I've Been Shredded.

Jillian Michaels has kicked. my. rear. Oh, yes. I've been hobbling around like an old lady a'groanin' and moanin' all day! And this is all from yesterday's workout:)

I first began my working out adventure last May. I have never worked out. Never! I was definitely not the athletic sort back in high school. I much preferred quieter pursuits like playing my piano, reading and hanging with my best friend. Very exciting. But Ben's health was rapidly declining last year due to severe sinus issues (and other things) and he started a crazy diet and started working out a lot and I got motivated to take care of myself! You see, you can be thin and not be in shape! I've had no trouble losing any baby weight after my two boys but I've never been in good shape. We have been gradually improving our eating habits over the past few years to include lots of fresh veggies and fruits, less processed foods and whole grain breads. There is nothing like having kids to make you want to change! But exercise is important, too!

I was SO faithful in working out from the time I decided to go for it last May. I do not go to a gym. There's a few problems with that for me: 1. Money 2. My kids 3. I don't know what the heck I'm doing with all those crazy machines! So, it was exercise DVDs for me! I have several Kathy Smith DVDs that I like to workout to (cheesy 80s music and all:) like a Step workout and one of my favorites, a kickboxing one!

Anyways, faithful to working out 3-4 times a week up until my back injury in January. It's amazing how quickly you can lose all that you worked so hard for! I am starting the 30 day Shred, determined to kick myself back into gear! I'll post from time to time and let you know how I'm coming along on my journey to a rockin', in shape, I-want-to-live-past-50 body!! For now, I'm just trying to find the motivation to hobble off to bed:)

Bumps and Chocolate!

My poor sweet boy is sporting a nasty bump and bruise on his head tonight:( We were at the park celebrating a friend's birthday when Samuel came running by chasing friends and tripped over a water pipe sticking out of the ground and smacked his head on the cement. It was a terrible sound and still makes me sick to think about it! He was inconsolable for 10-15 minutes and as I sat with him, holding ice on his head and trying to comfort him, several caring friends paraded by to make sure he was okay and to give advice. With phrases like, "If he vomits" or "If his eyes don't look quite right" or "If he loses consciousness" swimming around in my head, I admit I knew some moments of panic. Ben and I watched him very closely until he went to bed and just went in to wake him up and make sure he is okay. It hurts to see your baby hurt! You can't see in the picture but it's a large egg under the cuts and it's very bruised. He did fall asleep happily though with an ice pack laying on his head and lots of TLC from mommy and daddy. Who could ask for more??

The Wounded Veteran


And who, of course, can resist some fabulous chocolate cake for dessert? Since I did NOT indulge in any cupcakery cupcakes loaded with enough frosting to make 6 children slap happy, I decided to make my own sinful delight at home:) Friends, meet chocolate cake. Chocolate cake, meet my tempted friends.....

Chocolate Cake:

1 package of Devil's Food Cake mix
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
2 TB cocoa powder
1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips

Frosting:
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2-2 TB cocoa powder
3 TB granulated sugar

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat cake mix, water, oil, eggs and cocoa powder on low until blended. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir chocolate chips into batter. Pour into greased 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

2. Cook for 25-30 min or until done and house is filled with heavenly scent of chocolate.

3. As cake cooks, beat heavy whipping cream, sugar and cocoa powder in a chilled bowl until stiffened and thick. Spread cooled chocolate delight with equally delicious chocolate whipped cream icing. Enjoy large piece with glass of milk.

4. Work out next morning.

Dinosaurs

My boys are really into dinosaurs these days! I can't even really remember how it started. Maybe because we got a book on dinosaurs and have a few small plastic dinosaurs but it was really fueled by a trip to the zoo last weekend to see the dinosaurs! Dinosaurs at the zoo, you ask? Yep! There is a new exhibit at our zoo with life-sized, roaring, moving dinosaurs. We thought the boys would be terrified but instead they were utterly enthralled:)

Since then, the boys have been roaring and making dinosaur claws and pretending that they are different types of dinosaurs. Samuel will ask, "What dinosaur are you, daddy?" And daddy will say something like, "Oh, I'm a...T-Rex!" And Samuel will respond, "No, you're a stegosaurus!"

This afternoon the boys were absolutely convinced that they heard a dinosaur downstairs. It was hilarious to listen to them! It all started because of a drilling type noise on the floor below us that made a really strange sound:
Samuel, gasping, "What's that noise?!"
Zakkai echoes gasp and question, "Wha's dat noise?!"
Mommy: "I think someone is drilling downstairs. Probably Ivan. (our janitor)."
Samuel shakes his head, "No, mommy. That's not right. It's a....dinosaur!!"
Zakkai with wide eyes, "A dinosaur!"
Samuel and Zakkai talk amongst themselves for several minutes, while all is quiet downstairs on the dinosaur front. Then suddenly, we hear the noise again!
Zakkai: "It's a T-Rex!!"
Samuel: "Yeah, mommy, that's a really big T-Rex downstairs!"
Both boys run to the window, positive that they are going to catch a glimpse of the elusive, gigantic T-Rex that lives on the 2nd floor of our building. He's a sneaky one!

Shhhh...don't tell them!

I'm Tootin' My Horn!

As I sat here and thought about all of the wonderful, usually "little" things that I accomplished this week that made me feel SO productive like running errands, babysitting, cleaning the house, entertaining guests, making several new delicious meals....(wow, I'm tired just thinking about it!) this is what came to my mind:

Motherhood is full of joy. It is also filled with pain. You are gifted with the smallest and most vulnerable of God's creation to love and raise with wisdom and patience. It is an awesome responsibility, one that I feel privileged and terrified to have all at the same time.

Motherhood is joy because of the smiles, laughter and hugs. Chubby hands holding your own, kisses from sweet baby lips, tickles on soft, velvety skin, listening to high pitched little people voices and praying over them and watching the soft, even rise and fall of their chest as they sleep peacefully. Amazing. Your heart swells with so much love and tenderness, pride and protectiveness that it almost hurts sometimes. I would absolutely, in a heartbeat, die for my sons.

And yet, Motherhood is also filled with pain. My own mother-in-love told me this before we had children but I didn't understand then. I do now. You love this small person so much and pour out so much of yourself into them and when they look at you defiantly and yell, "No!" or hit you or look at you with anger; you feel pain. When you have to discipline your child because you only want the best for them, you feel pain. When you make mistakes as a parent, there is incredible pain.

I don't often feel that I have much to "toot" about myself as a mother, often focusing on my mistakes and need to "do better" and "change," but I do know this: I love my sons with every single breath that I have, through the frustrating moments and times I want to rip my hair out to the moments where my heart melts and is a puddle around my tired, aching feet. I LOVE my children and that deep, unshakable love causes me to want to be a better person, to change and be the best example I can be for them. Being a mother has made me more selfless, more kind, a better listener, a stronger person because I have to be strong for them, more mature but most of all, it has helped me better understand the love that God has for me. I love being a mother and THAT makes me want to toot my own horn!

Crazy or Not Crazy?

We took the plunge.

February 20th, 2009 (2 years old)
Once upon a time, all was quiet on the crib front.....until one day when little Z decided to climb out of bed to play with his brother...
May 22nd, 2009 Construction in Progress (2 years 3 mos)
After much debating and praying that Z wouldn't hurt himself again....

Daddy's helpers (helping from afar)
We decided to take the plunge and set up the big boy bed.
Almost done. Good work, daddy!
The boys were SO excited and probably already planning their nightly parties...
All ready for bed! (7:45pm~later than usual)
Already getting to bed later than normal, we were in for a night.
Forewarning: Waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too excited:)

I already knew before glimpsing this twinkle in his eye, that there would be a battle

Samuel in his new bed without rails!
Even if they did look sweet in their new beds...
9:45pm
2 hours later, they gave up
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..........

And drifted off into dreamland. Only to start all over again the next night.........

Mother Clements

Do you ever have a run in with someone that you just feel was a divine meeting? It might sounds silly but I had one yesterday. I was taking a walk with the boys to a friend's house, kind of worried about something and praying and we got stopped by these two older ladies. They were helping each other out of their car and upon spotting the boys, immediately started gushing over them! I, of course, did not mind stopping for some admiration for my boys! It always makes me feel incredibly blessed when people compliment them!

So we stopped and these two ladies started talking about how they were volunteers at Mercy Hospital two days a week and how much they loved cheering people up and making a difference. They had THE most beautiful smiles and honestly, their pure souls just shone with the light of Jesus. I could tell from only a few minutes in the conversation that they knew Him! So I commented to one of them, she was older and VERY tiny, what a gift from God it was that they were blessing others. They LIT up and nothing came out of their mouths but praises!

The tiny lady proceeds to inform me that she just had her 97th birthday! I thought I heard wrong and my mouth dropped open; very unladylike! I told her I didn't believe her! She was incredibly beautiful, with braided white hair, smooth brown skin, blazing white teeth (had to be dentures!) and so bright-eyed! The other lady with she was her daughter and they lived together and volunteered together.

Mary Ellen, the mother, told me they call her Mother at the hospital and send her in to rooms with patients feeling discouraged or hurting and she brightens up their day with her smile. She has NO arthritis and is saving a little piece of her birthday cake, with the number 97 written on it, in her freezer to take out next year and eat on her 98th birthday. She told me to look for her on the Smucker's show where they highlight people who turned 100.

Mary Ellen, I'll be looking for you on tv in 3 years! I want to be just like you when I get older! Bright smiles, glowing eyes and shining with the love of Jesus! We parted and I was blessed to receive hugs and kisses from both of them and blessings over me as a mother. What a gift!

Rockin' Wednesday!!

Guess who, with some major cheering from big brother, went potty for the first time on the toilet??!! I'll give you ONE guess! (think: one who climbs out of bed, colors on walls and is TWO!) You're right! This adorable little monkey randomly asked to go sit on the potty (he could possibly have been influenced by the presence of his beloved Ms 'thalia) :) He's awfully proud and is sporting a new sticker on his chart!!

Mr. Encourager and Snuggler, a.k.a. Big Brother!

We are having a pretty fantastic day! We had a wonderful mom's group today! I am really excited because now our wonderful Miss Athaliah (children's pastor) is watching all of the kiddos upstairs so the moms can have mommy-time downstairs. Now we get time to do some talking, praying, encouraging and have interrupt-free conversations! (if you're a mom, you'll totally understand that!)

Follow a great morning with some peeing on the potty, add some sunshine and warm weather and you've got a Rockin' Wednesday!! And my sis and her hubs said they might come visit over the weekend which makes me SUPER excited (can you tell we don't get company very often??!)!!! Oh! AND the hubs (mine) is proposing his dissertation topic today!! He sauntered out of our building lookin' pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself! We are very excited and thankful to be starting the last leg of this LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG educational journey we've been on.

So, how's that for a pretty good day? Hope you're is great, too!

Picnics

Two and a half hours ago, I was sitting under a huge tree, covered in shade, with the leaves above me rusting in the wind. Next to me on the warm grass, sat two of the cutest little blond-headed, blue-eyed boys I've ever seen. We were munching on picnicky foods: cheese, bananas, grape tomatoes, bagels, and watermelon slices. Did anyone ever tell you as a child that if you ate one of the black seeds in a watermelon, a watermelon would grow in your stomach? It happened to me! Someone telling me about the seed, that is....not growing one in my stomach:) That memory popped in my head as I watched my two precious boys munch on their juicy, dripping, red, ripe watermelon slices. They looked so happy, so content sitting there with their red stained chins and blue baseball hats. It was peaceful (except for the sound of LSD traffic in the backround:), one of those times when I felt like such a good mother. I was creating memories, not only for myself to treasure, but for my little boys. I hope when they grow up, they say to me, "Remember, mom, when we used to have picnics outside sometimes? That was really fun!"

I want to treasure these moments with my boys, my gifts from God! I am thankful for sunshine, and grass, beautiful days, and picnics and most of all, little sweet boys that smell like the outdoors and have sticky hands!

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. This week there are many things I did not do!

I did not dance joyfully this week when my mama called me to say she was getting me a new phone for my birthday because my old phone is not a piece of junk! I most certainly have not dropped my old phone on numerous occasions and am not contemplating getting my new "baby" a cell phone cover "just in case." Because I don't care about my phone that much! Really.

I did not come into my sons' bedroom a few nights ago to find my toddler jumping in his brother's bed and most certainly did not freak out! And yet, even though he is climbing out of his crib, I definitely am not contemplating breaking out his big boy bed because I am not crazy enough to wish many sleepless nights upon myself.

I am not waaaaayy too excited about my new email address and spent 2 hours last night changing everything over. I would not spend that much time on something so silly, knowing I need my beauty sleep! And you can be sure it was not pretty much the first thing on my mind this morning, causing great excitement to see if anyone wrote to my new address. I'm not THAT silly!

That's it for today's Not Me Monday! Hope you're having a beautiful day!

I have been Mommyfied

My brain is mush. Really. It is so hard for me to remember normal everyday things, let alone birthdays, special events, people's names. Not just stranger's names either....I can barely call my own two children and husband by the right names. Ben? Samuel? Whoever you are...I can't remember simple words or how to spell. Passwords? Forget it...that's why I have a whole page in a notebook devoted to all my passwords for websites.

Phone number? No way! That's what your phone contact list is for. Grocery needs? I hope I wrote it down on the list...Rent's due on what day? Programmed in my phone. You think I'm kidding? It scares me sometimes how "mushy" my brain is! Here I am living in a highly academic community with REALLY smart friends and not to mention my genius husband and me? My brain's been mommyfied.

I'm determined to help my poor soggy brain though. Yes, sir! I am re-organizing my life. More structure, goals and....what was I talking about? See, mommifying in action. I have to write lists to remember my lists. I even ask my children to help me remember things! You know it's bad when you ask your husband, who can barely remember to tell his mother the important details of his life, to start reminding you to do things. I need help!

My name is Heidi and I have been mommyfied.

Great...

Remember this kid?

The one I blogged about yesterday? Yeah, this hunka two-year old has figured out something reeeeeaaaaallllllly cool (insert sarcasm)! So last night, the boys were in bed having their "quiet" reading time before lights out but things started getting awfully rowdy. I went in to tuck them in and found the little scamp pictured above......in Samuel's bed.......jumping.....

Yeah....It's great. He almost broke his leg this morning climbing out of his crib again. Seriously. He has a huge welt/bruise on the front of his ankle from where he got stuck. Lord, help us! We're in trouble!!

Samuel is keeping an eye on that rascally brother of his. He calls to me about every 3 minutes to let me know that he "thinks" Zakkai might be getting out of bed. He's probably right:) Samuel wants to be a good boy so bad right now and earn prizes. His motivation is this little cool hot wheels car waiting in the prize bucket. He wants it so bad he can almost taste it! He was "trying" to be so good yesterday and was begging for the prize but wasn't quite hitting the mark. I caught him sitting on top of our deep freezer and when he didn't get down right away after I asked him, I said it again in a firmer "mommy-voice." He started wailing, collapsed in a heap on the floor and said, "Mommy! Don't SAY that! It hurts my heart...."

Not much else going on other than a busy week this week except Ben is doing really well! He is still recovering and not feeling himself yet BUT he is starting to smell again for the FIRST TIME in almost 3 years.....think about that......It almost brings tears to my eyes to watch him eat and drink because it's a whole new experience when you can taste and smell again:) We are thankful and praying that the surgery continues to work!

He is...

Melter of my heart. Two. Mr. Cool.

Charmer of old ladies. Hitter of brothers. A Screamer.

Ornery. Mischevious. Sweet Giggler.

A Piece of Work:) Adorable. Follower of Brother.

Spunky. Full of Life. Chatterbox. Ticklish. Obsessed with Rays. Eater of lots of Food. Sweet. Precious. A Gift. Unique. Ours.

Shoes

This boy...
got some new shoes...

and he wants to wear them to bed.

Crazy Mom Monday

Today I put my son's shoes on the wrong feet....for the second time in 3 days.

Today I was so scatterbrained while grocery shopping with the boys that I had to keep making trips back and forth across the store for stuff I kept forgetting. I never did get those tomatoes...

Today my son started to ask, very loudly, in the grocery store aisle why girls don't have......until I quickly intervened and explained that that is a private matter...no pun intended..

Today, so far, my two year old has had no fewer than 5 timeouts. His new penchant for screaming "No!" at us and hitting is getting old but we will conquer it!

Today I gave my sons a snack a half an hour before dinnertime even though I know it will ruin their appetite. It's just a small snack...

Today I had to write a to-do list to remember my to-do list

Today I took a nap while my children napped

Today I completed a fantastic meal plan for the next week and a half and yet I still don't know what to make for dinner tonight..

Today I realized that I have a lot of catching up on housework from last week. Having a husband, er a sick husband,being sick yourself and having two young children is not exactly conducive to keeping a clean house...

Today I realized once again, despite the many mommified brain cells in my head that just may cause me to appear addlebrained, that my "job" as mommy is the greatest!

Mother's Day 2009

Mother's Day

My Mom: May 2006

To a truly beautiful woman, inside and out. You are one of my best friends. A woman who has seen many trials and has relied on God's grace and strength to overcome them. You have fought harder and suffered more than anyone should have to and yet you still have one of the most beautiful hearts a person could have. You are filled with grace and dignity, wisdom and discernment, selfless love, kindness, compassion and the many other amazing qualities that make you so wonderful. I am so thankful and so incredibly blessed to call you my mom. I hope to raise my boys and any other children we have with the same quiet strength, unending patience, neverending love and heart filled with compassion that you have. I love you, mom.

Ben's Mom: April 2008

Even after 9 1/2 years of you, 6 as my mother-in-love, I still learn more and more what a big, loving heart you have. Your heart is filled with such a powerful, incredible love for your children and their families. Your mouth is always filled with praises and thanksgiving to our Lord and with constant, faithful prayers for us. Your eyes fill with tears of love and blessing. Your arms are always open with a warm embrace. Your words speak encouragement, life and God's blessing over your family. Your hands tenderly raised the son I now call husband and gently touch the heads of your grandchildren. You are such a beautiful person, inside and out and I am so blessed to have you as a mother. I love you.

In Absentia

I am so sorry that I was "In Absentia" yesterday. It was a good thing for me not to post. It would have said something like: Today I feel like crap. I have a nasty cold. My husband feels like crap. He just had surgery. I wish it was tomorrow.....

So you see? Much better that I didn't write yesterday. I am feeling MUCH better day, albeit quite congested. Ben isn't feeling so hot still:( We think he is fighting off an infection but he has antibiotics and is resting a lot so hopefully he'll start feeling better soon.

The boys and I went on a picnic today! They were SO excited that they wanted to eat lunch at 10:30am:) We went with our friend who lives upstairs and has two little ones of her own. We are hoping to arrange a marriage contract soon between her daughter and one of my sons. The only problem is, who to choose? Ah well, I suppose it would best for them to make that decision themselves but it would be really fun to get along famously with my son's in-laws!

Speaking of my sons (because that's what this blog is all about, right?!), Zakkai calls everyone a "he." He's only two, which is our excuse for everything, so it's pretty funny. This morning, I listened in on a very funny conversation between the boys.

Zakkai: "He (referring to me) wants to bring me a toy."

Samuel: "No, Zakkai. It isn't "he." Mommy is not a he."

Zakkai: "O-hhh."

Samuel: "Mommy is a SHE. Mommy is a girl."

Zakkai: "Oh. Mommy is a gir-uhl?"

Samuel: "Yes, so mommy is not a he."

Zakkai: "Whoiiii?" (that is totally how he says "why")

Samuel: "Because God made her that way!"

Zakkai: "O-hhhh."

So, there you have it! I am a gir-uhl and God made me that way!

Here are the boys playing with their train table, tracks set up by yours truly:) No, Zakkai isn't wearing a bib, it's one of his blankies tied on. That would be daddy....

Popcorn and Somersaults!

I have some very fond memories of spending time at my Grandparent's house when I was little. We did so many fun things like spending the night (some sisters and cousins) and getting treats, making cookie pizzas with my aunt, and making popcorn! My grandparents had this old popper with a yellow top and they would pour in the popcorn and oil and my sister(s), cousins and I would stand there, waiting with breathless anticipation for the first "Pop!" Each time we heard the kernels pop, we jumped up and down, pretending that we were popcorn popping:)

The other day at Cosco, we saw a container of popcorn kernels, just waiting to be popped; all 12 1/2 lbs of them! These wonderful childhood memories came flooding in and we agreed to take this new found treasure home with us. Because you can never have too much popcorn in your house, right?

So after the boys' naptime, Ben popped some corn for a snack for all of us. We don't have a fancy smancy popcorn popper but we make do with a nice little pot and a lid; works just fine! The boys stood on a chair and watched with the same breathless anticipation that I had as a child, waiting for the first, "Pop!"

Enjoying our special snack!



The other day, the boys decided to practice somersaults for us. Samuel, who recently took a tumbling class, somersaults with all the grace and ease of a gymnast, while Zakkai......well, just see for yourself:)

(I tried to splice all three together but blogger won't download it for some reason!)

Sick Husbands and Funny Boys

Warning: this post may or may not make sense due to the lack of sleep I had last night!

Let me say, first of all, that blood does not make me cringe, I can watch trauma stories (on tv), have held my little boy while he was throwing up but last night? When I saw Ben all drugged up on anesthesia, with an oxygen mask, throwing up blood (sorry), I went as white as a sheet and plopped myself right down in the chair. There's NO way they would've sent home a half drugged surgery patient with his fainting wife. Can't you just picture them pushing two wheelchairs side by side? Anways...

Ben was very sick last night and REALLY out of it. He was incredibly grumpy, which was funny because he is NEVER that way! All he wanted to do was sleep. He downplayed the whole thing before the surgery, acting like he was going to be able to walk home by himself (which you're not allowed to do!) an hour to hour and a half after surgery. Um, no. It took him 4 hours after surgery to be awake enough to be discharged. We got home around 8:45pm and it took awhile to get him settled in. We both slept off and on, in between doling out pain meds and getting drinks, etc. I slept out on the couch because I knew I wouldn't sleep a wink and would be staring at him the whole night making sure he was okay.....I didn't sleep well anyways:) He called out to me at about 1:00am. I leapt off the couch and flew into the room, with my heart beating a mile a minute....only to have him ask what time it was:)

He is doing well today, just very tired and in some pain. He's pretty swollen in his nose area, which is to be expected, but has great hope that the surgery worked and he will be able to breathe again! We appreciate all prayers for him as he recovers.

The boys are C.R.A.N.K.Y. today. I know, hard to believe! I think it's because it was a weird, long day yesterday, they got to bed later than normal and were up earlier than normal today. They were curious to see daddy this morning and to give him careful kisses:)

Here's a few funny things they've said in the past few days: Yesterday when I was getting Z dressed for the day, I put on some dk blue/grey striped socks and he lifted up his foot and said, quite happily, "It's my wittle zebra toes!" Everything is "wittle" these days. (little) He points out big "wittle" dogs, his "wittle" legs, "wittle" pieces of food, etc...

Samuel asked the other day why daddy needed a pickle to play his guitar with! He was very offended when I laughed because he was very serious:) He has also been very imaginative lately. He travels places on his bicycle and in his Thomas tent. Usually he goes to Turkey! Or Boston or Albuquerque... (all places Ben has traveled this past year)

And Zakkai is such a talker! I took him with me to a dr.'s appt last week and he talked the ENTIRE way there, in the waiting room, the whole way home...He talked about the buses, cars, museums, going to 'hio, oranges. Pretty much anything that came to mind! And of course, he charmed the nurse and the doctor:)

I hope you're all having a good tuesday. I'm off to catch a small nap while ALL my boys are down....

Not Me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week. It's been awhile since I've done this but I thought I'd give it another try....

I have not been staying up really late for the past few nights (okay! months..) which may or may not make me super tired and/or cranky in the mornings. I wouldn't do that because I know I need my sleep!

I was not super cranky at my husband this morning (because I'm not like that!) for being waaaaaaay too chipper about having surgery today. I was definitely not nervous and still aren't because I know he's in Perfect Hands. I always trust God so easily. I am not making that up, promise!

I was definitely not grumpy at my toddler this morning for wading through my freshly clean folded piles of laundry because after all, it's only laundry! Kids will be kids, I always say....or not...

I am most certainly not tempted to go finish off my piece of the Chocolate Gooey Cake (mentioned in last post) and then pretend I didn't have dessert and have some more tonight. I have WAAY more self-control than that! Especially when it comes to chocolate. I definitely do not have a chocolate addiction.

Thanks for reading Not Me Monday and helping me relieve some of my anxiety about my hubby! Not that I'm nervously wasting time and watching my phone like a hawk. I'm NOT!

Date Night!

We were incredibly blessed with a date night last night! Dating is EXTRA special once you have kids. It gives you a chance to have dinner without interruptions every 5 seconds, without getting up to refill cups and plates, and to have "adult" conversation. I love my family dinners but I also LOVE me some hubby-time!!

We went to a restaurant called L. Woods. One word: DELICIOUS. We got out of the city (of course, we did pass a man peeing on a tree on the way which totally confirmed our decision to LEAVE the neighborhood for the evening!), went to a new area and wined and dined. Without the wine part:)

I cannot even tell you how good this food was. I'll give it a try though, purely for your torturement (pretty sure I just made that word up) because that's how nice I am! For starters, we ordered their signature chopped salad to share. A small is big enough for THREE people, which is why we had leftovers today (although I would not recommend salad the next day....yeah...). I LOVE chopped up salad! There was lettuce, bacon, other green things, little noodles....just little things all chopped up. Yum.

Entree? Ben picked a nice manly meal of steak. It would've been outstanding considering it was top quality beef and practically melted in your mouth if it had not had peppercorns all over it. (um, not a fan). Ben would totally disagree with me which is why he will not be adding to my food editorial. Let's just suffice it to say that he thoroughly enjoyed his manly steak and baked potato.

I got the Parmesan crusted Cod. Oh. My. Goodness. (skip this paragraph if you're allergic to fish). I have never had fish that melted in my mouth and tasted nothing like...fish! I mean, fish has a certain fishy taste, am I right? I don't know where they caught this cod fish but he made a delicious dinner! Lots of crusty parmesan all over with seasonings and served over lemon butter. It was so rich, I couldn't even finish it! Thankfully, fish is good for you, especially when covered with parmesan cheese and lying on a bed of lemon butter, right? Right?! Oh fine. The french fries made an excellent counterpart though. (yeah, I'm cool like that:)

And who couldn't follow up such an amazing meal with dessert! Three words: Chocolate Gooey Cake (fresh from the oven). I just don't even know if I can describe the thick chocolate fudgy richness that poured out of this chocolate cake that we covered in fresh whipped cream.....so I won't even try. I wouldn't want to make you jealous or anything.

Date night anyone?

Friday Goodies!

This picture of goodness is our homemade pizza! This is last Friday's edition, which I must tell you, was one of our best yet! Makes me drool just thinking about it:) We make homemade pizza (crust and all) every Friday night. A fun family tradition!

Many funny things from my many small boys today. We were driving down Lake Shore to the store and we came upon Navy Pier. Samuel spied the Ferris wheel and said, very excitedly, "Look at the BIG steering wheel, mommy!"

I answered about 365 questions on the way to, in and home from the store. No, really. You think I am exaggerating? You really should come spend a day with us. It's amazing the answers that I pull out of my ear for this child! I'd better start reading up on some subjects or sooner or later my son is going to figure out that I don't really know anything at all. Z is starting to ask a lot of why questions, too but the nice thing is, he is very happy with one answer and a smile and change of subject:)

While I was answering one of the many questions on cars,driving, and honking rules, we came to a stop at a red light. We had just heard someone honk at another car due to impatience (I know, hard to believe around here, isn't it?) and S is quite fascinated at the thought of honking. We were stopped, waiting and Samuel said, "Why don't you honk and make that car in front of us move?!" I tried not to laugh and told him that we were all stopped at the red light and we didn't need to be honking at people at that moment. Goodness, is this a sign of the future driving my sons will be doing?! If so, let me declare it now: They will not be getting their licenses until they are 30! At least!

Things I really enjoy while driving with my boys:

• Looking like I am having a very important conversation with myself when I am, in fact, answering the many, many questions asked of me by the little people. aka: uninterrupted talk time:)
• Looking in the rear view mirror at a sleepy little pumpkin face and doing everything I can to keep him awake
• Giving dangerous drivers dirty looks if they threaten the precious lives of the little people in my backseat. Of course, I don't really do that....
• Listening to the boys talk to each other about the tall, dirty buildings, trucks and museums they are seeing out the windows
• Just being a mommy:)

I hope you're all looking forward to a good Friday night, too!!