Ants and roaches and spiders... OH MY!

Ugh! Our house is infested!! I cannot get rid of these pesky bugs! I scrubbed my kitchen from top to bottom last night, and those damn sugar ants came back AGAIN!! We also have a family of huge cockroaches living in our kitchen, ack! Russ and I Rochambeau each other for who goes downstairs at night, because if you go down, you have to battle las cucarachas , yuck! Yes, at least 3 a night. Russ saw one the other day poking his antennae out above the dishwasher (in between the dishwasher and the cabinet) so he poked it with a steak knife. I am positive all he did was piss him off and he called all his sugar ant friends over to invade my kitchen again! He also wanted me to buy a fly swatter at HEB so he could whack roaches, crazy guy. They are huge, what is fly swatter going to do, give them a massage? I also got bit by a spider when cleaning under my oven, ouch! Maybe it was a fire ant, I can't tell, but it hurts like hell! That's what I get for cleaning under the oven I guess. The fine men from ABC pest Control are coming this morning, my heroes! We have been trying organic non-toxic methods, but obviously the bugs are just laughing at us. Fine! Wanna play rough? I've got the big guns comin', so watch out! :D

So the ABC guy just stopped by... they are FIRE ANTS in my kitchen!!AAAACCCKKK!!! No wonder I got bit under the oven! They have now moved from the counters to the FLOOR, what I am supposed to do?? My baby crawls all over the kitchen floor, and eats microscopic treats off the carpet... looks like we'll be living upstairs all weekend, until the pest guys can come back on Wednesday. Aaarrrrggg. They will be spraying the hell out of our attic, plumming, outside brick, lawn, kitchen, etc. Thank goodness... I am DONE with these little sons of beeches! :)

Mommy needs a Time Out!!

Om on Coronado Beach, San Diego... by Me

But seriously! I have had one of those days today. I even had to cancel my massage for tonight because its so crazy here. I'd like to leave my kids in the house and take a walk, anything to get out. But unfortunately the dog is a terrible babysitter and oh yeah its totally unethical and illegal to leave your kids alone in the house, oh well. (you know I'd never actually leave my kids alone, riiiight?) Leilani has had a H-A-R-D day today, everything is a struggle. I actually locked myself and Orion in the bathroom to get away from her screaming. She told me several times today to hush it and that I needed to go away. I love being a mom, sigh. I try my hardest to keep my cool and stay in a neutral space, but its SO HARD! I am sure this is my life's lesson, patience with angry and overly frustrated little people, specifically my little people. I always have to remind myself something a friend told me... "Your children come through you, not for you." They are hear to live and learn just like I am. Her rants and tantrums are teaching her how to handle her world. Hopefully I am not screwing that all up for her. ;) I am going to escape to my mom's to go sewing tonight, whew. I am going to make small pillows for all my craniosacral classmates. She (mom) asked me if she needed to stop and get a bottle of wine for me, nope! I'll bring it with me! :) Tonight and tomorrow will be better, I am sure of it. :)

Russ heard the song I just added for this post In My Daughter's Eyes, Martina McBride.. and he said... "That doesn't sound like a I wanna strangle my daughter song". No, I don't want to strangle her, I just want peace in my house, that's all. I love my sweet baby girl, with every inch of my being, its just hard being a mom some days. Am I right mamas? Off to sew!

Nuad Bo'Rarn

No, this picture is not me, and your session will not take place next to the Ocean, sorry ;)

I am officially adding Traditional Thai Massage (Nuad Bo'Rarn) to my bag 'o tricks! After talking to several people who had expressed an interest in receiving Thai Massage, I have decided to bring it back into my practice. I studied Thai Massage in school as my specialty. Not many people had an interest in my practice in California, so I stopped offering it. However, since Thai massage has become more "mainstream", being offered in spas as "Table Thai", I wanted to bring it back for the benefit of my clients! I could blog for a long time about what exactly Thai Massage entails, but I'd rather add a link where you can read at your leisure. :) Or this one
My Thai Massage sessions will be no shorter than 90 minutes, a great Thai Massage is upwards of 3 or more hours, but I'd have to scoop you up and drive you home myself. :) I even bought a new floor mat to break in, woohoo! The first 4 people (sorry I have to know you to receive the special) who schedule a Thai session will receive half off my normal rate!! I am only offering this on my blog, so YOU super blog readers are the "chosen ones"!
This will be a blend of Traditional Thai Massage and Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (intermixed). You will leave feeling relaxed, stretched, massaged, revitalized, calm and a whole host of fabulous feelings that go along with those. :)

My dirty little secret..

Song: Unwritten... Natasha Bedingfield

I LOVE "The Hills" on MTV. Don't ask me why... I Know they are a bunch of spoiled, snotty, whiny rich kids who make poor dating desicions and do nothing important with their lives, but I can't help myself!!! I started watching when they were all on "Laguna Beach" when I was living in Southern California. I got hooked to their mindless lives and petty arguments oh way back then, now I have a real problem. No, I don't follow their lives when the show is not on, I am not that crazy. Russ thinks I am insane for watching, but gets slightly hooked in if he sits down next to me (he will never own up to that if asked). Maybe its because I genuinely loved Laguna (the city, not the show) and so seeing it on tv was kinda fun, now I HAVE to know what Lauren is doing now. I am a super dork, I am aware. Please don't make fun of me, we all have our vices. :)

School is cool!

Song: School Days... The Simpsons :)
"Oh NO... the summer is about to end!!!!"

I finally made the decision (well its not final, but its close) to put BOTH kids in "school"/daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I decided it would be easier to work if the kids were both being taken care of all day and I didn't have to worry about them from 8am to 5ish pm. My intention is to do massage at the Hoffman's office up to 4 hours per day and have the rest of the time to practice my Craniosacral therapy or study uninterrupted. It is such a relief to just make a desicion, since I just wanted to please everyone and be the best mom possible. I felt guily for wanting to put Orion in some kind of day care, but I realize that he's almost a year old and its only 2 days a week. No big deal. I also feel better knowing I'll have the opportunity to study, which I NEVER get to do at home. I feel like I am falling behind in the self study material for the Craniosacral certification, well hopefully not any more! :)
They are going to go to the Good Earth Day School in Leander. Mama Andrea told me about it (since the C-man goes there too) and I loved it from the beginning! It follows a Waldorf and Montessori approach, which I really appreciate. Our next door neighbor Cooper is going to be attending as well, so Leilani will have a plethora of boys to crush on.;) This is going to be a good thing for everyone, I hope. Yeah "School"!
A BIG THANK YOU to Mama Jasmine for offering to babysit Orion on Tuesdays, you saved me and my original plan. Yes, we will have to trade services regardless!!! :) Big hugs to you mama!

On a side note.... The Binky Fairy was a success!!! Its been over a week, and we have only had two meltdowns (which did not last very long) over the loss. She has asked a few times where they are... and we reply "The Binky Fairy took them, remember?" and she says "Oh, yeah" then smiles and tells us about the toys she brought. Phew, that was easier than I thought it would be! Big sigh of relief....

Tired

song: Amber ... 311

Sweet Orion and I napping, a rare sight around here lately...yaaaaaawn..
I have recently started working again (for a paycheck) doing massage. My hiatus has been a while since, well, before kids. I have missed doing bodywork, the only time I did any over the past two years or so was on close friends and family. I am officially working at the Hoffman's Chiropractic office, working on their patients two days per week. While doing this type of work is not my first choice, it does allow me to help pay for Leilani's "school" come October. I see patients in 30 minute increments for about 4 hours, so not too terrible. I am also seeing people privately at our home for sessions (which I prefer). All of this massage makes me love my Craniosacral work even more. I find myself frustrated in massage sessions sometimes because the patient really needs more gentle work, rather than the "seek and destroy" deep work they think they need. My instincts are to do the Cranio work, but my paycheck comes from the deep tortuous stuff. :( My ultimate goal is to move completely into a Biodynamic Craniosacral practice within 5 years.
On top of adding a massage schedule into my full time SAHM days (and Craniosacral practice sessions) Leilani and Orion have decided to boycott sleeping, what seems to be all day and night. I think Orion is teething with an earache (and was awake from 11:30pm-1am) and Leilani is just 2 and a half. She drags out bedtime for an hour or more, then cries and screams a gabillion times before she finally stays in bed and falls asleep, ugh. All of this added together... makes me tired. Just plain tired. Someday I will look back fondly at these times, but right now I am just tired.

Baby No More... Welcome Binky Fairy!

song: Bye Bye Bye... N'Sync
turn off music at bottom to hear the video

What's that? You don't know who the Binky Fairy is??? She is a most magical fairy who comes to recieve the binkies of big kids who no longer need their binkies and gives them to new babies entering the world. Leilani had the Binky Fairy come yesterday, can you believe it?!? I woke up yesterday... and had the intuitive thought that "today is the day" to get rid of the binkies for Leilani. I know cold turkey is HARSH, but so far it has worked. I don't think she is a weaning kind of gal. She self weaned from the breast at 15 months and just told me one day, "all done, get down". Cold turkey seemed to be the best option. For those of you who don't know Leilani well, she is a 5 binkies at a time girl. One for her mouth, one for her nose and each eye and a few extra for good luck. :) Ok, at least 3 at a time. Well, not-any-more!!
I told her yesterday morning about the Binky Fairy, at first she was like, whaaaaaat? But warmed up to the idea after I told her that the BF left her toys in trade for the binkies, she was excited about the toys... We covered a shoe box and decorated it, and then gathered all the binkies we could find (which was a dozen) we will probably find a dozen more later. Then right before bed she said her goodbyes and decided to leave the box by the front door for the BF. And WHAT do you know? The BF showed up last night and brought her a bag full of gifts! WOW! She even left a card, how thoughtful of her. :)
So here's her "goodbye" and a few bad photos of our BF day.

So... I am feeling a bit sad today a little for me, and a little for her. Its tough growing up, but I am thrilled she's becoming a big kid, we'll leave the baby stuff to Orion (at least for a little while longer).

Me

song: Sara Smile... Hall and Oates

I stole this from numerous lovely mamas blogs... so here is MY answers...
1. What time did you get up this morning? 1:40am, 4:57am and 6am... everyday
2. Diamonds or Pearls? Diamonds everyday, I have a string of pearls we got in Thailand I love to wear occasionally though.
3. What 2 things do you always have with you? Cellphone and binkies
4. What is your favorite TV show(s)? In summer nothin', fall lineup is a tough one.. Grey's, Entourage, Big Love, Office, Pushing Daisies... thank heavens for the DVR
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Vans gluten free flax waffles with spiced Peach Butter from the farmers market.
6. What is your favorite book? Too many to list, don't have one specific fav
7. What is your middle name? Elizabeth, same as my grandmother and Leilani
8. What food do you dislike? sauerkraut
9. What is your favorite CD? Right now I am groovin to the Garden State Soundtrack in the car
10. What type of car do you drive? Mini van baby! I actually LOVE my minivan even though I am leaving a huge carbon footprint. I will save the earth some other way. :D
11. Favorite sandwich? Anything with LOTS of melted cheese and mayo.
12. What characteristic do you despise? dishonety
13. Favorite item of clothing? jeans
14. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Phuket, Thailand
15. What color is your bathroom? brownish gray, whatever color it was when we moved in.
16. Favorite brand of clothing? Anything that fits, seriously... shopping is a nightmare.
17. Where would you like retire to? Wherever my kids end up, especially if they have kids themselves.
18. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I can't actually think of a memorable birthday that wasn't in my childhood. Lots of fun parties as a kid though.
19. Furthest place you are sending this? I have no idea
21. Who do you least expect to repost this? ???
22. Person you expect to repost first? Stephanie
23. Favorite saying?
24. When is your birthday? Feb 23, 1979
25. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning
26. What is your shoe size? 11 yikes! No cute shoes come in an 11
27. Pets? Ben, lab mix.. biggest baby you'll ever meet
28. What did you want to be when you were little? a teacher
29. How are you today? pretty good, Russell's home from his trip!
30. What is your favorite candy? Milky Way and Skittles are a tie
31. What is your favorite flower? Lilacs
32. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Sept 25, our 4th anniversary
33. What is the last thing you ate? Pamela's pancakes with blueberries and peach butter, mmmmmm
34. What are you listening to right now? Leilani coloring and Ben eating his breakfat, oh and now the baby crying... dang it
35. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? eggplant
36. How is the weather right now? Hot.
37. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Russell when his plane arrived last night.
38. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I stole it... and yes I like everybody who has posted this already!!
39. Favorite soft drink? regular Pepsi or Dr. Pepper, but have not had any for over 2 years.
40. Favorite restaurant? Just about any. I could eat breakfast at Mimi's everyday (if I could eat wheat that is).
41. Hair color? Brown, blonde, who knows?
42. Sibling(s). Bro, 3 years older
43. Favorite day of the year? Halloween, always has been, only 2 years with no costume.
44. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies and horses
45. Summer or winter? Winter, I LOVE sweaters and jeans and sweatshirts
46. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
47. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla
48. Do you want your friends to post back? Yes, fo sho.
49. When was the last time you cried? When I took Orion to the ER last week
50. What is under your bed? Nada, the bed is on the floor right now
51. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Stephanie (a friend I am still close to)
52. Favorite smell? Lilacs, remind me of my childhood home
53. What are you afraid of? spiders and death of a child
54. Plain, butter or salted popcorn? lots of butter with very light salt.
55. How many keys on your key ring? 2
56. How many years at your current job? depends on which job.. 7 years as a massage therapist, 2 and 1/2 for SAHM
57. Favorite day of the week? Saturday.
58. How many towns have you lived in? 9, Woodinville WA, Spokane WA, Pullman WA, Stateline NV (Lake Tahoe), Altamonte Springs FL(Orlando), Tallahassee FL, Carlsbad CA, San Diego CA, Round Rock TX.
59. Do you make friends easily? Not really, I'd like to though.

Thank you Mom and Dad!

songs: Mom and Dad Waltz... Willie Nelson OR Summertime... DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince
Our AC is STILL OUT, and will be till Tuesday! Which means Russell's relaxing weekend at home has been spent sleeping on an air mattress with me on my parents living room floor. If it were not for my folks we'd be in some motel, hungry and bored. Thankfully my parents are a lot of fun! A few days ago the AC here had to be turned off for several hours (Dad got insulation added to his attic) so we went to dinner at Shawn and Steph's house, where it was cool(we ate the carrot for dinner, see post below). Steph made a delicious meal and yummy sangria, she's a fantastic chef! Russ came home Friday night, hooray! But he leaves again at 4am tomorrow, boooooooo! I passed my Texas Massage Exam this week! Hooray, I have been workin' on this for 4 years since we moved here. It was all red tape moving from CA to TX where all the licensing regulations are different. So I am official, finally! Saturday morning he watched the kids so I could go shopping with my mom, Stephanie and her mom, I got all sorts of goodies, I love the RR outlet mall! When I came back we played in the baby pool while Grandpa worked on building a swingswet for the kids! How cool is that? My parents are the best! My Dad built Shawn and I a swingset when we lived in Woodenville, WA, and now he is building one for all the grandkids. They also have a playroom filled with toys here at their house, I think they had soo much fun as parents they want to do it again but this time they don't have to be the bad guys. THEN, they babysat the kiddos so Russell and I could go out on the town. We went shopping, then to Chez Zee for dinner, oh yum! Then downtown to the warehouse dist, we had some drinks at Cuba Libre where we sat and chatted till late, it was fabulous! Russ ordered the cruise of rum, anyone who knows my husband well, knows he doesn't even finish a beer let alone 3 shots and a glass of wine at dinner. He didn't finish them all, if he had we'd probably gone home in a taxi. :) It was a great night, hopefully it will tide me over until he comes home again next week. Tonight Shawn and Steph and the kids, and Steph's mom are coming over here for dinner. Steph's making ribs, mmmmmmmmm. ;)
So here are some of my favorite photos from this weekend, sorry for all the lack of clothes in all the pics, it f*ing hot here in Austin right now, therefore, water and no clothes!! :D




watching Fantasia 2000 from the best spot in the house!

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humor

song: Call any Vegetable..Frank Zappa
Or I have a mind that is in the gutter...

This carrot was pulled from Shawn and Steph's garden last night. hehe. :D

Steph and I thought it was HI-larious! hehe veggie porn.