Learned today

5 things I learned today:

5. Cooper is a pretty good break dancer.

4. My kids are scared of birds - just like mom!

3. Cooper acts just like the monkeys at the zoo.

2. O really digs singing.

1. O is developing a pretty cool fashion sense....although we still have some hits and misses!

My Boy

We've been doing our Red 40 "diet" for a little over a week. Honestly, there are days I can really see a difference in Cooper AND O's behaviors and then some days I don't. I'm not stressing about it though - I do think he's a calmer child. But, he is a child - and only 4 at that, so I don't expect huge changes. I'm proud of my little guy - both of them will ask "does that have Red 40 in it?" whenever they are offered something. That cracks me up.

Speaking of my little guy - can you believe he'll be five in a month? Seriously breaks my heart!

RED 40

I was talking to a friend yesterday about our kids - you know, just basic stuff like how school had gone last year, how the summer was going etc. We got around to talking about how hyper one of our kids are and she started talking about Red 40. Turns out, the artificial coloring called Red 40 is used in A LOT of processed food products. And it can cause ADD/ADHD symptoms in some kids. She's eliminated out of her child's diet as much as possible and she said she could tell a HUGE change in him.

Well, that got me thinking.....you all know the Boy is wild right? So, I talked to Al about it last night, did some research about it on my own and we've decided to try to eliminate foods containing Red 40 as much as possible from *all of our's* diet. No reason to make poor little Cooper suffer alone right? :)

I looked through the fridge and cabinets this morning and surprisingly didn't find too much that I had to throw out - of course, it is grocery day and we're down to bare cupboards right now. Grocery shopping today is going to take a little longer than usual because I'm really going to have to pay attention to what is in our favorite foods. And if Red 40 is in them, I've got to find a healthier alternative. It sounds like a ton of work, but if it'll help my Lil' Man - I HAVE to give it a try. Cooper is so smart and such a sweetie but I also know he can be a wild man. And that's the description just about everyone that knows him uses. And that upsets me. So, we're going to give it a chance, try this for about a month or two and see if we see any changes. Hopefully we will. I am kind of excited about the possibilities even though I know it's going to be a pain to keep up with. And to get all of our family on board if we DO see changes, is probably going to be tough too. But we'll take one thing at a time and see how he does. Wish us luck!

If your interested in learning more about Red 40 - check out this blog:

http://reddyefree.blogspot.com/

What's going on?

Cooper wants to be a cowboy or basketball player and O wants to have her boyfriend sleep over! LOL

Dear 18 year old Mandy....

(I stole this from another blog and thought I'd give it a try)

Dear 18 year old Mandy,

Yeap...you're still going by Mandy even at 32. It's the one thing you've never been able to change - no matter what you do in life, you'll always be know as Mandy. It's you. Amanda is a beautiful name, but Mandy will always fit you perfectly.

You're in college now - going to meet lots of people and make some really great friends. Even a few life long friends. Embrace those friends. Spend more time with them and less time worrying about Mr. Boyfriend at the Moment. Sure you lose touch with a few girls and reconnect via Facebook, but let's just avoid the whole "lose touch" thing ok? Those girls will still be on your side when you're 32 years old. Trust me.

Go ahead and forget "your type" honey. The man you end up with is NOTHING like "the type" you have your mind set on. If you had dropped it sooner, you may have started your fairy tale much earlier! I wish I could save you some heartbreak and some MAJOR mistakes, but I think those are necessary for Al to come into your life. Just know that one day, you won't even remember how bad one particular break up was. You'll even laugh at how silly you probably were. Your "non-type" husband is the best man in the world for you. He's the best decision you probably ever make.

Don't doubt some of the choices you have to make - some are relatively easy....others not so much. Unfortunately, you'll have to leave people out of your life - and that's something that will not get easier for you as you get older. You're still a loyal friend to the end. At 18, you probably think it's a sign of weakness. At 32, you'll see that it's one of the qualities your closest friends love about you. But learn there's a fine line between being a friend and being used - and sometimes you'll have to make a choice about where you fall on that line.

Spend more time with your grandparents. Already at 18, you have such little time left with them.

Write in your journal more - and write about more important things other than Mr. Boyfriend at the Moment and more about things that really matter (even though you think Mr. Boyfriend falls into that category). Give writing more than one try. You might get shot down - but for goodness sakes, get shot down more than once. I don't mind where we end up, we're happy where we are - but don't live with that regret that you didn't give your dream more of a chance.

You're wrong about A LOT of things - especially how life in your 30's is going to be. I'll go ahead and tell you that you do in fact, want kids. You might not think so at 18, but you do. Having those two wild monsters makes you the happiest you'll ever be in your life. And you'll want more but your body won't allow it. That's something you'll struggle with for awhile, but you'll learn to live vicariously through your friends and SILs. Oh, and that perfect man I told you that you marry? Well, yes, he is perfect for you, but honey - nothing is completely perfect. So don't think that your marriage will be the only one in the world that has no "problems" - Mr. Wonderful will do things that annoy you and vice versa. But he's still pretty awesome. It takes you awhile to realize this - go ahead and embrace that fact too. :)

Most of all - continue to have fun and live your life. Looking back - I would say we did a pretty great job. Take more road trips, have more sleepovers, and take more pictures. Oh, and when you meet a certain someone at a bar when you're 21....RUN! :)

Your 32 year old self,

Mandy

Is it a crime?

Is it a crime to kill your husband because he let the kids help him paint the barn in the back yard with super duper RED paint and not only did they get it all over themselves but also got it in their HAIR!!!!

*taking deep breaths* Ok, so it's not *that* bad, but I can't get all the stinking paint out of O's hair. It came right out of Cooper's hair - I guess because it was still wet, but O's was pretty dry. UGH.

For the record - the kids aren't helping Daddy paint the second coat on that barn!

Silence

I feel so guilty that I don't have more to post about on my blog. I don't know why, but I just do. I honestly don't even know who or how many people actually read it.....and yet when days pass and I don't have anything new to post - I feel guilty. What does that say about me? :)

Life has been anything but quiet here - but that doesn't mean there's been a lot of excitement either. I think we're just settled into our summer routine and we're going through the motions. The kids come home exhausted every day from the YMCA and that's a good thing mostly....not so good when they whine at EVERY LITTLE THING. The Boy is getting really, really bad at whining. I know it's because he's so tired, but he just won't STOP. Will not stop moving until it's bed time and then he crashes. I try to get him to rest on the weekends, but he'd rather ride bikes or play in the playhouse. I'm thankful that he's so full of energy, but man....I can't take the whining all the time.

As I'm typing this - the kids are in the bed saying their prayers. It's so cute to hear them....Cooper mainly copies O and repeats what she says. They are thanking God for their friends and for Mommy. How sweet! I take back everything I just said about not taking the whining anymore! :)

Anyways, please don't take my lack of blogging as nothing is going on. O says and does things everyday that I could (and should) put on here, but by the time I get home, get them fed, bathed, and actually spend time with them before they go to sleep - I can't remember what it was she said/did that was so darn funny. Sorry. :)

Famous

My daughter is OCD. Seriously.

She got this "idea" in her head that she can be a famous singer one day. Then the "idea" changed to "I can be a famous singer NOW" - and that's where we are. O has even wrote her own songs. Want to hear one?

"Hey fat Cake!

Do you know.....I love you

I love you so much, I want to hug you so tight"

Sounds like a hit doesn't it? Maybe you should sample hit #2?

"I'm the roughest, toughest cowgirl in the world....cause I'm rough!"

I'm not 100% but I think she stole the second hit from Toy Story 3. So, my girl is stuck on becoming famous like you know, Taylor Swift. And she's going to have a 30 story house and drive a pink limo. Oh, and *I'll* be famous too because she's famous. *jumping up down for being famous by association* She even told me to "google how to become a famous singer".....AS IF it were that easy.

My girl is so funny. Can I put anyone down now for a copy of her first CD?