My Boys

Austin at 1 year --- Austin last fall





Luke at 1 year









Aren't they adorable!!!

Its all about me ... 101 things you never knew or wish you never knew ...

Thanks Angel for the idea for this post ....

1. I'm Monica I turned 36 in May.
2. My birthday always falls around Mother's Day
3. My middle name is Lee, named after my mom's Uncle Lee and her brother David Lee
4. I was adopted by my stepdad (who I ALWAYS refer to as my Dad)
5. My Biological Father lives less than an hour away from me and the last time I saw him I was 26 (Austin was 1) and that wasn't much of a visit, before that I was 21 and before that I was all of maybe 7. But I send him a Christmas Card EVERY year.
6. I'm single ... maybe someday I'll meet Mr. right ... HA!
7. I like Birds from a Distance ... Pictures are close enough.
8. I HATE Chickens
9. Every night I fall asleep on the couch.
10. I have NEVER been able to watch the whole movie "Emerald Forest" even fell asleep watching at the movies.
11. I LOVE Chocolate!!
12. I had my tubes tied after I had Luke, no more babies for me. Though somedays I regret that decision, other days I'm glad I did it.
13. I have 1 full sister (same mom & dad) 1 half sister (same dad) and 1 step sister. I am closer to my step sister than any of them and haven't seen my half sister since Austin was 1.
14. I am the oldest child.
15. If I would have been a boy, my mom wanted to name me Tobias Joseph (Toby Joe).
16. I always wanted a boy and now I have two.
17. I still get choked up when I talk about my grandpa. He passed away 18 years ago, just before my 18th birthday and high school graduation.
18. I never completed college.
19. My Biological Father left my mom when I was 5 and just starting kindergarten, he wouldn't give me a hug or kiss when he left, everytime I tried to give him one, he told me to hug my mother, I would hug her and try him again and he would repeat hug your mother. I don't think I'll ever forget that feeling of rejection.
20. I am more comfortable working with men than women.
21. I'm Catholic but don't attend church as often as I should...
22. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday
23. Blue is my favorite color
24. I regularly have blonde moments
25. I have no idea what pot smells like.
26. I love PW!!
27. I have this HUGE Fear of getting lost so I don't venture far from home.
28. I shy away from crowds and large gatherings. Large groups of people scare the he!! out of me, though the fear is not as great if the boys are with me. Even though I hate crowds, it doesn't make crowds a bad thing and my boys need to know that.
29. I even hate big "family" get togethers (aunts,uncles cousins etc) ... I mean, I enjoy them when I get there and get to talking to people, but the drive to them is he!! my stomach is in knots all the way there. (make any sense??)
30. My children make me brave
31. I talk to my mom everyday either in person or on the phone
32. I've never been married and proposed to once (on my answering machine - he thought that if he asked me to marry him we wouldn't end up splitting up)
33. If I get mad at someone, I stew the whole night getting no sleep, thinking about and rehearsing how the whole conversation will go the next day with that someone.
34. It p!sses me off even more if I cry in front of the person I'm angry with.
35. I swear, Austin is my backbone
36. I always have a calm feeling after attending church (and paying attention)
37. I once fell off of a horse and fractured some winglike bones in my back (L1 & L2) have yet to ride a horse since.
38. Austin got pushed off of a trampoline by my cousins boy when I wasn't outside watching him. It happened the Friday before school started when he was starting 1st grade. The same year, he swallowed his tooth! Poor boy!
39. I love reading about all of you posts on PW!!
40. I get extremely B!TCHY when trying to clean for company!
41. When company comes over, I lock my bedroom door.
42. My bedroom looks like a storage room right now. (no basement)
43. I have lived in the same general area (within 15 miles) from the time I was 2 years old. I now live within 7 miles of my childhood home and my son goes to school in the same school district I attended school in.
44. I graduated from High School early, had enough credits that I got out at semester and went to college... If I had it all to do over again, I'd have stayed for the full year.
45. My best friend in High School is going to be a Grandma in Feb 2006
46. Lucas looks and acts like my Uncle (according to my Mom)
47. Austin's father is married, he got married a year after we started seeing each other.
48. I got pregnant with Austin 5 years after we started seeing each other.
49. I took Austin's Step-Mother to the hospital a couple of weeks ago for chest pains, others think it odd that she and I get along now.
50. I hate to go shopping.
51. My nickname is Hyka ... got it from a little boy I used to babysit, he couldn't say Monica, he always called me Hyka.
52. I love the area I live in, since its away from the city, but don't care for my neighbors, they are all older than my mom and none of them even try to talk to me and the boys.
53. Most of my friends only call when they want something.
54. I worked for Easter Seal Society with disabled children when I was a teenager, I did this 3 years in a row. Summer day camp and resident camp. That was the best job I ever had, most fulfilling.
55. I learned a lot about myself the first summer at resident camp.
56. I try to be very open and honest with my kids.
57. I have NEVER EVER discussed sex or personal problems with my mother.
58. My friends feel that their lives are 100% better than mine and are not afraid to tell me that I'm always wrong or how I should do things better.
59. I once bought Austin a cool pair of shoes that he wanted (on clearance) and got tons of grief because they weren't tennis shoes, they were baseball shoes
60. Angel was the FIRST person to ever read my blog!!
61. I often wonder what my life would be like had I never broken up with my first boyfriend.
62. One friend of mine "thinks" she can recall events of my life better than I can (and she wasn't there)
63. I enjoy bowling, when I quit bowling I was carrying a 170 average
64. Most people think Luke's dad is someone I met and dated the summer of 2003 for a brief period of time.
65. I eat chicken at least once a day
66. I love chicken parmesan
67. Italian food is my fav!
68. Mint Chocolate Chip icecream ....
69. My Mom, My boys and I are going on vacation to Colorado ... first real vacation I've been on since I was a kid. Austin is bowing in Nationals!!!
70. I bought my first car, bike and sewing machine with babysitting money
71. I'm not a big fan of cats
72. I love to cook sweet and sour pork - will post recipe later
73. I've come to the conclusion that I will die single ...
74. My biggest fear is rejection
75. I led a very sheltered life as a child, I'm trying for my kids to not be as sheltered
76. Have I said that I really enjoy my PW friends! You guys make my day!
77. I collect bells from different states.
78. I collect angels
79. I love bears
80. I decorated Luke's room in Bears & Ducks
81. I always wanted to name a little girl Katelyn Nichole but my mom didn't like that name, my second choice was EmmaLee Marie or Jenea Marie
82. I like to do cross stitch
83. I blush easily
84. I have a hard time walking up an open stairwell (being able to see thru the steps)
85. I have made Austin clean up his own pee since he was being potty trained, He knows that accidents happen and sometimes he'll miss the toilet, but that doesn't mean he leaves the mess behind
86. I don't believe in childproofing my home for anyone's child ... My kids know that mommy's pretties are mommy's and they need to leave them alone.
87. I love pictures!!!!
88. I know who shot JR
89. I don't have cable, so TV watching is limited.
90. Favorite television shows are CSI (s) and American Idol
91. I had to leave the room when Austin and I watched Ghost Ship ... If you've seen the movie, you know what part ....
92. I would be lost without my Dad to fix things that break around my house and on my car
93. When I go out in the sun I turn very pale and later turn red
94. I don't tan ... ever ... I burn, peel, burn again
95. I love my job! Someday's I'm completely stressed because of it, but for the most part I really enjoy it!
96. I lost my checkbook today ... I think its in the house, but could be on the carport or at the babysitters house.
97. I only get paid once a month.... that sucks!
98. My sister and my Dad are not speaking at this time. She tried to yell at me about it, I told her that was between the two of them.
99. My sister hates me because I have kids and she doesn't. She brings that up often to others, I didn't do it the "right way" by getting married first.
100. I lost my identity when I had kids ... I'm no longer referred to as Monica out in public, only Austin's mom or Luke's Mom ...
101. I got to 101 just for Katie and Angel!

Leave him alone for 10 minutes and what do you get???

Ok, so my little guy was extremely crabby the other day... I put him down for a nap, nothing unusual there except that he went down without a tear or anything, right to sleep and woke up a couple of hours later in a VERY good mood. Austin and I were in here playing a game on the computer and we heard Luke wake up, we left him in there since he was being quiet and playing with the toys he had in his bed (or so we thought) Anyway, 10 minutes go by and I tell Austin, "why don't you go ahead and bring your brother in here" Austin goes to the door and the only thing he can muster to say is "UM MOOOOOOMMMMMMM" I ask him if Luke had stunk up his room again, Austin says "UMMMM NOOOO, its much worse" I walk in there and Luke is stark naked, diaper off and poop all over his crib, his sheet, the wall. Um, yeah, much worse ... Needless to say, Luke will not be going to bed in only a diaper EVER again, and if he does, we won't be leaving him for 10 minutes to play nice.... Oh fun!!