My not so secret affair.

I'm in a new relationship.

One that I no longer need to lust for on a daily basis.

One that doesn't force me to lurk around just to sneak a peak at him.

There are no more late night website visits, no more pretending.

No more hiding.

No more wondering what it would be like just to be with him.





Have you met my lover?






No, not this guy.





Although I love this guy, a girl must admit that there is room in her heart for another.






Not this guy either.

But if given the opportunity...




Umm, okay back on track. Sorry for the distraction.





And not even this guy...





Except if he wanted to meet me for a cocktail so we could talk about fabulous things, I'd totally be into that. Me and Tim. BFF's forever.

Once again, back on track...


Ladies, prepare to be insanely jealous.

If I have one piece of advice for you, it's that you should get one of your own. Seriously.

My new love. My one and only. My everything.

Meet Wyeth from the amazing and oh so uber cool Hayden - Harnett in Brooklyn, NYC.

Isn't he dreamy?

Catching up or maybe not.

After officially putting our house on the market and pushing hard to get this place sold, Seriously Daddy and I packed up the L's and drove them to Grandma and Papa's farm in Iowa. Not because we enjoy treating them like livestock but because they actually like it out there. Plans were that the L's would spend most of June out there and then as a family spend the 4th of July together and then come home. House projects took up most of our time. The garage needed to be painted, the basement needed some work. And the bathroom? Oh, the bathroom. It's still half done except the door has been removed so it's more fun to announce to everyone, "Hey, I'm going to use the bathroom so don't look, okay?" Fun times.

We had a buyer who promptly backed out a few weeks before closing. By then I had given up my Blogher ticket. Waaaa! After throwing a few tantrums, I packed up the dogs and we headed out to Grandma and Papa's to hang with the L's. By that time Papa had admitted that he purchased 4 foals from a neglectful situation and he needed a fence built. Perfect. What makes this even better is the fact that he was leaving for work again the next day and my mom needed to get the rest of the fence built. So after a little sweet talking and bitching, Seriously Daddy drove down and he and I would finish the fence.

About 6 hours into the project, Seriously Daddy set a 6x6x8 up on it's end and it fell full force onto the top of my foot. A trip to the ER diagnosed me with a fractured metatarsal. Crutches, pain pills, ice and elevate. Happy Summer to me! I needed my mom's help with the L's and the dogs so in Iowa we stayed. Seriously Daddy commuted back and forth and such was life.

Fast forward 2.5 weeks.

By this time I'm feeling better, able to do more things and was looking forward to getting home and back into a routine. Eight hours later and we rolled into the Town That Time Forgot. I could barely get out of the car. Thinking that this last 34 years has really taken a toll on me, I shrugged it off. The pain in my calf had to be a cramp. Suck it up and get the kids in bed, right? Yeah, whatever.

Called the doc the next morning and the next thing I know I am diagnosed with Deep Vein Thrombosis and learning how to give myself injections in my belly. Three to six months of blood thinners and constant monitoring is what I have planned for the immediate future. And to top off, I seem to be allergic to one of the medications. Woot.

So I'll have all the time in the world to read and comment on your blogs and to actually attempt to put some meaningful content on this little blog o' mine because most likelyI' ll end up in the hospital.

Hang in there, it should be an interesting ride!

It's like the Iran Hostage Crisis but...

This is the Brenda Hostage Crisis. Seriously. Instead of a diplomatic crisis between Iran and the United States from November 4, 1979 to January 20, 1981, this is a diplomatic crisis between me and my mother (who from here on out will affectionately be referred to as "The Ayatollah Grandmami) which instead of lasting 2.75 years will likely last 2.75 months.

I'll be back shortly to explain but the Ayatollah is watching. Must find secret WIFI in the middle of Iowa, stat.

Chances Are...

I was the luckiest girl in the world, May 22, 1999.

Who wouldn't love a guy who after ten years of down and dirty real life trials and tribulations, mortgages, diapers and disasters, leaves this comment on her silly little blog...

Occasionally I log on to see what Seriously Mama is up to, and I could not help myself this time. I have to comment.What do you get me? Are you serious? Oh wait... I just checked the blog title. Mama, (can I call you Mama?) you need to know something. The last 10 years of my life have been truly incredible, and being able to walk through them with you hand-in-hand has been the best gift I could ever wish for. It has been a rollercoaster ride filled with hard work, hearty laughs, long walks, passionate love, and recently - poop. I cannot imagine what gift would make my life more whole than it is right now. I'm not sure I've ever said this before, but thank you for that. 10 years is a great milestone, and i cannot wait to bump and roll along to the next one with you.So what should you get me? It's easy. Keep holding my hand... Seriously.

Ten years is just the beginning, baby. I love you. Happy Anniversary.

Sending out an S.O.S...

I'm not a Sting fan so forgive me for the bad judgement on using his song for the title of this post. I'm classy like that.



I need help. No vow renewal coming up, we are putting the money towards a really great house on some really great property that we will hopefully own as soon as we can get some poor soul to purchase this really great house in this really horrible town. But if you are in the market for my really great house, this town really isn't so bad.



Now my S.O.S



What do you buy the man of your dreams who has put up with your insane online shopping addiction, cooking experiments, bad laundry habits, non cuddly, super independent self for the last 10 years?



I. AM. CLUELESS.



Help a girl out. I can shop like no body's bidness but buying a gift for him? I've got nothin'.



Maybe a home remodeler to finish this project that was started 2 years ago??


Love ya honey but seriously...

Let's get married. Again?

In a few short weeks, Seriously Daddy and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Does that make me lucky or old? Maybe both?


Ten years have passed since my soon to be husband paced the floor of the church for the forty five minutes after our ceremony was supposed to start, thinking that I changed my mind. No, I didn't change my mind. My dad did. Changed his mind that is. Ten years ago my dad decided to offer me a substantial amount of money to not marry my soon to be husband. Ten years ago, I refused that money and insisted that my dad get into the car and get to the church. Ten years ago I refused to ride in said car with my dad and thankfully, great friends drove me to the church. My dad soon followed.


Ten years ago my soon to be husband's best friend and groomsman walked out of the church during the ceremony because he thought it would be better to vomit outside rather than on the altar.


Oh yes he did.



Ten years ago I wish I would have known about drip-less candles so the wax that dripped on our guests from the only light in the church wouldn't burn our guests. Sorry about the new suit, dad. I really didn't think the wax would be permanent.





Ten years ago all of our guests left the wedding en route to the reception. They left the newlyweds to clean up the little stone church in the woods and find a way to the reception since they took our car as well.


Ten years ago my parents decided to go home after the ceremony and show up at the reception late. Ten years ago, our reception guests ate all of the food and ten years ago my dad was really mad.


Ten years ago my mom and dad should have just realized that I was going to marry him anyway and get over it.


Don't even get me started at what the in-laws did ten years ago. That deserves a blog all of it's own. Seriously. Can someone say guest post???

Ten years has given us a little more incite, a little more wisdom, two beautiful kids and the ability to laugh at what happened ten years ago. And now that these ten years have past, Seriously Daddy and I find ourselves thinking about renewing our vows. The thing is, we are not big into the cheese of things and I don't do hokey. Is it possible to do a vow renewal without the cheese? Is a vow renewal all about the cheese? Help a girl out!


Have any of you renewed your wedding vows? Had a big party to celebrate your anniversary? Share the special moments and the horror stories. I want to know what I may be in for during these next ten years!

It's Chuck E. Cheese for adults...

I bet you can't guess where I am? In the land of serious cheese and no, I'm not talking the curdled milk kind of cheese.

Vegas Baby!!!

Enjoy a little of the atmosphere while I recover from last night. I'll be back after some pool time.

Snips And Snails And Puppy Dog Tails...

Happy Birthday to my Biggest Boy!!!

Today you turned four years old. It's hard for me to look at you and not see the wrinkly little man that just opened his beautiful blue eyes for the first time. If I turn my head I catch glimpses of the boy you are becoming, the one who will be a young man before I blink again.

But for now, you are still my little biggest one. I love you bud.

This morning you snuck into our bedroom, flipped on the light and asked your daddy and I "Do I look like I grew four years bigger?" We got dressed for church, had your special oatmeal for breakfast. You couldn't wait to get downstairs and play in the basement at our church but you wanted to make sure mom or dad was there with you and your sister. In the future I hope you realize that this kind of defeats the purpose of childcare at church! After church we did our usual back roads drive home and stopped at "the pizza store" for lunch. After eating exactly two bites of pizza you managed to con daddy out of several five dollar bills for the arcade games. Speaking of cons, just last week I found out that you told Grandma you needed "fifty bucks" to buy stuff. I have yet to find that fifty bucks and it never made it to your piggy bank. We'll have to talk about that later.

After getting home and putting your little sister down for a nap you and daddy went swimming at "the old lady pool." Your affectionate nickname for our local pool was born from the only people who use the pool on a regular basis. Kid, you crack me up. The things that make it from your mind to your mouth is enough to get you your own Last Preschooler Comic Standing.

After swimming we met some friends at the yellow park and then headed to the ice cream store. Today was a simple but great day.

You continue to amaze me with your logic, sense of humor and devilishness. You are mature beyond your years. Where does the wisdom come from? You should be hiding in forts made from the couch cushions but instead you try and engineer the next skyscraper out of Tupperware. If it can be built, you build it. If it can be fixed, you try and fix it. My wish for you is to just slow down and enjoy being a little boy.

You are such a special soul, my baby boy. You are truly a special gift that I was blessed with helping to mold into the person you are destined to be. I promise to do everything I can to help guide you. You were put on this earth to fly baby. Your daddy and I were just the lucky ones who were picked to share your journey.

I love you my biggest boy. Thanks for the best four years of my life.

Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice...

To My Baby Girl,

Today we celebrated your second birthday!!

Last night I snuck out while you, your brother and daddy were sleeping to pick up a few surprises from Target. I hit Starbucks on the way home and for what it's worth to you in the future, a double shot latte at 10:30pm is never a good idea! So when you ran into bed this morning and yelled "BIRFDAAAY CAKE!!!" I was still trying to decide whether I was still dreaming about Edward Cullen (we'll talk about that when you are a little older) or if it was really time to get up. Umm yeah, you were ready to party and was not going to take no for an answer so we started our day, Your Birthday!!

Daddy made waffles this morning. Peagut (peanut) budder and syoup (syrup) are your favorite toppings. Orange juice and a bitamen (vitamin) and you were off playing. After I cleaned the kitchen and daddy picked up the living room it was present time! A few My Little Pony's, a Dora backpack and some new Dora underwear and TV/DVD player for your room from Grandma and Papa is just some of you loot for the day. Not bad for being two!

After nap time, Papa came over for dinner. We haven't seen him since Christmas so it was perfect timing that his meeting was in a town close to our house. Your Papa loves you more than you could ever imagine (we all do, but he has a special place in his heart for little blond haired girls who adore him.) We had a great dinner, finally had some BIRFDAY CAAAAKE and played outside. Papa left and all you could say over and over again was "Oh Noooo. Papa gotta go. Oh Nooooo." It was very sweet.

Bath time and bedtime were pretty easy. You were very tired and fell asleep like an angel in about 3.4 minutes!

Lila, I love you more today that I did yesterday. You continue to be this little light from heaven that has been given to your daddy and I. The innocence and wonder that I see in your eyes everyday just takes my breath away. I look at you sleeping and wonder how I was so lucky to be given a daughter to love. Our world is brighter everyday because you are in it.

I promise you I will try and be the mother you and your brother deserve. I love your brother for making me a mother but you my girl, you made me a better mother. You and I are cut from the same mold. We have the same facial expressions, body type and personality characteristics. It sometimes scares me to look at you getting bigger because I see so much of myself in you. There will be times in the future that you and I will probably be at odds about situations but if there is one thing that I want you to know it's that I will always love you, no matter what. Always and forever.

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl.

Tomorrow we celebrate your brother's fourth birthday!

Oh, hey! Hi! Umm, how are you? Me? Well...

It's alive! Yes, this blog is alive and breathing, can you believe it? Nothing like a month's hiatus to make a girl feel a bit guilty about not updating you on my oh so very glamorous life.

Let's see.

In the last month I have done the following:

Shopped online and spent money I shouldn't be spending but whatever. There are some freakin' great deals to be had.

Nothing.

Attempted to do some laundry.

Gave up and went to Target for more underwear for the fam.

Cooked a few dinners and then when my kids refused to eat, I ordered pizza.

Rock Star, ain't I?

I hate the word ain't by the way but just use it for effect. Did it work?

Uh, yeah that's about it.

So get used to seeing my pretty face around the internet again. I am back babeeeeee.

Missed you all! I'll be making my way around for some comment love.

xoxoxox

And the winner is...

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe and I used Random.Org to pick the Disney On Ice tickets! And our winner is...

True Random Number Service
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:17
Timestamp: 2009-02-01 03:05:41 UTC

Congratulations to #17! I will be contacting you shortly with the details. And thanks to everyone who entered!

See you on the ice!

Disney On Ice tickets! It's another giveaway!

Disney on Ice is coming to the US Cellular Arena in Milwaukee Wisconsin and I've been given the opportunity to give away another 4 tickets for the Thursday, February 5, 2009, 7:00pm performance!

Join the celebration as 65 of Disney's unforgettable characters from 18 beloved stories come to life in a skating spectacular filled with magical Disney moments you'll remember forever as Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic! Play February 5th-8th at the US Cellular Arena. Celebrate the magic of Disney at family-friendly prices starting at $15. BUY TICKETS NOW at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 414-276-4545. (Surcharges, handling and facility fees may apply.)

Here's your chance to see the show free!!! All you need to do is leave me a comment and tell me about your favorite Disney memory. Was it watching your first Disney movie or dancing with Mickey in Florida? Does watching Lady and the Tramp bring back great memories of giggles and sleep overs? Is Lightning McQueen plastered all over your son's room or is everything Wall-E all that your little one talks about?

Want an extra entry? Post a blog entry about this contest and comment with the link.

Want another entry? Tweet about this contest on Twitter and let me know you tweeted!

Find me on Twitter @SeriouslyMama

****Please leave your email address in your comment so I can contact the winner or check back Saturday after 10:00pm so the winner can contact me!****

This contest will end at 9:00pm, Saturday, February 1st, 2009. Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe and I will use random.org to pick the winner! Please make sure you leave me a way to contact you in your comments! I must be able to be in contact with you by Sunday Feb 2nd or I'll have to go on to the next pick!





Good luck! The Seriously Family and I will see you on the ice!

Not just another Tuesday...

To my L's,

Today you woke up too early. Today you ran around naked while your dad and I chased after you and tried to get you dressed. Today you both refused to eat your breakfast while I ran around trying to get you packed up for our ride to preschool.

Lila, today you wore your pink Dora The Explorer sunglasses and carried a pink Barbie Igloo lunchbox and danced all through Target while Levi was in school. You spit out your cranberry scone and blew bubbles in your milk when we stopped at Starbucks. You giggled, skipped and cuddled your way through my heart and our day.

Levi, today you packed your Diego Rescue Pack with your very favorite pair of tractor underwear just because you had to have them with you. You stuffed keys, a baseball hat and some stolen gummy worms into your bag for school (I told you you couldn't have candy in school...) Daddy dropped you off and when we picked you up, you marched so proudly out of school with your handmade binoculars two hours later. You are getting so big that I find myself staring at you wondering if I am doing as much as I can to help you become the man I know you are going to be. That smile you have melts my heart everyday. You hopped into the car with me, Daddy buckled you in and kissed you before he had to leave for another business trip. Daddy kissed me and then Lila. We waved to him and told him to have a safe flight.

Levi and Lila, today we stopped for Happy Meals at McDonald's for lunch after school. When we got home, we saw a plane fly over the house and we waved at Daddy. We played with your kitchen, we played with the train set, we played outside. I did the dishes and you both watched a Strawberry Shortcake movie (it was Lila's turn to pick) while I made dinner. You both had a bubble bath and then some ice cream. We brushed our teeth and then you crawled into your beds and fell asleep.

Levi and Lila, today probably seemed just like every other day. You are both too young to understand that today was a very special day. Today was the first day of the rest of your lives. Today an honest, honorable, and hope inducing man became the newest leader of the free world. He became the President of the United States of America. Not more than sixty years ago, his father wasn't allowed to eat in certain restaurants because of the color of his skin and today I saw the possibilities for your future. A future with less hate, a future that is safer for you, more progressive in it's opportunities and a future where anyone can work hard and achieve their dreams. Anyone can. Today was an amazing day.

My hope for you both is that you grow up to be independent thinkers, honorable in what you believe in and creative enough to use your experiences for something that makes you happy. I will be here to support you, guide you, love you unconditionally and protect you forever.

Stretch your legs and run babies, run. I'll always be behind you.

It's a major award!

Matt at DC Urban Dad's Big Hairy Holiday Fitness Challenge is over and guess who's the winner?

Oh yeah, that's right. Uh huh. Me!

This chick sweated, sacrificed and scraped her way through weeks of tracking everything good and bad. Had a coke, wrote it down. Had some junk, wrote it down. Veggies? Yes, wrote those down too. And you know what? That treadmill in my living room turned out not to be so bad. And wanna know something else? I lost 12 more pounds! I just may live through that triathlon in September.

Maybe.

Just slap me.

For some reason I thought it might be a good idea to break down the little-er of the L's crib last weekend.

And that's about all I have to say about that.

Guess who's still yelling from behind her gate? "GATE GATE GATE" like I don't know she is locked in her room.

Pray for me.

Only one thing in the world could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window...

And that's a new blog design from Sam at Temptation Designs!!!

How fantastic is this? Tell me what you think!!!

I have lots to post about today but first I promised my wonderful husband that we could get this house organized top to bottom before anyone slacks off again like we have for the last two weeks.

Leave me some comment love and let me know what you think about the new design!

Sam, girl you are a rock star!!!