January Blah's...

I'm not feeling the blogging world lately. Not much to report and not a lot of wit these days... Tired, cranky kids and January blah's. Blah.

The Tank has a...

Slight obsession with Thomas (he IS a really useful engine.)

The Tank also really enjoys...

All things electric (he's not at ALL like his Daddy. Nope.)

Its a good thing Superkid likes...

Items of the girly sort...

But its even better when....

The world stops screaming for just one moment, to show their true love for each other (and TV).

A View from the Couch...

Last night was our first family movie night of 2011. We have made attempts before however someone (over 24months) usually sabotages our plans with refusing to eat dinner (which is a prerequisite for watching a movie in our house).

Anywho- freshly bathed kids, clean pj's, popcorn, rootbeer and Ratatouille. I think they look like they are having fun don't you?

The fact that The Tank sat on the couch is quite amazing I must say as the only time he ever sits for longer then 30 seconds is for Iggle Piggle and food or both. In tonights case it was the popcorn that lured him I'm sure. But he sat none the less!

We don't make a regular habit of snacking on popcorn or rootbeer for that matter but for this night it was a treat and it was fun!

Twins eh?

They are only 27.5yrs apart... I'd say there is a striking resemblance here...

She even got his fashion sense- eclectic. The good news is she knew enough to put on items with varying shades of pink here.

Superkid and her ability to make you laugh is allllll courtesy of daddy as well.

The only genetic linkage to me would be her natural gift to make every process more difficult due to her ornery nature :P

The Verdict is in....

On a few things actually I might add.

1. I am returning the lens. Yep I have decided to go with less zoom. I will be trading it for this and callin' it a day. Despite my 'financial responsibility' plan, I did recieve over 50% of the money as gifts for my festivus. So I can rationalize it. Then I sold my 18-55mm (well hopefully did as Superdad is makin' the deal tonight off kijij) and pocketed...errrr... hope to pocket $100 which will put the money towards the new lens. So... really its like I didn't even buy it!

2. I went to the Ear Nose and Throat specialist for myself and well the Doc essentially said GIRL where have you been all my life in the most non-romantic tone ever. He alluded to my tonsils looking a tad like the male anatomy and suggested that (but ultimately its still my call) I take the elective tonsillectomy surgery ASAP. Oh god. Did you know that I have an irrational fear of dying and this doesn't help in the least bit? I looked at the doc and the room was a smidge swirly... I attribute that to my lab coat fear blood pressure and gulped uhhhhh ok. So there you have it. Sometime in Winter/Spring 2011 I will be Supermom - 2 superhuge, cryptic and cavernous chronically infected tonsils. In my mind this elective, voluntary surgery would equate to what at least a 10lb weight loss so it may be win-win!

3. I am sitting at my house awaiting the cable guy. Lets just hope its not Jim Carrey who shows up. This little breaky away from worky has afforded me the opportunity to update you, the opportunity to throw a little diddy into the crock pot and to enjoy a Starbucks coffee in peace! Yeah- be jealous.

Did I mention I have had 3 nights in a row of uninterrupted sleep? Did I Did I Did I?

Oh and did I also mention that Tiny dancer super kid had her 2nd ever dance class and she was a hit? Yeah. Did I also mention that I am NOT your typical dance mom? And that in a weeks time I will be live via Blackberry messanger? Life is good. Smashing one may say!

To keep or not to keep.

That is still the question.

I slept on it, and I am no more at peace with either decision so I will share with you some of my captures since I brought this baby home last night.

Pros:

clear

crisp

quick

zoom

Cons:

f/stop

weight

cost

Now for the part that matters:

Oh and did I mention my 18-55mm kit lens has miraculously began to work again and that for an entire year I was able to manage just fine on my 50mm f/1.8 lens? But I looooove having the ability to zoom and to take a picture a little closer then I could with my 50mm. But. I hate the weight, its doing some serious triggering of the carpal tunnel. However, that being said have you seen how nice it is? I could get over carpal tunnel right? I'll get used to it right? Like my body will adjust to the weight of it after a few weeks, months years riiiiiiight?

Joinin' in on the blog hop!

Its ma birthday.January 9th.
I was a very happy mama today, woken up by the sweet sounds of little feeties thwapping into my room to tell me that she had found a present for her and that daddy had gone out for coffee. Huh? My brain was still foggy.
Daddy had gone to get me- the birthday girl a lovely Starbucks treat and sure enough Superkid felt that because it had pink icing and white sprinkles that cupcake was destined to be a shared venture. She got her wish as she always does.
Superdad let me have a day-o-rest. He cleaned up from last nights dinner party, he completed copious amounts of laundry and the folding that comes with! Thank you Superdad that is much more loved then a wrapped box with a gift. But. I do like a good gift.
So with all ma birthday monies I went to Henry's and interviewed a great many lenses and walked out of the store with THIS and now I have an extreme case of buyers remorse. Who can spend that much money on such frivolous objects (especially considering this *sigh).
So tonight over dinner we dined and discussed over mouthwatering ribs and cheesecake. I Supermom agreed to sleep on it (though not literally because ouch... that wouldn't be comfy) and in the morning I will decide if its much too silly for me to keep. I love the speed, I love the colour and crispness of the lens but I despise the weight and gauge of my own personal money I had to put toward it. Perhaps a new outfit would be more frugal and I could keep using the 50mm and 18-55mm lenses I already have.
I will sleep on it.

If I could have Ferber and Karp in the same room....

How can one get angry at this face? Really.

But oh BOY has he been testing the patience of mine lately. We went from sleeping through the night to up several times a night. I'm sorry what? Dude you are 22months old this mama's body has adjusted to the long stretches of sleep so what gives?

I frantically surf the web every night looking for answers. Answers to why oh WHY is my precious little Tank causing so much disturbance to my REM sleep. Tag lines like: Sleep regression or sleep problems in toddlers or HELP-I-want-to-jump-off-the-nearest-bridge-my-child-won't-sleep run through my search engines like the NASDAQ on trade day. Every perfect parent has ideas and solutions to the frantic and sleep deprived parent questions. Cry it out, pick them up, hug them, feed them, give them a bit of bourbon, throw their crib in the garage. You know... all those ideas that have worked for those really great parents.

Anywho so the night I saw the clock from 2:30am-4:00am I enlisted in the Supermom tactics of a lackluster parent. I mixed Ferber with Karp (*gasp) and threw in a little bootcamp Mama. It was not the shining moment in my career as a mom. As I threw back the covers, said some choice words each time I had to go into the Tanks room. I raised my voice out of frustration and I hugged him when I felt bad. That night I realized that those books are garbage really good sources of information in which I can say DUDE you don't have a child like mine do you?

Anyhow- he's cute, he's funny and most of all he makes my heart smile every time I hear that little Tank of mine say "Piggle" or "I-want-that".

From this

to this

Now really- could you get mad at that? His chubby little face just screams trouble! I will say it again. Its a damn good thing he's cute!

I'll have 2 Venti Peppermint Mocha's please.

That will be $11.13- what? Shut up. When did 2 coffee's equal the same amount as 2 McDeal's at McD's? Oh right, when we started paying attention to our budget and drinking $0.00 home brew (which has slightly increased to approx 0.64 cents per cup of java due to my new baby Breville Keurig).


So this year is all about the budget. 2011 will be the year that we get smart. Both Superdad and I have been quite blind to spending for the past 4yrs and its caught up finally, not in the way you scream OMG we are going to lose everything though so relax mom. This year will be about making responsible decisions and not just getting what we want because we want it. 2011 will be about actually creating savings, sticking to a plan and moving towards goals.

We already made a good choice by cancelling our trip to Florida. Superfam was going to drive the 2000 miles to visit Grandpa in Orlando and maybe do a few days at Magic Kingdom. It definitely sucked having to make that decision to not go but in the end it would be more financially responsible. Our thoughts were if we are going to do Disney in 2013 then why do a 'budget' trip now?

Remember last year when I was all about the 'craft' and the lovey crap? Well its time to get my head out of the clouds and make some realistic financial goals that we hope to achieve by 2012. The Superfam wants to go on a real vacation. One where we pack a few suitcases, get on a plane and stay in a hotel. We could drive but it would be at least a 21hr drive. That's right we want to do DISNEY. Between now and the end of 2012 we plan on saving enough money to pay for a trip to Disney in cash. We also plan to have paid off existing debts save for mortgage and start working on the things we would like to complete in our home.

First thing first:
1. Vacation for the family (it will be our first ever trip too!)
2. Replace carpet in our upper bedrooms because by the time we can do this without borrowed money kids will be over that stoop and poop syndrome called Potty learning.
3. Renovate our sad counter space-less kitchen and replace the appliances
4. Backyard overhaul (whereby we may actually consider an on ground/above ground pool)- these are goals remember not set in stone.

So now its about putting a plan into action. Time to set our appointment with our bank to start our fresh new ideas and get what we want!