Mommy from the Midwest

Children's Farm

2010-08-31T17:26:00.001-05:00

The husband works from home every Tuesday which is so nice because we can stay up a little later on Monday nights and sleep in a little later Tuesday mornings however trying to keep two little people quiet all day so the husband can work is nearly impossible so we hit the road.

I had googled things to do and settled on a location about an hour away. We drove through many cornfields and hay fields before we finally arrived.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch and tried to keep these guys from stealing our food. I know when people feed them it is cute and all but man it sure can make them a little too aggressive.

We walked around the children's farm and watched almost every single animal pee in front of us. I believe we were their first visitor of the day and they wanted to make us feel welcome.

This park is also a boarding stable so we got to see lots and lots of horses which my daughter loved. She couldn't get enough of them

We played at the playground.

And then finished up the day with this cow. Yes, that would be my daughter trying to milk it.

It was a fun day had by all.

My Boy Time

2010-08-30T22:27:00.001-05:00

While the daughter was at school my son and I got out all the necessary gear and had fun for over an hour blowing bubbles. I was completely lightheaded by the end but he had a blast and that's all that counts.

And then I tried to be all artsy and take my own picture. It's almost like I am reenacting that scene from The Wizard of Oz when the good witch appears.

Ok, so maybe not.

It's a Wednesday.

2010-08-25T20:52:00.000-05:00

This morning was the first day of Pre-K for my daughter. It was more of a meet the teacher day as we only stayed for about an hour and toured the room. An hour that consisted of me trying to wrangle my two year old and stop him from drawing a single line on every single piece of paper in the room. I was in good company though because there were a few other moms trying to do the same.
After school we came home, ate some lunch and then racked our brains trying to think of something to do. We ended up driving to a park I had heard about in one of my mom circles. Let me just say I love it when I see towns actually thinking of the kids. This park was awesome. The kids had a blast and burned off some energy.

We came home, the kids fell asleep and I made myself a homemade frappuccino. Yum.

The end.

A Walk to Remember.

2010-08-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I told the hubs we weren't leaving the house because I just didn't feel well. However come 10:00 in the morning the kids were just bored and my plan to lay on the couch all day got thrown out the window. I packed up a backpack with snacks, grabbed my good camera, loaded up the kids and headed out the door.
We drove a great distance and ended up at a state park. At first I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do there but it ended up being a good time. We found a paved trail to walk and wouldn't it figure the second we step off the trail so I could take a picture of this creek...

My daughter stepped on this little guy with her shoe. Yes, we both freaked out especially since my footwear of choice was FLIP FLOPS! I get the creepies just thinking about it now.

So after that small heart attack we proceeded to move on with our nature walk. We weren't much further on our walk when this young gentlemen passed us and right when he was just in front of us my daughter shouts, WHERE ARE WE SOME KIND OF NAKED PERSON TRAIL?

Nice kid. I tried to explain that no, we weren't on some kind of naked adventure that he was just a man out running but she just didn't understand why he didn't put clothes on before he left the house.

Moving on, we took pictures of bees.

And more bees.

And then through the magic of a macro lens we saw exactly how a bee carries it's pollen.

I know, it's amazing. It takes very little to impress us here in the midwest.

We continued to walk and then finally when I couldn't take the daughter's whining about her feet hurting anymore we turned around to go back and that's when we realized the majority of our trip had been downhill. Now we had to climb back up. We were never so happy to see the truck at the top of the last curve.

And with that, I now not only have a head cold but all that nature walking did wonders for my allergies. I'm a real peach to be around right now.

The end.

Weekend

2010-08-23T22:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday we were out of the house for over ten hours. Was I tired much by the end of the day? You betcha! We started out the day driving aimlessly around like most families with small children who wonder what the heck are we going to do today? We ended up at a Dave and Busters for lunch. We ate in the game/bar area which was so nice because the sounds of the arcade all around us muffled the loud sounds that our kids normally make in a restaurant. I think it was pure heaven. After eating we walked around trying our hardest to earn tickets for the cheapest of cheap prizes for the kids. And the people watching? Amazing.
Like this guy in the Dave and Busters fan club t-shirt who was trying his best to kick butt at the Dance, Dance Revolution Game. Seriously, he was non-stop and sweat was pouring off his body. I wish I would have thought to switch the camera to video mode but instead you'll have to settle for this.

When we had first walked in there was a photographer and a videographer waiting for someone to arrive. We walked through the restaurant and I assumingly (totally not a word according to spellcheck but I like it) told the husband, oh there must be a wedding reception here or something, because the place was decked out. You know and we saw a photographer and videographer on the way in. Well, much to our surprise it was not a wedding, it was this girl's Super Sweet 16 party. I felt like I was stuck in a bad episode on MTV or something.

I was so honored to be in the same location as this girl on her special day.

After that amazing lunch adventure we headed to one of my husband's favorite electronic stores. It's pretty much the Costco of computer parts which is pretty much the same as me poking my eyeballs out with toothpicks. It was the best two hours of my life. We finished up the night at IKEA. Let me just say this store has magical powers to sweep you in and get you to want everything inside however once you get it home you realize you just bought a bunch of cheap crap that will fall apart within two months of purchasing it. We bought a train set.

And with that let the Monday Madness begin!

It's a week.

2010-08-20T22:32:00.000-05:00

This week has been great. My son is successfully succeeding (just go with it) at potty training. There have been a few mishaps and one major incident but otherwise I am looking forward to the day I am diaper free (well *I* am diaper free, I guess I mean free of buying diapers). Monday and Tuesday we didn't do much of anything. Wednesday my awesome friend came with me to my cardio kickboxing class. We celebrated our burned off calories with broccoli cheddar soup and Coldstone. We're rebels (I should say I'm the rebel; she ordered a salad and what can only be described as pink ice chips).
However on Thursday my rebellious behavior caught up with me when I met another good friend at a splash pad and her daughter walked up and asked me if I had a baby; I replied, no honey I don't have a baby. To which the little girl looked at me, scrunched up her nose and said, well it sure does look like there's a baby in there. Yep, awesome. Thanks kid.
Today was spent with another great friend catching up on lost times and realizing that almost two years is way too long to go without a lunch date.
So with this week coming to a close it also feels like summer is coming to a close. Pools will soon be shutdown for the season, splash pads will be turned off for the year and the school doors will once again be welcoming little feet. I'm glad I could spend the last days of summer soaking up the fun with some great friends.

It's just one of those days...

2010-08-12T06:15:00.000-05:00

After following my son around with the carpet cleaner today because he must have had one serving of fiber too many the unthinkable happened. I took out four raw chicken breasts for dinner and left them on the counter while I went to start the grill. I came back in to hear my two year old son saying DOG, DOG, DOG and pointing to the chicken plate where there were now three raw chicken breasts.
What? Where's the chicken?
This is when I start putting two and two together.
DOG, DOG, DOG!
You gave it to the dog?
Yay!
Yep...my son fed my dog a piece of raw chicken and it was gone before I even knew it. Great. Raw chicken can't be good right? The dog is spending the night in the crate and I think I may need more paper towels.
The end.

Dinner

2010-08-11T06:08:00.024-05:00

The kids and I sat down at a booth in the very crowded family pizza joint while the husband went up to order our pizza. The adjoining booth connected to ours was an empty two seater booth. An older but not old man walked over with his ticket number and a coke and sat down in that neighboring booth. I assumed his wife would be following him shortly and joining our very close quarters for dinner. I wondered, as I imagined his wife joining him, if that would be the hubs and I when the kids were grown. Will we have a tradition of Tuesday night pizzas at the local pizza joint? Will we still love to come here for years to come? Several minutes passed by and they called his ticket number and he returned with his pizza enjoying each slice. Our pizza number was also called and we sat enjoying our meal and that's when I first noticed it. It caught the light and my attention. On our way out all I had to say to the husband was, did you notice that gentleman sitting next to us?
Yes, he said, and I saw it.
The subject was dropped immediately as we both understood the meaning of it and as I secretly fought back tears. It's image was stuck in my head sending my mind to places no one wants to think about. It was a woman's wedding ring worn on her husband's little finger.

Because it truly is the happiest place on Earth...

2010-08-10T05:02:00.010-05:00

Can you say ROAD TRIP?

I booked it tonight. In a few months we're going back. I cannot wait!

The kids are pumped, I am pumped and the hubs? It was his idea.
Let the countdown begin....

Because you know I love fairs!

2010-08-09T03:12:00.007-05:00

On Thursday a totally awesome friend and I loaded up the truck and the kids and headed to a nearby State Fair. I realized a couple of things on this trip; one, I am a lot farther from the state fair than I thought I was and two, cream puffs should definitely be bought in six packs instead of the triple pack.

We walked around for over six hours enjoying the food, animals and amusement of it all. I finally met the inspiration for Kate Gosselin's horrific haircut.

And I may have realized that rides held together with duct tape are probably ones that you shouldn't let your children ride.

The highlight of the day was walking behind the women from the award winning music video, Don't Cha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot Like Me.

And this attraction taunted me all day long. I fought in my head how on Earth this was possible. I had to see The World's Smallest Horse. So I got my $0.50 ready and went to pay only to be told kids 10 years old and under are $0.50 I had to pay $1.00 to see The World's Smallest Horse. So, for the good of the world I sucked it up and paid the $1.00 to see The World's Smallest Horse that according to the picture would look freakishly small sitting in the palm of my hand but also guaranteed not to be a cat.

However upon entering the display I realized the only thing freakishly small enough to fit in the palm of my hand was this PONY's crap.

Jerks.

I also enjoyed taking pictures of random people and their chocolate fried bacon.

So overall the state fair was a success. I ate fried food, let the kids get dizzy on unsafe rides and watched lots of animals poop.

The end.

Airhead

2010-07-31T22:00:00.000-05:00

We spent the day at an airshow. The hubs loved every minute of it.
There were death defying stunts.

Seriously, amazing. The announcer said he wasn't using a safety harness or anything and was basically working without a net. Something tells me I wouldn't be able to do this without a, oh who are we kidding I would never do this.

I ended up walking the stroller around a lot. The son just wasn't into it anymore, but really when you are at an airshow for seven hours because of a two hour rain delay you really can't blame him.

It gave me a great opportunity to people watch.

And see things that made me think, really? Fries? Why mess with fries?

We saw really big planes.

And really cool helicopters.

And one of the highlights of the show, The Thunderbirds. All I can say is...holy loudness.

Seriously look at this!

So that's been our weekend so far. What's the plan for tomorrow? Recovering from a mother who is an idiot and didn't put sunscreen on anyone. Yep, once again I prove just how awesome I am.

Think much?

2010-07-26T22:31:00.000-05:00

I walked out of Costco today and stopped in my tracks, why in the purple popcorn is my trunk open?

My first instinct was to run to my truck because jeez louise it was just open for all to steal but then I realized I am just an idiot who left her trunk wide open while she shopped in Costco for 25 minutes. I took a picture to show the hubs and the interwebs just how dumb I am. It's a really good thing I don't live in a high crime area.
Note to self when you open the trunk to get the stroller out you might want to remember to close it. Yep, I am an idiot but a lucky idiot at that. I am so glad the ipod, dry cleaning, groceries and just about everything else was still there when I returned.
Hi my name is Midwest Mommy and my kids have made me a scatterbrain.

P to the 9 to the 0 to the X

2010-07-25T15:58:00.000-05:00

We did P90X last August and by our trip to Disney in November I was down fourteen pounds, five of which were lost in the first week. Then Disney happened, Thanksgiving happened, Christmas happened and then well more pounds happened. I fell off the wagon. February I joined the gym and started working out five days a week and I have lost some of those pounds but the bottom line is I need to be healthier and to be healthier I have to change my ways (translation: must stop baking).
The husband has been wanting to try it again because as he says, this diet and workout program may totally suck but so does dying young. Last week we finally committed to starting again so the grocery shopping is done and P90X starts first thing tomorrow morning. It totally kicks your badonkadonk but it is the only workout/diet program that both the hubs and I can do together. We all know I would never get him to agree to Buns of Steel dvds.
Wish me luck because let's face it, no one drinks this much V8 juice just for fun.

Yes, this is the amount of v8 my husband drinks each day while doing this program. Vegetables are a big part of this diet and even though we try we still don't get the right amount of servings so V8 it is. Yep. I know, gag.

Friday

2010-07-23T08:11:00.000-05:00

The recipe for the blueberry, strawberry and banana muffins I made can be found here. They were really easy to make. I didn't have canola oil so I used 1/4 cup of melted butter. I also left out the walnuts and lemon zest because I didn't have either in the house.

I am hoping the weather clears up so we can do this all weekend! Well, I don't actually do that (yet), I just watch and be the spotter. I have a huge fear of water because you know nearly drowning in a swimming pool as a child will do that to a person.

Also, if you head over to my review blog I am giving away some coupons for a box of these yummies (well actually you get to pick whatever flavor fancies you). You must comment over there not here to be entered.

Happy weekend!

That Mom

2010-07-21T14:43:00.001-05:00

Sometimes I like to try and be that mom.
That mom who wakes up in the morning with a smile on her face and whips up a batch of muffins just because her kids asked her too.

Yes, they were strawberry, banana and blueberry muffins from scratch and they were delicious.

That mom who also follows muffins up with quick baths and packs up for scavenger hunt down the nature trail because the kids thought it would be fun.

That mom who comes home after the two hour walk and makes taco quesadillas for a lunch picnic on the floor.

That mom who realizes it is only 1:30, the kids are already bored with their made up game of Fried Chicken Superman (I have no idea that's what they told me it is called) and I'm running out of things to do.
Being that mom can be exhausting.

Great Parenting Moment #5678393

2010-07-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

Note to self: When the nice trampoline girl asks if you would like your four year old daughter to go higher maybe next time you should ask just how high she will go. And then maybe mention to the four year old that she should hold on the entire time because if she lets go of one side she will somersault about eight times on the way down.

Fairly Good Time

2010-07-15T20:34:00.000-05:00

I like traditions. I like giving my kids yearly traditions. Growing up every single year my parents took us to the county fair and some years multiple county fairs. I honestly love doing this tradition with my kiddos. Last year you may remember we were very curious about these, by the way we still don't know why.
Well this year we faced the heat...

Loaded up our gear and began the great walk around the fair. Right away we spotted the best deal of the fair $1.25 ice cream cones. Two young kids plus two ice cream cones and 95 degree heat makes for a really big mess.

And then we saw some animals.

And watched three of these piles being made, oh the giggles that were had!

And then we spent a lot of time looking at these cute little guys.

Everyone together now, awwww!

Why I heart Target.

2010-07-12T17:08:00.002-05:00

While browsing our Target this morning we stumbled upon the $1 section and I decided to take a look. I am so HAPPY I did!

We got packs of 560 stickers for $1 each so I bought two packs.

We bought these super cute erasers for $1.

Which happen to go with these super cute set of 10 pencils that were $1 for the pack (the munchkins already stole 2).

Googly eyes because you can never have enough (75 in each bag for $1 so I bought two).

A dry erase writing board $1.

And the best find of all!
A mini pocket chart for a dollar! ONE DOLLAR (so I bought two!)

It is the same quality as all of those expensive ones I had bought in the past at the teacher stores so I couldn't believe it was only a buck.

I have one hanging in my daughter's room and we are working on word recognition. I let her pick the first set of words but my plan is to have a weekly theme of words. Each morning we will practice them and if she gets it right we put a sticker by it. Not sure yet what I will do with the other one I am thinking a daily chore chart (ha!) but for a dollar I couldn't pass up buying two!

Not bad for $1 each!

The waiting game...

2010-07-07T16:03:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Internet Provider,
Seriously, when I gave up my entire day last Thursday so one of your technicians could come and fix my internet, phone and cable (you know because it was so wise of me to just do all three with you and save $10 a month) I was ok with it because well you were going to fix my phone and internet. However after your technician was here for almost two hours and his only solution to our problem was to just keep switching out modems (five he went through total) I just knew our problem was probably not going to be fix. What do you know? I was right, same problem right after he left. So today when I finally got an appointment with you at 9:00 this morning and you said the tech would call me within an hour I kinda expected a phone call some time today. It is now 4:00 no tech has called me, I have called back twice and I keep getting the same song and dance. Guess what? Now, now I'm ticked.
Then to just top off my totally wasted day I decide to say screw all y'all and I am going to run to the store however when I go to leave this greets us.

You better hope I am able I find a happy place before I call back again.

It's the weekend!

2010-07-03T09:44:00.000-05:00

My husband was able to get a few days off of work this holiday weekend so Thursday we headed out to an amusement park. I have now learned that for some reason after housing two kids in my body I can no longer handle some amusement rides. Why is that?

Yesterday was our wedding anniversary. We have now been married longer than we dated (six years married/five years dated). We celebrated the day on my parents boat all day. I was the dumbest of dumb and didn't put sunscreen on until about hour three of our six hour ride. I am burnt to a crisp. We were going to boat all day today but I am refusing to leave the air conditioned house until my face heals which might be in about two months. Aloe is my best friend right now and peeling skin will be my worst enemy in a few days I am sure.
The rest of the weekend? I am not sure, but I most definitely believe it will not contain any sun or spinning rides!

It looked so pretty.

2010-07-01T10:52:00.000-05:00

I did this totally hard, every muscle in my body is killing me class at the gym yesterday. It was my first group class and I didn't know what I was in for. My shirt was literally soaking wet at the end. I honestly never thought I was capable of sweating that much. It was some total body conditioning class and let me tell you there isn't a part of my body that doesn't hurt. So for dinner last night I felt the need to prepare a healthy meal because I didn't just sweat my butt off to eat lasagna or frozen pizza so I present the healthy meal I made.

To celebrate eating so healthy we went out for dessert afterwards.

Awww, DOE you love it?

2010-06-29T20:22:00.001-05:00

Today we were driving to the library when I thought I spotted a little something in the neighborhood.

So I turned the truck around to go back and show the kids. Didn't realize both kids were SLEEPING on our whole 4 minute drive to the library so I decided to park and watch them because oh my gosh baby deer are just too cute! Their legs and the way they walk MAH GAWD!

The mama watched me for some time while the little one ran about eating leaves. It was seriously just too cute, then when she realized I was really no threat whatsoever they crossed the street right behind our truck.

Then they stopped for a late morning snack.

I think I suffered a cute attack.

Rain, Raisins and a Rowdy Boy

2010-06-24T20:43:00.002-05:00

Rain. Rain. Go AWAY!

It has been raining and storming a ton here. Last night after a final storm cleared out I made my way to the store and when I came out this greeted me.

It was a nice change. Today since it was clear skies for the first time all week we headed to the zoo and so did like a billion other people who thought it was also a good idea.

After walking around, sweating like crazy and watching the animals we came home only to dig cheerios and yogurt covered raisins out of my son's nose (I will spare you a picture of it. You're welcome). Seriously, this new obsession with sticking objects up his nose is one day going to result in a trip to the ER, I just know it. If he sticks it all the way in and I can't get it out will he just end up swallowing it? Please advise.

Pizza

2010-06-18T21:15:00.001-05:00

*A conversation that took place after I walked into a PIZZA place tonight*
Me: Do you sell slices?
Pizza Girl #1: Slices?
Me: Yes, do you sell slices right now?
Pizza Girl #1: Slices? (turns and looks at the other girl, huh?)
Pizza Girl #2: No, we don't have slices now only at lunch.
As I am walking out the door...
Pizza Girl #1: Slices?
Pizza Girl #2: Pizza, Pizza Slices!
Pizza Girl #1: Ohhhhh

Two jokesters.

2010-06-15T14:17:00.000-05:00

Knock, Knock

Who's there?

Doughnut.

Doughnut who?

Doughnut pull my finger, ahhaaahaahahaa!

She is so not funny.