I'm Not Cut Out For This

Sometimes I feel like I am not cut out for motherhood. I am impatient, easily agitated and I hate chaotic situations. I have definitely improved on those faults of mine since the kids came along. However, I naturally am inclined to be that way, so I do struggle at times. There ARE people out there who love, thrive and are immune to the chaos that kids bring. Amy, our nanny and my sister Megan are two of those people. I write this to set up telling you about a fun outing with the kids on Tuesday.

Since it's summer, the kids are early risers. They both get up about 645. Curran has always gotten up early; Brayden the narcoleptic will often sleep to 830 or 9 in the winter months. I had the bright idea to take them to Huntington Beach on Tuesday morning. I had never taken the kids there, but they love the beach up at Catawba so I figured it'd be a good morning activity. It wasn't.




So we get to the beach and I have the following: 2 beach chairs, an overstuffed beach bag, and a bag of sand toys. Oh and 2 toddlers. Then as we approach the shore, I realize that we have to go down about 5 flights of stairs to get down to the actual beach. Complete nightmare going down, I am already dreading the trip up.

We play at the beach for about an hour and a half, then the kids of course pick the most dangerous activity that they want to do - play on the rocks. I tell them no and they both have full blown temper tantrums, complete with body arches and donkey kicks. I decide it's time to leave.

I pack up all our crap and start attempting the climb up the stairs. I am holding Curran's hand and Brayden is walking by himself, carrying the one baby beach chair in front of me. Well the kids start to get tired and begin crying. Then, Brayden drops the lawn chair and it goes all the way to THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS. I wanted to kill myself. Now I have to go back down to the bottom, now carrying Curran and try to wrangle a crying Brayden. Just shoot me.

Then I finally get them in the car and realize when I am halfway home that I left the beach bag on the ground by the car. Outstanding!

On to better things - last weekend we went to Chicago and had a great time! Our flight was cancelled going to Chicago, so we had to drive. Yuck. This weekend I am kid free, Steve is taking the kids to Catawba and I am going to Columbus for Colleen's baby shower. I am sure they will be spending lots of time on the golfcart.

So we got Brayden a toy weedwacker. He is obsessed with the grown-up version. So it came yesterday and he was so excited. He went outside to play with it for about 5 minutes, then he came in crying, telling me it didn't work, that it was "bowkeen". I explained to him that he was too little for one that cuts, and that he should just pretend. Well, he was having none of it and went into the garage to stare and obsess over the adult weedwacker hanging in the garage. Curran, however, loved the weedwacker and the safety glass that came with it.

A New Toy

We purchased our first "toy" for the house up at Catawba - a golf cart! I absolutely love it, Steve surprised me with it. The kids love it too. It comes with seatbelts so we can safely strap them in. We will be able to drive the cart over on Miller Ferry and tool around PIB. Steve wanted a jet ski, but he caved and got the golf cart instead. He's definitely been on my good side the past week.

I jumped the gun a bit with my last post. My last day at NCC will now be August 6. Just an FYI.

This weekend we will be going to visit our friends in Chicago and go to a Cubs game, the kids will be staying behind with their grandparents. On Sunday we're having a cookout to celebrate Father's Day and Meg's birthday. Should be a fun weekend.

Here's a Yes or No game that I was on an e-mail chain for. I love this stuff. Since I have very little new and exciting going on this past week, I figured it'd be a great way to occupy blog space. Please feel free to follow up with me on any questions you'd like further info on.

1. Been arrested? --- No
2. Slept in until 5 PM? --- Yes
3. Fallen asleep at work/school? --- Yes
4. Held a snake? --- No
5. Ran a red light? --- Yes, probably at least once every 2 days. I live and work in Cleveland – that’s one of the benefits of working in the ghetto. Cops have other shiznit to worry about.
6. Been suspended from school? --- Yes
7. Totaled your car in an accident? --- Yes – this past January.
8. Been fired from a job? ---No, but have been displaced, or sunsetted.
9. Fired somebody? --- No
10. Sang karaoke? ---Yes – I love being on any sort of raised platform after too many drinks.
11. Pointed a gun at someone? --- No
12. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? --- Yes
13. Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? ---Yes
14. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? --- Yes
15. Had a close brush with death (your own)? --- No
16. Seen someone die? --- No
17. Played spin-the-bottle? --- No
18. Sang in the shower? --- Yes
19. Smoked a cigar? --- No
20. Sat on a rooftop? --- Yes.
21. Smuggled something into another country? --- No
22. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? --- Yes
23. Broken a bone? --- No
24. Skipped school? ---Yes
25. Eaten a bug? ---Yes
26. Sleepwalked? --- No
27. Lied to avoid a ticket? --- Yes
28. Ridden on a helicopter? --- No
29. Shaved your head? --- No
30. Played a prank on someone? --- Yes
31. Hit a home run? --- Yes
32. Felt like killing someone? --- Yes
33. Eaten snake? --- No
34. Marched/Protested? --- No
35. Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? --- No
36. Puked on amusement ride? --- No
37. Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? --- Yes
38. Been in a band? --- No
39. Knitted? ---No
40. Been on TV? --- No
41. Shot a gun? --- No
42. Gave someone stitches? --- No
43. Eaten a whole habenero pepper? --- No
44. Ridden a surfboard? --- No
45. Had surgery? --- Yes
46. Taken by ambulance to hospital? --- No
47. Peed in the woods? --- Yes, hello Browns tailgating at the Muni.
48. Donated Blood? --- No
49. Eaten alligator meat? --- No
50. Eaten cheesecake? --- Yes
51. Killed an animal when not hunting? --- Yes
52. Sneaked into a movie without paying? ---Yes
53. Written graffiti? --- No
54. Been in handcuffs? --- No
55. Believe in love? --- Yes
56. Sleep on a certain side of the bed? --- Yes



Here are some pics of the kids:

This might be my favorite picture of Curran ever. The hat is one of Steve's Father's Day presents:




Braydo is still a narkie - getting ready for naptime:




Curran loves sunglasses!




Braydo cracking up, such a happy dude:

Last Days

Well, I officially was notified on Monday the 8th that my last day at NCC would be June 22nd. I am bummed, I've worked at NCC for almost 7 years. What saddens me the most is that all of this happened to National City. It was such a pillar of strength in Cleveland for such a long time. It's sad to see it go. I will miss working downtown. I will miss being able to walk to the Winking Lizard. I will miss the nice Indian lady who sells me my coffee every day.

But, I am looking forward to being home with the kids this summer (maybe longer). They are at a very fun age. Brayden is so much like Steve - it kills me. I bought a new hose today and you would have thought I bought Brayden a pony. He could not wait for Steve to get home so they could water the flowers.

We had a wonderful weekend up in Catawba last weekend with Matt and Colleen. Colleen is 30ish weeks prego and is looking fit and fab, unlike me who was a blimp at 30 weeks. Kind of like the blueberry girl in Charlie and the Chocolate factory.

I will be taking the kids up tomorrow to Catawba, where the weather is supposed to be splendid.

Some pics I took the past week -

Here is the view of Put-in-Bay from the end of our street, just before dusk:




Here is the sunset from the end of the street:



Here is Mibot in her new dress from Mimi:

I Bleed Orange

Well Brown and Orange, being a Browns fan. But that's beside the point. Last Thursday night (around 830) I got a spray tan. They tell you not to shower for at least 8 hours after getting it done. So the next morning at 830 I went to the gym for the latest chapter in my Couch to 5K running program. I sweat like a fat guy jumping rope in an attic, but I didn't think that would impact my spray tan. Turns out it did. I kept getting sideways glances from the over-70 crowd that frequents the gym, but I thought nothing of it until I got home and saw this:






Pretty sexy, huh? The bluehairs at the gym were probably ready to call the CDC on me.


So Steve and I are beside ourselves. What do we obsess over now that the Cavs season is over? Very disappointing. The Indians are terrible and I am sure the Browns will be too. Maybe we'll ramp up our NetFlix subscription.


On to the kids. As I have mentioned before, both of the kids are very good sleepers. Brayden is the ultimate narcoleptic, and I never thought I would ever get another sleeper as good as he. But Curran is giving him a run for his money for the title of best sleeper in the house. She hasn't woken up in the middle of the night in over 9 months, maybe a year. Plus, she loves to nap. Most kids take 2 naps a day until they are 12-18 months. Brayden dropped his morning nap at about 18 months, which is pretty late. But, he was a sleeper and he needed it.


Curran does not want to give up that morning nap. On June 22 she will be 21 months old. So I have been pushing her to give up her morning nap, trying to keep her up until 1230 or so. Then she sleeps from 1230 to 400. Brayden will usually sleep from 1 or 130 until 4. Also, both of the kids are really into their beds. Actually they won't sleep anywhere else, except the car. Imagine my surprise last Saturday when I got finished cleaning up lunch and found this on the couch:




She has never done this before. Steve and I felt bad that we tried to keep her up. She was so tired. What a sweet girl.

Today is Molly's birthday. Happy birthday, Mol. I swear, every neighbor kid on our street as well as my 2 sisters are born in June. Nice time of the year for a birthday. Much nicer than 2 days before X-mas. Unfortunately, Molly shares her birthday with the ultimate homewrecker Angelina Jolie. Obviously, I am on Team Aniston.

Here are some pics of the kids from the past week or so!