pretty much no hair at all.

When we're finally finished and I can let him up, we're both covered in hair from head to toe, I've got his tears and snot all over my arms, he has it all down his face. The hair mixed with all this wetness not only has the hair sticking to him, but it's irritating his sensitive skin. Now comes the only part he likes about this whole ordeal...bath time. Once he's in that water, it's like nothing ever happened. Hubby and I are still traumatized and snapping at each other and I have to bathe this little monster!

Now do you see how that one little phrase can strike terror in all our hearts? And guess what? That phrase has been softly muttered a lot lately. But we've been putting it off...

Ranting about neighbors

I'm going to rant for a little bit, please excuse the bitching and moaning. There should be some kind of rule about being able to choose your neighbors! Seriously! The people who moved in next to us have only been there for maybe a month and I'm already ready to move just because they are so annoying! Have you ever had anybody come to your door at least 5 times a day, usually asking to borrow something? That happens to me every single day now. Not only do they borrow everything that isn't nailed down, it takes at least a week before they return whatever it is! Or have somebody knock on your door so hard or talk so loudly when you answer the door that they repeatedly wake your baby up? Again, that's how my day goes. And a 14 month old who doesn't nap all day long, is not a pleasant child, which makes for a really unpleasant mommy! And if mommy's not happy, nobody is happy!

On top of being loud and annoying, at times I think they may be dangerous. There's nothing like laying in bed at 11pm trying to relax for the few kid free moments I have, only to hear yelling and shouting right outside my door. I wake my hubby up and we go outside to see at least 5-6 people on the ground in a fist fight. So not cool! They beg us not to call the police, and since we're trying to be drama free and understanding people we don't call them. Then they have the nerve to have a repeat match the very next night! Are you kidding me!? Couldn't they have at least waited a few days before the next rumble? Maybe I should start a petition, no annoying people for neighbors. Think anybody else would sign it?

Reclaiming my bed!

Earlier today I visited Non-Domestic Mama and read her post on co-sleeping. I could so relate! I go through a similar crises like hers every night. First, let me give you a little background info. There are 5 of us and we live in a two bedroom apartment. Our oldest daughter, Jordyn, is 7, our son Hunter, is 3, and our youngest daughter, Holly, is 14 months old. Jordyn and Hunter both have their own rooms, Holly's crib is in the living room and my hubby and I sleep on a futon in the living room. Is it just me or are we sounding more redneck by the minute? Anyways, the futon isn't very comfy so usually we pull the mattress off and put it on the floor when we're ready for bed. Or I should say, I pull the mattress off, cause at this point hubby is usually napping in the recliner.

Ok, lets back up a little to about 8pm. This is when the kids are tucked into their beds. They get 1 hour of TV time then it's lights out at 9pm. Maybe two minutes after tucking Hunter in, here he comes walking back into the living room. "I need another hug." We give him another hug and kiss and send him back to bed. Five minutes later, repeat of needing more hugs. We go through this countless times. In between the excuses, he climbs on his dad's lap and starts watching tv with him or looking at things on the computer. By now I've been with these kids all day long and don't really want to see any of them again until morning. I tell Hunter to go back to bed, to which my dear hubby replies that they are spending time together. Eventually I convince hubby to send the boy back to bed before I inflict harm on him (hubby not the boy). Ten minutes later, here comes Hunter again. Sweet precious hubby tells Hunter he better go to bed before Mommy gets mad. He makes me be the bad guy when I already tucked him in an hour ago. Seriously!

So finally, after twenty hugs and kisses, plus many threats from Mommy, to both hubby and son, the boy falls asleep in his own bed. I settle down in my bed to read or watch tv while hubby snores in the recliner. Did I say snore? He sounds more like a grizzly bear who hasn't eaten all winter! Eventually I fall asleep. Now fast forward a few hours, say to about 2am. Hunter swears he's scared, watches tv and has snacks with daddy, and about 4am ends up in bed with me.

Now I can handle a child in my bed as long as I still have plenty of room. What I hate is that during this little bonding process my men have, they don't even try to be quiet or sneaky about it. Which means I get even less sleep than I normally would. See Holly also gets up constantly wanting her bottle. I do however finally have her trained to only take water at night. So it won't harm her, just annoy me. The funny part of this though is that since Hunter is in hubby's spot in bed, he ends up sleeping on the floor. That is his punishment. Plus the fact that he can't get lucky since our little man is in our bed. You'd think that hubby would catch on to the fact that he's being cock blocked by his own son and make him sleep in his own bed. But I guess hubby just hasn't caught on yet.

Randon Thoughts

1. Why is it that after tucking my children in 4 or 5 times every singe night, they still act surprised when I get mad and yell "If you get up one more time I'm running away from home!"

2. If I change my name, do I still have to answer to "Mommy"?

3. How many pets do you have to have before you can call your house a zoo and start charging an admission?

4. Why do my boobs still have milk in them when I stopped breastfeeding almost 11 months ago?

5. Why does my hubby think grabbing my boob as I walk by is foreplay?

6. How did I get addicted to Farmville?

7. How is it that my hubby blames everything on me, when it's all obviously his fault?

8. Do you think the cleaning fairies accept bribes?

9. If I completley ignore my family while I'm writing am I a bad wife/mommy?

10. How does my 14 month old still find stuff to put in her mouth right after I vaccum?

11. Maybe it's good my hubby doesn't read these, then he'd know I talk about him.

Top Mommy Blogger

Just a quick post today to let everybody know I just joined Top Mommy Blogger. Please stop by and vote for my posts. Thanks! Happy Friday!