Hudson the Hoarder

These are some pictures from the other night when PaPa and Hudson were playing "traffic jam". Nolan used to do this all the time with PaPa when he was little. So sweet. They line up all the cars and talk about what make, model and color they are - it is too funny! Hudson LOVES these little cars right now and has started to carry them around everywhere he goes! He holds them in his fat little arms and even tucks them under his armpits just to move them from room to room. My mom pulled out an old Easter basket so he can carry them around. Such a cutie pie!

Really?

So today I caught Scott red-handed in the kitchen loading DIRTY dishes into a dishwasher full of CLEAN dishes. This has happened MANY times before I just never catch him in the act. He always has some lame excuse that he didn't notice that the dishes were clean. Tonight I busted him. I walked in and said "Babe, you know those are clean, right?" He tried to tell me that the dish washer was half empty so he thought it just hadn't been started. Seriously...half empty? Please let at the picture below. Does this look half empty to you? Notice the dirty cutting board that he had just shoved into the rack that was otherwise full! I responded with "I guess if there is one inch on the side of the bottom rack it is half empty?" He then in an effort to save himself pulled out the top rack which was equally full but had one single glass slot open where I had pulled out a sippy cup for Hudson this morning. He just looked at me and we both started laughing. He knew he had no way out this time...he put his head down and started to UNLOAD the clean dishes before adding in the dirty dishes!

Terrible Twos to 5K

I signed up last week to run in my first ever 5K. I have walked in plenty of 5K's but I have NEVER attempted to run in one. This is really a very big commitment for me; just the time needed to train for it is something that I am going to have to squeeze into our already hectic lives! The physical part goes without saying, come on....I have never been a runner. I am the type of person that needs a concrete goal to accomplish something. I can't just say "I want to eat better, exercise more and be healthier". Where that all sounds great - putting it into motion is a different story. My friend Lisa and I have been saying that we are going to do all of these things for a few months now but we haven't actually committed ourselves to it 100%. I will have to write another post about all of the crap that Lisa and I have put ourselves through together - it's hilarious! The list includes but is not limited too - fasting, Atkins, numerous Biggest Loser contests, colon cleanses ((thanks Blake)), the body wrap shop, the 3-day breast cancer 60 mile walk, soup diets, YMCA aerobics, Anci Berry chews, ear staples, hypnosis, going to Traders Village to buy Stacker 3 pills with Effedra after it was banned in the US, weekly office weigh-in's, ordering pills online that turned out to be super scary and the packaging was actually written in Chinese, Weight Watchers, and a million other "get skinny/get healthy" ideas. For some reason the two of us always seem to talk each other into crazy crap - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - but all in all he have a great time trying. It has been a hilarious 10 years of working together! Back to the story... I was in her office last week talking about the fact that we have not been staying on track and decided we needed a new goal. My first thought was something along the lines of a bikini picture being posted on Facebook for whoever lost the least amount of weight in a certain period of time. She wasn't going for that idea at all - extreme YES but it would certainly work. :) I suggested a half-marathon, to which she snorted while laughing at me. I always seem to have big dreams - but if I make a commitment then I always stick to it. So then we decided to commit to running in this 5K in December. If it goes well then we plan to do a 10K in February and go up from there. I am pretty excited about it. I started a boot camp/kickboxing style aerobics class about 6 weeks ago. It is really hard, but I LOVE it! If I can make it through that class - I can certainly train to run a 5K! We have plenty of time to slowly work our way up to running that much. I downloaded a podcast from i-tunes that is a program called "Couch to 5K". It basically has you walk and run in intervals over a 12 week period and each week there is a little more running so you build up your endurance. My plan was to train on Thursday nights at Nolan's t-ball practice, Saturday mornings and Sunday nights since I have my workout class on M/W already. I think that this plan will have to change after last night's ordeal...

We got to practice on time with Nolan's glove - yay! Scott and Nolan walked over the the practice field. I had packed Hudson snacks, a sippy cup, and a few books. I figured that would be enough crap to keep him happy in the stroller while I walked. I don't have a jogging stroller but since this first week is mainly walking I figured it would be okay to just use our regular stroller and figure out something else in the next few weeks. He instantly got mad when he saw that Scott and Nolan were going over the field and he was trapped in the stroller. He cried for a minute but I was able to distract him with graham crackers and get down to business. I turned on my i-pod and started my warm up. It was only about two minutes before he started crying again and was done with the crackers. I just kept grabbing things out of the basket that occupy him for a few more minutes for about the first 15 minutes. All that I had left were fruit snacks and so I ripped them open and handed them to him. He LOVES fruit snacks but we really don't eat them very often because seriously they are just glorified candy. Once they were gone he flipped out. He was screaming for more fruit snacks at the top of his lungs. I tried to just distract him with things in the park but he was pissed. I had walked to the other end of the park right at the beginning - far away from practice so that he would hopefully forget that Nolan was out and free. I knew that the poor soccer moms at this end of the park were probably sick of hearing him scream. At this point I could either stop my training and go back to Nolan's practice and fight Hudson for the next 45 minutes to keep him off the field and out of the mud OR I could ignore his fit and just keep going and hope that he stopped. I decided on the second option since neither were a sounding all that great and I really need to start my training. I went for 10 more minutes and Hudson cried the entire time, I finally gave up so I just skipped the cool down and started to head back to the field. I knew that all of the soccer moms were at us. They probably thought I was one of those moms. The ones that care more about themselves then their children...but seriously, look at me, do I look like I am always out exercising and making time for myself...NO. It was one night, good lord. We got back over to the team and watched the last half of practice. Hudson was a hoot and was back to his old happy self. He was talking to all the mom's being the sweetest, cutest toddler ever. (of course this was because he was finally out of the stroller and in the mud) I even thought to myself - these moms don't even know about the out of control fit that he just threw, or how embarrassed I was to be one of those moms. When practice was over the coach walked over and said "Well I guess this little fella is better now!" I really didn't think anything of it and I just thought he said that because he saw him cry when we walked away from the start of practice. As Scott and I walked back to the car he told me that he could hear Hudson screaming the entire practice. GRAND. The whole time I was thinking that our little spectacle was under wraps when really the whole dang team heard it even from half a mile away. Thanks Hud! Guess I will not be training on Thursdays after all. Hopefully none of the parents report me to CPS! Ha ha!

Nolan's T-Ball Update...

Nolan is loving t-ball! He is working really hard and seems to actually get the concept. This was NOT the case last year when he played soccer. I am glad to see the effort on his part and watch him try hard to be a great player. This might sound a little silly but I actually feel like he has matured a little just since school has started. He just completed his fourth full week of school and has had all "Smiley Faces" and no checks in his folder. This is huge for Nolan! Last year we had a bit of trouble with staying on task and not getting silly with other kids in the class. This year it's like a totally different kid! (okay, okay, I know - let's not get too carried away!) I even wrote his teacher a little note just to check in and make sure that there are no behavioral issues that I needed to know about. She wrote back and that said he is doing great nothing to report. It was actually worrying me that he had not been in trouble! Weird, I know. Anyway - he is doing great and we are proud parents right now!

Mamie's 99th Birthday!

We had a bust weekend even with a sick kiddo and the messes mentioned the previous post. It rained all weekend, which is really weird for the DFW area. I am sure that we needed the rain; I just don't think anyone really wants it on our days off! Friday night Scott's softball game was rained out so we ended up going to eat with Mike, Nicole and Addyson. Mike's b-day is Monday so he picked China King Super Buffet. This is probably my LEAST favorite place to eat (right up there with Panchos). But I guess once a year is okay. :) The kids where actually better than I expected but there is a lot of logistical work involved with buffets and small children! Lots of running back and forth with food for someone, but at least everyone ate good. Saturday morning Nolan's 1st t-ball game was rained out too. Bummer! He was super excited and we hated that it was cancelled. We ended up going to eat breakfast at Chick-Fil-A and then getting haircuts for the boys. I met up with Becca about noon to checkout Zest Fest. It was kinda like a bridal show but for spices, marinades, hot sauces and seasonings. We had a really good time and got a little carried away with all the crap we purchased. A couple of beers and $100 later we left with bags of goodies! At least it's kinda like groceries and we will have lots of new stuff to try for a while. Then it was on to Wes and Tammy's house for Mamie's 99th b-day party. Hunter and the boys had a great time playing together. He is always so sweet with them and lets them play with all of his trucks and toys. Mamie is doing as well as can be expected for 99! I am glad that the boys will have good memories of her because I have greatmemories of my great-great grandmother - Granny Hale. I think that is pretty special to have even known a great-great grandparent! When we got home with the boys it was about 9 o'clock. I was tired but I tucked in the boys and ran over to the Petty's to celebrate Tannie's b-day for a little while. It was fun to just kick back and have a few beers with everyone. Scott of course stayed home with the boys so I didn't stay out too late. Sunday Hudson woke up with a fever but I thought maybe it was just a fluke thing but it continued off and on all day. Poor guy, he has been so congested. My mom called in a panic because she had a sudden leak from her roof. We went over there so that Scott could put a tarp on it and then he wanted to jut sit on the couch and watch the first Cowboys football game. I went to Kelli's baby shower in the afternoon and then we missed out on Audrey's b-day since Hud was still yucky when he woke up from nap. I cooked a big dinner and we ended the hectic weekend with a leaky hot water heater. I am tired just typing about all of it! Hopefully this weekend won't be quite as busy! Attached below are a few pics from Mamie's birthday party.

Mess!

Hudson has had a snot nose for a week and ran a fever off and on all Sunday!

Nana's roof has a leak and her ceiling was getting all wet and so we went over there yesterday morning so that Scott could sweep leaves off her roof and put a tarp up there till she can get the insurance guy out there!

Our hot water heater started leaking water and made our hall, bedroom and livingroom carpet all wet, I am currently at home waiting on the plumber.

Not been a good couple of days at the Mays'. :(

Mustard Meltdown

Tuesday afternoon was a complete disaster for the Mays. It was just one of those days where I just couldn't catch a break. Nolan is going to play t-ball this fall for the first time. His first practice was on Tuesday night. We had also purchased tickets for the fall dinner at his school. It was going to be hard to make it to both events; but since we had already spent $20 on the tickets I wanted to go. I left work a little early so that I could get home, get Nolan dressed, iron t-shirts for the boys and Scott. (so he could just run by home change and meet us at the field) and pack us up. I pulled out two camping chairs, made ice water bottles for the whole family, packed snacks and toys to keep Hud occupied and charged the battery for the camera. We had movies that were due back at Blockbuster by 7pm so I asked Nolan to grab his movie and I got mine and we loaded up the car. I drove up to Blockbuster only to realize that Nolan just grabbed the case without the movie. Ugh! No time to go back so we just headed on to practice. Since this was our first practice, we weren't exactly sure where we would be setting up. The coach said he would probably be at end of the park next to the horses. I pulled right up and got a great spot. I unloaded everything and let Hudson walk with us out to the field. (it was the first time without the stroller) We didn't see a team of small players anywhere so we just kept walking... ALL the way down to the other end of the park. Apparently teams already had those spots so he had to just find a place. Once we walked up (mind you both of my arms are full of all the crap we needed) I realized that I didn't get Nolan's glove. OMG! That is the MOST important thing for t-ball practice. It never even crossed my mind. I was embarrassed for little Nolan who was the only kid without a glove. It worked out though because they just had the kids practice running the bases and batting during the first half. I had to call Scott and ask him to grab it. Practice went well, Nolan is learning the basics and his coach is great! After practice we loaded everything back up and went up to the school. Everyone was hungry, hot and tired. Scott said that he didn't really want to go and that it would probably be cold and picked over since it was already 6:30 and the dinner started at 5:30. I told him that the dinner was from 5:30 to 7:00 and that I was sure lots of families were just now getting there - especially those that work. Um, let's just say I was wrong, dead wrong. Scott was right on the money. I think that we were the last family to walk through the line and all they had left were cold hot dogs and flaming hot cheetos. Not good. Hudson had a meltdown as soon as he saw the hot dog. He hates hot dogs and wouldn't even touch it. Too make matters worse I had told him in the car that we were going to Nolan's school to eat sausage and french fries. (The kid will hardly eat meat but if we tell him that the burger is sausage we can usually get a few bites out of him.) Hudson started yelling "Sausage and French Fries - I no like hot dogs!" Scott was griping about how he knew we should have just cut our losses and gone home. I looked over at Nolan and his hot dog was gone and he was asking for more. (He seriously ate the dang thing before I could even get mustard on mine!) I thought, okay I will feed Hudson some cookies from the diaper bag for now and give Nolan his hot dog. BIG MISTAKE! Hudson started throwing an even bigger fit at the fact I had just taken his untouched food. Nolan was asking for more ketchup, Hudson threw himself onto the floor and Scott started in with an "I told you so" kinda remark. It was out of control!! I slammed my hand down on the table and hit the mustard packet - which then made mustard squirt out and fly across the table and land on Scott's shirt. It certainly wasn't on purpose but Scott's eyes got huge and he was instantly SO mad. Right then he got up from the table and said "That's it! I'm leaving, this is ridiculous! I knew we shouldn't have come!" I, of course followed it up with "Well good, just go!" He got up and left since we had two cars there. I couldn't believe he actually left but he did. I was SO mad. The PTA meeting was starting so I cleaned up our mess got us the heck out of there! Nolan was crying cause he hadn't finished his 2nd hot dog and I had to pick up Hudson off the ground and carry him out screaming. It was awful. Instead of being one of those moms, we were that family! (Becca said that to me when I told her the story!) When I got home Scott wasn't there. After feeding, bathing and putting the boys to bed he came home (about an hour later). I was so mad I didn't even speak to him. This is rare - even if I am mad I at least yell at him. But not that night I was TOO mad. I still had to take the stupid movie back to Blockbuster so I grabbed it and left. At 9:00 I was finally able to take a shower and then eat some cereal for dinner. Scott and I patched things up the next day after he listened to me scold and lecture him for an hour. He knew he was in trouble so he just took it. Of course he was extra sweet the rest of the week. Jerk. :)

Ava's 5th Birthday Party

We went to Ava's 5th birthday party at Pump-It-Up. Of course we had tons of fun! Nolan and Hudson just love Ava and Addison. It was a Cheetah Girls party and the cake was super cute. Hudson was so good at climbing through the tunnels and up the big ladder to the top of the slide. The kid has no fear! Nolan ran around like a crazy kid and begged Chris to play with him the whole time. I think he thinks Ava's daddy is just a bigger kid - ha ha! We always have a great time with the Kings and today was no exception. Happy B-day pretty girl!!

Kindergarten Heart-Throb!

It's hard being a boy mom. I came from a family of all girls and there are SO many issues that crop up about boys that I just don't know the best way to handle. Sometimes I feel sorry for Nolan because he has a mom that is clueless on boy stuff - but I'm trying! Just when I think that I have a handle on boys and boy stuff something new happens. :) Wednesday after school, Nolan tells me all about these two little girls Erin and Avery that like him. He said that they told him they love him and he doesn't know why. He got all red faced and embarrassed when he told me about it - lots of eye rolling and shrugging of shoulders. It was really funny because he was very serious. I was actually surprised that he told me. He said that Erin said that he is her boyfriend and then Avery said that it's okay to be her boyfriend because he is going to marry him when they grow up. It made me laugh. I just told him that girls are silly like that and to just ignore it.

Thursday when took Nolan to school I went inside with him because I needed to put money in his lunch account. (Not that he wants to use it yet but I wanted money to be in it in case he forgets his lunch or decides he wants to buy milk sometime.) I dropped him off at his designated table and walked over to the lunch ladies. When I came back just to tell him bye, a little girl walked up and said "Hi Nolan!" in this sweet little drawn out voice. He immediately huffed and rolled his eyes. I asked him who that was and he told me that was Avery. She came around the table and sat right across from him. I swear her backpack was bigger than she was! Her big brother was telling her to move because she was sitting in the wrong place. She told him to leave her alone and that she wanted to sit by Nolan. She then said "Hi Nolan's Mom!" (Very forward for a 5 year old, right?) I just smiled and talked to her for a second and then kissed Nolan good-bye and walked out. The funniest part was when I looked back and she was blowing him kisses from across the table and he was telling her to stop it. SO FUNNY! I hadn't really thought about girls liking Nolan already. I mean I remember chasing the boys on the playground and they could have cared less about girls! We had a form for the school directory and they asked for the student's home phone and email address. Seriously, I don't even know our home phone number and there certainly isn't a phone plugged into it. I of course put my cell phone and my email on the form and didn't think about that being an issue until today. What happens if little girls start calling my phone or even emailing me....CRAZY! What do parents do these days with their kids? Is this why they all have cell phones at 7? I guess we are going to have to plug a phone into the land line for them in a few years! At least I hope I have a few years and not a few weeks!

On Saturday we went to Ava's 5th b-day party at Pump It Up. On the way to the party Nolan said "Well, I'm not going to marry Ava anymore." I asked why and he reminded me because he has to marry Avery. Then like a true jerk guy he said "But I'm not gonna tell Ava that today. That would hurt her feelings and I wouldn't want to do that since it's her birthday." Right!!! It's like he's already been through teen guy training and knows the ropes. He will be that guy that breaks up with the girl right after Valentines or right after the holidays...so sad! We have always joked that we want the boys to marry our friends kids but now I am thinking twice about it...too much drama! Ha ha!

Wow - 9 Years!

Scott and I celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary yesterday. We have been together for 12 years which is just crazy! I can remember feeling like I had only known him for a short time of our lives. Most of our stories were about life before each other - that is certainly not the case now. I can barely remember things that happened before Scott. School seems SO long ago. My whole adult life has been with Scotty and what a life it's been! We have been through the best and the worst of times together. I love Scott, he is my perfect match and probably my complete opposite. We have the best of friends, a loving family and two amazing boys. We are both stubborn and bicker all the time; that's just part of life the the Mays'. (It actually makes me think of my grandparents who were married for 58 years.) He makes me laugh and keeps me on my toes for sure! We are passionate people whether it's for our children, our hobbies or our relationship - we work hard to make it work everyday. Scott understands me like no one else ever could - me, my feelings, our life. I am thankful everyday that he asked for my phone number all those years ago.

Loser!

Last week Scott and I were in the kitchen and we overheard Nolan call Hudson a loser. We both went into the living room and had a long talk with him about how he is not allowed to call anyone a loser. Not ten minutes later he got mad at Scott about something and called him one. He was immediately put in the corner and had TV and books taken away for the rest of the day. That seemed to do the trick and he did not say it again. Then this week on Wednesday Scott asked Nolan to do something and Nolan responded with "Okay Winner!" We were both just kinda stunned. Did he seriously just replace loser with winner? Good god. How do we even handle that? He has us on a technicality. Little smartie pants! Of course we both scolded him and explained that he could not call anyone anything other than their names. Can you imagine when he's a teenager?

What happened to this sweet baby?