Crabby Mama

I am so cranky today. I don’t know why. I wanted the kids to disappear. I didn’t feel like hanging out with my family. I just wanted to veg and read. I could NOT wait to get the kids in bed (both were up late last night and Erin was up SUPER early) and sit with a glass of wine, which I am drinking at this very moment. Mike is on his way to the video store to rent us Can’t Hardly Wait, which was one of our favorite movies when we were dating. We own it only on VHS, so I think it is time to upgrade. AND he is stopping to get us some chocolate dessert. I totally needed this tonight. Thanks baby! Hopefully tomorrow will bring a tad warmer weather and a happier me.

1. I remind myself SO much of Kate on Jon & Kate Plus 8. I just watched the episode where they go visit their new house. They go into Jon & Kate’s room and they tell the kids that they will never be allowed in there again. The way Kate explained it and the way she made the kids stay in the room and pay attention just reminded me of me. A minute ago I was telling Leah something and I made her stop and pay attention to me. I had a flash of Kate just then.

2. Erin can count to ten! This morning she was pointing to letters or numbers on their little table (I couldn’t see which one it was) and she counted all the way to ten! Also her favorite color is “geen-pu-pul” and that is the first color she says when I ask what color something is.

After Tuesday night’s fiasco or Erin not sleeping well, I was SO tired yesterday. AND we found out about Erin’s ear infections. So I was not especially looking forward to date night last night. But as we had tickets to RENT and had the babysitter lined up, short of Erin having a fever or being truly sick, we were going.

We ate at Carrabba’s, which is a favorite of ours sans kids. They now have mini desserts. They come out with this tray of six little cups and you can get as many of them as you want (or all 6 for $12!). We got the zabaglione (custard over crunchy biscotti type stuff) and chocolate brownie with chocolate mousse. Then we hit up Starbucks to stay awake the rest of the night. I was wearing my teal Old Navy kangaroo sweater and a lady stopped and said, “That blue is a really good color on you.” Random complements are the best! Then it was time for RENT.

It was SOOOOOO good! We had the original Roger and Mark in our cast. Mark makes my heart skip several beats, he is that good. Don’t worry, Mike agrees. I cried all through the second act for Angel, Collins, Mimi, Roger, etc. I love plays that truly make you feel. And we had pretty good seats too so we could see the faces and expressions pretty well.

All in all, great date night. And Erin was fine at home so I am glad we went.

I was tagged to do this on Facebook. I thought I would put it over here too in case I have some people who don’t cross over.

1. I will never homeschool my kids, even though I am a teacher. I believe too much that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

2. I am addicted to The Bachelor and Biggest Loser. I always cry for the one not chosen on Bachelor.

3. I am a fan of Wii Music, after telling Mike I thought it looked stupid. Oh, and I suck at bass.

4. Most of the time, I CANNOT wait to go back to work. I think I romanticize it in my head A LOT.

5. Most of the time, I want to have more kids. The idea of a big family appeals to me.

6. I seriously think my husband is the best husband and dad I know. I almost never have to bitch about him to my friends. Our biggest problem is money.

7. I am terrified of having a boy. I only really grew up with sisters. I have girls. What to do with a boy?!?!?

8. I am SO HAPPY we moved to NC. I am just a happier person in general since coming here 2 yrs ago.

9. I loved teaching middle school and I think I will probably look for a job in social studies or English when I go back. I like how they think at that age. They have real opinions on stuff. And it is a challenge to come up with things they want to participate in.

10. I am a super-organized control freak who has a problem with clutter. How does that happen?

11. I am NOT a fan of cold weather. I am ready for spring!

12. I just recently realized that I do not have a best girl friend. My husband is my only best friend. I kinda wish I had a girl best friend too.

13. I LOVE eating out. My favorite part is trying new foods, so tapas is the ultimate.

14. I am really proud of the fact that I have been working out five days a week fairly consistently since last August. But I am disappointed that I don’t see the effect of it more in my body.

15. I think I sing okay most of the time, but I get the impression from others that I am not that good.

16. I LOVE my minivan. But I miss driving something small and super-maneuverable.

17. I pretty much like ALL kinds of music except that one where the lead singer screams instead of sings.

18. I truly think TV has taught my kids a lot. I don’t believe that whole no TV before 2.

19. I also don’t believe the new no unprescribed meds for kids under 2 thing. I still give Erin cough medicine and stuff like that.

20. I really hate playing dolls/Barbies with Leah. I am not good at doing voices and making the dolls talk. I do not enjoy it at all.

21. I LOVE reading out loud. I miss reading chapter books to my class. I can’t WAIT until Leah is ready for that.

22. I am not a frou-frou girl. I almost never wear skirts or dresses. I only wear makeup or fix my hair on special occasions. BUT as I age, I find that I would like to look nice more often. I guess I am thinking now that I need more help to just look decent.

23. I don’t miss my kids when I leave them as much as I used to.

24. I will read just about anything. I used to be able to read a 200-300 page novel in an evening. Now I am too exhausted. I usually fall asleep after like 1/2 hour.

25. I love cooking for my family, experimenting with food, and trying new recipes. If you come to dinner at my house, chances are I am making something I have never made before. You are my guinea pig. Good luck.

She has another double ear infection. It is either gym daycare or Leah carrying germs because Erin JUST started school. Ugh! She was up last night coughing and crying. I can’t wait for the meds to kick in.

Erin started school today. As typical of her, she ran right into the classroom and would not hug me good-bye. She actually told me no when I asked for one. I took Leah to go pick her up and she was playing away. When they handed me an art project (a cotton ball snowman) I got teary. I have never even attempted an art project with her yet I guess I assumed that she wasn’t ready. They said she loved it. I am so glad we put her in school, she is such a social creature.

I swear this kid is older than she really is. Tonight after dinner Erin was stripped to her diaper. She grabbed it (it was pretty full) and said “I ge git, dah-pah” (I get it, diaper) and brought one over to me. She was ready to be changed. It was pretty funny.

Erin is also playing with the counting bears a lot lately. She can put all of one color in a cup. She may not know the name of the color but she can sort by color already. What a smartie!

I loved spending time with Mandi and Stacy this weekend. We all hooked up in Savannah at about 5pm on Friday and went to dinner at an English pub. Because we were all exhausted we were in bed watching Bourne Ultimatum at 9pm (don’t judge us).

Saturday it was so nice to *sleep in* (I slept til 8am and read by the window-light until 9:15 when everyone else woke up) and have a leisurely breakfast. We headed out to find a spa for pedicures soon after. It was hard to find a place that wasn’t booked, but eventually we ended up at this adorable brick building covered in ivy. I can’t remember the name of it (Stace, Mandi, help me out) but it was fab! We spent 3 hours there getting pampered and relaxing and chatting and decided that spa trips are going to be a mainstay of all future girls’ trips. We headed back to our hotel room to renew and refresh and get ready for the evening.

Dinner was at Jazz’d, a tapas/martini place. I had seen this place every time I had been to Savannah and always wanted to try it. AHHHHH! It was a small piece of heaven. Some group favorites: Beef Gorgonzola, Chorizo Empanadas with cilantro-lime cream, and Potato-Leek Frittata with fig chutney. The plan was to catch the 8:30 ghost tour that we already paid for (I know, I was coerced), but we arrived at the trolley site 2 minutes late and the trolley was already gone. We were able to grab drinks to chug before the next trolley arrived. The ghost stories told on the trolley weren’t scary but I did NOT get off to tour the “most haunted house in Savannah” with the rest of the people. Mandi and Stacy said it was pretty cheesy though. After we went to the dueling piano bar Savannah Smiles.

I definitely had lots of fun at the bar. It has been a LONG time since I have been “out” like that. But I looked at all the other girls there and I realized that I was probably in the oldest quarter of them. It was kinda crazy.

Sunday morning checkout wasn’t til 11, thank goodness. We got up eventually and headed to Starbucks for that caffeine hit before driving. Stacy left (she had the longest drive) and Mandi & I walked around one of the oldest cemeteries in Savannah. There were graves there from the 1700s. It was interesting to talk about all of their stories.

On the way back to the car, we happened to run across a honey store. That’s right, a store completely devoted to honey. We got to taste 8 different flavors and I actually bought two small jars, one of acacia and one of sourwood. Then it was back on the road.

I have a total of 5 pictures from the whole trip. Mandi has most of them, so when she posts them (!) I will link to them here. Thanks, girls, for such a great time. I hope more of you can make it to the next girls’ weekend in 2010.

My neighbors, Tiffany and Brandon, had their baby this evening. I just wanted to say congratulations on the birth of the newest member of the CDS crew, Weston Larsen. We can’t wait to meet you!!!

Is it too early to tell if Erin will be a stutterer? Because I am noticing it more and more. Especially on say the word “potty” which she says “pa-yah”, she repeats the puh-puh-puh sound several times before saying it. It happens on other words too, but not every word. So I don’t know what to think…

On to me, I am SO excited to meet up with Stacy and Mandi tomorrow afternoon in Savannah. Mandi and I were looking up restaurants to go to. (You can tell who the foodies are.) I realized that there are too many restaurants and not enough meals! That can only make me happier. AND Mandi is bringing me cupcakes! I thought I had blogged about these cupcakes before but I can’t find the entry so here is Mandi’s entry about the famous cupcakes. Seriously, read her entry before you go any further.

I know, right? And we picked some up on the way home from Hive in October and they were worth the detour. Holy deliciousness!

Can’t wait!

The girls LOVED the snow this morning, especially Erin. I will try to pick out the best pics from our playtime this morning to show you.

Our website, G-Rated Life, has more pictures.