Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Those Little Moments

Has it really been November since I last blogged? Oh my word...time flies when you are having fun (or something like that..... :))! So many little everyday things have happened, and I wanted to blog all of them, but time just slips away so fast and before I know it, it's been 6 months since I last blogged!

Last night, a sweet moment occurred, and since this blog is supposed to be things that I want to remember, I knew this was one I HAD to write down. It was bed time, and in the spirit of being honest, not my favorite time of day. It was also bath night, which means the kids have to come in a bit earlier from outside, which makes NONE of them happy. We managed however, and everyone was bathed and in clean jammies. Books had been read and everyone was doing their best to come up with reasons to stay up and pulling out all their best stalling techniques. Claire was pretending she was scared of the thunder, except she's not AND it wasn't really even storming so she could hear much thunder. They are getting creative with their stalling techniques. I laid in the girls' bed for a bit and we chatted and made weird shadow shapes on the wall. Too often, I just can't wait to get them into bed so I can have a little bit of break, so I am trying to slow bedtime down and spend a little time just chilling with them. This has happened for a grand total of 2 days, so we'll see how it goes in the long run. ANYWAY, I got Darren settled in his bed with his flashlight and books, and went to tuck in Kai. He had had his bath and was so snuggly in his fire truck jammies and his pluggy snuggling with his blankys. I went to go cover him up and he patted his pillow and said "Mommy sleep? Mommy sleep Kai bed?" Now, normally, I just say no but last night he just looked so cute and hopeful, that I just had to say yes. I crawled in and laid by him. His little body snuggled up next to me, and he was so warm and smelled so good. That smell that is so distinctly baby. Baby wash, baby lotion mixed with a little bit of boy and a little bit of sleep. I wish I could bottle it and save it forever. I laid by him just for a couple minutes and then gave him and kiss and told him I loved him, and for the first time, he, all of his own accord, said "I love you Mommy!" My heart squeezed and it almost brought a tear to my eyes. He's SUCH a little turkey-stubborn and determined and it's so easy to get frustrated when I feel like all I do is tell him no and give him spankings all day, but then little things like the first "I Love you Mommy" randomly slip out and it makes it all worth it. Yeah, I guess I can do this another day! :) This morning, of course, he is back to his life goal of turning all my hair gray in the next year, and being his crazy wild self, but the little boost was just what this momma needed. :)
Hope you have a blessed, wonderful, crazy, "I Love You Mommy" Day! :)

Update on the life of the Brandt's! :)

Not sure why this didn't get published...so it's out of date, but you can read it anyway! :)


My Goodness! Checked out my blog tonight and realized my last post was in NOVEMBER! Waaaayyy too long, but I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles! :) I don't feel like going to bed tonight even though I really need to, so blogging is a good excuse to not go to bed right?!? :) I thought I would just fill everyone in on our lives these days. Nothing too exciting, but you don't have to read it if you don't want to! LOL! :)
Sam: For those of you that haven't seen him in a while, you might need to look twice. The man is about half his size! Ok, maybe not half, but 90 lbs less! He really looks AMAZING! No real gimmicks or fad diets. Just some good ol' willpower, calorie counting, and exercise! I told him he needs to stop losing weight because we can't afford to buy him new clothes all the time! :) He is planning on doing a Tough Mudder sometime this summer-crazy fool! :) I know this may be a little TMI, but hey, it's my blog, so tough. :) Back before Sam and I were dating and even when we started dating, I have to admit, the first thing I noticed were his VERY blue eyes and his MUSCLES! Guess I just have a thing for buff arms! :) Those muscles got hidden for a bit, but now they are back, and I really like them. :)

Me: Unfortunately, I cannot say for myself that I have lost 90 lbs...or 20 lbs...or 10 lbs...or...nevermind...you get it. I wish I had an ounce of the determination that Sam has, but I guess I just love food! However, I am doing much better choosing healthier options (most of the time) and hitting the gym at least 5 days a week. Sam and I are doing a boot camp class together at 5:30 am on Mon and Fri and I LOVE it! It's definitely tough, but I feel so good when I get done. I don't sweat easily as a rule, but that class makes me sweat! :) I'm too scared to weigh myself because after the first month of doing the best I could, I lost a grand total of ONE LOUSY STINKIN' POUND!!! GGGRRRRRRR! Sam says the time of day, etc that I weighed myself wasn't the same and that makes a difference, but still! So we just keep plugging away and pretending that the next time I step on the scale it will be 10 lbs lighter...yeah right. I am doing the C25K thing so I am really hoping to run at least one 5k this summer. I also signed up with my crazy husband for something called a "Hard Charge". It's like a 4.5 mile race with obstacles...mud, barbed wire, fire, etc. I can't believe I am actually doing it, but in a crazy sort of way, I am excited just to see if I can do it and prove to myself that I can. Thankfully we are getting a pretty good team, so I just tell the guys if I can't do it, part of their challenge will be to carry me over all the obstacles. Plus, it's just a fun run and not actually a "race" so that takes a lot of the pressure off too.
On the homefront, I really love snow and being snowed in, but I am REALLY ready for spring/summer. If for no other reason than I am SICK of socks and shoes...hurry up flip flop weather! :)

Ellie: Loving school, just finished her 3 or 4th Boxcar Children book, which I am very much enjoying reading with her as well. She has very eclectic taste in her books, so we just get a little of everything when we go to the library! :) HATING school lunch-which I'm not so sure I blame her. Some of that food sounds awful. I know they are trying to make things healthier, but I'm not so sure that making it taste bad is helping matters. She would come home SO crabby until Mommy finally clued in that she wasn't getting enough to eat because she's so picky. Plus she HATES it when they have to put stuff on her tray that she doesn't like. She just can't handle it. So, while it's kind of a pain for me every morning to pack her lunch, I have definitely noticed a change and I think she is feeling better too. Still my little fashionista and still LOVES to perform for whoever will watch her! :)

Darren: In training to be a ninja. He told me this afternoon that he "has some really awesome ninja moves Mom. You better watch me". They were pretty amazing, let me tell ya! He loves school, and is  really well, much to my surprise.  Not that I thought he was stupid, but just that I didn't think he would care and be too spacy. He's still pretty spacey, but has grown intellectually this year by leaps and bounds. It's amazing to witness his progress and hear him be SO proud when he shows me what he knows. Super Kudos to his teachers-they really do an amazing job! He's super pumped for it to get nice out so he can get back to practicing his baseball. Santa brought him a football and a tee that his mean ol' Mom won't let him use in the living room, so he's ready to break that in as well. He is a FIERCE protector of those he loves.
**Ok deviation here for a SUPER CUTE story...
A couple weeks ago, Sam had to go to Texas for a few days. I hate it when he leaves, but we always seem to manage. I made mention to Darren, kind of off handedly, that now that Daddy was gone, he was the man of the house! From that moment on, he was in protector mode. CUTEST. THING. EVER!!! He carried his nerf gun around, fully loaded. I didn't really think too much of it until he told me that if any bad guys came to our house, he was going to shoot that "nerf shooter" at their eye and when the suction thing got stuck in their eye, he would pull it out with their eye, and then they wouldn't be able to see so we could get out and I could call the police while he was doing that. Apparently the constant repetition of me saying "please do not shoot that thing at people's faces-you could really hurt their eyes" really did sink in! :) Anyway, for those several days, he was always packin'. For the most part, it was the nerf gun, but he did switch it up from time to time with a water gun, so I always felt very safe. :) I didn't realize until later how serious he was and how much he had taken my off handed comment to heart. Sam had gotten home, and I was tucking Darren in when I commented about how he should go right to sleep because he looked so tired! Seriously-he just looked absolutely bushed-more tired than I think I have ever seen him. Not crabby tired, just weary tired. He looked at me and said "Yeah, I'm 'dis glad that Daddy is home. I sure am tired of being the man of the house"! At that moment, I realized that all that time, he was in a fierce protector mode. I had smiled and thought it was cute how he was "protecting" me but in his little 5 year old mind, he was DEAD SERIOUS! He was the MAN of the HOUSE and he was going to protect all of us from any bad guys. My heart just kind of swelled with love. My skinny scrawny little 5 year old had worn himself out to exhaustion protecting his momma and his sisters and little brother while his daddy was gone. I also realized how awesome it was for him to recognize that now that his daddy was home, he was off duty and the trust he had that Daddy could handle it and he could just rest made my heart happy too. I'm a lucky girl that's for sure.

Ok, well...I think you are going to have to wait for the rest of the update! :)I'm ready for bed now, and I have to be up bright and early to hit the gym before the yahoos start to get up! We are heading to Iowa City tomorrow for a check up for Kai, so I probably should get SOME sleep so I can be cohearant with his drs! :)
Night All! :)