Positively Mom Street

Kinda - as close as I'll get to it - which is a citified cabin with a tent pitched next to it.  I will not be sleeping in said tent - but Hayden is confident and he and Daddy will spend the night out there - I'm skeptical. :-) Thankful for the end of the work week and chances for mini-vacations! Until tomorrow... Positively, Kim

Hand meets armpit - arm flaps - fart noises emit - uncontrollable laughter ensues. OMG - it drives me absolutely crazy - and who knew there was a real NAME for it??  Quite possibly the most annoying noise/action ever.   I mean, I know it's a natural part of childhood.  I totally remember doing this with my brother and our friends when we were just kids.   However - the current REALITY of listening to my son do this all day long while singing some self created "pit fart" song is just a bit more than I can handle.  It was cute for about half a second before moving quickly  to annoying.  The worst part?  He taught his little sister - my angel girl - to do it as well.  She, of course, thinks EVERYTHING he does is just straight up awesome and this is no exception.  There is something especially disturbing about hearing my baby say "Pith Far, Pith Far" while trying desperately to get some noise to emanate from her armpit. Oh ...

My kids are weird.  I know that isn't exactly a positive thing to say - but it's true.  They are just like my husband and I.  I used to worry that our weirdness would rub off on them and they, too, would suffer the same fate that we (hubby and I) have struggled with our entire lives.  Not really fitting in - kinda being on the outskirts of all things - and that it would be hard for them. But they are different than us - even at their young age I can see that they both possess a confidence and self assurance that neither Chris nor I have ever had as youths or adults.  It's actually pretty awesome.  I'm so proud of them. I mean - Harlyn is still a baby so it could totally change - but if anything she is even more self assured than I seriously thought a two year old child could be.  Nothing phases her - nothing ruffles her feathers.  She just gets up, gets moving and goes with the flow.  If the flow isn't what she wants - oh well - she shif...

or something like that.  We came, we saw, we swam - among other things.  Chris normally rides but had technical issues so joined us at the pool instead. Summer is in full swing and our schedule is out the window. We were at the park playing until almost 8pm - and Hayden did another practice ride for his tri-athalon in August.  A good time was had by all...and the kids finally came full circle with the day and their attitudes.  It had been a relatively rough day - Hayden was tired, mouthy and just generally whiny.  Harlyn has been going through a particularly trying phase which alternates between completely defiant and ridiculously bratty with a few moments of straight up adorable thrown in for sanity sake. Our trip to the park settled everyone down and brought the evening into focus. It was so nice to start summer with the entire family together, hanging out and relaxing - I'm glad it's only day one! Until tomorrow, Positively, Kim    

I just returned from a 4 day business trip to Boston.  It was lovely - truly - to be back on the East coast.  I really enjoyed visiting Boston, eating chowder and walking along the harbor.  I DID NOT enjoy getting lost on the subway (3 train transfers at 10pm was a bit disconcerting) nor the way my hair literally turned from soft waves to Orphan Annie like curls with a frizzy halo that would put Bozo the Clown to shame the minute I left air conditioning.  Overall it was a really nice time - even the work training was interesting - but I was ready to get back to the family - I missed my kiddos and hubby. :-) This morning we celebrated Father's Day.  It was a bit rough at the outset but actually turned into a really nice family day.  If you recall I had to clean up a poop mess on Mother's Day.  Ironically - Chris got his turn today - and while mine involved the kiddos, the dog and some bedroom carpet - he had the pleasure of  having to clean up Har...

I hate the morning.  Hate getting up early, getting breakfast together, dealing with the rush, rush rush to get out the door all the while wishing we could just take it easy for once.  The thing I hate most - though - is myself.  I yell, I scream, I make idle threats the kids KNOW I won't follow through on - every morning it's like Groundhog Day except without the comedic stylings of Bill Murray and instead just me in pajamas screaming like a crazy person. Sigh...I didn't think parenting was going to be so hard.  Of course I did have the misfortune of birthing a child EXACTLY like me.  I know, I know - my parents are THRILLED that I am dealing with all the things I brought upon them - but this time boy style.  He is smart, full of imagination and incredibly kind-hearted. Unfortunately, he is also spacey as the day is long, completely forgetful, and could lose his head (seriously - if it was possible he would do it) if it wasn't stuck on his neck so well!!...

Great weekend with the family.  The kids swam, swam and swam some more - they are both OBSESSED with the pool!  I was able to head up to Denver to visit a dear friend and check out her gorgeous new house - so jealous of all her space - 4 bathrooms!!! - but man I'm glad I'm not on task to clean them!  I can barely manage our two! We are entering Hayden into a kids tri-atholon this summer and the first real practice session was on Sunday.  He did great - bike, run, swim - he's a real trooper though his running speed is more of a fast paced walk. :-) Harlyn has taken to running around the house yelling "Nana Boo Boo" to anyone that will listen - not sure where she learned it but it sure is cute. No complaints for the weekend or the week so far (though it is only Monday) - I see a relaxing short week in my future - I'll take it! Until tomorrow... Positively, Kim

I swear they drive me abso-freaking-lutely crazy!!!!  The day started out rough with an extremely early morning wake up from Harlyn - hello 5:30am!  I know there are some real morning people out there that WILLINGLY wake up at this time - but for this girl - that is WAY before I even want to THINK about getting out of bed. The morning was filled with work drama - why do I let those people make me cry?  Ridiculous.  The afternoon included even more work nonsense as well as one very tired, very crabby NON-NAPPING baby girl.  I tried everything to coerce her into a nap - withholding swimming just made her hysterical - threats of bootie spanking just made her giggle - and after 30 minutes of on again/off again crying I just gave up and let her run around with her brother. Sigh...can't really say one positive thing about this long, tiring, over extended day.  Wait - scratch that - both of my little monsters are asleep, the house is quiet and I am sitting - B...

What a day.  It was long and somewhat grey and definitely riddled with sadness.  I had a hard time getting out of my funk...one thing would perk me up and then another two or three would just pull me back down. It's exhausting. My mind has been full of thoughts - they circle, dip, dive and rise again - pestering me and making my head cloudy.  Today I found out a wonderful women and dear friend of my family is once again fighting a battle against cancer.  It immediately brought me back to a time when I sat back and hopelessly watched my FIL fight this same battle.  On one hand it's about remaining positive - sending your energy so they can continue to fight the good fight - and on the other hand - it's about not facing what is happening - hiding your eyes from reality and desperately trying so hard to BELIEVE it is all going to be okay. Sigh...sometimes it is just not okay - no matter how hard you wish, beg, bargain and pray.  Bad things happen to good...

It was a good weekend.  Chris and I started Friday in our usual way - date night at Salsa Brava complete with queso - mmm mmm good!  The kiddos LOVE going to The Playroom   and it's just a nice way for the two of us to connect at the end of the week - and eating a sit down dinner at a "nice" restaurant is so much more enjoyable when neither of us have to spend the entire time playing referee.  My wonderful momma got us a gift card to The Playroom which makes it that much sweeter - essentially FREE babysitting - can't find anything wrong with that! On that note - if you're reading this Mom - we are just about out of credit (hint hint) :-) Saturday we swam all morning at the "new" gym and Hayden was a water slide maniac.  Harlyn enjoyed jumping off the side and generally splashing around.  We also hit a few garage sales in the neighborhood and Ms. Darley scored some SWEET cowgirl boots...great for her, umm, unique fashion sense.  I immortalized ...

...kinda...lol...at least it's warm, school is out, end of month work madness is over and I think (hope) summer is finally on its way! Today was the first day of summer swim team practice at V7. Hayden had to be there, ready to swim, at 8am!  Oh my - kinda early for this Mommy but on the good side - it gets everyone up, moving and out the door in the morning - and I'm back at my "desk" by 8:30 and ready to start my work day.  Productivity is a beautiful thing... In honor of the new season (and his OBSCENELY shaggy hair) he got a fancy new 'do and so did baby girl.  Of course they are both adorable (and I am NOT biased - no sir-ee) and the picture proof is below. We also had ice cream (which is both kids fav) for dessert just for fun. I love those damn little ice cream junkies. Don't need to dig to find something positive about this day - it was just straight up great. Until tomorrow... Positively, Kim