And it seems like his photogenic genes wear off on the kids in all the pictures they take together. Maybe that’s how we could nearly effortlessly snag this beauty Easter morning. (No, that’s not a purple chick trapped on Leyna’s head with a gigantic headband. Just a bow. Oh yes, I am *that* mom who may be guilty of abusing the large-bow-on-headband-with-a-splash-of-feather-boa. You can laugh, but I need to start creating blackmail material now for future prom dates.)

Or, it could just be that I rock it behind the camera. Let’s just say that. Either way, the pictures of me and the kids (yes, I’m really trying to get more of ME in them these days), always end up looking something like this.

Or this.

And eventually, this. THIS is my “I’m done, turn of that damn camera. SERIOUSLY, this is never happening” face.

That last one, I think, just might make the mantel.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

I am sooooo over all of it.

So over it, in fact, that I crazily agreed to letting my husband order 1100 sq. feet of unfinished, utility grade hardwood floors so that he can install them. HIMSELF.

Why hardwood and not laminate?

Because my husband is convinced that hardwood is better for the value of our home, he likes that he can sand and re-finish them if they get scratched, and because people told him he couldn’t.

Why unfinished UTILITY GRADE?

Because our budget is teeny tiny. We can’t afford finished hardwoods, this is basically the only way we can afford any sort of hardwoods throughout this much square footage (the whole house except bathrooms and bedrooms and the laundry room). In fact, this ends up being about as inexpensive as some of the lower end laminates.

The price we pay? OUR SANITY.

I present to your our playroom/office.

That is all the wood we need for our project PLUS the plywood for the subfloor. Oh yes, that’s right. This project isn’t simply putting a wood floor down, sanding and finishing it. It’s pulling up all the carpet and tile and installing a subfloor, too.

We’ve taken on small home renovation projects this last year, and they’ve turned out beautifully. We are finishing a master bath mini-renovation that has cost us less than $600 and makes the place looks completely different (hopefully I can share the result with you all soon- I’m bringing brass back… because I have no choice). The kids’ bath and laundry have new tile. I have faith in my husband’s ability to get it all done right. I do not, however, have faith in it getting done in a timely matter.

The reality, I’m thinking, is that I will be living in a construction zone for a long while with a 3 year old who likes to find ways to make my heart stop every day by making me think he’s going to kill himself, a BABY, 2 dogs, a cat, and an over-worked husband.

WheeeeeEEEEEeeeeee!!! This is going to be so much fun!

Stay tuned to watch me slowly loose my mind.

Kendall is just a couple weeks shy of 3, Leyna is a couple weeks shy of 4 months old, and I’m a couple marbles short.

They are definitely related.

Kendall at 4 months old…

Leyna at 3.5 months old….

That was me.

You know that girl who could not, for the life of her, understand how parents couldn’t get their kids to listen to them?

That was me.

You know that mom who has that kid that does the exact opposite of what she says ALL. THE. TIME. and thinks it’s funny?

That’s me.

You know that mom who’s always chasing after her kid, abandoning her screaming infant in a hot car so she can fetch her toddler who’s aimlessly running through a parking lot?

That’s me.

You know that mom who’s always losing her shit in public?

That’s me.

You know that mom who never looks happy because she’s constantly on guard for the next time her toddler decides to disobey her and put himself and/or others in danger?

That’s me.

You know that mom who reads and asks and strategizes and stresses and does every thing she can to figure out just how the hell she is fucking up so bad?

That’s me.

You know that mom who looks at all the other moms with the calm, disciplined, obedient children and beats herself up for not having it all together like they surely must have?

That’s me.

You know that mom who has the kid who thinks it’s appropriate to pull his pants down at the park in front of 20 other people to pee?

That’s me.

Karma’s having a great time getting back at me today.

Kendall is nearly 3, Leyna’s 3 months, and I’m 3 seconds away from locking myself in my room all day.

Our puzzle pieces still aren’t perfectly aligned yet. There are some gaps to fill in and some rearranging to do, but every day we get a little closer to forming a perfect new picture from the new pieces. Last night two pieces slid next to each other… and they finally fit.

Kendall and Leyna have had small interactions here and there, but they’ve mainly been ships passing, a sheepish smile or a quick hello exchanged before they moved on. Leyna does adore Kendall, she watches his every move and smiles any time he acknowledges her.

Leyna lives for Kendall to bounce toward her on the trampoline. She lights up every time.

We’ve been trying to get Leyna to laugh for a couple weeks now. She opens her mouth and makes the silent gasp-y laugh, but never anything more. At dinner last night, Kendall let out a loud laugh over who knows what, and Leyna immediately responded, which in turn made Kendall laugh harder, which in turn made Leyna. It was the first of many inside jokes shared between the two of them… and I caught it on camera.

Warms my puzzle piece shaped heart.

Kendall is 2 years 11 months and Leyna is 3 months old

"Dad? Is this really appropriate attire for the batting cages? On that note, BATTING CAGES?"

Don’t worry, I’m told he actually didn’t take them *inside* the batting cages. I don’t know what’s cuter, the above ensemble or the dress she wore to pick me up that was on backwards.

You know how I was saying I sort of hoped my husband wouldn’t have an “easy” time with them? I got a lovely dose of validation in the form of text message the 2nd night I was gone.

Going to bed early. Kids wiped me out. Preparing for tomorrow.

I received it while sitting at a super fancy sushi dinner with hilarious, inspiring bloggers I idolize. It was a pretty great moment, knowing I wasn’t the one in the trenches by myself this time, but instead the one networking and talking shop over an alcoholic beverage in an outfit that was completely free of any and all baby spit up.

And that wasn’t even the coolest part.

Nintendo really outdid themselves for this Nintendo 3DS Summit. We stayed at the lovely Bellevue Hyatt. I had an entire king sized bed and, most importantly, bathroom all to myself for two nights.

"Squish!" That's what it sounded like when I fell onto it. So soft. So fluffy. So obviously missing wandering pacifiers and bed-hog dogs.

And the view!! Beautifully gray. Yes, the gray was actually charming. People from Seattle kept apologizing for the weather, which confused me. Isn’t rainy and gray to be expected in Seattle? Let me tell you, if you come to Texas in August, I’m not going to feel compelled to apologize for our 95+ temps. You, after all, get to leave.

So, the whole point of the trip actually wasn’t to send me on a sanity saving vacation (but super awesome bonus!). It was actually to show me and about 100+ others the MIND BLOWING new Nintendo 3DS. This thing is not your grade school Game Boy. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say this is the coolest game playing device ever (at least in my opinion). It’s 3D without the glasses. And yeah, it may make you feel drunk sometimes (although I learned it’s easy to control this feeling by turning down the amount of 3D on the device by the slide of a switch on the face).

After a super secret behind the scenes tour of the Nintendo building, including a welcome from President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime, and some time trying out a few of the new 3DS games (Nintendogs & Cats makes me wonder if I could convince the family to adopt just virtual pets from now on), we all came home with our very own Nintendo 3DS!

The best part about having a toddler and a newborn is I don’t have to share! Actually, I do plan on letting Kendall play a few games every now and then, especially on long car trips, but I’ll be sure to go into the parental controls first to completely disable the 3D option since it’s not advisable for children under 7 to be exposed to 3D, according to Nintendo.

Y’all, have I told you how much I love this blog and the opportunities it keeps brining me? It has been a dream to align with Nintendo over the last 6 months. They are a brand that’s really doing social media and blogger outreach right. And that is so refreshing, not to mention an honor to be a part of.

Now, I know I still need to get that EA Active group together for those of you who want to workout with me on your Wii. It’s making it’s way back to the top of my priority list, and I’ll let you all know when I have more details. For now, I’m going to sign off, still riding my high from my child free 2.5 days, and go help my husband get the kids in bed. Yeah, okay…. so maybe I missed them. A lot.

Kendall is 2 years 11 months, Leyna is 3 months old, and that Nintendo 3DS is allllll mine!

**Disclosure- Nintendo flew me out to Seattle, all expenses paid, and also provided me the Nintendo 3DS at no cost. All opinions are completely my own.

Well, not *really* by myself. I’ll be there with a whole bunch of other Nintendo Ambassadors for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, but I will be there without my husband, without my toddler, and without my baby.

You know? The one who relies on me for 100% of her nourishment? The one who empties my boobs every few hours? The one who was only born 3 months ago? She is going to be half way across the country from me.

::excuse me while I take a minute to breathe through the anxiety::

When Nintendo invited me to this launch last month, I was over the moon thrilled. At first, I figured I’d bring Leyna with me and ask my sister-in-law, who lives up there, to babysit for me, but just thinking about all that would entail made things seem very complicated. I’d have to either bring pumped milk with me or pump enough when I got there to leave with her while I was out, and, after reviewing my packed itinerary, I realized I’d be out a lot. Then there was the whole stress of bringing her on a plane with me and packing the baby gear.

I briefly contemplated retracting my acceptance to the event, but my husband encouraged me to go. He will watch both the kids, he assured me. They will ALL be fine without me, he promised. “Go, have fun, enjoy the break,” he said.

And so he will. And so I am.

The freezer is full of pumped milk, and I’ll be bringing along my Hygeia Enjoye double electric pump to maintain my supply while I’m gone. I’m trying to decide on a bag that I can carry through Nintendo HQ that’s big enough to fit my pump in without screaming, “LOOK OUT! LACTATING MOTHER COMING THROUGH!”

Picking out my wardrobe is overwhelming, but I get the added perk of not having to plan my outfits around easy access to the boobs. It will be difficult, though, to make myself take pumping breaks. I’m thinking I’ll set timers on my phone to go off every 3 hours during the day to remind myself (or maybe I can get away with every 4-5 if I pump both sides at once?).

I still have no clue what I’m going to do with the milk once it’s pumped. I hate to think of dumping all of that, but I also hate to think of the hassle of bringing it all home. This trip is already stressing me out more than I’d like it to, and I think I’d feel better if I allow myself to un-complicate things a bit and not worry about the logistics of storing and traveling home with a cooler of breastmilk. We’ll see. I may dump the stuff I pump while out, and keep the stuff I pump at the hotel as a compromise.

I’ve been avoiding actually getting ready for this trip all week. I don’t know why. I really am quite excited about it. I’ve never been to Seattle, the launch is going to freaking rock. I’m hoping to see my brother and sister-in-law there, and I can’t wait to see Nintendo HQ and be a part of the fun and tell you all about it when I get back. It’s just… deep down… well, I’m a mom, and I worry, and of course, I feel like nobody in this house can survive without me, which I get is ridiculously egotistical on my part.

I’m sure Scott will be fine. The kids will be fine. Everyone will be happy when I get home. Nothing disastrous will have happened.  I must admit, though, the last reaction I want to hear from Scott when I get home was that everything was “easy.” Because, for me, 2.5 days by myself with both the kids leaves me wanting a one way ticket to a tropical island or a treatment center. I sort of hope he experiences just an ounce of that same frazzled feeling. I’m a mean wife like that.

So, here I sit. It’s nap time and I really must start packing, but instead I’m blogging. I should color my hair, but I’ll probably return some emails. I should coordinate all my details and print out itineraries, but I’ll probably work on this yarn wreath I’ve been making. (Note- none of my distractions involve cleaning this house. Procrastination doesn’t work that way for me.) And then, sometime around 10 tonight, I’ll probably be an emotional, ridiculous, bitchy mess getting everything together.

It’s probably best that way. Then everyone will be really happy to see me leave.

I leave you all with a question- What would you wear for such an event when the temps in Seattle are in the 50s and rain is predicted the entire time I’m there? I was thinking some boots over my new Yummie Tummie leggings (wheee!! skinny!!!) and some sort of top with my jean jacket??? But, alas, I am fashion clueless and am open to all suggestions. Also, there will be a night we go out to a fancy dinner. I honestly don’t know what to do with myself.

I guess I need to give some disclosure on this post. Nintendo is sending me to Seattle for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS at no cost to me. I’ll be blogging and tweeting about it as I see fit.

Thanks to Crystal Light for sponsoring this post. To learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight.

I picked Scott up from the airport yesterday after a 3 day business trip. It’s something that happens pretty frequently, especially this time of year. Let me tell you, I have a whole lot of respect for parents who do the whole single parenting thing for long stretches. The weeks and half weeks that I’m left to manage a house, two kids, and 3 animals, (who all seem to need my undivided attention at the VERY SAME MOMENT) completely drain me.

Finding time for myself is hard enough when I’m just managing things on my own during the workday. As much as Scott tries to relieve me of all my duties and give me some much needed time to myself when he’s home, it just doesn’t alway happen with so many things going on and growing up around here that really need 2 grownups’ help.

Most weeks he’s home, though, I do manage to get out or decompress in some way, even if that means not coming to bed until 12:30. I’d say the majority of my “me” time happens from 10:30 until midnight.

But when he’s gone? Oh my. It’s next to IMPOSSIBLE. And yet, I know that’s when it’s most important to recharge myself. I’ve learned to cope, to carve out just a smidge of “me” time over the last couple years by doing the following when he’s gone:

1. The house is at the BOTTOM of the priority list. I keep this place livable, one step above gross. Beyond that, all bets are off. If I get around to the laundry, I do. We go out to eat far more when Scott’s gone just so I don’t have to deal with dishes 3 times a day.

2. I take small breaks when I really need them. Sometimes that means turning on a 30 minute show that I know will keep Kendall on the couch just so I can make myself some iced tea, sit down and flip through a magazine. I’ve even gone so far as to load the kids up in the car, drive to the Sonic, get a 1/2 price slush for me and Kendall (happy hour FTW!), and sit in the car and catch up on emails from my phone.

Laundry unfolded, kids in jammies at noon, Disney Junior on the TV... just another day flying solo.

3. My latest sanctuary is the late night bath (I rediscovered their awesomeness while looking for a little buoyant relief while pregnant). The late night part is key. If I attempt to take a bath at anytime while Kendall is awake, he, of course, expects an invitation to join me. I’ve got a stack of magazines, some luxurious bath oils, bubbles and salts, and many times I bring a glass of wine with me. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes at 11:30 at night before I climb into bed, it really helps calm me and get me ready to start all over again the next day when I will wake and…

Leyna stirs, she’s hungry, I put her in bed with me, nurse her and hear Kendall over the monitor waking.

He begins banging on his door, “Momma!! I have to go poopy! I AWAKE!”

I pop Leyna off my boob and dart for his room, hoping I get there in time to get him on the toilet and avoid changing a poopy nighttime diaper (toddler poop is so much worse once you regress back to newborn poop).

Leyna’s screaming in the other room because she wasn’t done eating yet, so I leave Kendall on the toilet, run back to get her.

ALL THE WHILE the freaking dogs are chasing me around the house, back and forth, their noses up my ass, and the cat is weaving in and out of my legs, nearly tripping me, meowing at me for food.

Why does EVERY. LIVING. THING. in this house always need me at the same exact moment?

And so another day begins, and it goes on like this for hours until I decide that I must make a little time for me for fear I might explode from exasperation.

What about you? How do you make time to recharge? What do you like to do? Am I the only one who loses her mind a little bit the first hour everyone is awake in the morning?

Remember, visit http://www.facebook.com/crystallight to learn more about how Crystal Light can flavor your day with 30 refreshing flavors. I was selected and paid for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Oh, it totally ranked right up there with losing all the baby weight, my first postpartum glass of wine and getting Kendall to sleep through the night as one fantastic moment in parenting.

First, let me just say he is SO kind. And just as helpful in person as his books and DVDs are.

Now, I know, I know, Leyna is not really a baby who needs to be soothed very often, but I also attribute so much of her calm demeanor to our calm approach to soothing her the few times she does need it. And all those techniques we use now are what we learned in Colicky Baby Bootcamp From HELL when Kendall was her age.

Dr. Karp was so good with her, as could be expected. And then he asked me some questions about how Kendall was as a baby. I told him how he was never soothed with *just* the swaddling and/or the white noise, how he always had to be jiggled, VIGOROUSLY. His Happiest Baby On The Block DVD was just what we needed when Kendall was a newborn because it showed us how vigorous we could and needed to be with him. It certainly made us feel much better about how rough we felt we were to get our fragile little velociraptor to calm down.

He told me Kendall was probably one of the 10% of babies that needs that kind of motion to be soothed in the beginning. I guess we are part of the small club of parents who wind up with thighs of steel from bouncing on the end of beds and yoga balls with fussy babies for hours on end. (Jen, you know what I’m talking about!)

We had a good conversation after the interview about the kinds of techniques I can use on Kendall as a toddler. He explains them in his Happiest Toddler On The Block book, and, to be honest, I’ve read it, but it just never really worked for me. I mean, I know there are some things I took away, like repeating back what Kendall’s saying when he’s upsets so I’m validating his feelings, but I never was able to master the toddler-ease, where I’m basically supposed to talk to him like a caveman.

After telling him this, he handed me a copy of the Happiest Toddler On The Block DVD (autographed!). I haven’t watched it yet, but plan to over the weekend. Maybe I’ll grasp the concept a little more and feel a little less silly about it after seeing it. I’ll be sure to let you all know. Goodness knows, my mind is wide open to all approaches to the toddler tantrum these days.

Part of the reason he is in town is his presentation tomorrow morning at the DFW Family Expo. Tickets to the presentation are, unfortunately, sold out (sorry I didn’t tell you all about it sooner!), but if you’re in the DFW area, you should still swing by the DFW Family Expo. There will be SO much going on for families with kids of all ages and stages. Here’s more info:

February 26th, 10 am- 5 pm
Centennial Hall, Fair Park
Tickets are $3 for adults and children 12 and over
$2 children 2-12, children under 2 are free
Tickets available at the door, and all proceeds benefit Children’s Medical Center.

There will be prizes, activities, entertainment and so many amazing companies represented. I plan to be there bright and early. Hope to bump strollers with you!

A BIG thanks to my friends at Metroplex Baby and Kids for thinking of me for this amazing opportunity!

I’ll have video of the interview early next week and will be sure to share it with you all. Leyna was such a little superstar.

Kendall is 2 years, 10 months and Leyna is 8 weeks old.

**Disclosure- All Amazon links are affiliate links. I was not paid for this post or for Leyna’s part of the interview.

Also? I’m 30.

I said goodbye to my 20s over the weekend while I chilled with family and friends and friends who are like family in Austin. I also watched Scott complete his 3rd marathon… and secretly wished I was running for just a brief moment. (Think I’ll try for Chicago in 2012!)

I fulfilled a mommy fantasy of being cutesy matchy matchy with my daughter when Leyna and I wore our coordinating outfits to my birthday dinner. She wore a pillowcase dress and bloomers (tutorials linked) with fabric from City Craft. I also crocheted a headband for her and made a fabric rosette to stick on it. Then I made a headband and a broach for myself with a few fabric rosettes (made from this tutorial).

I planned to write a deep, introspective post about this new decade of my life, but it turns out I really don’t have the time to do a lot of deep thinking about turning 30 because I’m too busy accomplishing nothing. Never in my life have I really, truly understood the phrase “spinning my wheels” like I do right now.

Basically the story of my life right now is working hard to achieve nothing.

Today it took us 1 hour 15 minutes to get out of the house just to walk a mile to the park. And I didn’t even manage to put on a drop of makeup or brush my hair.

The morning went something like this:

11:00 I finally get my teeth brushed and decide we should take a walk to the park.
11:15 Leyna’s diaper is changed, must now get Kendall to go potty.
11:30 Kendall is STILL on the toilet (because he is already very much like a man and really enjoys his bathroom time).
11:45 Kendall is done, but now Leyna is screaming because she’s hungry.
12:00 Leyna’s done eating, but now screaming because she’s tired and wants me to rock her to sleep.
12:05 Leyna is temporarily soothed by the swing while I pack snacks for the walk.
12:07 Leyna is screaming again because I’ve now strapped her in the stationary stroller and she is not in a state of motion.
12:09 Kendall is in timeout for, well, annoying the shit out of me (incessant pleas for snacks coupled with defiance and bossiness).
12:11 Leyna is still screaming, Kendall is crying in timeout, I’m fantasizing of vacations to places where no children exist and people bring me drinks.
12:13 Kendall is strapped in to the stroller alongside Leyna, and now I’m the one who has to go pee. I close the door and relish the fact that they are both tied to a stroller with the brake on at the other side of the house perhaps just a little too much. Silence.
12:15 We’re off!

So it pretty much took me 75 minutes to do something that would take most people 5- LEAVE THE HOUSE.

Having a second baby doesn’t make everything take twice as long, it makes it take 15 times as long, apparently.

Which means I can’t possibly find the time to think about turning 30 and share all my infinite wisdom that comes from 30 years on this earth with you all because I would be turning 40 by the time I’m done. And that? I’m pretty sure is how the rest of my life is going to go. Me not having time to think about time because I’m too busy not getting ANYTHING done.

I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Kendall is 2 and nearly 10 months, Leyna is 8 weeks, and I’m THIRTY!