Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloweenie!


I hope everyone had a fun Halloween!  I really enjoy this holiday.  I love seeing everyone, young and old dressed up in their costumes and having fun.  I LOVE the creative costumes - this year I saw a really great pirate (complete with a parrot on his shoulder - pretty good for a three year-old!), lots of lady bugs and several little guys dressed up like Spider Man.  I can not STAND the kids who wear their street clothes and want candy.  NO WAY JOSE!  I am totally the mean lady who will refuse candy to people who are not wearing a costume.  And don't even get me started on the 12 year-old boy who rang the doorbell three times after the porch light was off only to tell me (after I dug some candy out of my own kid's buckets) that I suck "for only giving one piece."  Wow.  What happened to home-raisin'?!?

Ok... off my soapbox now :)  The boys went as a dragon and a puppy this year.  Brooks inherited his costume from Will and I really wanted Will to go as the "dog catcher", but the child insisted on being a dragon.  This is quite ironic since he's afraid of dragons (at least the one on Shrek, which is the only dragon I think he's ever seen).  I think this decision had something to do with the fact that my nephew decided to be a dragon this year.  We have to do whatever Baron does because he's super cool!  I couldn't find a dragon costume in his size that wasn't obnoxious, so I found a dinosaur costume and declared it to be a dragon.  Will was satisfied, so I was happy.

Our neighborhood has quite the influx of trick-or-treaters every year.  People run out of candy by 7:15.  It's crazy.  Church vans and tractor trailers pulling loads of children arrive in the neighborhood by 6:00.  It's too much for one person to handle two little guys in that kind of madness, so we make an occasion out of it.  Both Brandon's and my parents come every year to hand out candy while we take the boys.  Once the boys tucker out (and we convince them that the rest of the houses are out of candy) we head back to the house for some homemade veggie soup and cornbread.  YUM!  That's my kind of holiday :)  Here are a few pictures of Halloween 2011:


Nothing says "Happy Halloween" like a couple of dead mums!


Yes - this is how we roll :)






Brooks was soooo sleepy and his little candy bag was sooooo heavy.  I offered to carry his bag for him, but he refused each time.  I think he was afraid he wouldn't get it back!  

After supper and several pieces of candy, the boys got warm baths and tucked in bed.  Now I just need to find a place to hide the candy........ 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Little Guessing Game



Many of you who know me know that I love to dabble in DIY projects.  I'm not claiming to be good at the DIY projects, but I do love to try them.  The basement project has turned into one HUGE DIY project.  There's so many projects to be done down there that sometimes I'm not even sure of what I should start on next.

As soon as I started envisioning our boys' playroom, I knew I wanted this certain mural painted on the wall.  It's cute, childlike, and educational all at once.  Win-Win.  I just needed someone to paint it.  You know me though, I've talked myself into doing it.  So for the last two weeks I've been mentally preparing myself.  Last weekend, I bought the supplies.



Yikes.  The only excuse I have left is the time issue, which has bought me a few extra days :)  I do foresee tomorrow evening being a good night to start.  We shall see!!  I have a friend who is an artist and I've already warned her that I may be calling her to repair what I've done.  Let's hope I don't have to do that.

So what do you think?  Anyone wanna guess what I'm painting on our playroom wall??


Monday, October 17, 2011

The Lessons of Parenthood

Oh yes, being a parent teaches you so many wonderful things like how to love unconditionally, how to humble yourself, blah blah blah....  but this isn't that kind of post.  And why would it be?  This isn't that kind of blog.  But you knew that :)

When you are a young whippersnapper (and by young I mean totally and completely ignorant) you have soooo many goals and aspirations.  You know exactly what you want out of life and you mean to have it!  That's great.  I'm really proud.  Call me when you meet my friend newborn.

Now before you try to disagree with me, let me explain.  I was once in your shoes.  I just knew that when I became a parent, my life would maintain its straight-and-narrow course to success.  I would continue on my march to adulthood with my sweet, chubby-cheeked, clean-as-a-whistle, polite children in tow.  Wrong.  Little did I know that there were sooooooo many life lessons to learn after I became a mother.

Let's hit a few of the highlights:


The Plan - Before children, you have a plan.  And it's a dang good one.  You will excel at your job  and receive promotion after promotion.  You will travel across the world (with your sexy husband) and sleep in expensive hotels in downtown New York, London and Paris.  You will make so much money from your latest promotion that you will pay extra on your mortgage principal each month.  Right.


When you become a parent, you will be praying to sweet holy Jesus that your boss gives you a decent review despite your tendencies to come squealing into work five minutes late, or the fact that you were out of work the entire month of January due to three cases of strep throat.  You will hope that she can dig down deep into her heart of hearts and overlook the fact that you video conferenced in to your last brainstorm session from home with a toddler sitting in your lap playing trains on your laptop.  You will still get to stay in expensive hotels, only it will be at Downtown Disney and you and your (still sexy) husband will have two children in the bed with you.  And forget that extra principal.  You'll be happy to achieve the existing payment each month thanks to the cost of diapers.

Now.  Let's discuss the Time Warp Continuum that happens when you become a parent.  Everyone will tell you that your children will be grown before you know it.  Or maybe in "the blink of an eye."  And they're right.  For the most part.  What they don't tell you is that despite how fast your babies turn into toddlers, preschoolers and then teenagers, there will be days (and maybe WEEKS) that drag on so slowly that you'll swear you have entered some sort of strange time warp zone.  

Take, for instance, the the first time your child gets up sick in the middle of the night.  Go ahead and buckle down for the LONGEST NIGHT OF YOUR LIFE.  You will probably hold vigil on the couch with your sweet baby in your arms, calling your own mother every five minutes to discuss the child's progress and praying to Jesus like you've never prayed before.  When the sun finally comes up, your baby will probably be sound asleep in your arms, with a reduced fever and on the road to recovery.  You and your husband will rock-paper-scissors for who stays home with the baby and who drags themselves to work to keep from having to use that last sick day.  

You will enter the time warp zone again when that first tooth begins to make its entrance.  This is when the long days turn into long weeks.  They will cry, slobber, and chew on every single thing you own. You will swear that that tooth will never actually show itself, and when it finally does you will be so relieved that you forgive the child when he bites you time after time.  The time zone reappears at every major milestone such as potty training and the first day of preschool.  

Okay.  Moving on to Humility.  Please don't make the mistake of staring down that exasperated mother of the screaming toddler next time you're at dinner.  Because believe me, despite your best efforts in child-rearing 101, that will be your child one day.  I don't care who you are, or how you discipline your children, your child will inevitably at some point act like a wild baboon who has never been in a public setting before.  And it will make you want to cry (and order a bigger margarita) at the same time.  It happens people.  Trust me.

The good news in all of this is that the resulting lesson is flexibility.  You will learn to roll with the punches like never before.  You will learn to improvise and make do with what you have.  After you've made a few diapers out of scotch tape and paper towels, your boss' 15 minute deadline on that fresh project is a cinch.  It's in the bag (just not the diaper bag because you accidentally left that at grandma's last weekend).



(For the record, I love my boys - even if they're teaching me all the important life lessons these days)




Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Ch Ch Cha Changggeesss


And by chaos I mean total and complete disaster zone.  The basement renovations are coming along very nicely.  We're at the part of the renovation that is no fun for me though - plumbing, wiring, blah blah blah... I did however get to pick out the bathroom tile and grout today!!  So exciting!!  We're going with porcelain slate tiles.  So we'll have the look of natural slate, but the low-maintenance of porcelain.  And you know I'm all about some low-maintenance :)  The tile will look similar to this (but not exactly)-


Brandon is actually in the basement right this very moment making some crazy noises that I am 90% certain will wake at least one, if not two, sleeping babies up and let me make this clear - that would NOT be pretty.  Anyhoo - he said something about bull-nose.  If you're not sure what that means, let me fill you in - it's a round piece of plastic that you attach at the corners of the (unfinished) sheetrock, so that instead of a square, pointy corner, you will have a round smooth corner.  After the sheetrock is finished and painted, you're corners look like this (this is not our house, just a picture hacked from the internet):


I've been working on a stenciled wall in the boys' playroom too.  At first, the stencil was a breeze.  Easy Peasy.  Until I reached the corner.  Then my perfectly stenciled wall encountered it's first boo boo.  I discovered (through trial and error) that it's best to let the paint dry before you try to maneuver the stencil around to reach the corner.  I just ended up smudging the paint, so I stopped to let the paint dry.  That was on Saturday.  I have one more corner to do (plus a little touch-up work from my trial and error session) before I'll call this little project complete.  But as a mommy of two young boys (and a husband who is just as eager to finish his projects in the basement) it's super hard to knock out a simple little project without the help of a babysitter, a cook and someone to do my laundry ;)

So what's next?  The general to-do list looks something like this:  install tile in bathroom, paint a hallway, 4th bedroom and 3rd bathroom (and 3 closets), install trim and door moldings, install doors, hang the dropped ceiling, install lighting, and (finally) have carpet installed.

My personal to-do list is:

  • Pick out paint colors for a hallway, a 4th bedroom, and a 3rd bathroom (and then paint them!)
  • Pick out trim and door casings (and then paint them too!)
  • Finish my stencil
  • Paint the built-in bookcases in the playroom
  • Paint the existing trim in the stairwell
  • Paint the hand-rail in the stairwell
  • Pick out our sink and toilet
  • Pick out carpet
  • and finally start decorating!! 
I'm guessing a few of you are anxious to see pictures.  I assure you that I am taking lots of pictures of our progress.  I really want to wait to show you our pictures until the big reveal :)  Believe me when I tell you that it is a HUGE mess right now.  Think dust, concrete, tools and paint cans....  that's what it looks like right now.  PLUS our playroom is a little eccentric and although I truly believe it will be AMAZING when it is finished, it's a little bit overwhelming right now ;)  Hang in there with me though.  I'm hoping that since we are finishing the major components now (plumbing, wiring) that the remaining parts will come together quickly soon!



Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Fall Fun


Fall is in full swing here at the Rutledge house!  The fall wreath has been hung and the mums and pumpkins have taken over the front porch.  I love fall.  It's my favorite season.  I love the cold mornings and the crisp afternoons.  I love orange (go Vols!) and the smell of fresh apples.  And I will admit to already having indulged in two pumpkin spice lattes via Starbucks :)  YUMMM!!

Will came home from school last week with his handmade bird feeder.  I took some pics just to share with you.  The sticky, peanut buttery mess was hung by our little guy right on the back porch.  He checks it from time to time to see if the bird seed has been eaten.  I'm not sure that it has....



As one of our little family traditions, we take the boys to Burt's Pumpkin Patch in the North Georgia Mountains every year.  We made the trip this past weekend.  Our whole family looks forward to it - the pumpkins, the picnic and the apple pickin' afterwards.  I look forward to everything but the car ride there.  The hour and a half drive through the curvy mountain roads doesn't do much for me, but it's worth it in the end :)  Here are the pictures of our little adventure:

Ready to leave! 


Sigh.... I'm thinking it's time to do something about Brooks' hair :( 












I'm crackin' at this pic - Will's face and Brooks kissing on a total stranger...


Our picnic spot...


Just for kicks, I'm showing you a couple of pics of last year's trip.  Both boys have grown, but Brooks has grown so much!! Will looks more "boyish" and less like a baby.  (Yes, Will wore the same shirt this year.  Brooks obviously outgrew his.)  And Brandon and I BOTH have less hair this year :)  I think Brandon looks less "boyish" too...




After the pumpkin patch, a hayride, and a picnic by a beautiful creek, we drove the boys a little way down the road to an apple orchard.  Unfortunately, Brooks fell fast asleep and missed the fun of the orchard, but Will had a blast.  He was really into it.  It's probably a good thing Brooks was asleep.  I can imagine he would have been more interested in the rotting apples on the ground than the fresh apples in the tree.




We now have tons of apples for the eating and several beautiful pumpkins for the decorating :)  Will gets to visit another pumpkin patch with his school next week, so I'm sure we'll be adding a few more little pumpkins to our collection.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

A Day in the Life of a Working Mother

Yes, I realize that I've done a post of this nature before, but that was on a Saturday - just me and the boys.  That's not really a fair glimpse into my everyday life because in truth, that happens very rarely.  So here we go - my every day life - a day in the life of a working mother.

6:27AM: (three minutes before the alarm is set to go off) Brooks wakes up.

6:28AM: I scoot off to the shower before Brooks sees me.  If he sees me it will break my heart to leave right away to get in the shower.  I lock the door to keep the boys out (this includes my husband).

6:35AM: I realize we're out of shampoo.  Crap.  I could yell for Brandon, but I locked him out. Hmmmm... I consider just skipping the wash, but my hair is already so greasy that I can just feel my forehead breaking out, so I think...  I do the only rational thing.

6:37AM: I make a naked & very wet dash across the cold bathroom to unlock the door.  I run back to the warm shower and scream for Brandon to bring me some shampoo from the guest bathroom.

6:50AM: I get out of the shower and step around the three boys in the bathroom to get to my towel and head for the bedroom to dry off.

7:00AM:  I throw my still-damp work pants (the intentions were to hang them to dry) in the dryer and go to dry my hair.

7:10AM:  Will screams from the dark living room that he would like some milk "pweaaasseee."  I head to the living room and step on a plastic onion ring in the hallway.

7:11AM: I pour two cups of milk, open two cereal bars and turn on the babysitter Disney channel.

7:30AM:  I'm excited because I am taking Brooks to the pediatrician today for his 18-month appointment, which means I can actually eat breakfast with my kids before leaving the house.

7:40AM: I realize that the girl who cleans my house is coming today, and she'll be here at 8.  There goes breakfast with the kids.

7:45AM: I take my now-wrinkled pants out of the dryer and finish getting dressed (only a mother of two young children can forget that her pants are in the dryer when she's been walking around in her underwear and dress shirt for 45 minutes).

7:50AM: I try to convince Will to come to his room so that I can get him dressed.  Brandon has so sweetly laid out his clothes, which are a size 3 navy pair of pants and a gray and green size 24 months John Deere T-Shirt (he is constantly getting the boys' clothes mixed up).  Siiggghhhh.  I put the clothes back and pick something else.

7:53AM:  I give up on dressing Will and lay his clothes beside the door.  He can get dressed at his grandparent's.  I try to pick my battles - and this isn't one of them.

7:57AM: I grab a kicking and screaming Brooks and take him to get dressed.  He's not so lucky and has to be dressed properly to go to the doctor. (HOWEVER - I fully reserve the right to let my kids go to the doctor in their pjs when they're actually sick.  If I'm ALSO wearing pjs when they go for those sick visits, please overlook me and my disheveled look and the vomit in my hair.  And for God's sake - someone bring me a coffee.)

8:05AM: I run to the bedroom to put on my jewelry and grab my phone.  I look for Will, only to find him playing very nicely in his room.  I tell him it's time to go.

8:06AM: Will tells me "NO!"  I tell him it's not an option and that we have to leave before the cleaning lady gets there.  I cheerfully remind him that he's going to see his poppa on the farm while I take Brooks to the doctor.  Will replies that Poppa "Doesn't have enough toys!"  He holds onto the toy airport for dear life.

8:10AM: I place Will (who is still dressed in pjs and holding onto his toy airport) in the car.

8:11AM:  I put Brooks in the car.  Will says "HAHA - You're going to get shots!!"  Brooks just nods.  I realize that in a few years, this type of banter will probably start World War III or at the very least, a good solid fist-fight, but for now I let it go.

8:13AM: I run back inside to grab Will's clothes, my phone and a diaper bag.  I stop in the kitchen to write a check for the cleaning lady.  I leave her a note asking her to clean out the microwave (since my mother so nicely told me yesterday that my microwave was disgusting).

8:17AM:  I back out of the driveway and thank the Lord that she must also be running late.  Will starts fussing about an airplane that we left at home.  I turn the radio up :)

8:25AM:  I decide that since I will be forfeiting my two cups of office-style coffee because I'm going to the pedi's office, I'm allowed to drive thru McDonalds and get an iced vanilla coffee.

8:30AM: I pull into Mickey D's and order two hashbrowns and an iced vanilla latte.

8:35AM: I pull out of McDonald's and take a sip of my incredibly over-priced coffee.  Yuck.  It's not vanilla.  Because going inside the restaurant with two half-dressed toddlers is not an option, I continue to the grandparent's.

9:00AM: We arrive at my in-law's and my mother-in-law graciously offers to make us breakfast.  I accept her offer and resist the temptation to take a short nap on her sofa.

9:45AM:  Brooks and I leave for the doctor's office.  He falls asleep shortly after we pull out of the driveway and I turn up the radio :)

10:20AM:  We pull into the parking lot at the doctor's office and I growl.  I find it hard to believe that this many people are in this one building.  I circle the lot three times and succumb to the overflow lot.  If I squint, I can read the sign on the three-story building from my parking spot.

10:30AM: I check in at the doctor's office ON TIME!!  I resist the urge to high-five myself in public.

10:32AM:  We're called back.  Seriously.  It's never been that fast.  They must have also noticed that I was on time for the first time in three years and offered me a reward.

10:40AM:  Brooks get weighed, measured and given the once-over by a ditzy nurse I've never seen before.

10:50AM:  The pediatrician walks in while I'm doing the hokey pokey and shaking it all about!

11:00AM:  The doctor leaves and tells us to wait for the nurse to return with his booster shot.  In walks the ditzy nurse with a 6 inch Q-tip.  She squats down in front of Brooks and starts to swab his throat.  I ask her what she's doing and she tells me she's testing him for strep.

11:05AM:  I'm still arguing with the twirpy nurse who's insisting that the doctor told her to give him a strep test.  I ask her to go get the doctor.  She leaves and never comes back.

11:10AM:  Another nurse (who I've seen before) comes in with his shot and apologizes for the nurse who got her rooms confused.  I love being right.

11:30AM:  Brooks and I are on our way back home.  He's pouting over his sore leg, but proud of his stickers.

11:50AM:  I meet my father-in-law to exchange the baby before I head to work.  I kiss Brooks good-bye.  I see him getting strapped into the car seat, but watching me as I drive away.  My heart breaks a little.

12:00PM:  I arrive at work, put my things away and log onto my computer.

12:15PM:  Rather than respond to my emails, I decide to eat my lunch in the conference room.  I notice one of our "usuals" has come into the bank.  I pick up the pace to the conference room to avoid having to make conversation.

12:30PM:  I'm finishing up my lunch when I notice that the "usual" customer is still my boss' office.  This person (without giving any specifics) isn't doing so well.  This person is elderly and let's just say it's been a while since the elevator has reached the top for this person.  It is very clear that this person needs help.

12:40PM:  My boss decides that it's time to call the police to get this person some assistance.  She calls 911 and I hear her explain that this person IS NOT VIOLENT.

12:45PM:  All six Adairsville police officers bust into the bank GUNS A' BLAZIN'.  It's like a freaking SWAT Team exercise, except it's real.  I don't know whether to go rush to our completely frightened customer, or hide under my desk.  The 40 caliber pistol the officer is holding helps me decide to sit tight.

12:48PM:  We convince the officers that the person of interest is NOT violent and they escort the offender (who didn't really offend anyone) outside for further questioning.

12:58PM:  I'm still peaking out the windows of the bank when the chief of police walks into the office to get some information from me.  I try my best to convey how sweet and pitiful this customer is.  He agrees and says they will transport them in an ambulance for a physical and blood sugar testing.  I ask him to make sure he got a hot meal and he promised he would.

4:30PM: I'm an hour and a half from the end of my work day and I decide to walk to the post office to pick up the bank's mail (it's about 100 yards away).  The son of one of my co-workers had just been dropped off at the bank and I think it would be nice to take him with me.  He's 7.  He'll think I'm cool.

4:32PM:  The little boy and I are walking to the post office and he jumps across the ditch.  He says "can you do it too?"  HA!  Of course I can!

4:32:36PM:  I'm ankle-deep in mud in my three-inch heels on the side of the road between the bank and the post office.  The little guy gets a huge kick out of it and is belly-laughing me.  He says "You made a big hole!"  Thanks kid - I know.

4:40PM:  I'm walking out of the post office with one hand full of mail and the other on the shoulder of my co-worker's son.  He's too cool to hold hands, but I'm not goin' down because he runs out in front of a car, so we compromise.  The wind is blowing soooo hard.  It has to be 30 MPH.

4:41PM:  We're about to cross the parking lot when a gust of wind starts to blow.  The wind picks up and all of a sudden, my thin purple silk dress shirt is OVER MY FACE.  The stinkin' wind BLEW MY SHIRT OVER MY HEAD.  I throw the mail on the ground and scramble to pull my shirt down.  I'm thinking "Suck in!  Suck in!"

4:42PM:  I finally get my shirt down below my bra and bend down to pick up the mail.  I stand up to take inventory of who saw my debacle.  The first person I make eye contact with is the Executive Vice President of the bank's sister-in-law.  She's sitting in her car smiling.  She sweetly rolls down her window and I ask "Did you see that?"  She nods and says "mmmm.  Only the tail-end sweetie."  She rolls her window up with the biggest grin you've ever seen.

4:43PM:  I remember the little boy who is with me and look down.  I ask him if he saw what just happened and he says no.  I thank the Lord for that little mercy (or his ability to lie).  That poor little boy would have been scarred for life.

4:48PM:  We walk back to the bank.  This time when he jumps across the ditch, I walk around.  I've already ruined any opportunity I might have had to be cool.

6:30PM:  I finally get home and sit down on the sofa.  My sweet boys are on their way home to see me.

8:30PM:  The boys are finally in bed and I consider going down to the basement to finish the stencil painting that I started the night before.  I just can't do it.  I'm exhausted and I know two little boys who will be up before the sun tomorrow.

9:15PM:  I start blogging, but before too long my eyes are burning and my yawns are getting bigger.  I call it a night.


***Although I don't typically take the boys to the pediatrician's office every day, this is a great example of my every day life.  Mommy first, work in the middle, and Mommy again to wrap things up.  Our evenings are so crazy from the time I walk in the door until the boys go to bed, that I don't honestly remember any specific event in that time frame.  I sometimes wonder if our "home life" would be more organized and structured if I were a stay-at-home mommy, but since I don't have that luxury, I let it go :)