It's Like Nobody Cares

It's kind of weird how nobody ever comes over to clean my house for me. I mean, I'm pretty busy laying here playing on my phone.

Sheesh. Some people, right!?

Say What!?

My kid's a perv y'all. As we were walking past the bras at Wal-Mart yesterday she reached both hands out towards them and excitedly yelled.... "BOOBIES!".

Lovers Games

Ladies, I'm about to introduce you to a life changing game.

Here's the deal. Whenever your man gives you a compliment try to find a way to twist his words and take offense. For example, he might say "You look really pretty today." (Compose yourself. Take a moment to remember that these words are not to be enjoyed.) Remembering this admonition you say "Ohhh, so you're saying I look like a fat slob every other day!?!"

For maximum effectiveness leave the room in a huff.

This game is a really neat way to get your lover to really dig deep and explain all the many ways he loves you. It keeps him on his toes and is a fun time for all involved.

That tear you see in his eye after the game...that tear...that's there because he feels so lucky to have you.

Can't wait to hear how this works out for you guys! XOXO

A Day At Daybreak

Brandon has been traveling tons lately.  

He's been in New York, Orlando, and Palm Springs, the last three weeks, and Vegas this week, so it's nice to have him home for a couple of days.  

We spent our Sunday together as a family exploring the neighborhood where his parents live, Daybreak.  We fed ducks, looked for frogs, rolled down the grass hills until we got so cold we just had to go.  

Here are my Instagrams from the day.  

(If we aren't already Insty friends, find me @ lolo_elle)

Happy Monday everyone.  Hope your weekend was wonderful too.  

Schminter

What's it called again when you lack motivation to do things you normally enjoy, feel hopeless, and want to stay in bed all day?

Oh yes, winter.  :)

That is precisely why I couldn't be happier that it's over. (Even though it snowed yesterday). I honestly feel like a new person.

Hurray for spring, choosing to shove away negative thoughts, and conquering today.

And an even bigger hurray for my boo, vitamin d. A.K.A. the sun.

Phonaphobia

People who leave me voicemails instead of texting me: why do you hate me so much?

*With the exception of people who sing/rap me their message. Obviously you guys love me, and I love you back.

Don't hate me, I'm phonophobic. It's doctor diagnosed. Or not, but whatever.

The Paps Be Hounding Me

Sometimes I wish I was a celebrity so that when I got bored all I'd have to do is walk out of the house without my wedding ring on and the paparazzi would be like:

"Laurel, is your marriage on the rocks!?",

"Did Brandon leave you for another woman?",

"Who are you wearing?" (How insensitive of them to ask me something so shallow at time like that. Right? Ugh...Those paps...)

And I'd be like "I'm not saying a word until someone brings me a crunch wrap supreme and a diet coke." And then they'd make a run for the border for me and we'd have a nice conversation over 4th meal.

That'd be the life.

I'm A Lady

Brandon had to take a business trip to Vancouver BC a couple weeks ago and I had to get away. So what do you do when the stars align in such magnificent form? You go on a getaway with your husband that makes you feel crazy, sexy, and cool. Whaaaat!?

I spent most of my time alone relaxing and exploring while he was at a convention.  

I had time to remember what it's like to think my own thoughts without interruption, spend time getting dressed up, order room service while watching Beyonce's documentary, you know, basically doing things that aren't playing house.

Seriously, the best.

I cruised around those Vancouver streets without a care in the world. I felt alive and exhilarated, and dare I say hot. I mean, you guys, not only did I spend like an hour getting ready but before I went out I took a long bath AND snuck a beauty rest/power nap in.  So of course I felt good. I was practically living my own version of JLo's life.  Okay, maybe not.  But whatever.

I was feeling so confident while shopping on the ever so popular Robson street that I wasn't at all surprised when some guy approached me with some "phony" excuse to hit on me.  He was pretty good looking and really friendly.  

We were talking about where I was from and what I was doing that night as I waited for the light to turn green so I could cross the street.  All I kept thinking is "Oh man, I hope this doesn't get awkward.  Can he see my wedding ring?  Make your wedding ring more visible.  He's staring at me.  Clearly I've still got it."  

We had a brief conversation, and as the light turned green I proceeded towards the corner.  This was the moment we'd part ways nicely or I'd have to break the news to him that I am T-A-K-E-N.  Taken. 

I quickly, mentally prepared for the worst.  I'd let him down easy.  We'd laugh about it for a second then walk away.  

Those preparations were all in vain, because when he turned to me and smiled, he uttered the most disgusting words in the english language.  

You know the ones.  

He looked me in the eyes and said "Have a nice day ma'am".

"haaabaaaandyouutooo" Is all I could mutter in response.  Jibberish.

I'm lucky I didn't fall to the ground, get struck by a car and left for dead.  

Did he just call me ma'am!?  I know he didn't just call me ma'am.  He just called me ma'am.  This dude who I assumed was my peer just mistook me for a ma'am.  Clearly I'm not a ma'am.  Am I a ma'am?

Turns out he was just reaching out to a lonely old lady and I was that ma'am.  

And ya know what, I suppose thats not so bad. 

(Not really.  Don't be an idiot.  If you call me ma'am and you're older than 12 years old, you're getting punched.  Next time I'll be prepared.)

Thanks for the reality check friendly gentleman.

Am I the only one that hates the "m" word?

Mama-hood

"Many in the work will shout that motherhood is full of small mundane tasks. And certainly, if you look only on the surface, it's true. But underneath all the secondary things moms do-cook, clean, read, chauffeur, nurse, and so on-is a mother's real occupation, and I believe the definition of true success. Webster dictionary defines occupation as the principle business of one's life. The principle business of a mothers life is nurturing her children; it is teaching, them by example, how to pass on that love thereby strengthening the world around them." -Jane Clayson Johnson

I couldn't agree with this more.

I remember when Addie was born I couldn't have imagined the amount of love I felt for her immediately. I had no idea I could love something so much.

I used to joke with my mom, before I had kids, that I didn't want a baby. I had a "plan" to give birth and let her have the baby until it was funny, which I thought was about age 2, and then she could give it back. Of course I was kidding but I truly couldn't imagine that I would love being a mom so much, especially to an "unfunny" baby.

Just to give you an idea of how deep that love for Addie was, after we brought her home from the hospital and she was maybe a few days old. Brandon and I were in our room holding her and staring at her, with baby lullabies playing in the background, and and I just started sobbing as I thought about her leaving us for college one day. And then I told Brandon and he started sobbing. It's hilarious to me now that we were already devastated that this 7(ish) day old baby would move away from us one day. A life without her was already unimaginable even though we had just "met" her.

As amazing as this bond was there was another thing about motherhood that struck me. I was busy all day. All day. Like so busy that finding a minute to go to the bathroom seemed difficult and yet at the end of the day I could barely list anything I had accomplished. I would feel guilty pretty often because I didn't feel like I was doing anything worthwhile or interesting.

Fast forward 6 years and that is still one of my biggest struggles with motherhood. I love both of my girls with all my heart but each day I clean, I do laundry, I feed my them, drive Addie to school, take them to gymnastics, change diapers, grocery shop etc. I'm busy and yet I often times feel disappointed in myself at the end of the day because all the diaper changing, cleaning and playing doesn't feel important.

I know there are so many amazing mothers who feel the same way I do. But when we look at the big picture what we're doing is so important. Amidst all the mundane tasks we are raising-teaching, nurturing, loving these little people. Actual little humans, the next generation. We have the chance to teach them what is important in life, to encourage them to follow their dreams, to show them how to love without judgement, among so many other things. I can't think of very many things more amazing than that.

Now please bless that I don't screw this up.

Family Photos

We just got our family pictures taken by Heather Telford and thought I'd share them here.  She always does such a great job that we have to have her do them for us each year.  

And yes...B's pants are bright.  

There I said it before you could.  hehe.

A Lot About Nothing

I may not be great writer, but I really enjoy writing.

I've never been the greatest verbal communicator, but somehow all my thoughts make so much more sense when I put them in writing. And it just helps me unload my thoughts.

But the funny thing about writing a blog is that I start over-thinking about what I'm putting "out there" because I have no idea who is even reading.  I know there are readers because I can see the numbers but I have no idea who they, you are. So I start thinking... Do I just write about things that are funny, or just about my kids, or not my kids, should I write about personal things on my mind. But what if I offend someone?   How much should I reveal? I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or ungrateful, but I also don't want to candy coat things and sound fake.

So here I am trying to figure out what I feel like sharing and connecting with others about and what people even want to hear...

And that my friends is what's on my mind tonight.

Top Of The World

What a day, what a day. Y'all won't believe what's going on.

I guess you could say my blog is priiitty successful. I'm getting the most flattering comments left and right from these "anonymous" fans. I guess they like me so much they don't want to admit who they are just yet, so as not to seem like stalkers and such.

The cool thing is these anonymous worshippers can see my potential even in a post that doesn't have much content.

For example on my post where I listed some clothing for sale. It was basically just a bunch of photos of my shirts I was selling. But I guess my glowing personality and charming wit shine right through even in a post like that. Here is what one worshipper had to say:

"This paragraph is genuinely fruitful in favor to me. Please keep up the posts like this."

First of all, wow! Second, yeah!

Another reader said, in response to my clothing pictures:

"Thаnks designed fоr sharing such a nice thinking, paгagraph is niсe, thats why i have read it entirеly"

Clearly they scoured the post and truly adore me and have a fondness for grammar.

And yet another one from my clothing post:

" Heу thеre! Τhis poѕt cοuld not be written anу better! Reading thгough this рοst rеminԁs me of my previous гoom mate!Hе аlωays keρt talking about this.I will forward this aгtісlе to him.Рretty sure he will haѵe a gοod read."

And my favorite most thoughtful genuine comment of them all, on my post "If I'm Being Really Honest" the post where I confessed such things as my fondness for smelling my own farts as a child. Here is what my fan had to say:

"I really appreciate this thoughtful post. It is clear that you've spent much time researching the topic that you write about. If you aren't already a famous blogger you will certainly be one in no time."

I feel proud, so proud right now that these perfect strangers are getting all this from my posts. I will take credit though. What, so sue me, I'm confident in my skills!? I guess you could say I just have a natural knack for writing that radiates from everything I put out there into the universe.

I'm on cloud nine that my raw talent is being recognized.

Before I sign off let me just say, thank you my little lolo-ites. I know one day you'll reveal yourselves. But for now I'll just offer my thanks and say I wouldn't be here without you.

Muah!

Okay, I'm kidding, I'm totally kidding. They're totally spam. But every time I get an alert on my phone and I start reading one of these "comments" my heart skips a beat for just a moment when I read such nice words. And then I realize...a shiny robot wrote it. Buuut it makes me laugh every time at how inappropriate the comments usually are for the particular post. Thanks for the laughs you silly robots, you.

Sweeter Than Honey

I woke up the other day, the morning after a particularly rough day, around 7:00. Addie came rushing to my room so excited and happy.  

"Mommy, mommy I have a surprise for you!"

She guided me downstairs, down the hall, and into the dining room, where she had breakfast made and served for me.

It was the sweetest thing.

She knows I love fruit & veggie smoothies for breakfast so she made me one (that I was as little terrified to drink because it was warm and extra sludgy). She made me a get well card and she even decorated the plate with grapes and carrots.

She was so excited to show me what she had done. She went on and on about the smoothie and all the vegetables and fruits she put in it, and was so excited to point out that she even remembered to add flax seed, hemp seed, and coconut oil.

What really melted my heart is when I walked to the kitchen to do the dishes and I saw kiwi peels in the sink. I just pictured this cute little kindergartener working so hard in the kitchen, peeling fruit, decorating, and putting away the 15+ ingredients when she was done, all to make me happy.

I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, thoughtful girl to call my own.  I love her with all my heart.

I couldn't be a luckier mama.

Silver Lining

It's Oscar night tonight, and its pretty safe to say that I'm rooting for Silver Linings Playbook in every category they are nominated.

I loved this movie. Like, it's the best movie I've seen in a few years.

If you've seen it, you understand. If you haven't, what's your problem!? ;)

Go. Go now.

Thought provoking, real, funny, so funny, sad, and just such a true human experience. And I loved that Bradley Cooper's character was striving so hard to become an optimist in the face of adversity and to always find the silver lining. He said something that of course I loved because I even wrote about the same thing months ago. He said he was learning that to love was more important than being right. (It's almost like this fictional character and I were meant to be together. Hehe)

The whole cast was loveable. So glad it's getting so much recognition.

What was your favorite movie of the year?

Fret No More My Pet

If you can measure the greatness of a day based on how many times you did or didn't break down and cry, I'd say today was a pretty sucky day.

There are a few things that keep me sane everyday and without them my days spiral out of control. Like, no joke. Vroom, down the shoot they go...

We have all been sick, and then better and then sick and then better, over and over and over again. Wahh, I know. This seems to have been the case for everyone this year so I should shut my mouth about it. (Keyword: should) But I mean come on, flu, colds, strep throat, sinusitis, flu again, ear infections, more ear infections, colds again, sinusitis again, and pityriasis rosea all in the last month and a half. Make it stop!

Obviously I'm dying. I'm on my way out and these are the subtle clues my body is giving me. I hear you body, I hear you. I'm writing up the obituary as we speak. And don't worry you faithful obituary readers, I'll be sure to include the cause of death because what fun is an obituary without a detailed explanation.

And by the way, somebody get me a lounge chair and People magazine STAT, so we can also say I died doing what I love.

So anyway back to my point. Today sucked. We didn't go to the gym, (Ruh rohh, there goes the first drop of sanity) stuck in the house all day again (oh boy, watch out for Laurel, she ain't no homebody. Things could get ugly.), feeling sick, sick kids, crying kids, and kids that were actually pretty good and sweet for being sick (which is the worst of all because then you feel horribly guilty for not being the perfect mother they deserve), and no relief in sight because B Dog is out of town.

But now it's the end of the day. The girls are in bed and the house is peaceful and quiet and suddenly I can't imagine why everything felt so hopeless. Every minute that I enjoy a bit of silence a drop of sanity comes trickling back and I feel a little bit ashamed that I wasn't stronger.

But I will take comfort in the thought of what Addie said to me as I tucked her into bed. The beautiful reassurance only a kindergartner can offer. She said to me..."Uh, why did you kick that cup!? For a second I thought whoa my mom turned into a little baby today!"

And now with those sweet words I shall fret no more. 

Or maybe take a hit of Nyquil and sleep the rest of the day away. Yes, yes, that one.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

It was a typical day in the Bogar house, the other day.

The girls were running around the house playing with a couple of our little neighbor friends.  In the midst of doing laundry I got a call from Sienna for help.  Actually it was more of a cry.  She desperately wanted a dress out of Addie's closet.  I got it down for her, and her sobs turned into giggles of delight as I helped her put it on.

The next couple minutes I just sat and watched her sweet little two year old face beam with pride.  She was glowing.  There was no question that Sienna was feeling beautiful, proud, and alive.

The dress was 3 sizes too big for her,  her hair had that "I've spent my afternoon somersaulting around the couch" look about it, she had soap residue wiped across her face (because ya know...she had just stripped down naked and escaped into the bathtub for a "dry" shower wiping soap and shampoo all over her body, and we hadn't washed it off yet.) and to top off the look she was wearing Addie's snow boots.

By most standards the girl looked a hot mess. She didn't care what anyone else in that room thought, she felt alive.  She didn't care that she didn't know any great dance moves, or that there was no music on, she started to dance anyway.  And she danced all over the room giggling and smiling the whole time.  Nothing mattered from the outside because on the inside she was at peace with herself.

The truth is she was SO beautiful, crazy hair and all because her heart is so pure, and joy was exuding from her.  All I could think was "man I love my babies so much".

And to my babies, I hope you always remember how perfect you are, just the way God made you.  

Shine on you crazy diamonds!

Home is Wherever I'm With You

I made this for Brandon two Valentines Day's ago.
Its super amateur and a little cheesy but there is just something about a video montage that just gets to me.  In a good way.  

I really should update this so Sienna came make some more appearances.  But oh well.  I'm too lazy.

Here it is.

The good the bad the ugly...home is still wherever I'm with these people.  

Happy Valentines Day!

Love Bombs

I am such a sucker for holidays.  

Now I'm not the type to decorate and go all out for each one, however I love doing a little something fun to make it a special day.  

We started a tradition last year that I very well intend to do as long as my girls live with us.  I take that back, maybe I'll be "that" crazy mom and keep doing it when they're in college.  I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about embarrassing them when they're older.  This might be a great place to start.  hehe  

Here's what we did.  So simple but fun.  We snuck into Addie and Sienna's rooms while they were sleeping tonight and filled them up with pink and red balloons.  Inside each balloon is a note from us saying something we love about them.  So when they wake up for Valentines day tomorrow they get to pop the balloons and read their little love notes. 

Addie LOVED this last year.  

   I can't wait to hear their reactions when they wake up and see the balloons.  

 Hopefully they feel the love tomorrow. 

I Got 99 Problems And Poop Is One

Can I just take a moment to vent?

I lost it today.

But lets rewind to yesterday.

I finish showering and I'm getting ready to pick Addie up for school while Sienna plays with toys in my room.  

I have about five minutes before I need to pick Addie up and what does Sienna do!?  

 She comes strolling into my bathroom with a nakey bum and hands me a pull up full of poop.

Noooooo.  

Poop all over her body.  Poop all over her clothes and who knows where else she has walked or sat with that poopy bum of hers.  

I throw her in the bath as fast as I can.  I throw all the clothes into the wash.  I clean up any poop I find around the room.  We hurry out the door just in time to get Addie as she's walking off the bus.  

Phew...

A little bit of poop (or a lot) is not gonna get me down.  

So a couple hours later I took Addie to gymnastics.  Its always a bit of a pain to get Addie there.  Before gymnastics she hates gymnastics and tries every tactic she can think of to get out of it.  

After gymnastics she LOVES gymnastics and is so proud of whatever new trick she has learned.
So I keep sending her.  

I'm rewarded for sending her, with an hour of quiet time in the car while she's at her class.  Sienna usually falls asleep and I just sit there and enjoy the silence.  A rare thing to come by when you have small children.  

And I'm the type that needs quiet time to recharge.  I love being alone with my thoughts.  

(And my phone.  Don't leave me alone without the Internet and Instagram.) 

So anyway Addie's class was over, we drove home and Sienna was still sleeping so I pulled the car into the garage and left the door open to the kitchen where I was cooking dinner and let her keep sleeping for a few minutes.  

When I heard her wake up I opened the car door to let her out and smelled the most horrific poop smell. 

I carry her inside to change her pull up.  On my way upstairs what do I notice?  Poop all over my arm, all over my shirt, all over her.  

I bathe her.  She's screaming because the waters too hot.  Then she's screaming because the water is too cold.  Then she's tries to escape from the bath before she is clean.  Its like wrestling an angry monkey.  I.  Am.  Exhausted.
But I get fresh clothes for both of us and things are looking good. 

 Now fast forward to this morning.  

Again rushing out the door.  This time to take Addie to school and to go to Sienna's mommy and me gymnastics class.

Nobody is listening to me as I try to get everyone ready so I repeat everything about 15 times each.

"Addie please brush your teeth."
"Addie please brush your teeth."
"Come on, brush your teeth please."
"We have 5 minutes before we need to leave.  Please hurry and brush your teeth."
"Are you kidding me?  Stop doing headstands and BRUSH YOUR TEETH."

You get the point.

Finally we make it downstairs and I get the girls in the car.  As I'm buckling Sienna in I feel something wet on my hands.  I look down in horror and find more freaking poop.

Once again, all over her, all over her car seat, and all over my hands.  Her car seat was covered in poop from the day before.  It didn't even cross my mind that it would've gotten on her seat.  And if it had crossed my mind I never would have thought it would still be WET today.

I brought her inside, took off all of her clothes.  Brought the car seat inside and started taking it apart to wash it.

And I lost it.  I burst into tears.

And more tears.

And then I'm sobbing over poop.

Sometimes it feels like nothing is going my way.  Luckily Brandon works close so he rushed home and took Addie to school and gave me the clean car seat from his car.  But he left and I sat down and cried some more.

I don't have any cute little moral to this story.  I'm not even sure why I'm writing it except that it makes me feel better to put it out there.  And it makes it seem funnier when I think over the details.

But I will say it was Sienna that made me smile in the midst of my tears.  She climbed up onto my lap and in the sweetest little 2 year old voice said:

"Aww, you sad?"
"Aww mama, you don't be sad.  You da cutest girl ever!"

I got 99 problems and sweet girls ain't one.

He's On My List

Ya know, the super bowl was pretty cool.  

We had a little party at my brother in laws house.  Delicious snacks, playing on my phone, BEYONCE (Hello, could she be more talented!? No.), and playing around with my ladies doing things like this:

So yeah, great day.  

Things went south real fast when this commercial popped up on the screen:

Dammit Paul.  

How many of these awful movies do I have to sit through in order to see your handsome face on the big screen?  

I mean really....Fast & Furious 6!?  SIX?

Cars, action, muscles, Vin Deisel, lameness...they're just not my thing.  But for you, Paul Walker, I'll buy that ticket and suffer through it.  (But we're kind of fighting.  Just know that.)

 DIEHARD FAN.

Also this video I just found made me laugh so hard.  I totally remember this kids game show that he was on when he was younger.  I'm sure at one point I hoped I could be on it arguing with one of my sibs.  *faux fighting- fist in the air* 

My favorite part "Big Bites!"  "Big Bites!"

Veggie Packed Chili

One of my favorite things to do when I cook is to adapt the recipe and make it a little healthier.  My kids are becoming pickier and pickier  eaters by the day (should be the opposite right!?) so I do whatever I can to sneak nutritious foods into their diets.     

So I thought I'd share this chili recipe I changed up. 

It was good before, but it's now veggie packed, lean, and delicious.

Ingredients:

2 cups spinach

1 cup bell peppers

1/2 cup carrots

1/2 cup broccoli 

1 cup white corn

1 yellow onion

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1/8 cup olive oil

1 lb ground turkey

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

Optional toppings:

plain greek yogurt

cheddar cheese

1.  In a large saucepan brown ground turkey.

2.  Add chopped onion and saute.  (Or just use dry onions if you're a baby like me and refuse to chop fresh onions.)

3.  Next I combine spinach, bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli and puree them all together in my blender.  This hides the veggies in the chili (or else my kids wouldn't eat it!) and creates a yummy veggie base.

4.  Throw all of the ingredients (yep, the turkey, the puree and everything else) into a crock pot or a large saucepan and stir it up.

5.  Simmer that tastiness for 3-5 hours on low.  This is key.  The colors and flavors get all acquainted and after simmering you can't even see the green of the spinach or anything anymore.

6.  Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt (tastes just like sour cream but much healthier) and a sprinkle of cheese.

7.  While looking at your precious picky eaters yell (in your head) FOOLED YA SUCKAS.  Because they just got a delicious meal packed with nutrients and they didn't even know it.



*This method also works really well when I make spaghetti sauce.  I puree whatever vegetables are in my fridge or freezer and throw it into the mix.  Can't even taste a difference after it has simmered for a while.  Victory!