The Kids -Ages and Stages

Just a little update today on the kids...

My son recently turned 5 -it's 1 of my fav. ages because they're old enough to do a lot of things on their own -like going potty -But, still need their mama for a lot of things too. At this age they are also good helpers. And say the darndest things -as mentioned in my previous post we all took a trip to the vet recently - there was a cat in a cage for adoption -and my son asked "Why the cat had a hole" as he was pointing -I explained that's where it goes poop -maybe because it had lighter fur that he noticed it on that cat and not ours before? Me and the receptionist got a little giggle out of it anyway. Also the other day we were getting ready to walk into a store when my son stopped and sniffed -*sniff *sniff and said -"Hmm -smells like yellow" -Lol- Where does he come up with this stuff?!

And as far as my daughter she's almost officially a teenager -yikes! It's kind of a strange age -being a lot more independant in a lot of ways but, then not in some ways. She gets embarrassed by us "old folks" a lot. She's taller than me now (not that -that's too hard to do;) and blossoming into quite the beautiful young lady. As an early bday present we got her a cell phone recently -and we've already had to take it away once -Because of "the attitude" - she certainly has the eye rolling and teenage attitude down -Yeesh -Teenage daughters:

So, yep that's the ages n stages going on around here for now. What's your favorite age/stage? Hope everyone has a Happy friday and weekend!

Wordy/Wordless Wednesday -5 yr.old Birthday party

My son turned 5 last week and I thought it would be great to celebrate it the same way we celebrated my daughter's 5th Birthday -at Chuck E. Cheese! -The top pictures are from my daughter's birthday party there -a few years ago and the bottom pics are from my son's birthday party there Saturday!

I figure it's a milestone birthday and instead of a small family party we usually have -we can invite some of his classmates seeing as how he's in school now and have a birthday bash at Chuck E. Cheese! And it's kind of cool that both of my kids had their 5th birthday parties there :) It's funny how some things are still the same and some are different. The party room used to be sectioned off more and it used to be a paper birthday crown- now they have a fancy blowup crown (you can see where Chuck E -crowned my son) and the crown even holds extra tokens for the birthday kid! They also take the birthday kid into the "ticket blaster" now -my son was not sure about that. I love how they have a designated host to help with the party and of course as always it was a great time- the kids had fun- it was a great birthday party!
Have a great Wednesday!

MckLinky Monday -YouTube videos

For today's MckLinky Monday with the RHOK we're talking YouTube videos -Specifically -What's your favorite YouTube video?

Oh gosh -It's hard to pick a favorite! I've talked about different videos on here before -Some that represent The Mom Mayhem well like these or these, I've talked about parodies and memes and even a specific meme. Of course 1 of the things I also like to watch on YouTube are music videos -Maybe of my current favorite band, or just an old favorite, or maybe a cool mashup. I also like cool stop motion videos like this.
So, yeah I pretty much like any funny,cool,video-music or otherwise - And I love stumbling onto something new- I might play around on YouTube a lot ;) So, what would be my favorite -Hmmm?...
-Maybe 1 we put in -Showing my cat playing fetch and also my daughter- She's pretty funny too (but you'll probably have to turn the volume up to hear her though)

As you can probably tell this was a few years ago -My cat and daughter are both bigger now ;)
It also appears there's quite a few videos of cats that can play fetch -Some even named Shadow-Who would've thunk it!

So, how about you- What's your favorite Youtube video? Be sure to join in the MckLinky Monday on The RHOK!

CSN Stores review - New Laundry Basket

You might remember awhile back I was contacted by CSN to do either a giveaway or review and I did a giveaway. So, I was really excited to be contacted again and I decided to do a review this time. As I've mentioned before CSN Stores has 250 sites and so many different products -it was actually kind of hard to pick what to review!

I looked at Accent Furniture Direct and thought there's a few things I could get...

But, one thing we needed around here or more specifically that my daughter needed was a new laundry basket. It seems the laundry baskets she's had -have not lasted very long. She had a pop-up laundry basket but,eventually the wires started poking out of the fabric. Then not too long ago I found a different kind but, was disappointed that after about a week it started getting bent and the metal started to poke out of that too -Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

So, a few weeks ago I picked out and ordered a new laundry basket -We decided on this hamper. I can say that the ordering process went smoothly and it was delivered in a timely manner. As you can probably tell we got 1 with a little bit of a design but, it's kinda plain -white:

But, luckily we could add the fabric liner from her old hamper for a little punch of color-See:

So, it's been a few weeks and so far so good! I would recommend checking out CSN stores for your shopping needs.

Wordless Wednesday -Birthday Party

This past weekend was my daughter's birthday/party. She turned 12 -Oh my goodness so close to a teenager!

The past few years we've had her party here at home because you know it's fairly cheap and it's kinda fun coming up with different themes(Pirate/Treasure Hunt party,Hannah Montana/Rock Star party,Hawaiian Luau party,Garden Party) But,lately me and her both felt a little burnt out with all that and so finally this year I decided to do something different. I've had my eye on All-Star Sports Complex here in Tulsa for a party. It was a pretty good deal -$8 per person for pizza/drink,and mini golf or batting cages- we of course went with mini golf. They also had a little arcade area too. We started in the little party room to eat and open presents and then went out to play mini golf -I'm glad it all turned out pretty well. Even if my husband's company picnic was the same weekend so,we missed out on that -But, at least they have more company events now-so,hopefully next time. Well, that's it for now Happy WW!

A roller-coaster

It's been a bit of a roller-coaster around here lately. Ups and downs -some tense moments- even prompting a family talk-Too much to go into here. One thing I'll say I know I'm not a Supermom -I'd be the 1st to admit that if there was a contest for being a Supermom with a high-paying career and a super clean/organized home and gourmet meals 3 times a day -I'd lose -But, just because I'd lose -doesn't mean I fail -Right?! I know that I do contribute and I am not worthless! I like most people do what I can. Like a quote something like -"Trying to keep a clean house with little ones running around is like shoveling snow in a snowstorm." That is what it feels like a lot of times. Especially with my son and his issues -I pick my battles -I don't constantly make him pick up his toys -they're his toys -I'd rather him mess up his toys than other things. Even if it might look like this, or this, or this most of the time. That's not to say there can't be improvement on mine and other family members parts -Which is what we discussed.

Luckily, we had some time to calm down before going to take my daughter to her Dr's appt. for her Hashimoto's . After the endocrinologist checked her out ; she got lab work done -to see if the medicine is working(I got a call yesterday -her levels are still abnormal and we'll try increasing her dosage and get checked out again in a few weeks)
After the appt. I planned to have an outing anyways-We went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner-I love that place! I let my son play -he's not the most social person -But, there was 1 boy that he actually started to play with! They introduced themselves and my son actually asked if he wanted to be best friends-It was so cute! Then the other boy burped and they thought that was hysterical- leave it to boys to bond over burping ;) Unfortunately that little boy did say a few "bad" words -Not directed at my son-But, he said things like -"Stupid poopy head" and I think I heard him say -"Damn" I tried to discourage it by saying that's not nice and luckily my son followed my lead on that. Then after a few minutes his mom came in and he had to leave - I guess It was nice while it lasted . Reminded me of this video I saw -Except for in my son's case it might go like -Chick-Fil-A -Where I met my best friend today. We only got to play for a few minutes -before he had to go away -Oh Chick-Fil-A-Aaaa.

I guess I'll end this roller-coaster rambling with the video I'm referring to -It's hilarious!

Wordless Wednesday

Yesterday was my daughter's last day of school- for this school year anyways. They had their awards ceremony and she got 4 awards! Some kids got more,some got less,some didn't get any- Needless to say we're pretty proud of her -Happy Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday

This is what I found under the sink in the kid's/guest bathroom. My daughter she takes a long time in the bathroom -to shower-etc. I had a hunch she might be playing with dolls since sometimes I find doll hair in the trash or around the sink that she's cut. But, yeah... ?!?
Oh and -Shh! Don't tell her I showed this to you -She's kinda at that age -where she's a closeted doll player -even if that closet is the cabinet under the bathroom sink ;)

Sicky- Poo

Last week I was ready (kinda) to get back into the grind after spring break. All started well my daughter went back to school and everything Monday. Then Tuesday when I went to wake her up for school she said she wasn't feeling well. I let her stay home- she did have a little fever and said her head;throat hurt. Also later in the day my son started getting sick too. Wednesday again they were sick -I made a Dr's appt to get them checked out since they still both had fevers and all. They got all checked out for strep and everything -but they didn't have that. Since my daughter's school was out Friday I was glad she was doing better to go back to school Thursday- and get a couple of days in for the week. At least I thought she was doing better- she was fine until Thursday night when she woke me up complaining about how her ear hurt. Friday my son also said how his ear hurt-They went back to the Dr. and yep sure enough -ear infections!

My son had it worse even though initially he complained less about his ear. My daughter is doing fine now. My son is still getting better-a lot of drainage and general yuckiness (snot,diarrhea,-etc.)-Yuck -I know -sorry!

Well, at least we finally got it all figured out and everything -after 2 Dr's visits and 4 expensive co-pays later-Ugh- Such as the life in the Mom Mayhem! Just hope everyone will fully recover soon!

Monday,Monday

Monday back to the grind-I've been a bit out of it since I've been sick :( My son started to get a cold on his actual birthday luckily he got over it but, then I started feeling sick a few days later. I hate when you don't know for sure if it's a cold or something else. Since I had been feeling bad for over a week and all I finally went to the Dr. Friday. Turns out I had Bronchitis -again -Ugh! Apparently I must have the lungs of a smoker even though I don't smoke. I've had Bronchitis a few times over the past couple of years. It seems I've always had problems like that-I used to get pharyngitis or tonsilits all the time(still have my tonsils though) and sometimes I have asthma type problems-like excercise induced-So, I try to use an inhaler before I do things like Zumba I mentioned that I've been doing latley(didn't go last week since sick).
Anyways yeah my husband stayed home Friday so I could go to the Dr. and we could get other things done. My daughter went to a B-day party the past couple of weekends and I took her/picked her up even though I wasn't feeling that great-the 1 this past weekend was a sleep-over. Oh and she also needed to have a friend over here to finish a school project they were working on. Ugh- I tried to have them clean the house while I rested Sat. but, of course it was not that clean and organized so I had to help get that finished and then my daughter's friend came over yesterday. I know the house was cleaner but, just so much clutter -We really need to do a garage sale or something soon! Well,that's what's been going on here now it's monday again -Back to the grind...

My worst parenting week(s)....

I've thought about writing about this before-I often think about the time when my son was a newborn 4 years ago now- And what all that happened then. Recently I was thinking about it because well I usually think about it around my son's birthday but, also because the women at LTDchix wanted people to share their stories about breastfeeding problems. I shared some about that and I don't know if they'll retell my story on their radio show tomorrow hopefully I'll catch it and see. But, that is just part of what happened-What all did happen? There's a few bad things and I'm not even sure I remember the order in how it happened. But, here goes...

1st of all before my son was due to be born we found out that 1 of our cats -Sunny was ill. They did a blood test and everything and concluded that his kidney was failing. A few days after my son was born our cat Sunny was getting really bad he would just fumble when he tried to get up and walk and he started coughing up blood. Since I was home with the new baby my husband took Sunny in to be put down I also mentioned that here. Although it was sad it did remind me of the whole circle of life -When 1 passes away another is born...
In the meantime I was having difficulties breastfeeding. Once we took my son in for his 1st pediatrician's visit the Dr. was concerned about how much weight he lost. We went to using a bottle -(pumping wasn't very easy)so we started using formula. Only a few days later I noticed some blood in his stool. I called the Dr. and they said it could be from him pushing-etc. But, it continued and got worse so we went in -The Dr. couldn't figure out anything wrong. They even had me collect his stool and bring it back in (keeping it in our fridge in the meantime!) as I mentioned before here. It was only a passing statement by a nurse that maybe my son was allergic to the formula that we thought to try different formulas. We eventually settled on a hypo-allergenic formula. -In the meantime...
My husband was sick he went to the Dr. they said it was just a cold -But, it was misdiagnosed...
He got worse -He eventually went to the minor care place and was diagnosed with Pneumonia! So, here I was taking care of the new baby,daughter, and sick husband. My husband of course had to be kinda quarantined as much as possible. Well, I know I was running on empty and I guess my daughter felt neglected because she decided to cut her hair! That was my breaking point -I finally called in for reinforcements! My grandma had come over the next day to fix my daughter's hair. And that is what all happened literally the first couple weeks after my son was born. And even though it seems like it could be a sad country song it felt like 1 of the worst parenting week(s) ever! Luckily my husband got better and we all survived! Whew- The Mom Mayhem!

So,what's one of your worst parenting days,weeks,months?

Not quite Wordless Wednesday

Do you know what this is ? If you do you're probably like us around here who've been helping out with my daughter's 6th grade homework projects. So, if you couldn't tell that is a model animal cell. Here's the pic from her science book: Just so happened that we mostly had silver and gold paint so we used that to paint the out/inside. We did have to make 1 trip to the store for red paint-The nucleus HAD to be red and the red paint we had was dried out. Here's what it looks like around here during our "creative process" :I think we did pretty good though and that was actually a couple weeks ago. This week my daughter's project has been about Greek Mythology- in class they drew which god they'd have to research and do a presentation on. Guess what she drew? Hades -Ugh- I know But, I guess it wasn't too bad and this time my hubby helped her a lot -Especially since they actually made a power point presentation-Wow -I know right?! That's 1 of the options they could do though. Well, that's some of what's been going on here amongst other things in the Mom Mayhem -Have a happy Wednesday!

Hashimoto's...

Do you know what Hashimoto's is ? I know it could sound like some Japanese restaurant or something-Huh? But, I'm talking about Hashimoto's Thyrioditis -or Hypothyriodism. We have found out my daughter has this.
Awhile ago she went to the Dr. and ending up having the H1N1-I talked about that here. As the Dr. was checking her out he noticed some swelling in her neck-A goiter. I never really noticed it too much before and after she was well enough to get a blood test we got that done at the Dr's request. Once we got the results back it was found that her TSH levels were high and she was referred to a pediatric endocrinologist. Which actually wasn't new for us -we've been there for my son. And if anyone has been referred to an endocrinologist or other type specialist you probably know that it can take months to get an appt. So,that's how it went we waited to hear back about an appt.-the endocrinologist actually called 1st for a follow-up appt. for my son-I tried to see about getting my daughter's appt. but, I guess they didn't have her paperwork yet. Once I finally heard back about my daughter I got it worked out for both of the kids to be seen the same day/time-Which was just this week! My son checked out fine and the Dr. said she doesn't have to see him anymore-But, now she'll have to see my daughter for an on-going basis. She did another blood test to be sure and I just heard back yesterday it's confirmed Hashimoto's Thyrioditis- She will have to take a pill everyday -probaably for the rest of her life. The Dr. says she should be fine as long as she takes her med's-Everyday. So,that's that-Luckily it seems we caught it pretty early-there hasn't been a lot of other symptoms so,I'm glad the Dr. noticed it. Now hoping the med's work out fine and everything. I of course did a lot of googling about it yesterday-If you want more info here's one of things I read about it.

The Swine Flu has hit!

Well, it appears the swine flu,the piggy flu, the H1N1,the Heiny flu- whatever you want to call it is going strong. There's been many people everywhere getting it-Including my daughter. But, before you try to click off -Don't worry I'm sure the germys won't get to you through the internet ;)

So, it started Sun. night when she said she felt kinda dizzy before bed, but I tucked her in and told her to get a good night's sleep. Then monday morning she came in to wake me up and also waking up my son who sometimes slips into our bed late at night. So, she woke us up before the alarm was set to go off to say she didn't feel good. I took her temp -no temp. She had developed a cough and headache though -I gave her some over the counter kid's medicine and told her to go back to bed. And I'd call her school later ( it still wasn't going to open for another 1-2 hrs) So, then I attempted to lay down again with my son but, he was too restless then. After about 30mins we got up and started the day. And since we were going to be home I used up the rest of the pancake batter in the fridge from the weekend. After I made pancakes I woke my daughter up and we all ate. Not that the kids really appreciated that I'd cooked -I begged my son to eat a little bit before I got him the cereal that apparently he really wanted to eat. I called her school then showered and we continued our day. Occasionally checking my daughter's temp. and giving her medicine. We just chillaxed,ate microwave popcorn,watched TV. Once my hubby was home we ate soup and grilled cheese for dinner. Tuesday she still wasn't feeling good and this time my husband was waking me up to tell me this before he left for work -again before the alarm was set to go off- Urgh! Luckily this time my son went back to sleep for a little while. Once we got up about 7:15am I checked her temp. -she did have a little fever. Once we got settled for breakfast I called her school again. I also called the Dr. -I know for me 1 day of not feeling well,no school is ok to chillax but second day -Your going to the Dr. The Dr. had an afternoon appt. we took. Once we were at the Dr's they did a flu test which came back positive -Yeah that was Um -Interesting - The nurse told my daughter -Make some snot! LOL Anyways the Dr. later explained that 98% of the "flu" they're seeing is the H1N1-So most likely what she has-Ugh. We knew she was to stay home Wednesday also so luckily no interruptions in my sleep-Yay! And once we were up (about 7:30am) did the normal breakfast-yada,yada. Called her school again and got their fax #, called the Dr's to fax over something to the school. Then again I gave her over the counter medicine,checked her temp-it was gone -yay!,kept her hydrated,and tried to quarantine her somewhat.

For us the swine flu was not all that much worse than the regular flu -etc. Today she's back to school. And I'm hoping that the rest of the household doesn't get it. Especially while my hubby will be out of town starting Sunday. So that's our swine flu story :)

And so it begins...

I've debated about writing on this -But, here goes... Now that my daughter is in middle school -It has begun. Not that she hasn't had some tween/teen attitude and all but -Ugh! The whole puberty thing. She started her period the other day and as usual she took it in stride. I was semi-prepared for this although it's all kinda making me freak out! You see this brings up another subject I've debated about writing about. I grew up mostly in my dad's custody and wasn't always the best at "girly" things. I have been motivated to be there for my kids cause I know how it feels to not have a mom around so much. But, this is uncharted territory. I'm not sure how to deal with all of this -Having to talk about makeup, puberty,pads/tampons(I plan not to talk about tampons for a little while at least) and shaving legs and all that!! I suppose this is all pretty normal but, all I can say is Ugh- Here goes! -It has begun! And I plan to be there to help as much as I can even it means I'm the "embarassing" mom picking my daughter up from the bus-stop ;)

The Friday Five

It's Friday again-Yay!! And while I'm still in the Back to School bonanza haze- here's 5 things we've bought for my daughter to go back to school ...

1. Pens -although we need to get more now

2. Pencils

3. Erasure

4. WIDE-LINED paper! Wooohoo finally found some! ;)

5. Clothes -So, ok we haven't got a lot yet. Been waiting for this weekend-Tax free weekend on clothes-Yay!! So guess what we'll be doing soon?! Yep more shopping-Here we come!

Back to School Bonanza

It's almost that time of year again-Back to School! We've been getting prepared since school starts here-Next week! I know it seems kinda early-Huh?! I remember when school would start late August- almost Sept. now it's just been creeping up earlier and earlier!

So here we go again shopping the aisles amidst the blue,black,and red pens. Trying to find the wide ruled paper in what seems a never-ending sea of college ruled -I mean really! Where is the dang wide-ruled paper?! =D I know it took us a few trips to the store to finally find some and when we saw a few lone packages of wide-ruled paper-We snatched it up! =D

Now today we just got my daughter's school schedule -we figured out what "group" she's in. And walked to all her classes-Ah -yep the start of different classes in Middle School. I think we got most things figured out-Of course there's still a few things she'll have to figure out once school actually starts. And I'm glad we went after my hubby got home since I am admittedly directionally challenged and got turned around a few times ;)

All in all so far so good -Now just have to shop some more because of course after the initial School Supply list there's a few additional items we just became aware of while getting her schedule- So still getting there -Trying to survive the Mayhem ;)

Middle School Worries

It seems like just yesterday that I sent my daughter off to Kindergarten. But, today I sent her off to middle school for their "moving up" day. They have a day in the summer to get used to their new school and learn about opening lockers with combination locks and all-I never did like those things.
It just all makes me kind of emotional-My little girl is growing up!
And I have these anxieties about-Middle School. We might let her ride the bus and everything-I have anxieties about that. I have anxieties about homework-What if I can't help her?! I have anxieities about her getting interested in boys. And I guess the whole puberty thing in general.

I'm sure she'll be ok. As usual I'm the worried overprotective parent. I asked her if she took a tour today?- She said "Yeah" I asked what all she saw? "The school" she answered. Ah-The whole not talking about things much. Finally she talked a little bit more-Didn't seem to be much of a big deal to her and she seemed to have fun.
I suppose this happens at different stages in their life-Sending them to Kindergarten,Middle School,High School, College,then eventually other things like getting married and everything! Such as the life of a parent I guess. It's just hard to let them go and not get emotional.

Daughter's Birthday/Party -I survived another 1 !

It's that time of year again my daughter's birthday!

Ever since we've lived in this house (about 4 yrs.) we've had her B-day party here at our house to help save on funds and all. Besides I happen to think we have a pretty nice yard and everything. But, after doing the same type of thing for a few years it all seems kinda-blah! I was thinking about going somewhere else -Yeah not slaving away to clean the house before and after does sound nice too ;) We thought about some kind of mini golf thing or something but, after realizing how expensive it would be and especially after our vacation we decided to have it here again. I always try to think of a different theme -I again felt kinda blah on that -We've done a Treasure hunt theme,Hawaiian Luau theme,Hannah Montana theme. (Good thing we did Hannah Montana last year-Cause like Duh! My daughter doesn't like her much anymore-since like forever-You know like a few weeks ago ;) Anyways, I like to start on a theme and go from there-I like the idea of doing a craft with the theme that the kids can take home -We've done a treasure chest to hold their treasures, Sand Art,a Backstage Pass. This year again I was getting kinda stumped -It's hard having a tween! Can't do anything too kiddish but still want to do something. Luckily my family helped me come up with a garden theme. My mind started going then...

So we had the party this past Saturday! - The gals painted a plant pot, I also got little kits that had a little plant already to go in a little pot-(Gotta love Target's Dollar Spot!) They seemed to enjoy doing that and just playing outside. Then of course we did the usual Presents,Cake-etc.

It all turned out pretty well! Check out the pics! If you notice my daughter and her BCF (Best Cousin Forever) even wore matching outfits :) And here's some of the finished products /decorations!

My little girl is growing up!

In just a few days my daughter will graduate from elementary school! She'll be moving up to middle school next school year-I'm already imagining dealing with full blown puberty,boys,and all that other tween stuff. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to worry about all that though.

Right now I want to reminisce about the elementary experience. I'll always remember travelling the winding back roads on the way to the school. Seeing some of the empty lots turning into new homes. Seeing the fields by the school and even occassionally catching a glimpse of horses in the field.

I'll remember the sense of community and accomplishment in contributing to the PTA. I'll also remember some drama and hectic times in contributing to the PTA ;)

I'll remember seeing my daughter learn and grow and now moving on. Until next time elementary school ...