Summer is coming to an end

I'm completely crazy right now. "Getting into the swing of things" is just not something I do very naturally. So, here's a picture post of all the goings on in our house.

Razorback football is in full swing. 

Pool stuff is 75% off. Rylan is reeping the benefits.

When Rylan isn't looking, so is Max.

Fall consignment sales have costumes on the cheap

MOPS is back!!!! The kids are so happy. I'm a table leader again this year and I took on an extra role as Hospitality which basically means I get to spend MOPS's money, but really means I get the speakers gifts for giving us their time, prepare door prizes and have a basket of birthday presents ready. Did I mention I'm having trouble getting my stuff together? Yeah, I need to be more organized if I'm going to take on more roles.

We had a garage sale and Rob decided to make the big move to sell his Budweiser lamp. He marked it at $7 (its rusting at the base) and SUPRISE! no one bought it. 

Almost 3 years after we bought it for him, Rylan is enjoying the swingset

Snow boots not required

Really enjoying it

Until your almost 3 year old decides he'd like to finally have the Terrible Two's. Its awful. His fits are long and not fun. I think this one was about his lack of cereal for a snack.

And, like a typical 2 year old, he's back to normal suddenly in true Jekyll/Hyde fashion

And then you take him to Kroger and he crawls out of the cart and then tries to get back in and his mean mom says "no, you crawled out when I told you not to, now you walk" and this happens. Forever. And ever. I needed a drink. 

This is an hour after the previous pic. Helping me make brownies on Mommy and Max day. ERMAHGERD he's insane.

Insane and cute and unable to sleep in a bed.

In the last month, we've traveled to Fayettville, gone to two Razorback tailgates, put a new compressor in our van, started the kids in a new school, joined a new Wednesday night class and dinner at church, started a new year of MOPS, added a work day, went to a birthday party, reupholstered our kitchen chairs, and had a garage sale. Life is full and life is good. One day I'll get my shiz together. No worries, I'm still able to keep up with Project Runway and almost caught up on Grey's Anatomy. I do have priorities after all.

Finish this sentence Link Up

I've missed like 10 of these. Or maybe 2, but I love them. Even if my readers don't. This is purely selfish. Sorry, not sorry.

My happy place... a checkout at the grocery store when I have a gigantic stack of coupons and the cashier looks like I am the devil. Like she'd have a million other places she COULD be if I hadn't given her that stack of coupons. Second to this is when I knock a horrific amount off my grocery bill.(I know I'm the lamest human at this moment). 

Whatever happened to... women's shirts that weren't paper thin? I embrace the mess that is my lovehandles, muffin top, baby shelf and dunlap, but do I need a showcase for them. Dear Old Navy: I'm done with you.

So what if I.... wore a dress today, not because I wanted to be dressed up, or because it makes me look good, but because I recently discovered I had failed to unpack a small suitcase of clean clothes from the trip to Fayetteville 9 DAYS AGO and I made myself wear something out of the suitcase so I wouldn't have to hang it up. Because I ooze class, responsibility, and cleanliness. 

E! needs a reality show about... life post fast loss show. I watch Biggest Loser, Heavy, Extreme Weight Loss, I Used to be Fat, and I am embarrassed at how much time is spent wondering how many people kept off their weight. All while failing to lose mine in the first place.

My go-to fast food meal is... When Sonic has the chicken tender box with the solo onion ring. I just love it. With a Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper. Because I'm on a diet and all, with my box of grease, I have to have diet soda.

You might not know that I... worked in a Chemistry Lab at one time in my life. My house looks like a chemistry lab explosion and the breakfast I took to MOPS this morn proved to not be my best work in the kitchen mixing ingrediants, so the fact that I was alone with chemicals and such is scary. Luckily I was pretty much a glorified secretary. Job paid good. 

The hottest quarterback in the NFL is... Like I really have an answer to that sentence. Hottest quarterback in a movie? James VanDer beek

If I could... Get my house clean and to stay clean, I'd be a happy woman.

My personality is awesome because... I often act like I could give a shiz. When people are upset about stuff, especially at work, I somehow chill out and remind everyone that its all going to be okay. Which annoys everyone. Plus, later that day, I will bite off all my fingernails and be unable to sleep with worry. I'm crazy like that. But at least I'm able to spread a sense of calm and happy for others.

Twerking is.... Probably a good source for calorie burn, but makes you look like a total douche canoe. It really makes your butt look like its separated from your body. Anybody seen this vid? I know that my moves back in the day, when I frequented da club were not all I thought they were, but how is this sexy?

I think it's super gross when... I go into a public restroom and there's poo in the toilet. I vomit. I do. Or gag. A lot.

Someone needs to tell Miley Cyrus.... don't break my heart. My achy breaky heart. With your foam finger and teddy bear backpack.

New school and Mommy and Max Day

This is like two weeks a tad late, but oh well. My little boys both started a new school late August. Rylan is now going 3 days a week. I am having heart palpitations just writing that. It just feels like time flew. Every parent says this, its such a cliche, but seriously, I was just quitting my full time gig yesterday to stay home with my 10 month baby because it was best for our family.

The church we joined early this year has a Developmental Preschool in it. I've known for years that a lot of my MOPS friends take their kids there to prepare for kindergarten and get some mommy time, but I started hearing lots of good things about their program and started thinking that the way they "teach through play" was right up Rylan's alley. When we took him out of a preschool a year ago and I did HIPPY at home with him, we did ok, but it was obvious he needed more. He has some delays with hand grip and balance, retaining things like abcs and numbers recognition, and he basically needs some class structure to keep him on task. He's had a lot of free time with mom and we butt heads when its time for me to crack the whip and get him to learn.

On Tuesdays Rylan goes to school on his own. He started Pre-K August 19th.

I didn't get a fancy chalkboard, just erased my grocery list. I'm cool like that.

What he wants to be when he grows up:Spiderman

Favorite Food: noodles

Best Friend: Andrew

Favorite Song: I will Wait by Mumford and Sons

On Thursdays and Fridays both boys go to school and I go to work. Here's Max on his first day of the 3 year old class. He's trying to show me his shark back pack. He backed into every room that day to show everyone.

Dapper little kid.

Now onto a new thing at our house: Mommy and Max day. Every Tuesday. The little boy that was born into a home that already housed a 22 month old and has never had mommy alone a day of his life that he wasn't sick finally gets a little Mommy time. It only took (almost) 3 years. He wasn't complaining, but he sure isn't complaining about some alone time.

Our kids aren't really at the "they play awesome together" stage. I hope it comes. For their sake and for ours. They fight. A lot. They don't like the same things, they pick on each other. Rylan is bigger, Max is small and spry. Someone gets hurt daily in what started out as simple playing.

The first Mommy and Max day I offered Max choices of where to go and he chose home. He just wanted to stay home. So we did.

He played with his car ramp by himself like an angel forever.

Then we walked to our duck pond. Captain Crunch for the toddler, bread for the ducks.

.

One day I will write a children's book about bullying and it will star this a-hole goose in the front. If you are being such a jerk that a 2.75 year old says "hey duckie! Calm down!!!" you are being inappropriate.

After naps for each of us, we watched a movie and ate popcorn and snuggled. Such a good day.

Mommy and Max Day 2

I needed an oil change so we ventured to Bryant to try out a new place and play at Chick Fil A after. This kid eats like a linebacker. We'd already had breakfast so I just ordered coffee and apple juice. 10 minutes later he tells me he's hungry for his lunch. It was 9:05am. So we had 2nd breakfast and played for hours while I clipped coupons. It was glorious.

We then went to Walmart for groceries, and because I only had one kid and there wouldn't be a fight, he got to play on my Iphone the entire time. This was awesome for him, but he was too dang good and I stayed forever and spent hoards of money. I think the fact that I shop with a two and four year old saves more money than coupons because when the shit hits the fan, and they start getting cray cray, I am like "who cares what else we need, we're leaving!"

Mommy and Max Day #3

Library time. We went to Toddler Story Time and checked out whatever he wanted then went home and watched his newly rented movies and read all of our books. 

I am so thankful to get this extra time with Max. 

A good weekend and Get Your S*@t Together September

Ahhhh......its the most special time of the year. Time for the Qualls fam to spend copius amounts of time in the car going to Fayetteville, our future hometown, to be major Razorback fans.  This weekend was the first game. With a new coach and a new outlook on our team, we decided to attend the first game, one we usually skip. And by attend, I mean Rob attends and I tailgate only. I don't really have the attention span to make the ticket price worthwhile. Its pitiful.

It really is a damn shame that on the way there, the compressor went out in our van, in 104 degree heat and we have no AC. Its hot, damn hot. Gave the weekend shotty start. Good thing we ended up at the Chateau Tramont, home of two of my sisters, a brother in law and my neice and nephew. Basically most of my kids favorite people under one roof.

My pre-tailgating, pre-humity, pre-hottest day of the year fixed hair and face. Mama got some alone time with a makeup bag and chi iron. I looked presentable!

At this point we were 4 hours in and we were starting to boil. I was ticked at myself for that extra hairsprayed do that wouldn't go into a presentable ponytail. Next time, skip the chi iron and go hat.

The grill meisters.

Afterwards, I straight up stripped down to a tank top in the car

Meanwhile, back at my sister's house. Angie babysat while I got to sit and sweat on myself. It was the most fun sweating I've done in a while!

To be young and not feel heat.

After jumping, there was helmet wearing

On Sunday, we met up with Rob's sister and her kids and went bowling. So fun. I love to bowl. I will update this post once I get the pics off Rob's phone. Kid's first time to bowl. So so so fun. 

A good time had by all!

And now for Get Your S*@t together September. One of the blogs I stalk read, written by Amber, Crafty Healthy Mommy, is coming down off a bad September. She's lost a bijillion pounds and had a bad month. I'm jealous she had a bad month. Like one bad month.  I've had a bad half month for like 4 years. I do half good and half pretty bad each month which has equaled me being 40lbs overweight and the scale not budging. She's had a come to Jesus and is getting her shit together in September. I like her style. I'm gonna get my shit together too. No half month good/half month bad. No more undoing all the good the recent cleanse did. No more having one cheat meal turn into 4 cheat meals. No more no more no more. Thank you, Amber, for the motivation.