Oh....here I am.

OMG.

Has it really been since JULY since I've posted?!?!?!?! Well, I suck. Big time.

There has been SO much happening in my life lately. I started my new job on August 1st and I absolutely LOVE IT! Like, can't even begin to describe how much. My coworkers are amahhhhhzing and my boss is great as well! I still miss my old office and it's been about a minute since I've been in there to visit! It's hard to believe my "90 days" are almost over. But I've never been so happy about a decision before and I thank God everyday for this great opportunity.

I know about 10000000001 people who are pregnant right now! What is the deal people?!?!?! I'd love to get down on whatever they're drinking but that'll still have to wait. I'm so happy for all my friends/family that are expecting and can't wait to snuggle those sweet babes!

Brogan turned 3 in September and has been a pistol ever since! Oh my Lordy does this kid keep us on our toes! With my new job, I have Fridays off so it's nice to spend 3 straight days with my boy (and hubs on the weekend). But sometimes, by Sunday, this momma is READY for Monday morning!!! We decided, with Brogan's help of course, that he'd be a train conductor for Halloween and this kid is SO excited! This Saturday our zoo has what they call 'Boo at the Zoo' where you can trick or treat around the zoo. We are taking B in the morning and his daddy is even making train costumes for us to wear. Brogan doesn't know it yet but I'm stoked to see how excited he'll be!

I am so so tired that I don't know what else to write about. Hopefully I can get better with this..but let's not hold our breath.

Happy Fall Ya'll!

I'm a Beast!

When my husband showed me the house that would be ours after we got married, I was extremely worried. This house was a P.O.S. Granted, it had been gutted so of course it was not as 'sexy' (can a house be sexy? I dunno.) as I had hoped. But they did a wonderful job at making this house really be SEXY! Haha! So jump forward 5 years: we now have a child and way too much stuff for this 2 bedroom/no basement or storage house. Our loft area (that I once had a vision of a cute little nook for reading/office/movie watching) has sorta turned in to a storage area. We finally got rid of this GINORMOUS desk we had and that helped open up the loft a TON! My parents gave us a cute little desk that used to be my grandma's and it is an absolutely perfect fit. However, with all the moving around of furniture to get that big a** desk out of here, the loft again turned in to a cluttered mess and it was just U.G.L.Y. (You ain't got no alibi! -- yeah, I totally just typed that.)

Yesterday, I had enough of the clutter. I attacked this loft like a BEAST! And I dominated it...fo sho (<--I say this A. LOT. Like too much. But what can ya do?). I moved SO. MUCH. HEAVY. STUFF (ex: a couch with a hide-a-bed in it). And anyone who knows me, knows I am not a manual labor type girl. I don't like to get dirty and I HATE to sweat, which I do a lot lately cause A) It's hotter that Haites in Kansas this summer and B) I've had a child. Anywho. I'm so proud of my handy work! I moved some of Brogan's toys from the living room up here and he loves it! It's his own little play area. He can watch his movies up here and play with some of his favorite toys. There are a few things that need a 'place' or stuff we probably could get rid of, but for now it's cozy and comfy and it works. I'd show you pictures but I have yet to do that. Lame, I know.

It's amazing how rearranging a room or just tackling a project that has been on the back burner can make you feel so good! And it's a great way to handle stress...not that I would have any right now. *insert sarcasm*

I'm am, however, happy to have my cute little nook for reading, an office, and a play area for Brogan.

Giveaway!! from Little Miss Momma

If you've never heard of Ashley aka Little Miss Momma, head there NOW. She's a DOLL! She's absolutely gorgeous and would totally be a GF I'd hang out with! Her family is ADORBS and her house is to die for! She's hosting a FAB giveaway today and I think you should go take a look. Even if you don't enter, stay a while and read up on LMM. You will not be disappointed! Trust. Me.

TGIF Tomorrow is Suckie Friday

Tomorrow is not a Friday I'm looking forward to. Weird, right? Normally Friday is the day people can't wait for throughout the week! I'm normally one of them. But tomorrow, I'm not.

Tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I've been working at this office for 8 years and have honestly loved it. It's ultimately going to be the hardest day of my life (so far). I'm so freakin' grateful for my boss and his family. They have treated me like a member of their family and been there for me and my family. My boss is like a dad to me and he has been more than understanding of my decision. I know I'll always be welcome in the office and whatnot but it won't be the same.

I am, however, excited for tomorrow a tiny bit because it's an excuse to have a FOOD DAY! And those of you who know me, know I LURVE me some food....for reals. They actually give me a hard time at work regarding food days and my on going love affair with them.

So, as horribly emotional as tomorrow might be....at least I'll have the food to keep me happy! HAHA!

Test.

Kim is a loser totally awesome.

(I did NOT type this, b.t.dubs.)

No More Binky For Piggy, or Brogan.

One of our fave books right now is "No More Pacifier For Piggy" but we change the words. We say No More Binkie for Piggy...it flows better and Brogan calls his pacifier a binkie.



Anyway.

Since Saturday, Brogan has asked maybe once a day for his binkie. He doesn't cry and whine about it anymore; just asks where it is. He's been sleeping through the night just fine and naps are getting a tad bit better. I'm SO super proud of our little guy! I think that Saturday for his "week anniversary", I'm gonna do something fun with him!

I'm gonna leave you with some pictures that have become my favorites lately!

I Don't Do Change

Yep. Second post this week...back to back. WHAT WHAT?!?!? <--I don't know.

So I just got a text from one of my best friends, Jenna. She doesn't know how emotional I've been (re: leaving my job of 8 years for something completely knew and different) this last week. But yet she tells me "I know this week is going to make you sad, and possibly question your decision to leave, but keep your chin up and remember you will be going to a place that you will love what you do!" Instant tears folks. Instant. I know I'm making a great decision for myself, my family, and for the future. But holy freakin' cow, it's SO hard to imagine me not sitting behind this desk next week. And for the weeks to come. This has been a safe place for me. I don't do change very well. But we all grow up and move on and I'm not the only one in the universe who's ever gone through this.

Before the text, I also got an email from Jenna this morning regarding a new song I should download. Totally made my morning as well! It's titled "Booty Work" by T-Pain. Very inspirational if you ask me....haha! I told her that I wanted to dance like those girls when I grow up (b.t.dubs: there is a ghetto girl inside this little white girl). It's talent ya'll...pure. talent. Look it up on YouTube. Trust me.

Anywhos. Thanks Jenna for helping me in more ways than one! LOVE YOU OODLES AND OODLES!

I've been here the whollllle time.

Let's not talk about where I've been or why I haven't blogged. That'd just be a silly topic and I'd rather pretend it hasn't been half past FOREVER since I've logged on to good ol' Blogger.com.

I have, however, still been blog stalking (courtesy of the wonderful Google Reader) on my hiatus and everyday feel guilty for not keeping up with my own blog. Not that I'm THAT interesting, but ya know...I could be if I tried. I'm funny...can I say that? (inside joke...lame I know)

So anywhatsit. Let's at least get down to what we did this weekend.

Spur of the moment Friday afternoon, I text the hubs and through out the idea of finally breaking our sweet little boy of his binkie. His beloved and always faithful binkie. I figured if we don't "rip it off like a bandaid" (sick) then it's gonna take ME a long time to finally get it done. So...that night I told Brogan about how the next day the Binkie Fairy was going to come to our house and get his binkie to give it to a baby who was sad and didn't have one. I explained that this was because he is such a big boy now and big boys don't need binkies. I was hesitant but did it anyway. Saturday morning, I let him have his binkie longer than usual (he normally would put it away right when he got up) and both daddy and mommy reassured him he'd be ok without his binkie and had him say his final goodbyes. Enter emotional mommy here. MAN THAT WAS FREAKIN' HARD!!!! You'd think it was MY binkie that was getting taken away. I made a quick trip to Walgreen's to pick up a little something to leave in the binkies place. I know, bribery probably isn't the best parenting tactic, but lay off me, mm'kay? It's what I needed to do to make myself feel better. Haha! We went swimming for about an hour trying to wear our little monkey out. Come nap time, I honestly was nervous. We showed him what the Fairy had left him and read him the note she left as well. He only cried for about 20 minutes...not. bad. at. all. Except....he woke up 1 1/2 hours later (on a good day, this kid will sleep for 3+ hours). SCREAMING -- So much for wearing him out.And that lasted a good 45 minutes. I felt horrible. But we still held our ground and after his tantrum, he was fine.

Saturday night we headed to Lawrence for dinner to celebrate my FIL's birthday. Brogan was PERFECT! We don't go out to eat much due to a very antsy and busy child. But we were able to eat some fantastic Chinese food and then my BIl, his GF, and my self took Brogan to The Toy Store (family owned! DISCOUNT BABY!) down the street. It was fun for Brogan and for me too...ya see, my BIL works there and on top of getting a family discount, we also get lots of free/discounted goodies. So I was going around making my list of things Brogan needed. Yes, needed. After playing for a while, we headed to the local froyo shop. DELISH.


Brogan was in sugar heaven! We headed home and put B down for a LATE bedtime. He asked Tommy one time for his binkie but that was it...out like a light.

Sunday morning, Brogan so graciously slept in till 8:30 (cue angel chorus) and asked me one time about his binkie. Again, I told him about the Fairy and that was it. I totes broke out my Cinderella waffle iron (wedding gift from my in laws...5 YEARS AGO and this was the first time it's seen light) and made some shitey waffles. Whatevs.

Brogan didn't hardly notice since I put Nutella on top. That afternoon I had a date with my besties daughter (we saw the movie Zookeeper...Hi.Larious.) so I left Brogan at my mom's since Tommy was working. She said nap time was a littttttle rough and he only slept for a little over an hour. Sweet Baby Jebus, I hope this napping thing gets easier/better. Our evening was low key and again, bed time went fine. At least he's sleeping at night, I guess. All in all, this weekend was great!

Today marks my last Monday at work. I was offered a great job so I put in my 2 weeks and this coming Friday is my last day (after 8 years...EIGHT, PEOPLE). Maybe I'll do a post about all that jazz...but honestly, I'm so freakin' emotional about leaving that I don't know if I can. Whatevs. That's life, right?

Mother's Day {2011}

(Hopefully I can get some pictures up by tomorrow)
I had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday! I'll be honest and say the last few haven't been the best. God bless my husband, but it took an almost all out brawl (I only joke) last year for him to understand that yes, I'm not his mother, but I did birth his child and until Brogan is 15 and can do things for me by himself, it's Tommy's job. Anyway. I woke up to a loud little boy wanting to get up! Tommy got up also and got Brogan fed and dressed while I got ready for church. After church, we were welcomed to Tommy grilling out hamburgers! I was pumped! I love me some grilled hamburgers, especially when Tommy makes them. Tommy had to work at noon so it was a quick lunch before he had to leave. I did get a sweet card from my boys and a very nice gift card to Barnes and Noble! I have already purchased 2 books for my NookColor. One being Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin. While Brogan napped I was able to relax on the couch and read. I was planning on sleeping while he slept but it didn't turn out that way. I always seem to find other things to do besides sit and relax. I ended up cleaning the toilets! Ha! So when Tommy got home, I was able to sneak in a little bit of a nap before we started our afternoon/evening plans. I got to pick where we ate dinner but before that, we headed to Gage Park to ride the carousel. Brogan LOVES the carousel! We also played on the play groud until we were all sweating to death! It got hot on Sunday! I was a little nervous to go out to eat with Brogan since we haven't done it much. But he was perfect! He ate so well and behaved himself. After dinner, we headed to Tommy's dad's house to have tapioca pudding and enjoy some more time outside. By the time we got home, Brogan was SO sweaty and sticky! Bless his heart. It was definitely a bath kind of night for that boy! He was so ready for bed too!

All in all, I had a wonderful day! I am a very blessed momma! And I'm blessed to have such a wonderful momma! She spent her Mother's Day sungglin' my niece in Kansas City. Lucky :)

Maaaaayyybbbeee I'm hoping to possibly have/almost have another little buddle of joy by next Mother's Day. We'll see!!

Easter Weekend {2011}

I started off my 4 DAY WEEKEND with chores around the house. But I was definitely ok with that! I wanted to get all the laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc done before the actual weekend so I could spend plenty of time with my family. I got to run a few errands on Thursday, one of which included buying my boy some new clothes for Spring/Summer. The Children's Place was having a great sale AND I had a coupon. I love that store! We didn't get home and down for a nap until close to 2; Brogan usually goes down between 12:00 and 1:00...oops :) He finally fell asleep around 3:15 and then slept till 6 pm! Thursdays are the days when I don't see Tommy till after 9 and Brogan doesn't see him at all, unless we're up watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when Tommy leaves for work. I was definitely ok with Brogan sleeping till later. He went to bed 30 minutes later than normal time but slept like a champ! My kid is definitely one of those that NEEDS an afternoon nap or else he will not sleep at night. Sounds weird, but so so true.

Friday, Mr. B got a haircut and we had lunch at Panera with one of my besties, Jenna. We had a great time just chattin' away and watching Brogan be silly. I've found that having a relaxing girls lunch doesn't happen with a toddler but we still found the time to catch up. Jenna and I have had our issues in the past but we really have overcome some HUGE obstacles and become crazy close. I love that girl SO much and she's a friend who I know will always be there for me no matter what. She may not check her voice mail, but I love her none the less ;) Plus, she owns a gun AND a walkie talkie....holla!

Friday night, Tommy and I went to celebrate one of our dear friends 35th birthday in Kansas City at Dave and Busters. If you've never been, YOU NEED TO GO! It's a restaurant AND a huge arcade. I've never been one to play a lot of video games, but I played my heart out! And won tons of tickets! I got Brogan a stuffed pug and naturally he named it Gus, after our pug.

Saturday, we spent time inside and out. The weather wasn't great so it allowed me to get lots of house work done. I rearranged some things on the kitchen cabinets that just makes me feel more organized. I love that feeling! It's nice to not have clutter all over the place. It was a low key night since I had to get up to sing at church on Sunday.

Brogan got to find his Easter basket before church and he loved all his goodies! He wasn't sure he wanted to leave every thing at home while we went to church. I was asked about a month ago to sing on the praise team for Easter Sunday. I got to sing with our youth director (AWESOME lady with such a talented heart!!) and a friend of mine from high school who I've always enjoyed singing with. I'm gonna toot my own horn and say that we KILLED it! I felt so on fire for God during that service and loved every second! We are going to try to do this once a month and I couldn't be more excited. I get so much more out of church when the music is awesome; I've always been like that. It's my passion, what can I say! After church, Brogan and I headed home to change clothes and get Tommy. We headed up to Tommy's grandma's house to do lunch and Easter egg hunts. The kids had a blast! Brogan even took a nap in a 'big person' bed and did great! After spending most of the day at grandma's house, we headed to my parents house so Brogan could find his Easter basket. Brogan LOVES to help Gramma and Papa in the yard (or wherever he can) so my parents got him a toy shovel and rake. He decided it was a great idea to dump out the fake grass in his bucket and rake it up. Such a big helper! On our way home, we made a quick stop at Tommy's dad's house to see everyone and ended up staying for dinner and a makeshift Easter egg hunt. Brogan sure did make out good between money, candy, and toys.

I have a feeling we'll be eating hard boiled eggs and candy for WEEKS!

Here are some pictures from our Easter afternoon. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures AFTER we left Tommy's grandma's house...oops!























Hope you all had a great Easter!

last single night

This last Saturday was one of my best friends bachelorette party. Let me tell you a little about this lady. Danyelle is about the nicest person you'll ever meet. She's had her fair share of 'not good' relationships but we always knew that when she found the one, it was going to be someone outstanding. And she has definitely found that. Her fiance, Beau, is just as nice and caring as she is. They compliment each other so well. We were all so stinkin' excited when they got engaged! It's hard to believe that her bachelorette party is already over and the wedding is a week from this coming Saturday! Time flies when you're in love! I was honored when she asked me to be a bridesmaid and to sing at her wedding. I love that girl so so much!

I gotta say, Saturday night was the funnest night I've had in a loooonnggg time! We met at Danyelle's house for food, a couple games, and gifts. Then we had a kick ass party bus pick us up for our night on the town ;) Let me tell you, this bus was decked out! And it was clean! Haha! We hit up some bars around town and then ended up at Danyelle's favorite dance bar. This girl had the time of her life and I know the bride did as well.

Here are some pictures of our night out. I can't wait for the wedding! It'll be epic, I'm sure!

Danyelle and her momma

The bride and her 'maids

i HAVE to be responsible!

A while back I posted about wanting to get involved with the youth group at my church. The last couple months I haven't been able to due to our schedule but this last Monday I got to go hang out with the Monday night girls bible study (GOF = Girls of Faith). It wasn't their typical Monday night setting; this week they were helping out at the church making the meal for Wednesday's Lenten dinner. Not all the girls were there but I did get to meet a few of them and they were adorbs! They seemed to like me too, which is a good thing if I'm going to be around them more :)

Every summer, the youth group from Faith (as well as all the other YG's from the Lutheran churches in Topeka) takes a week long trip to Woodland Park, CO. The camp they go to is called LVR (Lutheran Valley Retreat). I LOVED going every year! It was the highlight of my summer. We stayed in cabins, did strength building activities, had amazing bible studies, and just had a freakin' blast! Well, Tuesday morning I got an email from Audrey, the youth pastor @ Faith, and she asked me if I'd like to go as a sponsor this year, FOR FREE! Um, excuse me??? A week long vacay in CO with amazing kids/adults for NOTHING OUTTA MY POCKET???? Like seriously, I pay for nothing! Except for snacks I may want during the week. I was beyond thrilled! I talked to Tommy and he was definitely ok with me going, as long as it was something I wanted to do. I was so excited to tell Audrey I would go!

Then last night I couldn't fall asleep 'cause I was thinking of all the stuff I'd need to take, outfits to wear, the responsibility I'll have. Then I panicked. I'm going to have to be RESPONSIBLE!!! Not just for myself, but for a cabin of girls. I have to lead a daily discussion in our cabin about stuff. I have to watch my mouth. I have to be....wait for it.....an ADULT. As freaked out as I am, this makes me oooooober excited! I want to be the sponsor that these girls look up to and admire. I want to be the girl they want to be like (not trying to be conceded). I want to be fun and silly but they know when I'm serious and mean business. I look up to Audrey so so so much and she's ALL of those things.

Another thing I'm looking forward to on this trip, is the fact that I'll get so much more out of it NOW then I did in high school. And that's such an awesome thing.

Now, as excited as I am....I'm totally not looking forward to a week without my boys. I think they'll be just fine and will have fun...but I'm secretly hoping that they'll miss me a whole bunch.

{oh hey...}

It's totally been about a minute since I've posted last. But here's the thing. I just don't have much motivation lately. So to fix that, I'm going to revamp my blog name! I love what I have but I feel it could be more "me". I'm not only a wife and a mom, but I'm ME. And I want to feel I have an outlet to discuss ALL things in my life. And to be honest and angry and happy and silly and stupid and crazy.

Hopefully I'll start posting more often. Now, the hard part will be to figure out what kind of "blog title" I want.

{untitled}

Brogan has been doing slightly better with the whole binkie situation. It still takes him a little bit to go down at nap time, but at least it's not a screaming match for 3 hours. (Ok maybe that's an exaggeration but you get it). I totally had a 'mommy moment' last night. Ok, wait. Back it up. Yesterdays nap time was NOT a success. My mom said he cried/talked in his bed until 3:45 (he goes down between 12:00-12:30) and only slept for an hour....AN HOUR! Anyway, back to my story. Last night on the way home I wanted to stop by Dollar Tree to get some crafting supplies. I told B he could have a balloon if he behaved and let mommy quickly shop. When I was trying to put him in the cart, he was refusing to sit in the designated seat. Ok, I chose my battle and moved on. I tried to get him to SIT in the big part of the cart like he wanted. He wanted no part in sitting. O.M.G. I told him that if he wasn't going to listen to mommy that we were just going to go home with no balloon. He still carried on. So, in front of a whole store of people, I said nope and walked out the door. I have NEVER had to do that before but I also didn't want to be "That Mom" who made everyone in the store suffer and listen to my screaming child because I wanted to shop. He threw a huge fit in the car and I kept telling myself to breathe so I wouldn't break down. We were fine when we got home and the rest of the night was alright.

My best gay, Ivory, is coming over tonight to hang out for a bit and I'm so excited! He came over last night to watch The Bach and drink wine. We are going to try to make it an every Monday occurrence. We need to see each other weekly. Speaking of Brad. Oh. My. Emily. If he doesn't marry that girl, he is one crazy S.O.B. She's a DOLL! And that Michelle b*$&%, holy CRAZY TOWN! I'm SO excited to see next weeks episode!

I hope to get better at my blogging. Obviously I've been sucking at it. Hardcore. I'm SO addicted to like a BILLION blogs and I check my Google Reader seriously like 10 times every hour. I just don't think to update mine very often. Oh well. Such is life!

Binkie Dilema

We are having WW3 here at the Guffey household. Slowly but surely we are trying to rid our boy of his beloved "D" aka his binkie. My sweet Brogan boy has been attached to his "D" from day one. It's never been an issue and I guess technically it still isn't. Our doctor did tell us that until he is 3, they see no problem with him having it. We've done pretty good in the past with getting him to just have it at nap and bedtime. Well, when your baby doesn't feel good or is just so distraught over not having his only vice, sometimes it's easier to give in. Enter: me. I think I'm mostly the problem, I don't always feel up to sticking to my guns and it's such an easy fix to just give him the bink. But something came over me on Thursday. I decided I'd had enough. I knew the way to ween him off the binkie was to do just that; ween. In the past with his bottle and sippy cup, it was a whole lot easier to ween him off little by little. I ended up cutting 2 of his binkies and he absolutely HATED it. And still does. Naptime on Thursday was a nightmare. He cried for an hour and a half and slept for a bout as long. This child normally takes a good 3 hour nap. I wasn't going to deal with that again at bedtime so we decided our best bet was to give him his 'normal' binkie that way we all get a good nights sleep. Yesterday, my MIL said he did just fine at naptime...figures. But today, we've been battling again. As I type this, he is crying in his bed, cut binkie tossed out on to the floor, and I'm trying to drown him out so I don't give in.

I was in tears before his nap because I don't know what to do. Am I doing this the right way? Should I give in to him since he is still little? I feel horrible because like I said before, it's his vice, his blankie, his stuff animal. I've thought about just throwing them away all together and just dealing with it. But that action would be out of anger and frustration and not logical thinking.

I knew parenting was tough. I know we haven't even hit the tip of the ice berg yet. But holy cow! We NEED to get this binkie sitch figured out before we start potty training and I'd LOVE to think it'll all be figured out before baby #2 comes along. That's sorta my 'goal'. But I also know not to put a timeline on this either.

If anyone has ANY advice whatsoever, please please please help me!