This Mommy Needs Sleep!

So much has been going on that I can't even think straight. I was working a temp job that had me up at 5 am every morning. Yuck! I don't mind getting up that early, what I mind is getting up two cranky children that early.

With our morning routine it was alright getting up early. I didn't have to make breakfast. Just cloth the monsters and put them in the car without them taking of any limbs. When I mean monsters, seriously, they were monsters. They love daycare though so that was always easy. At 4:30 I would pick them up and we would rush home before Mr. Hyde came back to visit. I learned that if I could get dinner on the table by 5:15 the latest I would survive another hour or so. Baths and then bed by 7:15.

It was amazing how wonderful and most of the times easy it was to put them to bed early. The unfortunate thing was seeing if I could stay up later then 7:30. Most nights I felt lucky if I made it to 8.

Well that schedule stopped and now I have these minions all to myself again. I'm already wanting to put them back in daycare and its only been a day and a half! I'm so glad that I was able to meet an awesome female at work and we are taking aquatic classes at the Y. I'm so excited, I already have everything put together for tomorrow. I get to be in a pool without my children! Complete dream come true.

This week we have a haircut for Thing 2, pictures for the minions(in time for the holidays of course), and lots of laundry and errands. I am very glad that I get to add a little fun to the mix with the Y

Hope everyone is looking forward to the holidays (I never do)

ISM

Cold Weather:

All this rain and cold weather make me just want to scream. I absolutely love it. Don't get me wrong I think it is still to early in the year for it but why not make the most of it? I am craving, no dying to can!
I know you probably are thinking I am really losing it. My kitchen is my creative outlet and I am wanting to be artistic.

I have been talking with my best friend and she has been telling me all the wonderful yummies I have been missing. I'm very sad that I am not able to join in her fun. I know its a lot of work but it is completely worth it. She has been driving me insane with it all. I never realize that I am hungry until I talk to her or read her Facebook posts.

Thats another thing, you can really torture someone with Facebook and Pinterest. Now I'm not saying actually torture. When you post that you are making Cowboy Jam or pinning a picture of an Oh So Yummy Flourless Chocolate Cake, it is going to drive a person to go to their fridge and dig out something that isn't going to satisfy the craving you gave them. How do I know this? We do it to each other all the time. Kind of like a torturous payback for all the stuff I'm missing out.

Now I will have to say that I post way more sweets then I will ever make in my lifetime. I cant help it, it all looks so good. Now the canning of tomatoes, jalapenos, apples, any veggie or fruit is simply where I draw the line. I have to do it! It is something I can do all day long. In fact, it is an all day process. The pay off is having something when it isn't in season. There's nothing better telling someone that you had apple butter in March or fresh salsa in January. There's that torture aspect again.

So now on my list, along with many others, is canning jars. I figure it out this way, I can make jellies and goodies so I can give them away as gifts. Who doesn't like to receive something yummy? It's a small justification for my desires but I'm going to ride that train all the way.

Sure to have a story with this one,
Insane Single Mommy

The Behaviors of 2 Year Olds:

Lately my children will push and push until I explode. I know they are just being children. Yadda yadda! I'm sorry, until you are stuck with multiple toddlers 24/7 for more then a week with no relievers can you say "I UNDERSTAND". I hate it when people say that. I actually ran into a woman at the store who look as frazzled as I was and guess what was in her cart!? Twins! About the same age as my two. We exchanged glances, said "I'm Sorry" in unison and continued on our ways. Now that is someone that I am willing to accept that nasty little phrase from. There are plenty of mothers out there that have survived the terrible 2's. I know this. Doing it with multiples on your own though is not something many can truly understand. Its like saying to someone, "I've never lost a limb, but I understand". Anyways that's my little rant for the day.

I will say that for as many messes and tempers and just plain out rotten behavior that these two have, they can be cute. I swear it is a survival process. There's no way that any of us would have made it through to adolescence if we weren't cute and somewhat adorable through these ages. I can see how mothers in the wild eat the mate that created these monsters and then turn around and sometimes eat the young too. I know if I had those instincts my kiddos would have been dinner months ago!

We have been cooped up because the weather is cold and wet for the last week. This is not fun! Although there are times that just melt my heart. The other day the kids were playing and absolutely making me lose my mind. I swear they are the most clumsy kids ever. They need to get the walking and multi-tasking at the same time down packed. I know for a fact I have trouble with this, so I dont see them getting to that any time soon. Anyways, Thing 1 was walking around with one of her many dolls, she laid it down on the ground and disappeared again. She soon reappeared and gave the doll a friend. She disappeared one more time and returned with a blanket. She then proceeded to cover them up with the blanket and say "night, night". It absolutely melted my heart. I never realized how many little things that they do and its all mimicking me! Oy, do I have to start watching how I do things. I can see it now, they are at daycare and get angry over something and give another kid a finger....would I do that? Never. Ok, maybe once. Or twice. Next subject?

After all is said and done, my days are filled with sooo many ups and downs. Its absolutely nuts. If it weren't for my best friends I'd have lost it along time ago. Every day I am reminded that its normal and  I don't have to be super mom all the time. Which is absolutely true. There is no mom out there that hasn't had that one day a week where everything goes wrong and she locks herself in the bathroom. Sometimes we cry or scream or have that cup of coffee that you just don't want to share with the scavengers. But 5 minutes later we all have to go back out and pick those battles over and over again.

Thankfully the definition to insanity is not the repetition of ones actions in order to achiever another's action to become different. Ok so maybe it is, but the great thing is the brain of our children finally catch on so that when we are at that brink of insanity, we normally never have to cross it. I know one day(25 years or so) I will look back and realize that all my missing/greying hair was all for a reason.

I hope!

Insane Single Mommy

Turning of Summer into Fall:

Its been a crazy week. Let me rephrase that, it has been a week with crazy people in it. I have been dealing with a psycho neighbor, going on interviews, and it seems that where ever I go there is some old man creepily talking baby talk to the minions. I am not ready for all the psychos!

Lately all the trees have been turning colors and it is absolutely gorgeous! Whats not gorgeous is all the rain that we have been having lately. When it rains and it is cold, there is no playing outside for us. Not a problem my kids have more then enough toys to stay occupied. The problem is my neighbor downstairs is a nut! She constantly is pounding on her ceiling if the kids are talking loud, crying loud, breathing, etc. Im sorry but you live in an apartment woman, GET OVER IT! I dont go banging on my floor when they are screaming and yelling and making horrible profanities at midnight. Why do you think you can complain to me about my kids at noon. Maybe if her butt was in bed at a normal hour, she wouldnt have to sleep til noon and my kids wouldnt bother her. Oh well, one day I will give in to my temper and let karma bite back.

As for interviews, I am so desperate to work! These kids are driving me insane. I am in dire need of adult interaction and that satisfaction of a hard days work. We all need this. I almost wish there was Pre-K for 2 year olds.

Thing 2 keeps wanting to take his diaper off still. He is willing though to sit on the toilet now. YAY!!! This is a great accomplishment. Now only if he would go while on it. Minor details to work out. Thing 1 at the moment could still care less.

Other then that, our days are getting very cold here. I am ready for bonfires, pumpkin patches, and apple cider. Oh how I am missing home at the moment. I am wanting a fire, my best friend, a bottle of wine, and a night to chat and laugh til our stomachs hurt. Hopefully a visit can happen soon.

Until next time,
Insane Single Mommy

When Family Visits:

This past week I was anticipating having family come over the weekend to visit. Everyday I cleaned. I wanted to be able to enjoy my family and of course show off the new apartment. Whats nice about having no furniture is not having to much to clean. On the other hand, any little piece of lint will make it look dirty.

My aunt and uncle arrived super late on Friday night. The kids had been sleeping for hours and they would be surprised when they woke up. My aunt also has a miniature terrier. Her name is Pebbles and she is adorable. My children absolutely LOVE animals, especially dogs. Every where we go they are shouting "Mama, doggy!" Even if its not a dog. The only thing they call by its name other then a dog is a cat. Cows, horses, elephants, etc are all doggies.

Saturday morning comes around and before I let my children out of their room, my aunt goes and unloads her Jeep. Let me tell you this, I had no idea you could fit so much in a Jeep. There were tons of dolls, a kitchen, washer and dryer(little tykes), a grocery store with a shopping cart, a robot, and tons of play food. My kids come out of their room and all this say is WOW! They immediately start playing and then comes the dog. They didn't know what to play with, the dog or the toys. Well they ended up playing with both.

Now as before mentioned they received a robot. It is from transformers I believe. You can turn a button on and it lights up and talks. Really cool, right? My kids are completely freaked by it! So being as their is three adults that see the situation of a robot that is scary to kids, we decide to have a little fun. We put the kids in a room and put the robot in the doorway. They have a fit. Running and hiding and eventually they start crying. We feel a little bad so we move it to the hallway. So then they decide to try to walk out and are faced with the robot. They scream and go running again. We are all laughing so hard by this time that we decide to be nice and put it away. For now at least.

One thing about my aunt and uncle is that they love flea markets and garage saling. So after an early breakfast, we all are loaded up in the Jeep and off to do some bargaining. We garage and rummage saled for 6 hours. I don't think I have ever done that before. But I tell you this, we got some awesome stuff! I was able to buy a very nice china set, kid dvds, kid table and chairs, a toy box, some shoes, some cookware, and a small piece of furniture for under 35 bucks. We had that Jeep loaded down once again.

After all that shopping we were all pretty hungry, so my aunt treated us all to Red Lobster. Now growing up I never went there because my mother is allergic to shellfish. This was our first time ever going to one. Let me tell you this, our waitress must have thought we were pigs. The kids could not stop eating the biscuits. I think she literally brought us out 7 baskets. And they also ate shrimp and pasta and potatoes. I will admit that my kids have awesome appetites.

We return home, everyone of us stuffed and are now needing to unload. We are able to do so quickly. I am then informed that my grandmother is buying us a TV. I haven't had one of those in years. So once again we all pile into the Jeep and off we go. We return, TV in hand, to find that my uncle has fixed doors, replaced light bulbs, and cleaned/organized my house. I tell you this, WE are definetly spoiled.

I am finally able to get kids into bed and then relax a bit. Its starting to actually look like people live in my house. My aunt and uncle were only able to stay for the day, but so much was done during that time.

So for now, today will be a day of relaxing and playing with all our new toys,
The Insane Single Mommy



I cant wait to play with that robot some more ;)

A Very Hectic Week:

I have not posted anything the last few days because we were moving! Woohoooo! Ok, now that the excitement is done....a few things have happened during this process.

I learned that when living on a second floor, it is hard to move furniture through skinny hallways. Day one of our new place (lots of room btw) I found out how difficult it is to move a full, mind you I did say FULL, boxspring up my stairs. Thankful for the wonderful person helping me, I am a female and am smarter then the situation. Men must learn to listen to females on occasion, we do sometimes know better. I have yet to move in the rest of our furniture, but when the time comes, Im sure I will be having a good laugh in the end.

I never realized how WONDERFUL it is to sleep ALONE. The minions have their own bedroom with a door that closes! Oh, did I tell you that they cant open this door either? Yes, it is absolutely heaven. When it gets dark outside (we have yet to set up lamps etc) they start to wind down and they walk themselves to their bed. I have to tell them to go, but it still an awesome weight lifted when you aren't fighting a child at bedtime. They have fussed once the door is closed but it last about a minute and then you hear snores. I did mention that they cannot open the door, right? This also means no feet in my face come 3am. We all sleep by ourselves and wake up refreshed and at an acceptable time.

We are in a 3 bedroom apartment. I have a backdoor that has steps leading down, and I have steps leading to my front door. My children have made a game of anything and everything can and will be rolled down these front steps. If there is anything missing, I can guarantee its down at the front door. We have yet to fall down these steps though. I'm hoping the track record holds up for the duration of our stay here.

We live right next to a elementary school. Yesterday, on the first day of school, the fire alarms went off around 6 am. Now I have no clue as to why, but I do know it took the fire department took over an hour to show up and turn them off. This did make for a wonderful day of cranky attitudes. And let me tell you, cranky toddlers is not any fun.

Here is a slight issue I have been dealing with. My children want to potty train but they refuse to sit on the toilet. So I have been dealing with my children taking off their diapers and using the bathroom on the floor! I have numerous times gone walking through the house, discover a diaper, and then discover poop or pee on my floor. I'm so tired of scrubbing my floors! Ugh, this is so frustrating. I know I am not the only one that goes through potty training issues with their children but this is too much.

Today was fun. We had a beautiful thunderstorm come through, the trees are starting to turn and it was just great. Now my children throwing potatoes down the steps wasn't. Nor was the time that I slipped and severely have injured my arm. I could definetly use the wonderful healing knowledge of my old bosses. Oh how I miss home at times.

So that is and has been our week in a nutshell. My children find new ways everyday to turn little things into ways to drive this mama crazy

Until next time,
Insane Single Mommy

The Things Children Do:

So this past weekend was full of me losing my mind and losing control over my children. Now I know having two is very trying on a parent but this passed weekend was horrible.

Saturday:
Saturday morning started off alright. We got up nice and early to go shopping at garage sales for toddler beds(which I found, yay!). After shopping we went to Cracker Barrel and enjoyed a nice late breakfast. Went back home for nap and a little bit of play time, this is where it all turned south. After naps we played, as usual, and then started getting ready for dinner and baths. It was already late in the evening but that's nothing unusual for us. Lately Thing 2 has been wanting to play with my very expensive smart phone. Knowing this I put it up on top of the tv where he couldn't reach it along with my keys. So I thought. Man was I wrong. As I am picking up the room and getting Thing 1 tended to, Thing 2 pulled out the drawers, climbed up the drawers to the top of the tv, and proceeded to take my phone and keys. I noticed this a little late. He decided to give my phone a bath. This phone is at the moment still not working. :(  I go to get diapers and soon realize that the keys are missing also. I turn the whole room upside down looking in every nook and cranny. I soon figured out that they were flushed down the super toilet. I thought I was losing my mind before, boy was I wrong!

Thanks to my mom and best friend, mostly my best friend, I was smiling a little by the end of the night.

Sunday:
Did you know that locksmiths are cranky when you call them on a Sunday? Neither did I but I definetly found out. All morning and afternoon I called around looking for someone affordable and available to open the borrowed vehicle. Yes, borrowed. Due to the need to go furniture shopping, I borrowed my dads van, which doesnt have a spare key. So 7 hours later my mom came to my rescue. The angry locksmith made a new key and we were good to go. During the 7 hours my children managed to run naked around our hotel. Let me tell you this, when I am on the phone to my new landlord and I hear a door open, you tend to drop the phone and start running. I must have chased naked children for about 20 minutes. I get back to my room and my landlord is still on the line! Hes a sweetheart. I told him what had happened and he is cracking up. Down right laughing at me. I dont blame him one bit though. I would be laughing also. In fact, that is what got me to laugh about the subject. I was also reassured by my grumpy locksmith that he gets a call about once a week with someone saying their kid flushed the keys down the toilet.

I guess I'm not the only parent out there pulling their hair and wondering how they are going to live through having children. I just hope that they also have wonderful friends that keep them intact when these incidents do happen. So for now I hope this is as crazy as it gets around here, but I have a feeling it isnt.

The Insane Single Mommy