Real Life...

My friend Britney wrote a really good post about living real life.  She she inspired me to write a similar post about real life at our house...

Real life at our house is Brandon studying.  Constantly.  He's a bookworm these days and can be found sitting on the couch, Spanish book in lap, conjugating verbs and translating words with his good friend SpanishDict.  We're all counting the days until the semester ends.

Real life at our house is a Halloween ghost still hanging from the fan above the dining room table.  Just not a priority. 

Real life at our house is Castle on Mondays, Teen Mom on Tuesday, The Middle, Modern Family, and Cougar Town on Wendesdays, and The Office on Thursdays.

Real life at our house is a plastic grocery bag taking the place of garbage bags.  Forgot to get them on my Target run last night.  Doh!

Real life at our house is playing ball-related sports indoors.  Mark my words, something important is going to get broken soon.

Real life at our house is Dave Matthews, John Mayer, or Jack Johnson on Pandora.

Real life at our house is a worn pair of Converses that show off boyhood to the fullest.

Real life at our house is an unmade bed that I can't wait to crawl into every night.  Still sleeps the same as a made one :)

Real life at our house blocks, balls, and all things boy. 

Real life at our house is an easy dinner - how I love thee, mac-n-cheese, pbjs, and bowls of cereal.

Real life at our house is crazy and busy and chaotic and stressful and wonderful. 

misc. monday

1. Night 2 sans Jee Bah has been a success.  Becks woke up at 3am last night crying for it, but I just re-explained the mouse issue to him {which apparently makes complete sense to a 2-year-old because he has whole-heartedly bought it and explained it to anyone who asks} and he slept until morning.  He made it through naptime today without one and went down tonight with absolutely zero fuss.  Amen for small blessings.
2. I have lost my travel coffee mug and we're out of the disposable mugs I keep in the cabinet for instances when my travel coffee mug goes missing or is dirty (frequently).  So I haven't taken coffee to school in two weeks. That means I'm back to 2 cans of Diet Coke by 10am. 
3. The elusive parent-teacher conferences are {gasp!} next week.  I have at least 1-2 every day leading up to mid-week and then I have 1,302 on Wendesday alone.  Thank goodness they buy pizza and coke for anyone who stays late.
4. I spent $62 at Target tonight on diapers, wipes, paper towels, milk, razors, and shampoo.  And not one fun thing like a Christmas ornament or cute top even made it into my cart.  That's not to say I didn't consider the possibility of buying both...
5. I am already wishing for at least one snow day before Christmas.  I'd settle for a 2-hour delay, though.
6. There are 12 school days remaining until Thanksgiving Break.  Yippeeeee!
7. I am currently listening to the new T. Swift CD on repeat in my car.  My favorite song = Dear John.  You all will appreciate that Becks asks that I put on "his music" {Taylor Swift} when he gets in the car and then specifically requests that I play John Deer.  Ah, to be raising a boy.
8. Is anyone else's husband obsessed with the show Castle?  B loves it.  My feelings are more like meh, but he insists on watching it every Monday without fail.  I guess Castle is to B, as Teen Mom is to me? 
9. Did I mention we went to the Lake this past weekend?  We did!  And, low and behold, I didn't take one single picture :(  Boo.
10. Off to bed.  Or to convince B I need a neck massage.  Regardless, my eyes are crossing in exhaustion staring at this screen.  G'night!



The Jee-Bah: A Tribute

It is with much sadness that I inform my bloggy friends that with little warning and quite a bit of sadness {on our end and his}, the beloved Jee-Bah has gone to pacifier heaven.  As of exactly 32 minutes ago, I put my sweet boy to bed sans his source of comfort and support that his been an extension of his body for the past 2 years 4 months 11 days and 5 and a half hours, respectively.  Yes, I was the mom that had a package of Mams ready to go in the the delivery room and begged our overnight nurse to let me give him one despite his poor nursing ability upon birth.  {FYI: His latch was perfect within 2 weeks and he had a paci the whole time.} 

As I said, the decision to detach the boy from his binky came with little warning.  The plan was to wait until Christmas vacation to extricate the beloved Jee Bah from his being.  After all, we have plans to travel in the upcoming months and a pacifier is a welcome addition to any car trip requiring us to leave the 5 mile radius of our home. 

However, as he watched the Sesame Street Sing Along tonight, we heard a gagging noise and quickly noticed he had inserted the entire paci into his mouth.  B looked at me, I looked at him, and we knew.  Little discussion ensued before I snipped the ends off of two pacis and showed them to Becks claiming a mouse must have chewed on them (an old trick I learned from my parents).  At the time, he thought it was funny and attempted to put it back into his mouth.  It fell out {B and I snickered} and then I said they had to be thrown away. (This may or may not have come after he tried to put the whole thing into his mouth.  Again.)

He's sleeping now.  And did, in fact, cry for his Jee Bah for a half hour and told me, upon entering his room to check on him, that he "Just needs one Jee Bah.  From downstairs."  Bless his heart. 

And now, for a picture montage chronicling the life of the pacifier from around 4 months to present day. 

So goodbye and thank you, Jee Bah. It's been a good run.

{And now I will go cry that another part of my baby is gone.}

Read between the lines...

Well, the house stayed clean for a grand total of 36 hours after I returned to school post-4-day-weekend.  And now I've lost any and all motivation to pick up another dump truck or block and return them to the baskets beneath the television.  Or load the dishwasher.  Or throw the pizza box away. Because that would take time and effort, neither which I have after a rather exhausting return to school. It's amazing that what's supposed to feel like a short, 3-day week suddenly feels like an eternity. 

I teach in a public school, so I'm limiTed as to what I can say about/rElating to School in my very public blog, but jusT know that it's wearING me out this year.  And it's not the fulltime thing.  And it's not the kids.  And it's not my coworkers. 

I just don't think there's such a thing as a standardized kid, ya know?

TGtomorrowIF!

What I Wore Wednesday

Omiword, you all!  I need a color intervention!  Despite my best efforts to incorporate autumnesque hues into my weekly wardrobe, I fail every time.  I am comfortable in my greys, browns, and blacks that is fo' sho.  I'll try harder.  Someday ;)

{If you want to play along with What I Wore Wednesday, check out Lindsey's blog here!}

The At-Least-There's-No-Grey Outfit

sweater - ny&co

sweaterdress - st. vinny's thrift

skinnies - gap clearance center

slouchy boots - yard sale

The Shades-of-Grey Outfit

grey scarf - old navy

grey top - goodwill

black skinnies - gap

grey ruffle flats - target

The Halloween Costume 2010 Outfit

plaid shirt - plato's closet thrift

suspenders - walmart

skinnies - gap clearance center

white keds - borrowed from my dear momma ;)

The Layerific Outfit

scarf - old navy

green tunic (underneath) - goodwill

plaid shirt - plato's closet thrift

grey skinnies - gap outlet clearance center

slouchy boots - yard sale 

The Bumble Bee Outfit

bumble bee tunic - st. vinny's thrift

black belt - macy's pre-Becks

black skinnies - gap

rosette flats - target



Do you know what your toddler is doing right now?

Becks and I made a tent last night while B was at class by draping sheets and blankets over top of the dining room table and throwing some pillows inside  It was fun and Becks thought I was pretty much the coolest mom ever. We sat inside it together for awhile and then he'd jump out and run around the house and then jump back in. 

About 30 minutes later, B returned, and I was folding laundry in our bedroom.  We began to chat and catch up about the day when I noted the silence.  And since silence isn't very common in our household, it could only mean one thing:  someone Beckham is up to no good. 

Naturally, the first place I thought to look was our newly constructed tent.  And this, my friends, is what I saw...   

Yup, that is a Danimals Yogurt.  That Becks obtained from the fridge.  Without permission. He successfully punctured the lid with his teeth and then laid beneath the draped table sucking away at his drinkable yogurt completely unbeknownst to us. 

Then, like a Mouse that asks for a cookie, he needed a straw.  And I obliged.  Because even though he was awful sneaky, it was pretty darn cute too :)

Weekend Highlights

{one}

We carved our pumpkin.  B wants me to assure you that I did as little as possible when it came to this task, as I don't enjoy the pumpkin goop or mess resulting from scooping out the innards of a gourd.  I do, however, love salted pumpkin seeds, so I did help with that.  B is our resident pumpkin carving connoisseur.

{two}

Not only am I that mommy that doesn't know her own kid is having a Halloween party at school, but I'm also that mommy that gives her kid an ink pen while she checks out at the grocery store.  It wasn't until the cashier started laughing and shaking her head that I realized Picasso was constructing a masterpiece ON HIS FACE while I checked out.  It went clear back to his hairline.

{three}

B and I went as nerds to a Halloween party.  I'll go ahead and type what many of my close friends are thinking: they didin't have to try hard, did they?  Bwah ha ha.

{four}

Trick-or-Treat 2010 was a success.  We made it one house further than we did last year before Becks was refusing to cooperate and started the dinosaur whine.  Maybe we'll make it the whole block next year. 

Pictured below is Ariel, Greg the Yellow Wiggle, and Sebastian.  They were precious. 

{five}

We had a time playing on the Little Tikes roller coaster that my parents put out for the grandchildren.  If you don't have one of these, I would highly recommend it.  Becks thinks it's the greatest toy ever invented.  So do I.

{six}

I got my hair did.  I attempted many {creepy} self-photos but none were worthy of saving and posting.  They looked like awkward Myspace photos.  I don't look like Hollie, but I'm well on my way back to my natural color!  I love it!  The best evidence is in the pics below.  And if anyone still calls it blonde, I'm not going to be your friend anymore. 



{seven}

I am off school today and tomorrow and I cannot even begin to tell you the effect it is having on my well-being.  I'm a much more pleasant person without the stress of standardized testing chewing off my head every day.  Further, I'm able to catch up on household chores {like laundry! oh boy!} and a clean house is always very cleansing. 

{eight}

I'm going to have to stop.  As much as I'd love to make it to {ten}, I have about 14 things I need to do between now and the end of naptime.  Happy November, friends!