I covet thee

So currently I drive a pretty bad ass Mom-mobile, a Honda Pilot. But there is a big problem in my current grocery getter... no room. Now I'm sure there's a few of you that have twelve kids and a Civic perfectly fits your needs...  but it just isn't working for us. I have two car seats in my car, a double stroller, a potty (must be prepared when potty training!), and then when we're on a trip add in the hubs and possibly two dogs and all of our crap. NOT cool. When we go on a trip I get to sit in our third row, I know I know, you're thinking "WHA you have a third row and need more room? HOW Erin?". Well it's like this. When the third row is up there is NO room. You can't even fit a suitcase behind the seat. So when we go on trips I put up with the 3rd row seats so that i can have access Parker because he's in the side seat and K is in the middle seat for her leg room. To get to this seat I have to crawl over the back seats or over Parker's seat, hopefully not clocking him in the head on my way. We leave the rest of the 3rd row down for storage reasons and put whatever won't fit in the car on the luggage rack. So it's me and the luggage.

When I get lonely or Parker is sleeping I like to try to get more room for my legs and visit the hubs... in the front This involves acrobats of climbing over the seats and children to the front while trying not to hurt the hubs while he's driving (yes I'm still semi-flexible). Obviously I don't need you to call your cop friends in to tell me this is not safe. Now this is ALL without the dogs. Add in a 30lb mutt and a 70lb lab and like whoa life sucks!

So I've been wanting a minivan since Parker was born. I used to be completely opposed to this Mom-trosity but COME ON! They have doors that open with a button! When your child would like nothing more than to play in traffic and you REALLY don't want to put down your beer (KIDDING) it would be so nice to push a button, their door open and bam they run in there instead of traffic!

OR how about having a third row WITH room behind it for luggage!?!?!? OR how about getting to walk (not catapult yourself) from the front to the back to take care of kids during a long trip to visit the grandparents!?!?

Fast forward to my coveting... I was in a wreck. Because of said wreck I get a rental car. First the company stuck me with an Impala. Now while it was nice of them to give me an upgrade from the standard size car, this car was still not cutting it for our family. Hubs is 6'3", he was eating his knees and couldn't sit up straight with the car seats behind us. So I complained to called the rental car place and cried explained my case and you know what??? They gave me a Minivan for only $5 a day out of my pocket!!!! HOLLA! Enterprise ROCKS! It's beautiful. I love it. I NEED IT! I am on a campaign with the hubs. I'm hoping after our trip this weekend to the south he'll be on board!

OMG the shit that bit my boob off!

Well it's a well known breast feeding fact. It gets real scary up in here when the teeth start coming in. The first time he bit me with his teeth (because they will clamp down like a clam with a pearl before they get teeth) I almost chucked him across the room in sheer surprise. It scared him enough that he didn't do it again... until recently. The kid has bitten down twice since then and honestly, I didn't think anything of it other than "Shit that hurt" and now we're moving on. That is until it kept hurting to nurse him on one side (his favorite bitting side). It stung, so I inspected the nip out, yep he sliced me. Stings like holy hell every time I nurse and pump. Best part too? It bleeds in the very beginning of a session until the milk gets flowing enough, but keeps hurting. Yumm

Yeah if this keeps up, we will NOT make it to a year of breast feeding. No way!

Rain Rain go away

Today is not a good day. In fact it's a pretty shitty day and I'm not going to joke about it.

Today I got two bits of news to add to an already awful week, but now putting it all into perspective, what happened to me this week was a walk in the park.

This morning my husband called me at work to tell me that his Grandma had passed away last night. We were expecting it but I guess figured it would happen next week. My Mother-in-law is doing well with it, keeping busy with decisions and plans but I know she's still rocked hard.

Then the news that hit me to the core... There's a couple from our old church that we still keeping up with on facebook and stuff. We see them around, etc. Used to be in a bible study with them, we used to go to each other's kids birthday parties. Well they have a little boy who is also named Parker. He's 6 or so months older than my Parker. He's been sick for 2 months and is unusually pale. They took him to the hospital last night with fear of anemia. He isn't anemic... it's much worse. This morning, while I was nursing my own Parker awake, I read that they found out he has leukemia. I cried. I cried for the sweetness in my arms. I cried for the pain they must be feeling. I cried for how hard I'm sure they are hugging their little man right now. I cried that I thought my wreck was SOOO terrible, but in fact I was so lucky! I still have my little man and big girl. My world hasn't been rocked by a devastating blow that can't be fixed with money.

I'm so mad right now. I'm mad that this amazing couple is going through this. I'm mad that there aren't answers and we won't know the out come for years. I'm mad there's nothing I can do except pray. But pray I will. I haven't been the best Christian example lately. I haven't been praying like I should lately, but for the Biggs I will become a prayer Warrior! God may choose to take this little angel to be with him in the future, but I know he has a legacy to leave and a purpose. But, God may also choose to send this family on this awful heart wrenching journey to touch other lives to bring them to Christ and then Parker will grow up to be the man his parents have always dreamed him to be. Whatever the outcome is I will be a prayer warrior for this family. They need strength, they need support, they need their little boy. Please pray too.

So you see today sucks, but I will get to go home to my sweet babies, to my piles of laundry, to the dog hair on the floor and be almost blissfully unaware of hurt and pain that can cripple a person for life. Tonight I get to go home and complain about making dinner. I GET to do these things. So instead I'll go home and hold my kids tighter, yell less, let them stay up later for more snuggles. Tonight I will make sure the hubs knows I love him. Tonight I'm lucky. Tonight my world hasn't been rocked, we never know what tomorrow will bring so I'm living for tonight, because Today Sucked.

Something about a wreck that wasn't your fault still makes you feel like a bad driver.

Wow it's been crazy up in here, sorry! It's not going to get a lot better either. Right now... we're waiting for Chris's Grandma to pass away. It's expected and we've had LOTS and LOTS of warning/preparation. She's old, has Alzheimer's, has bed sores, her kidney's are now shutting down, etc. Bit it will still be hard and we'll go to NC for the funeral. So there's that :( Oh and I was in a wreck

I was driving back from Kinsley's field trip when this kid in front of me slammed on his breaks to turn left (with no warning and no blinker) and I couldn't stop in time, tried to surve around but there was no where to do that and well... this is what happened. It's going to the shop today and we'll go from there. Worse part of the whole thing according to Kinsley "MY TV!!!!" Yes I have a DVD player in there that she would watch to and from school and now she's finding it hard to adjust to the 5 minute ride without her TV. OH MY GOD! Even though I have a portable one she will not get it because this will be a learning experience for her, riding in a car with no TV! What we subject our kids to these days!

Everyone was okay in the accident, but I can't open my door or my hood. The whole aftermath of dealing with getting it fixed and the insurance company is what sucks the most. But for now I'm chillin in my impala because i'm a balla! 

I'll be back soon with pumpkin patch pictures and really cute pics of Parker in carharts!  

It's happening, now what

I've been keeping with my insanity... meaning yesterday I couldn't workout at lunch because we went out for lunch for a co-worker goodbye so i had to workout at home... AFTER i got the kids. While it wasn't the most intense workout (queue crying baby, toddler tantrums, dumb ass dogs) it WAS a workout and at times it might have been more intense (try doing lunges with a toddler or baby on your hip!). But the point is I did it. I pushed through and told those kids to suck it up because Momma was going to exercise and K even did a few moves better than with me. Tonight I'll be paying the daycare $25 to keep my kids (and feed them dinner) until 9 tonight so that I can workout (since I left my videos at home and so i couldn't do them at lunch) and clean my house.

So now that the working out is happening I REALLY need to work on the eating. And I DON'T WANT TO!!!! I know i have to but shitballs people I REALLY like to eat. I know that's what got me here but... enter epic toddler meltdown.

So I'm not going to do weight watchers because i don't have time for that. I guess I could track calories but UH. What are rules you follow?


This weekend we are doing the Pumpkin Patch thing with the kids. Should be a good time for all. I'll let you know if it's not but hopefully I'll have photographic proof of what an awesome parent I am~

Tonight is VERY important to my area (where I live people). Tonight the Washington Nationals and the Baltimore Orioles are playing in game 5 of playoffs (not against each other). IF they win they then go to the next round... IF they were to win that series then there would be a local world series!!!!! I think that's pretty bad-ass. Regardless if any of this happens both team have gone farther then we're use to them going and have made us proud but I'm feeling a HUGE block party with an out door screen to watch the opening game of the World Series... aren't you?

So working out SUCKS. This workout high that people talk about, are they working out while hot boxing (not that i would know what that is mom...) because I DON'T GET IT! I mean I get the "Yes I worked out when I REALLY didn't want to, like ever" fist pump... but there's no "Wow, I feel great! That was awesome!" instead I'm dragging my dripping sweaty ass down to the locker room in my building trying to catch my breath, hoping no one notices my multiple rolls through my shirt and all I can think about is the candy a co-worker has left out for us. I don't get energy from working out... i mean i thought the point of working out was to expend energy, because that's what I do. I lose it all. Later tonight my kids will be wondering why their Momma has fallen asleep on the floor of their rooms in the middle of story time.

But I did it. I've completed 3 days of insanity. And can I just say the Asian chick (not trying to non-PC here but i can't remember her name and there's only one of them).... I HATE HER! Especially in the fit test video... she's all perky and like "I did XXX many!" While the guy she's doing it with did half as many. I just want to push her into a wall. Happy, perky, show offs piss me off. I'm going to keep doing Insanity so I can get better then her and then laugh in HER face!

Okay, enough complaining... here's my kids so you know I have a heart~

I love this picture because I think it's a glance into their future. Her figuring out how to taunt him, him being all cute and suave.

Hail

So these are my favorite overalls EVER. I wish I would have put them on him despite the heat, FREAKING adorable!

Case in point

Okay those big eyes help too.

I just think she's so beautiful!

When did she grow up?

And just so you know I do try to be a fun Mom that obsesses over Pintrest project and uses them as the standard of a good mom... here a few of them. That pizza is supposed to look like spider web cheese, but yeah..

DEER HUNTING CAKE IN RUSSIA!

So sometimes i like to look at my stats and see who all is here and what brought them here and well... I've got 53 readers in RUSSIA! HOLLA! And apparently a few of you might have been brought to me by a google search for a Deer Grooms Cake! Yes that's right my classy friends I made a deer (antlers and all) cake for my dear hubby for his grooms cake for our wedding, it was displayed though at the rehearsal dinner.
So I would like to take this moment to welcome my Russian friends and tell you something very amazingly awesome in russian but i do not speak Russian so therefore I will not try to butcher your language. Also, I want to come to your country and adopt babies, lots of babies... just need money first. I would also like to visit, not in the winter though... brrr too cold.

Alrighty people I'm sure there's a few of you out there that can figure out that I had my birthday and so the 30 by 30 challenge is over. AND i'll bet there's even a few of you that are wondering how I did... or didn't do. Right?

Okay well here ya go.
Thirty BY Thirty
1. Loose weight: Currently (6 weeks post pardum) I'm 178. That's only 6lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, not too bad. Too bad my pre-baby weight was bad and unhealthy. My ultimate goal weight is 140... that means i have to lose 38lbs!!! Whoa, that's nothing to laugh at. Could I get there by the time I'm 30? Probably... but lets be realistic, so I'm setting my goal at 20lbs. If I lose more by then, GREAT, but that's my first goal. nope i'm fat... i got lazy and gave up. starting over... boo me. 
2. Down size clothes to fit the space I have. Currently I have clothes EVERYWHERE! Part of it is the curse of trying to fit back into my clothes again. Part of it is different sizes. Part of it is different seasons. And who am I kidding... I'm a product of the "I MIGHT wear it again one day"... yeah. I want to reduce everything to hit into my closet/drawers and one 30 gallon container. THAT'S IT!  3. Church, we need a church BAD. We need one that fits us as a whole family. That fits all of our needs. That makes us all feel at home. We need a church.Another fail... i feel like i'm failing my whole family with this one. we need to stop making plans on Sundays and make plans with God... fail.
4. Visit a city I've never been to. Like a REAL trip, not a we're going to Sesame Place and I've never been there so that counts, because it doesn't. I've been to PA but I've never been to Philadelphia. That would count. I've been to Nashville, TN but I never really visited it (did a mission project there) and got to SEE it. That would count. FAIL... man maybe i should be more positive about this fail crap and say not yet met because life sucks and is way to busy so i'm going to make it happen before i die?
5. Have Kinsley Potty trained. Hopefully this will happen WAY before I'm 30 but it's a goal none the less. 6. Have Kinsley off her passy.
7. Consistently work out 4-5 days a week. see above, i'm fat so therefore i'm going to make the leap for you and say I haven't been working out.
8. Go on at least one date a month with Chris. We REALLY need to make sure we take us time and often we get caught up in the kids or friends, this needs to end. OKay not one a months but we have had a few! YEA US!
9. Have a girls night once a month. Whether it's dinner or a drink or a movie. It needs to happen! And Chris should get a guys night too once a month.I officially suck
10. Stay on top of my cleaning... i guess organization should be part of this goal. Motivation should be? I don't know what the exact problem is but I'm tired of always being behind and dreading someone stopping by my house unexpectedly. this was a stupid goal and will never happen. there i said it.
11. Have a new consultant under me in thirty-one (so then i'll have two!).dammit it all to hell... i still need one. i'm terrible at recruiting!
12. Have TWO of my thirty-one parties reach over 1000k in sales. whomp whomp
13. Still be breastfeeding Parker (I want to make it a year like it did with K).

14. Have my bedroom painted and look like it has style!
15. Have the basement framed.
16. Do Insanity ALL the way through. starting over on monday... whomp whomp
17. Sew curtains for the den.
18. Finish Parker's baby blanket.

19. Have started Parker's Christmas Stocking.
20. Sew ruffles for lights in dinning room.

21. Sew the ruffle pants i've bought fabric for for Kinsley. I
22. Sew Pillows for Dinning Bench.
23. Deep clean and treat couches.

24. Shampoo carpets

25. Do 10 projects off of Pinterest. I have TONS of things on there I want to cook, make, try and I need to  start Cross them off the list rather than thinking "One day I'll do it"
26. Get rid of 30 things, baby items don't count. I need to PURGE and clothes don't count either since that's another goal. If Chris and I want to finish our basement we seriously need to make room down there, so PURGE! 
27. Complete THREE 5ks. (or larger) BAM didn't happen
28. Go 30 days without buying a single frivolous thing. Target is a down fall. Randomness is a down fall. I need to go 30 days without buying something that I feel the need to justify.yea i suck

29. Get 3 pedicures with Kinsley. She and I need that bonding time and she enjoys getting her toes painted. We don't need to go every month by any means (I mean I might but she doesn't) but these outings will be special for her. so yeah... nothing
30. Have a kick butt party for my 30th! nope but it was a kick butt birthday!

Damn so i didn't even do half... epic fail. New goals (why do i do this to myself?!?!?!)? Just lose 40 f'ing pounds! Insanity will be coming!

OMG it's a vlog link up~

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It's a vlog. I make all apologies for my god awful lower teeth, my dog ate my retainer when i was younger and now I've got horrible teeth again. Just let my bulging boobs distract you! I always said when i was done breast feeding I was going to pay to have my boobs picked back up off the ground, maybe I'll stick to getting my teeth fixed!

the chillins

So I've been photo bombing you and I'm going to move on from photo bombs, because i don't think I'll ever fully catch up, and write something ABOUT my kids, not just the crazy shenanigans that we're up to.

First up, this kid:

I don't know what is up with those faces and what she's up to other than going after my own heart with eating the cupcake batter right out of the bowl! Girl's got brains! Please ignore the mess she is surrounded by.

Age: 2 years 10 months.
Age she thinks she is: 14

Loves: Her baby doll, her brother, donuts (with pink icing and sprinkles), fruit snacks, Mickey Mouse Club house, Veggie Tales Live, swings, clothes (Girl LOVES to get new clothes...after my own heart), spaghetti, and snake (also known to us as Steak but she says snake)

Dislikes: bedtime, eating anything she doesn't want to eat at that moment, going to the potty in the mornings (weird), being left or left out, not getting her way (she's a true 2 year old)

Other interest: Dance class, reading, helping me cook, shopping (for reals, she and her Grandma get a serious shop on), Barney (shoot me now), princesses, singing

Skills she's got: She knows the alphabet and can identify, i would say, over half of the letters and can even spell her name most of the time. Can count to 19 or 20. Knows all her colors and shapes (unless you're going to get all mean and ask her what an octagon is). Is completely daytime potty trained. Uses a big girl cup (no top) at meals and utensils. Speaks in complete sentences and is quite the negotiator.

Kinsley is TOO smart for her own good. She forgets NOTHING (sad for me). She LOVES to talk and will talk your ear off and jump around 10 different topics while she's at it. She's a very caring girl too and will hug and take care of anyone that needs it. She picks out her own clothes and PJ's every night. She also has chores that involve feeding the dogs and picking up her toys and dirty clothes.

Funny things: The other night I was talking to Parker while K was watching Mickey. He smacked me and I said "NO Parker, no hitting" And K chimes in without missing a beat or her show "Nice HANDS!"
She asks her Dad "What am I going to do with you?". She's obsessed with "BIG ONE"... whether it's a big glass of milk, a big slice of cake, a full cup of chips, a big glob of soap, she wants a BIG ONE.

Bottom line: She's the best kid ever. She keeps me on my toes but OMG she's amazing and sweet. She's SOOO a little me (good and bad) but i wouldn't want her any other way. She pushes her boundaries while staying (mostly) safe. She's a great listener but also very independent. She is so smart and social but still prefers to stay with her Momma. She's my k.

Now onto this haus:

Age: 7 1/2 months

Likes: His new car, toy cars and dinosaurs, boobies, most baby foods, baths, his sister, being thrown in the air, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Veggie Tales Live

Dislikes: Getting his diaper changed or clothes changed (he alligator rolls), naps of any kind, being ignored for a second, not being able to see us, baby food that is a meal (chicken and rice, mac and cheese, etc. I don't blame him, that shit is weird), long car rides (or anything over 10mins)

Other interest: Jumping, swimming, having his sides tickled, rolling, books.

Skills and facts: Kid is NOT interested in crawling, he will roll right into walking I swear. He rolls and scoots everywhere, not interested in bringing his knees up (although I've caught him with them up once or twice while sleeping). He has his two front bottom teeth. First word "mmmmmMA" and later he threw out a few more MaMa's for us... none since then though. He's wearing mostly 12 month clothes but can fit into some brands 9 month clothes as long as they are separates.

Parker is a very happy and nosy baby. He wants to know what is going on at all times, so his naps SUCK. I should say his cat naps suck. He typically wakes up once a night to eat still, sometimes he'll wake up more than that but I refuse to feed him so it's rockabye back to dreamland for him. When he is done sleeping you better not be busy because he wants you to pick him up RIGHT THEN and will cry so hard that he makes himself throw up... awesome kid. He loves to jump in your lap or sit and watch sports with his Daddy. He has 6 pairs of camo pants and doesn't have a problem sharing because his friends (at daycare) or his sissy are always taking "his stuff".

Parker is my last baby and I am finding it hard to let go of each stage. I find I'm not pushing him like I did with Kinsley because I don't want to lose my last baby. He's still growing and learning fast (despite my best efforts, j/k). He's still only had breastmilk, no formula!

So there you have it... my little (or i could scream WAY TO BIG) munchkins~