After a 4-month long hiatus, I’m back! And with a new design even! Go me!

In the past, similar rebirths usually entailed the deletion of absolutely everything and starting from scratch. However, I’ve only recently grown a few newish qualities called “realism” & “simplifying”, because honestly – I just don’t have the time or energy to code everything all over again. Too much work! So I’m just revamping, deleting a few unbecoming posts, and starting again from where I left off…

Oh, and I’m opening this blog up to the “world” again. Time heals all wounds and I’m done licking them!

A lot does/doesn’t change in a span of several months. For me, I think my attitude has changed a lot. Situations and circumstances have changed me emotionally. I’ve always been a little emotionally immature, but there has been improvement in that regard. My Dad recently said to me…

… “I know its been tough on you but life is not necessarily fair. I don’t know of anyone who has had the perfect childhood or life. My childhood was far from perfect. But you make the best of it. I know I have. If I’ve learned one thing in life is that you have choices.

You can choose to be happy or unhappy. It really is up to you.”

I agree Dad.
I choose to be happy.

With that being said, the day-to-day hasn’t changed too much. It’s summer, so I have two crazy, attention-starved toddlers testing my patience every day! I’ve also been working a lot on craft projects and home decorating. I’m proud to say I’ve been following a bunch of fabulous blogs that have given me some awesome inspiration on how to make our house super cute and do it all frugally. We recently bought some new furniture and I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg with accessorizing like the perfectionist that I am. I have so many idea and projects in queue, it’s not even funny!

If only there was as much time and money as there are ideas! Oh well, it’s baby steps. I’m trying to remind myself that everyday is a gift! A new day to create/do something great! Let’s see how long this optimism lasts. Sickening huh? ;)

Besides being super busy with the MIL in town, I recently finished up a a baby shower invitation. The theme is Dr. Seuss, so here’s what I pulled together:

Please note: I’m not sharing, selling, or doing trade-out work for this invite at this time.

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower Invitation

I think it came out super cute and I’m so excited for the shower!

Other than that, just super busy cooking and hosting the MIL. Surprisingly, we’ve all had a really great time! Both of my boys are super attached to “Gamma” right now and I think there’s going to be a little meltdown when she leaves tomorrow. I’ve had fun playing hostess and partaking in a little Mommy Elixir :) It’s pretty awesome to have a third person around to help with the kids, enabling Mommy to get a lot done. We’ve been pretty active, braving Chuck E. Cheese, the community pool, jaunts to the playground, and Daddy’s birthday dinner. The kids are eatin’ it up!

One weird moment last week: ran into the bosslady the other day while coming back from lunch with my ex-co-worker buddy Jan. I had just dropped her off in front of her building when I rounded the corner and saw bosslady driving in. I said “what the hell!” and drove over to where she was parked to say “Hello!”. She seemed pretty shocked to see me, but was super friendly. I felt a little twang of nostalgia, a sense of loss for the past. But I got over it pretty quickly after driving off ;) Let’s just say I’m grateful as hell for this opportunity that I have to stay at home and not be someone’s Office Biatch anymore :) Every single day with my kids is a GIFT!

• I’m that Mom… Who has to bribe her kids with candy to get them to behave in IKEA, or in any store for that matter. (All her sanity is owed to DUM-DUM’s.)
• I’m that Mom… Who’s lame enough to think she can take her toddlers to a pool party without actually getting in the water herself since she doesn’t even own a swimsuit because OH NO! THIGHS BE JIGGLIN’! (But hello, 117° degree weather, not so smart is she?)
• I’m that Mom… Who is seriously melting like the Wicked Witch of the West at your pool party, while her super-attached kids cling to her like saran wrap, until you offer her to borrow a swimsuit and she dejectedly accepts, so she can stop the insanity and just get in the damn pool already! (Thanks Adriana!)
• I’m that Mom… Who’s kid spills a sippy cup of milk ALL over your beautiful kitchen tile, forcing you to get out the mop. (Sorry, she was busy wrangling the other kid off that elephant statue in your front living room.)
• I’m that Mom… Who is stupid enough to think, “Sure let’s take a 2-year-old and 1-year-old to watch a SHARK adventure 3D movie!”. (Was operating on limited sleep and serious lack of judgement.)
• I’m that Mom… Who is naive enough to think that popcorn and lemonade will keep toddlers happy/occupied for more than 10 minutes. (Seriously wishful thinking!)
• I’m that Mom… Who’s kid launches himself into panic mode during the first 20 minutes of the movie, screaming “No more watch it!” and “Done! Done!”. (Who knew a manta ray could freak a kid out so much?)
• I’m that Mom… Who’s tantruming kid is finally carried out of the theater, kicking & screaming. (As you exclaim “hallelujah!” under your breath.)
• I’m that Mom… Who allows her other kid to play with her cell phone during the movie, just so he’ll stay still/quiet. And who, 20 seconds later, apologizes profusely when said 1-year-old hurls said cell phone forward. (Narrowly missing your head!)
• I’m that Mom… Who should probably announce that “THE SAVAGES HAVE LEFT THE BUILDING!” as her brood leaves Cooperstown because the waitress is SO gonna earn that 20% tip when she has to clean up all the crap her kids left on the floor. (Pretty sure more food went on the floor than in their mouths.)

As you can see, it seems that going out with the kids is still quite challenging. We’ve been pretty busy lately too, partaking in several social activities over the weekend. It’s a catch 22 though! We love getting the kids out to interact with other children and seizing the opportunity to socialize with other parents ourselves. But oy vei! We’re usually EXHAUSTED at the end of it all! It’s tough work chasing them around and trying to keep them in check. I’m hoping that it’s just an age thing and not that my kids are pure unadulterated beasts from the land of Let’s-Act-As-Bad-As-We-Possibly-Can-and-Totally-Embarrass-Our-Parents.

In our defense, the decision to see that 3D Shark movie at the Arizona Science Museum was sort of pushed on us by hubby’s friend. Fortunately for him, his kids are older and behaved really well. Oh well, at least we know that Quentin is totally not ready to see a movie in a theatre yet. However, it could’ve just been the subject material. Sharks? Two-year-olds? Yeah, like I said, wasn’t thinking too clearly. Also, I totally got over myself and finally bought a swimsuit. After seeing how much fun the boys had in the pool at Adriana’s house, I can no longer deny them the joy of splashing in our (very public) community pool. *Sigh*, flubber or not, Momma’s gotta step up!

This week is going to be relatively low-key as far as outings. However, we have a huge to-do/chores list on the forefront as we gear up for the Mother-in-law to visit in August. When it comes to the MIL, I’m choosing to keep my commentary to a minimum to align with that old adage, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”. Again, patience and sanity will be tested like no other. Alcohol will definitely be required.