In the Closet

Is where I have been for a week! I have missed writing blogs due to being EXTREMELY BUSY with Noah starting school, TaeKwonDo, Redoing my closet, invasion of earwigs, the American Idol Concert, and Ryan having trouble pooping....Every week seems to pose a different 'crisis' in the Laird household. Hopefully I will attempt to be caught up on my exciting posts (tomorrow) :) I have LOTS to brag about in the kiddie area and LOTS to complain about too.
But Remember that I wanted to REDO my closet..Wow! what a mess...But wow!!! It looks fantastic. The only thing missing are additional drawers towards the back of the closet like the one you see next to the pants. I have 3 more to put together. YESSSS I put it together..I am sooo super duper proud of myself. I can never seem to do those things..but I was sooo determined to do this and I DID! Scott has been working all summer. I think he MAY have had 3 days off..Seriously..HE IS NEVER HOME! The kids and I miss him so much. And As I said...I have LOTS Of updates but I am off to bed to get up early to bring Noah to school tomorrow morning...
Time for the BEFORE and AFTER pictures of my closet (well DH and I's). LOL

BEFORE:












AFTER:

Sunday Times: It's Raising Cane's

Yah we went to Raising Cane's Drive thru today for my big DAY of eating. Blah! This was most certainly NOT my pick...but Scott came home sooo late last night and we went to church this morning (barely made it) and then he had to hurry and go back to work..so therefore, we had a very QUICK lunch. I have NO pictures, NO great stories that I can think of and sometimes that's just life :)

I am BLAH today...I feel angry because Scott is NEVER home...I hate it! I have resolved to do all of the Caulking, painting, organizing myself (I guess) But NOT the garage! I get really frustrated because there are some things that are heavy that require moving and I cannot do it because of my surgery last year. My doc has told me that I cannot lift heavy things the REST OF MY LIFE! And I certainly do NOT want to take anymore chances of anything going wrong in that area.

I have CLEANED out and Organized my pantry a little better with a little help from The Container Store. I have NOT gotten to my closet yet, but I will (NOT TODAY)...Meanwhile, I am busy doing laundry..Does that stuff ever end? If it does, someone let me know when ;) I have big plans ahead though...I will redo the extra room into an office and I really want to redo my kitchen..Can I say that I HATE or despise a STAND ALONE Stove-range? OMG!!!! THAT is my main reason for wanting to redo it..SURE wish I could have had what I wanted before we moved in. (it was already planned this way)...I also want to get Noah and Ryan's room painted and decorated with their bulletin boards, names, and paintings that we never unpacked yet! and we have been here for almost 2 years...Guess I keep hoping we don't unpack and just move back to Louisiana...BUT I do NOT see that happening :(

10 Things I love about Louisiana righ now:
1. The option of seafood whenever you want it
2. A great Poboy from Griffin's
3. People say Snowballs instead of Snowcones
4. People talk to you way too much :)
5. Getting a good Hurricane (From Pat O's. LOL)
6. When you say 'Westgate', They just know.
7. All of my friends are Catholic :)
8. MY FAMILY!!! (this is really NUMBER ONE)
9. LOW property tax :)
10. Better Built homes

TODDLER TID-BITS:
Ryan is talking soooo much clearer now...He is soooo funny and has such a cute personality. He had a small cut or scrape on his hand so I put antibiotic ointment on it and he showed it to Noah..and Noah asked if it hurt and Ryan said "NO, don't hurt anymore, it Burns now" LOL! He is also a professional Gum Chewer (at 2 yrs old)..He hardly EVER swallows it and can chew if for over an hour! wow! HE LOVES gum! He loves sweet potato fries! He also could be sooo potty trained but REFUSES...Right before he has to number 2, he tells me that his butt hurts! LOL THAT means go on the potty, but he is adamant about staying away from that and fine with Mommy changing his "poot" after...He immediately tells me, "Mom, I poot, change me" LOL..OH Well....

I Hope that the week gets better....I have a major headache from feeling sooo BLAH! and my Eating day has been ruined (ATE something that I really did not want and I didn't get any treat (ice cream)... On the bright side though...I have lost 24 pounds now! yeahhhhhhhhh :)

TAX FREE TEXAS!

Today is the day (and tomorrow) that we get to buy things free of tax..I do not know if it is all things or what, but I do know that it is school uniforms..which is precisely why I waited til today. I don't think I will ever wait this long again though to get his school uniforms because they were SOLD OUT of the Shirts for his School! Ahhhhhh! They told me it would be 2-3 weeks before I get them..Poor Noah is going to have to wear his last year shirts (they are NOT totally small but almost there). I did manage to get his shorts though.

We were stuck in the vehicle today because it was POURING outside...NO way I was running for it..so we sat and waited which was NOT very long til the sun came out again...just as if it had never rained. Ryan was trying to unbuckle the seatbelt attached to his carseat and Noah was stopping him..He wasn't very happy about it.


Since I was snapping pictures, Noah decided to be 'funny'


After getting inside the house, Ryan ran after Noah outside (Noah was taking out the trash..such a good boy) and Ryan fell into the bushes and came inside crying FULL Of that black mud-mulch! OMG! I put him in the tub and rinsed him off and he did manage to get a booboo so we cleaned it and put a bandaid on it. HE LOVES bandaids! I always catch him digging in the cabinet under the bathroom sink trying to put one on an imaginary booboo! But today he gets to wear one for a real booboo! awwww!


The rest of the day wasn't that great...I happened to see a bug in the bathroom and freaked out...I was calling the pest control AGAIN.. I have talked to them the most this week, it seems....I am still waiting for the bug man as I type this...Yah I saved the bug so he could identify WTH is going on! Blah!

Tomorrow I plan to take a ride to THE CONTAINER STORE to get some organizing stuff. I am totally sick of the clutter in my closet and other areas! I will take some pics so you can see the mess tomorrow...how fun! Hey hopefully it is tax free! we shall see.........

Retail Therapy...

Is it REALLY Therapy? I would have to say 'NO'...since I am a therapist myself and we never really learned this style. LOL Today was a full day for us (Me, Noah, and Ryan)...We started off TKD (TaeKwonDo), then hit the stores for some therapy...JOKING!! I made my Target run ( I always spend entirely too much time there). IS it just in my mind, or is Target always changing things around? Everytime I go there (once a week or once every two weeks) things have changed around. I suppose that I have a habit of looking at things that I don't even need, like today, it was school supplies...I do not need to purchase any of that because i paid for the package before school ended in May for this session..but I looked for AT least 15 minutes anyway! I think this has become an illness :) I do this with everything..I just stand there and look! ugh! We then go to Chick Fil A because I hear the kids saying that they are STARVING!! We had an extra with us today, Noah's friend Travis...so I had 3 kids today..Believe it or not, they were better behaved than when I just have my 2 :0 weird, I know. They had alot of fun playing at chick fil a today, after they ate


We then went to the Woodland's Mall...I had to pick up my Coach wallet and some makeup from Lancome that had been waiting for a while...So I go to pick up Lancome and I literally wait for almost a half hour due to so many people there...UGH!!! I then go to Coach to pick up my Beauty...wow! the patchwork and plum bag were calling me.... But I didn't listen..ONLY because I couldn't. LOL

Then the Halloween costume saga continues...I have decided that maybe I will dress Ryan as a puppy dog for Halloween since he is often known to go around saying 'woof' to everyone and saying..'I'm a puppy'...LOL this is really cute...BUT he also goes around saying 'BZZZZ BZZZZZ' with his tongue between his teeth to make that sound. LOL it is the most adorable thing that I have seen in a while (I know you would agree too)...so my point is that I stopped by Potterybarn kids to see if their Halloween Costumes had arrived yet, but unfortunately they have not :( and the woman informs me that she is not sure which costumes that they are actually going to get til they get them which SHOULD be at the end of this month..booohoooo! I would rather get the costume in the store than order it online so that I can avoid the HIGH shipping that Potterybarn kids always has! If I knew that they will have it or not I could go ahead and either order it online (if they aren't getting it) or just know that I will get it at the end of the month from the store...Well anyway, I talk to her entirely too long about other random things all related to Potterybarn kids and I leave having to almost pry the kids out of the store...they loved it there and were QUIETLY sitting at a game table on those cute little cubes doing a wooden puzzle and begged me to let them do it..But we left! I am sure that the woman who worked there told everyone how I would NOT shut up! LOL

I go to ATL and try on a size smaller and it fits! What a great feeling to fit a size smaller...gotta love that!

As I finish up this blog, Ryan has just fallen asleep at 10pm! the kid had NO nap today...omg! and was still ticking...HOW does he do it? He was happily watching Blues Clues with his blanket in tow...when it started the "Now it's time for so long"...he freaked out and came in my bedroom with the BIGGEST Saddest Frown that you will EVER see With tears and all saying "it's done"....This means, for me to get another one on there for him...But I didn't and he is now lying down beside me sound asleep...a little angel!! I really savor these moments..Hope you enjoyed our adventure in Retail Therapy today...Please note that I have neglected some things as not to prosecute myself :)

Death By Chocolate

is the name of the muffins that we made today :) Today was filled with laundry, lazing around and cooking! Ryan is such a little helper! He loves helping with the laundry, cooking and whatever else MOM does. He actually put dirty clothes in the washer for me and pressed the button to start it...While gathering dirty clothes, he grabbed a brand new bra that I had to take away, but not before he did this with it.


He was super excited to make muffins today! Noah was also excited but I think it was because he wanted to lick the bowl! (which he did). LOL! These muffins are from the Hungry Girl Cookbook. This is the first recipe that I make from the cookbook..I was super excited to get it and I have just used it for the first time! ( I have been having it a while)


First we had to put mini choco chips into a Glass? and add the cocoa with boiling water and stir and freeze that for 25 mins..I thought this was weird..but we followed it VERY carefully...the glass was sooo hot to the touch. OUCH!



Ryan loved eating the Choco chips that fell on the counter! LOL


Noah and Ryan both enjoyed stirring the chips until they melted!





The glass was then ready to be put into the freezer!

A job well-done!


After 25 LONG minutes of asking "is it ready mom?" about a thousand times..it was! Ryan prepared the muffin pan with the muffin liners...


Both boys helped to put the ingredients in the bowl and I mixed it... While I was putting the batter into the cups (it was very liquid) Ryan licked the spoon!


While the muffins were in the oven, Noah licked the bowl and Ryan watched them cook.


AFTER an eternity of 15 minutes,LOL, They were ready to cool off


Ryan enjoyed eating them and said they were 'goood'..Noah also said they were good!! and they each have faces to prove it!




My rating on the muffins is Excellent too...Great for only 108 calories per muffin!..very moist but does have that 'taste' that artifical sweeteners have...but better than eating over 600 calories. LOL
If you love Chocolate, Try them!
Until Next time,

I Refuse to be a Soccer Mom

But today I felt like one! Where does that term originate? Is it really about Soccer? anyone?? huh? LOL I really do NOT like that term...it reminds me of minivans and I really do not like those! NO offense, I just rather SUV's and I really don't care how much gas they eat up...anyway, We actually made it to playgroup today where we brought Ms. Brenna her Birthday present..we missed her par-tay on Saturday :( It was great to see all the babies or should I say Toddlers and how much they have grown..that part was sad though..they just grow tooo darn fast.

Ms. Brenna with her gifts

Then I brought Noah to the dentist and it cost a FORTUNE! For once in our lives we do NOT have dental insurance...I still do NOT understand why we don't have it...Since Scott switched jobs..we just don't have it with Blue Cross...Does anyone know if they just don't Carry dental or what the deal is...I hate getting on the phone doing that kind of business. Gosh!!! they had to take x-rays because it had been a year since he last had them..but DANG!!! I almost wanted to ask if he REALLY needed that because I just KNEW it would be alot. and guess what? IT WAS! grrrrr.

Then later I brought Noah to his TaeKwonDo! I was finally able to snap a few pics of him before we left...

And then Ryan thought he could join in the fun...


Right now, it is late again and the boys are sleeping in my bed and are soooo darn cute (when they are sleeping. LOL)...Scott is out of town, still working...I will leave you with a masterpiece that Noah made yesterday...He loves that modeling clay or whatever that is...Thanks Randi!

What a Monday!

I want to say that I don't usually like MONDAYS and today was NO different! LOL The day started with me having to visit Dr. Eads for my yearly (you know what I mean). Yes, it was time to check down below :) and some up above too :) We chatted and he did his thing...and asked me if I do breast exams..well NOOOO I do NOT! Frankly, I am not sure what to actually do...do i press down, rub in circular motions? I dunno! I feel totally uncomforable with that. LOL And I told him that so he proceeds to SHOW me how to do it by taking my hand and guiding it. OMG! OKKKK i got it..will never say that I don't again that's for sure. LOL He says everything is great (since the removal of my uterus last year..and my bladder lift)..Yah I am barely 34 and have gone through that!!

As I arrive home from that visit, Scott is packing and getting ready to go to work (for a week or more?) ahhhhhh!!! I hate when he leaves for such a long time! So I follow him around like a gnat while he is gathering his things...just talking my head off about my doc visit. LOL The kids are going nuts, as usual...After he leaves, I get absorbed with my emails and the fact that Halloween costumes are already selling...or I am just getting early emails for them..I dunno...so i keep looking for probably WAY too long on what to dress everyone for Halloween. While I am doing this..I am multitasking with the boys while they make dinosaurs with playdough and modeling clay...Ryan gets so frustrated because his always breaks and he wants to be just like his 'bubba' that he becomes so angry...He actually took Noah's one and crushed it. LOL He is a pepper for sure! I took a picture of Noah's dinosaur..I was really cute and artistic! He was so proud of it :)

SO I was thinking that I want to be DEEdee from the Doodlebops for Halloween! but I cannot for the life of me find an Adult costume! Don't they think parents like to dress up with their kids? Noah wants to be Indiana Jones and I don't know about Ryan or even if I will dress up..I always am soooo into wanting to dress up, but rarely do. If anyone knows of some ideas, especially about the deedee costume..PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

At about 2:00 I realize that I have NOT eaten at all today! Guess I was making up for eating like a HOG last week (well on 3 days, anyway)...so I eat and try to continue watching a movie from about 2 days ago! LOL You must know that Ryan was napping at this time too...crazy lil guy fell asleep for a nap which is really RARE these days..When he awoke, He was NOT really happy...I think it is because he realized that he had fallen asleep. hehe...so before I know it, It is time for Noah's TaeKwonDo lesson!! TODAY WAS NOAH'S FIRST DAY DOING THAT. He was nervous. I thought this was so funny that before we left the house he asked me " So Mom, What belt am I?" IS HE JOKING? NOOOO he isn't. He has NOT even started yet but he wants to know his belt color. hahahaha. OMG!!! I guessed WHITE and I was correct. LOL

Noah does great at his lesson and I totally enjoyed watching him..For some reason I felt a little choked up when I was watching him...I had to hold back tears..I wonder why that is? I guess maybe I was so happy to see him doing physical activity instead of Video and computer games and TV! blah! I really liked the intsructors too. Ryan seemed bored though...he was whiney and kept asking for water! He did try to practice some punching moves just by watching what was being done...that was cute! WISH I could have gotten that on film, but I left my blackberry at home by accident..I felt naked without it. LOL

And I guess I win horrible mother for the day reward because I washed his uniform before taking a picture of him in it :( I will tomorrow though...
Tomorrow is a busy day for us again...
Night Night everyone!