{My kids names are awesome!}

I have been naming my kids since I was 13. I think most girls do this. I had a male and female name picked out when I was in high school (no idea what those were now lol), but the time I actually got pregnant with my first child, I'd changed my mind.

Gaige (G) Alexander was my first. That was not his name. For about 7mo (because I was on the fence about adoption for the first couple months) he was Nickolas Alexander. How did I come up with that name? Isn't it obvious? Nick Carter & A.J. McLean 2 out of 5 Backstreet Boys ;-). When I went into labor his SD (sperm donor) and I were walking the halls of the hospital trying to jump start full on labor and he said, "What about Gaige?" I liked the name, I wasn't in love with it. But I gave it to him anyway. I thought at the least there wouldn't 10 other little boys with his name in his class right? But I stuck with Alexander. I was going to get a Backstreet Boy in there somewhere. So it stuck. And he is a "Gaige". I couldn't imagine him being any other name.

Owen (little boy) Michael Dwight; the baby. I concealed his name for 9mo. I called him junior. No one knew my plans for his name at all. At first though I was going to name him Carter Dwight (since Nick didn't work out the first time around lol). But D said "Hell NO!" Blah. So I decided "hey, why not get familial with it?" I chose David (after D) Michael Dwight. Yeah. But during labor, when the nurse asked me what I was gonna name him I said "Owen" out of nowhere. So that was his name. Michael is my father. Dwight is my grandfather who passed of cancer a few years ago. I knew that no matter what his name was, Dwight would be in it some how. I could not name this baby without including him. No way. And since I was the one filling out the papers, Owen Michael Dwight it was.

Dawn Marie (Drama Queen) is named after D's mother who passed when he was a kid.

Tristen (T) Nathanial Dean was named after Tristan & Isolde which was a movie D loved at the time I guess. This is obviously 2nd hand story because I wasn't there lol. Nathanial I have no idea where that came from, but I know Dean is after his mothers father.

So there you go. That's how my kids got their names :)

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{A letter to my daughter}

Dear Drama Queen,

Although I did not birth you and came into your life when you were barely 2 years old, I feel as though the last 8 years of wiping your nose/face/butt/hands/ect. have given me the right to call myself your mother. And as your mother I would like to give you some sound advice as you navigate your preteen years. Which, by the way, have come on far too fast and I am not ready to acknowledge them. I may or may not insist you stay 10. I do not know. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it :).

Now, there are things that a young lady, such as yourself, should know about the world. And as your mother I feel it's my duty to give you the information to present yourself in the right light to not only boys but to other human beings. So I have compiled a list of not really rules, just advices. Here we go.

1. Real friends will tell you to your face what others say behind your back. And they'll set a rumor straight in a heart beat.

2. If a boy doesn't call, forget him. He's not worth your time.

3. If you have a gut feeling something isn't right, listen to it. Chances are you're right.

4. When it comes to make-up, less is always more. No need to walk around looking like an '80's reject. Put down the purple eye shadow.

5. You can have more than 1 best friend at a time.

6. At some point, you're going to get heart broken. Weather it's by a boy or by a friend or both, it'll be OK.

7. Never let someone make you feel like you're worth less than you are. Ever.

8. There is more to life than having a boyfriend. They're not always all they're cracked up to be.

9. Come to me with any problem or question you might have about anything. It's my job. And if I can't answer it, we can call your grandmother. Chances are she can :).

10. A rule of thumb for fashion is simple, leave a little something to imagination. No one thinks muffin tops, back rolls, and lumpy thighs are attractive. Dress for your body type, not the type of body you want.

11. Be happy, and if you're not happy, make a change. You are the only one who can control where your life takes you. Make the right choices.

12. Be polite. We taught you your manners, and I would hope that you use them in your every day life.

13. Even when you don't feel like you should, hold your head up.

14. Don't do something just because your friends are doing it. You're not a sheep. Be your own person.

15. Dropping F-bombs in the middle of walmart, does not make you look like an adult. It makes people want to wash your mouth out with soap.

16. Never 'expect' someone to do something for you or give you something. That makes you a spoiled brat. And I did not raise you to be that way.

17. Be grateful for everything you have. There are far more people who have a whole lot less.

18. You do not chase boys, boys chase you. Let them work for it. If they want to spend time with you bad enough, they'll let you know.

19. Never blow off plans with your girlfriends because a boy asks you out. Your friendships will be there long after that boy moves on to another girl. If he's worth your time, he'll understand this.

20. Be a Hepburn in a Hilton world. Class is far more appealing than trash, no matter what the media says.

So there you go Drama Queen. Just a few things I thought you should know.

Love,
Mom.

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{Love/Hate relationship with vtech}

The little boy got a Innotab2 for Christmas this year. He doesn't call it that however, to him it's an ipad and in his presence that is what we call it also ;). However, I have had a long standing love/hate relationship with Vtech. I was leary about even purchasing this tablet because I had some other console from them and it ate batteries and came with crappy games. Of course that was when G was about 3 years old. So I figured I'll do some research and see what's up. Everything I read said the Innotab2 was a great buy. Not only could you play games and download full new ones right to the system (without having to have the cartridge) but you could put actual movies on here as well! I was so excited I could have peed right there lol! The little boy loves movies and he absolutely loves video games. This is a win win situation. I purchased it. Of course he loves it. He plays it all the time. It still eats batteries like there's no tomorrow, but it also comes with an wall charger/adapter thing and a car charger. I figured it had an internal battery too if it had a charger (it apparently does not). So we invested in rechargable batteries. Everybody is happy again. 

Until I go to convert the DVD's to AVI format. What a bitch that is! I found a program (dvd catalyst 4) but the trial basically only downloads half the movie. What's the point in that?? *sigh* So thanks to youtube and this video I found 2 programs that would help me. I started off with Robots, that wasn't going to happen. The first program wouldn't read it and the 2nd didn't find it on the CD drive *gah*. No luck. I switched to Thumbelina (a personal favorite ;) ). It converted it but it would only play in the 2nd program and not in any other video program I have on my laptop. At this point I'm almost ready to smash my laptop. I decided to try one more to see if I could get that one to work. Chipmunk Adventure is a favorite of all 3 of my kids! Low and behold it worked! Well, the 1st program picked it up as did the 2nd anyway. It's still converting as I type this lol. But I'm really hoping that it'll work. 

I want to get as many of these movies converted as possible so that I can save them on my laptop and switch them out regularly. The trial only last so long and I don't want to have to purchase it yet lol. Plus, with the vacation this summer I want to have a stock of movies ready to go for him so if he wants to sit with his headphones on and watch a movie or 4, he can. And it doesn't have to be the same movie over and over. He'd just get bored with it.

I'm also thinking of purchasing a new game for him but not putting it on the Innotab until the day we leave ore maybe the day before. So that he has a new exciting game to play on the way there. Smart right? All these blogs on tips for traveling long distances with kids say to have a surprise waiting for them. Well, I don't know about other parents but I don't want 1 more bag of stuff when I'm traveling. It's hard enough packing everything we need let alone things to surprise them with. I figure I'll grab some DS games for G and the drama queen to play also. She can take her laptop which I *think* can play movies. If not, I'll put these on hers also. G can either watch what she's watching or he can hold my laptop :). Whatever works. Oh! That reminds me I need to find an adapter for my laptop to charge in the car. Hmm...off to Amazon I go!

 G with his v-smile :)

 

Little Boy with his Innotab

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{Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it's off to Disney we go!}

I have wanted to take the kids on a vacation for years but haven't had the money. Well this year we kinda do. On our date night Friday we ended up at Bass Pro (after a dinner at Chili's). As we usually do on date nights. And of course we got roped into talking to the time share guy. This has the potential to turn into a really long story so I'll attempt cut to the chase. We got to talking about Florida and how I wanted to meet the princesses (what? All girls are princesses damn it!) And he said they have a resort not that far from Disney. All we have to.do is sit through this time share seminar. I hate this things. Anyway I guess we are now going to Disney. Since Bass Pro will put us up at a hotel. D is thinking we should rent a big van and just drive down. He shot the idea of taking my grandparents rv. But he would rather rent a van from someone he doesn't know (that annoyed me if you can't tell). I'm busy making plans and as long as they don't do another lay off like right before Christmas then we will head to FL if they do then we can go to Branson. Either way we are taking a real vacation this year!! And while we are telling good news...I lost 2lbs last week. If I do that every week until summer I can get a suit that isn't made from a tent lol.

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{I'm No Decorator}

Oh my goodness. It is no surprise to anyone that knows me that I can't decorate. I have lived in this house for 2yrs now and have painted exactly 1 room, and that was the kitchen (and it's not completely done because I got bored and stopped when I got down to the final touches). We're holding off on the bathroom because we have to completely rip out the floor and 1 wall (thank you douche bags we bought the house from!). We did redo the floors in the dining room and the living room though. And we ended up painting what is now the toy room because the teenager was staying there...she isn't anymore.

The toy room. It used to just be a really pale blue. Now it's purple.

 

The dining room during and after. Never. Again.

 

The living room before & after. We painted the floors instead of sanding them this time.

 

The bedroom is hard for me though. I've never gotten to decorate (paint and all) a bedroom before. Sure I'd painted in the house D had when we first started dating, but only in the kids room. I didn't bother with it in our room. Anyway- this is our bedroom right now (after spending the better part of my afternoon today moving the furniture). 

Excuse the unorganized mess please. I know.

 

To the left there is a closet and obviously out of the picture in the right hand corner is the rest of the bed. I have 2 night stands (that don't match) also. On the wall at the head of the bed is a small window up super high. I'm told it was used when the house was built to let out the heat the would rise (no central air..we're working on that for this summer). I doesn't open.

I went searching on pinterest today to see if I could find anything that would help me tie in my comforter color (a deep red) with my sheets color (a cream color). I found this. And this is how I'm going to paint my room :-).

We're going to paint 1 wall (the one at the head of the bed a red color. Then the rest of the walls and the ceiling a cream color. The trip will probably be cream also. I eventually want to rip up the carpet (probably in the summer) and paint the floor in there also. So yay me! Finally figured out what I want for the bedroom lol. D was saying we should use a matte and gloss for the cream and stripe it like my sheets. But I don't know if I could handle that lol. It sounds like a lot of work...actually it is a lot of work, we've done it before lol. So I'm not super excited about doing something like that.

Anyway- just thought I'd share my excitement :). Since D has to work Saturday (his first day of O/T for 2013!) and the kids will all 3 be with my grandparents, I'm going to take advantage and paint until I can't paint anymore :). Of course I'll be posting pics as I go. So be sure to be subscribed to either my twitter or my facebook and watch me create my dream bedroom. Minus the walk in closet (*sad face*)

 

 

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{Awake at 1am}

I really need to get over this being a night owl thing. I look like a zombie in the morning and I feel like in through out the day. I guess I just need to start making myself get up early and stay motivated to get this done.

So on my agenda for tomorrow is to wake up at the latest 630am and try out the Jillian Michaels yoga I found on YouTube. Then shower and set to cleaning the boys room. It looks like an Army guy bomb exploded up there again. So annoying. And then maybe try to get the bathroom done.

Oh there's a fun fact for you all. Our cod water pipe froze yesterday. Just the one going into the bathroom. D had to pull the front wall out (the one holding the shower head) and discovered that not only was there a hole on the other side of the wall...but mold. Thank you douche bag that we bought the house from. Blah. He got the pipe thawed out and working again (I was never so happy to hear a toilet flush lol) and replaced a section of pipe that was causing a leak and created the mold. So we need to get the bathroom done asap. Super fun day that was let me tell you. He was a real joy to be around *eye roll*.

I did discover today however that I do not just have 1 $5 gift card to Kohls but I have 2! And a $3 one. Exciting! LOL I guess I can save them for when I need to get a gift for someone or something. Or maybe I will have lost some weight the time bikini season rolls around and I can put it towards a new swim suit :-).

Speaking of losing weight I'm trying to stick with that. Like for real this time. I have been tracking my food pretty consistently. But I haven't been working out like I wanted to. And I have eaten far too much fast food when I wanted to try to cut back on it. Blah. You can't blame me though...Taco Bell is heaven in my mouth!! ;-) I swear I'm going to lose weights year though. I figured out that if I stick with exercising and avoiding far food I should lose about 20lb by May. Which is my birth month. So yeah. I can handle being in the 180's. :-)

OK. My eyes are starting to droop so I'll let you get back tk your day now.

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{At my wits end}

I don't know what to do with G. His teacher called me almost every day last week saying he just refused to do his work. He says he just wants to do it himself but even if they back off and let him try he doesn't do it. I have absolutely had it. What am I supposed to do about this behavior?? I've tried warning him and I've tried warning him that he is gonna get in trouble if he doesn't stop but he doesn't seem to get it. He has been sent to the principals office more times this year than he has the entire time he has been in school. And its all because he doesn't want to do whatever it is that they're asking him to do. I'm getting sick of it though.

I guess he's going to have to be grounded just like the drama queen when she was acting up at school. I debt know what to do other than that. Any suggestions are welcome by the way.

This is not my kid. He meant do things like this. But the older he gets the more defiant. I don't know if I can handle 2 kids with behavior issues.

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{Our Nightly Date}

 Watching The Rescuers :)

Little boy and I are starting a little nightly tradition here lately. Thanks to netflix we choose a movie to sit down and watch together on my laptop. This takes place after everyone else is in bed and no one can bother us or complain about what we're watching.
So far we have watched Alice in Wonderland, The Aristacats, The Rescuers Down Under, The Secret of the Wings (a Tinkerbell movie), and tonight it's The Rescuers.
I love these nights. When everything is quiet and I can show him there are better movies out there than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Avengers. Those get so boring after a while. I prefer the movie that took real skill to draw and not everything was done on a computer. I'm probably making myself sound really old right now lol.
So you have a favorite movie to watch with your kids? Is it one that you watched when you were a kid?

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{Yeah...I'm that random}

Here's a youtube tag I found but I don't vlog so I'll do it here :)
#1 Where were you 3 hours ago? Um..I was at walmart picking up some stuff for the kids lunches. Exciting!! #2 Who are you in love with? Nick Carter. Next question. #3 Have you ever eaten a crayon? ..I'm going to say no. But I was a weird kid so I'm not sure lol #4 Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? No. #5 When is the last time you went to the mall? Before Christmas. I have no desire to go to the mall. Ever. #6 Are you wearing socks right now? Yup. #7 Does your family have a car worth over $2,000? Yes. #8 When was the last time you drove out of town? I want to say like a week ago. #9 Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No. :( #10 Are you hot? It's pretty cold in IL in Jan. so no. I'm pretty cold actually. #11 What was the last thing you had to drink? Pepsi max. #12 What are you wearing right now? Sweats, socks, a wife beater, and a true blood t-shirt I got 2 seasons ago. #13 Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? I let my husband do it ;) #14 Last food that you ate? Tuna foot long from Subway. *yum* #15 Where were you last week at this time? I think I was at home lol #16 Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? For myself no, but for the little boy, yes. #17 When is the last time you ran? I raced my 5yr old into walmart today :) #18 What's the last sporting event you watched? No clue. #19 What is your favorite animal? Dog. #20 Your dream vacation? Disney World!!! #21 Last person's house you were in? My grandmas I guess. #22 Worst injury you've ever had? Is child birth considered an "injury" cause that's the most pain I've ever been in my LIFE. #23 Have you been in love? A few times. When I was 19 I fell in love with a 6lb 14oz baby boy, when I was 21 I fell in love with D, and when I was 25 I fell in love with a 7lb. 12oz baby boy. So 3 times #24 Do you miss anyone right now? Yes. I miss him every single day. #25 Last play you saw? Oh man. I don't even remember...how sad is that? #26 What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? I caught D with my boobies ;) #27 What are your plans for tonight? The same as they were last night. Homework, Dinner, showers, bedtime. #28Who is the last person you sent a Facebook message or comment? A friend sent me a message & my brother commented that I need a new laptop. #29Next trip you are going to take? I have no idea. #30Ever go to camp? Nope. I'm not a "camp" kind of girl. #31Were you an honor roll student in school? Bahahaha No. #32What do you want to know about the future? Nothing. I like the surprise. #33Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? Not today. #34Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit? Yeah. #35Where is your best friend? I'm going to guess she's either getting off work or she's already off and at home #36How is your best friend? Good for her circumstances. She's a tough cookie ;) #37Do you have a tan? I never have a tan. #38What are you listening to right now? Spongebob O.o #39Do you collect anything? Mismatched socks. #40Who is the biggest gossiper you know? My grandmother lol. #41Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? 5yrs ago. #42Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Who hasn't? #43What does your last text message say? "Don't forget the batteries" #44Do you like hot sauce? Only if it's mixed with ranch. #45Last time you took a shower? This morning. #46Do you need to do laundry? Every.Single.Day. #47What is your heritage? I'm not completely sure. I know I have a little German, a little Irish, and a little Native American but I have no idea how much of anything. #48Are you someone's best friend? I sure hope so. #49Are you rich? Not when it comes to money but I'm rich in other things. #50What were you doing at 12AM last night? Falling asleep.

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{Taking down the tree...}

Its never as fun as putting it up. And why does at least one ornament get broken every year? Last year it was my rudolph ornament and this year it was the one i made for Lina (my 1st chihuahua). Im just glad that none of my good ones have been sacrificed. *knock on wood*

I can honestly say though that im really looking forward to putting it up again next year ;)

When do you take down your tree? Do you wait until you absolutely have to? Maybe you take it down the next day or New Years day? Let me know Im nosey lol.

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