The Aftermath of a Rainy Day

Yesterday was an awesome day. It rained on and off all day. It was chilly, breezy, and the windows were open bringing in the smell of fresh air in the desert. If you've ever lived in the desert you know exactly what smell I am talking about. We wore long pants, long sleeves, and socks on our feet. Lincoln played in the puddles and shoveled wet rocks around.

Later in the afternoon we had a thunderstorm. Thunderstorms are one of my favorite things. The thunder rolled in quietly and we sat on the back porch waiting. Lincoln asked, "Where's da thunder? Listen.... Weird, kinda weird." Out of NOWHERE one of the loudest thunderclaps I have ever heard boomed. Lincoln and I both jumped a mile off of our chairs. Lincoln ran inside and got scared asking me to hold him. Emi continued to sleep. It started pouring in sheets and the power went out. That woke Emi up. Only after the power didn't come back on within a few minutes did I realize my phone was only decently charged and the iPad was at 6%. The power came back on almost an hour later. I wasn't really worried, but it could have been a long evening with the two kiddos in the dark.

Last night there was actually so much water I was able to take reflection pictures of our palo verde trees.

This morning I woke up and our backyard was (and still is tonight) a pond. 

There are grass clippings washed into drifts against any surface of higher elevation. The balls and the slide have a water line that marks how deep they sat in the collection.

Today was also a beautiful day. Blue skies, cool, crisp and clean. I wish the valley could always be like this. It's weather like this and rain like yesterday that make you rationalize the summers.

Wine O'Clock

Day 4 of 7X7 and I'm making it quick. Like really quick.

I'll give you 3 good things that happened today before I switch personalities:

-Emi's spontaneous laughter is always good
-Lincoln told me "I need to poop" and pooped on the potty for the 2nd day in a row < the milestone being the fact that he told me he needed to go.
-Lincoln made me laugh by suddenly running from the teen room all the way into my bathroom to get my cleansing brush and pretend to shave his legs. Just because the urge struck him.

*FLIPS SWITCH*

I didn't get any sleep last night and not because of the baby. I pretty much have angel children, so a night with no sleep is something I am not used to. Now it's only 60% my fault for staying up late on the computer editing. But, Lincoln woke up last night at 2:45 and then at 4:30 Emi wakes up to nurse but I *still* couldn't fall asleep so I was laying there. Then somehow I started dozing and something was tickling my brain but I wasn't sure what. When I came to something felt off and I realized Lincoln was laying next to me. It really kind of freaked me out. I never heard a thing and there he was. He was nearly laying on Emi! I had to move her and get in between them. I should have known better than to let him stay there, but at the time I noticed him he was actually asleep and I thought it would be sweet to snuggle my kids in bed. WRONG, because of course that didn't last and between then and 8:30 Lincoln was awake and flopping around whining for boobs every.5.seconds. I have never been so tempted to cut him off cold turkey as I was today. I was getting really mad every time sharp little finger nails came around clawing into my shirt. Why are little nails SO sharp??

Apparently when I don't sleep at all I don't have a very long fuse and neither does Lincoln. I would say today was the roughest day yet in parenting. Combine no sleep with my still lingering cold and the fact that Joe's at the unit and I just want to whine like a toddler too... man, I give major kudos to the moms who take care of more kids by themselves for longer than a week. I think I would lock myself in the closet and cry. My trigger seems to be that I can't figure out how to keep Lincoln from bugging the living $h!t out of Emi when I'm trying to get her down for a nap. All my old tricks no longer work. iPad next to me. iPad in Emi's crib. The mobile light on the ceiling. Asking nicely. Pining him down with my other leg. Shutting him out of the room. Singing. Putting a show on TV and plopping him on the couch. Feeding him food. Feeding him junk. Asking him to go find something in his room. And after allll that even yelling doesn't work (surprise?) - it only makes him cry really hard, makes me feel bad, and then he starts doing it all over again giggling through tears and I start throwing things in frustration. So, she didn't get a morning nap.

There was peace for a little while because we played outside, but it was windy and Lincoln was FREAKING OUT about the wind blowing his baseball away - which it wasn't, he was stepping on the Tee which kept knocking it off. Thankfully he ate a good lunch. But that didn't make up for the tired.

After one afternoon nap attempt for Emi and an hour of Lincoln crying about his tricycle no longer being in the garage because I put it on the back patio for him to ride, Emi resorted to her desperate tired cry and now they were both crying. I knew nothing was going to stop her from napping now if she got even a few minutes to suckle, so I tried to get her down for her afternoon nap for the second time. (Notice Emi's still been a great baby all day she just didn't get to nap so she wouldn't let me put her down at all.) Lincoln was sobbing so hard over I don't even know what except that I wouldn't let him have the ipad because he's too loud with it and he decided not to read Kippy Koala like he picked when I told him he could read a book in my bed. Finally, he wanted "mama, hold me" and wrapped his arms around my neck while I was nursing Emi and asked me to sing "Grandma" which I don't know what was but I know it's not you are my sunshine (more tears for not knowing) and then finally he opted for "Ariel" which I assumed was Part of Your World. So that's what I sang and at 3:30 they were both asleep with me in the middle. THANK GOD. So I took this picture to pretend to portray that life is peaceful and green and that I'm really all put together.

Of course when Lincoln woke up he cried inconsolably for about 30 minutes. What finally stopped the crying was Dinosaur Train on Netflix. He watched a few of those while not eating his dinner on the couch. Then he took a bath. He finally ate his dinner at 8:00 the first time I tried to get Emi down for bed and I was so happy that it was quiet and I got to do it without him jumping and kicking and giggling. I came out and gave Lincoln a big hug and told him I was so impressed he ate his whole dinner. And then she started crying and the jumping, the kicking, and the giggling all started again because he's quick to get on my bed and wake her up. Yup, putting her down for bedtime took two tries. 30 minutes of books, singing, and more boobs didn't work and ultimately I had to let her cry herself to sleep. because Lincoln needed to get in bed and it was way after 9:00. He climbed out of bed only once. And I'm not in bed yet because I'm drinking a glass of wine. Yes, I opened a bottle of wine for myself. If you know me you know that I don't do that. Ever. So I am sitting here in the dark and the quiet with my glass and waiting for my ears to stop ringing.

My favorite part about the end of the day is that tomorrow is a fresh start.

7X7 Day 3: 5 Favorites

I've been interested in a 5 favorites link-up post for awhile and I've been sitting on this as a draft so perfect timing for Day 3 of 7 posts in 7 days . It's already after 10pm and I think today will be quick because there might be a squirming baby in my bed. 

{1}

I have no shame in plugging this because I LOVE it completely independent of the fact that I'm a beauty consultant. The Mary Kay Skinvigorating Cleansing Brush.

I have this really annoying combination skin that has warranted a lot of attention over the years like: "Wow, your skin is really dry right there." points out my First Sergeant about my jawline that is patchy and peeling, meanwhile there is a giant volcanic zit on my chin. 

People talk about the T-zone, well, I have the Goatee-zone. NOT ANYMORE!! I leave this brush in the shower and use it with my Timewise Cleansing Bar and viola! Smooth skin. No dry patches. No weird bumps. Smaller pores. No acne (though mine has never been bad). My day/night solutions and moisturizer absorb so well. My makeup goes on smoother. NEVER GOING BACK! WHOOHOO.

{2}

Vitamix. I use mine EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 

Am I using enough emphasis through caps and exclamations?? 

Anyway, I make Shakeology smoothies almost every day and if I don't use it for Shakeology I make a yogurt smoothie or a green smoothie that hides the veggies. I'm going to start using it for Emi's baby food whenever I decide to start feeding her food. It's self-cleaning and so powerful it tackles all the things my old blender started burning trying to do. *LOVE*

We have this Vitamix 5200. It was on roadshow pricing at the Luke AFB PX before Christmas. Check Costco as well, they do great roadshow deals twice a year I think. 

{3}

Shakeology. I mentioned it under #2 but it deserves its own number. If you trust Tony Horton, this is worth a try!  I haven't had a chance to try Strawberry, Tropical Strawberry, or Greenberry, but right now I'm rapidly working through a 30-serving bag of Vegan Chocolate. It's the healthiest meal of the day packed with high nutrient super foods - just check out the ingredient list on the back of a bag. Worth the price? I think so. I spend more on a meal if I go out to eat or if I go up to the grocery store to grab food from the deli counter. With Shakeology I feel more energy. I crave a shake instead of bag of Oreos. My IBS hasn't flared and it's helped me (&Lincoln) with regularity (critical to those who know IBS). 

For anyone interested, Get in contact with my beachbody coach, Kristen. She can set you on the right path.

{4}

Since I'm on a roll with related items, I'll just keep on going. P90X3, BABY!! 

Tony has me twisted around his little finger... or maybe his biceps.... either way, I'm in love - with P90X3. I will admit I fell off the workout horse about a month ago, right at transition week between Block 1 & 2. *shame face*. But I looked at myself in the mirror again and I'm getting back on!! I loved P90X in Iraq. I did 30 days of it (joining a group that had already started) before I took a PT test. It was the only PT test that I ever maxed out (300+) and it was my fastest 2-mile ever - 14:07. P90X3 is even better because it's only 30 minutes, and as a mom I can do 30 minutes a day. I did X3 Yoga 3 times and I was able to do crow for a few seconds after not even getting a toe off the ground the first time!!  Again, I'll plug for my awesome coach, Kristen, who got me fired up.

*NOT ME*

{5}

Cookie Dough. Say what? You're probably thinking, "This chick has spent 3 of her 5 favorites promoting health and wellness and her number 5 favorite is cookie dough? How am I supposed to trust her credibility NOW?" I get it. You'll just have to have faith.

Cookie dough and I go way back. It's the best part of making cookies. I *used* to just make cookie dough to eat out of the bowl from the refrigerator. I know Joe's on orders for a week and all, but I promise Lincoln and I did make cookies yesterday. This last spoonful was mine though -- Lincoln got to lick the beater. It's a favorite not just because I love cookie dough, but because I loved making it with Lincoln's help. He did all the pouring. 

7X7 Day 3: 5 Favorites

I've been interested in a 5 favorites link-up post for awhile and I've been sitting on this as a draft so perfect timing for Day 3 of 7 posts in 7 days . It's already after 10pm and I think today will be quick because there might be a squirming baby in my bed. 

{1}

I have no shame in plugging this because I LOVE it completely independent of the fact that I'm a beauty consultant. The Mary Kay Skinvigorating Cleansing Brush.

I have this really annoying combination skin that has warranted a lot of attention over the years like: "Wow, your skin is really dry right there." points out my First Sergeant about my jawline that is patchy and peeling, meanwhile there is a giant volcanic zit on my chin. 

People talk about the T-zone, well, I have the Goatee-zone. NOT ANYMORE!! I leave this brush in the shower and use it with my Timewise Cleansing Bar and viola! Smooth skin. No dry patches. No weird bumps. Smaller pores. No acne (though mine has never been bad). My day/night solutions and moisturizer absorb so well. My makeup goes on smoother. NEVER GOING BACK! WHOOHOO.

{2}

Vitamix. I use mine EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 

Am I using enough emphasis through caps and exclamations?? 

Anyway, I make Shakeology smoothies almost every day and if I don't use it for Shakeology I make a yogurt smoothie or a green smoothie that hides the veggies. I'm going to start using it for Emi's baby food whenever I decide to start feeding her food. It's self-cleaning and so powerful it tackles all the things my old blender started burning trying to do. *LOVE*

We have this Vitamix 5200. It was on roadshow pricing at the Luke AFB PX before Christmas. Check Costco as well, they do great roadshow deals twice a year I think. 

{3}

Shakeology. I mentioned it under #2 but it deserves its own number. If you trust Tony Horton, this is worth a try!  I haven't had a chance to try Strawberry, Tropical Strawberry, or Greenberry, but right now I'm rapidly working through a 30-serving bag of Vegan Chocolate. It's the healthiest meal of the day packed with high nutrient super foods - just check out the ingredient list on the back of a bag. Worth the price? I think so. I spend more on a meal if I go out to eat or if I go up to the grocery store to grab food from the deli counter. With Shakeology I feel more energy. I crave a shake instead of bag of Oreos. My IBS hasn't flared and it's helped me (&Lincoln) with regularity (critical to those who know IBS). 

For anyone interested, Get in contact with my beachbody coach, Kristen. She can set you on the right path.

{4}

Since I'm on a roll with related items, I'll just keep on going. P90X3, BABY!! 

Tony has me twisted around his little finger... or maybe his biceps.... either way, I'm in love - with P90X3. I will admit I fell off the workout horse about a month ago, right at transition week between Block 1 & 2. *shame face*. But I looked at myself in the mirror again and I'm getting back on!! I loved P90X in Iraq. I did 30 days of it (joining a group that had already started) before I took a PT test. It was the only PT test that I ever maxed out (300+) and it was my fastest 2-mile ever - 14:07. P90X3 is even better because it's only 30 minutes, and as a mom I can do 30 minutes a day. I did X3 Yoga 3 times and I was able to do crow for a few seconds after not even getting a toe off the ground the first time!!  Again, I'll plug for my awesome coach, Kristen, who got me fired up.

*NOT ME*

{5}

Cookie Dough. Say what? You're probably thinking, "This chick has spent 3 of her 5 favorites promoting health and wellness and her number 5 favorite is cookie dough? How am I supposed to trust her credibility NOW?" I get it. You'll just have to have faith.

Cookie dough and I go way back. It's the best part of making cookies. I *used* to just make cookie dough to eat out of the bowl from the refrigerator. I know Joe's on orders for a week and all, but I promise Lincoln and I did make cookies yesterday. This last spoonful was mine though -- Lincoln got to lick the beater. It's a favorite not just because I love cookie dough, but because I loved making it with Lincoln's help. He did all the pouring. 

The Most Important Word in the Human Language is....?

Somewhere, sometime ago I heard that the most important word in the human language is your name. Google it and you won't find it, but I swear I heard that. And it makes sense. It's a huge part of your identity. Some people hate their names, some people have special meanings to their names, traditions, funny spellings. It's a big deal, ya'll. Even more so when you name your own children. So here I go, 7 posts in 7 days over at conversiondiary.com and starting with another link-up to Team Whitaker on how and why we chose our babies names.

Let me just start with my own name. Michaela Joy McCulloch. Seriously parents? I loved to HATE it growing up (oh, the mockery I received, "michaelamcculloch, michaelamcculloch, michaelamcculloch") and now that I'm a Wagner (no, I'm not German) I do kind of miss it. I actually turned McCulloch into a second middle name instead of hyphenating my last or dropping Joy (I was afraid my mom would be really hurt if I dropped Joy). I do have this small little part of me that wants to be Dr. McCulloch like my dad but I'm sure I'll get over it 'cause I do love my husband, it's nothing against Wagner... I just didn't know what I'd be when I grew up and I always entertained keeping McCulloch. Joe doesn't like the hyphen either McCulloch-Wagner, and it is a little long... who knows. I have plenty of time before Dr. precedes anything.

Joseph Benjamin. Nope, he's not Jewish, but he hates plain boring names like Joe. Fair enough.

So when it came down to our own children we already had some ideas about where we didn't want to go with names as well as some idea that we liked meaning and tradition.

I knew Lincoln was a boy from the start. It didn't take us long to pick his name at all. We had friends in Germany whose son was named Anthony Jr. and his middle name was Linkoln. They called him by Linkoln. Joe liked it spelled traditionally because he's a history dude - as in Abraham Lincoln - and I liked it for the very reason that I'm a total nerd and thought Link (like Zelda) was a cool boy's nickname. I like nicknames within names. My Grandma Barb also lived in Lincoln, Nebraska and we were lucky enough to announce my pregnancy to her before she died. She showed us all the houses she lived in growing up, told us about her first jobs in high school and where she went to meet up with friends, and I learned a lot about her. We found out we were having a boy just before her funeral. We felt very deeply that he was meant to be a Lincoln.

Funny enough, Joe came home a few days ago and told me another reason he subconsciously liked the name Lincoln - it used to be his call sign "514 Lincoln"! He may have blue blood already!!

Joe's first son received his name as a middle name so that was already off the table. My dad's middle name is Michael and mine is obviously the feminine. St. Michael is also the patron saint for Police Officer's AND his feast day is September 29th (Lincoln's original DUE DATE!!!) Dude, I just got chills for figuring that out. Sorry, Joe, it's starting to look like Lincoln is destined to be a police officer. Lincoln was born on the 28th only because of augmentation of labor through AROM. The doctor predicted that he would be born around or just after midnight but we did not predict just how fast he would come after the rupture. Birth story here.

Emilyn Grace was our girls name we had picked out before we were even married. And since Joe picked Lincoln and I picked Michael we switched this time. I had Emilyn and he wanted Grace. Emilyn is my "made up" name. I was in Iraq when it came to me. We were in our marriage prep classes talking about everything and I knew his Grandmother's name was Evelyn. I liked it a lot but I'd already seen a baby Evelyn on mother baby before. I knew older traditional names were coming back. Two of my best friends are named Emily though and somewhere in my mind I melded the two. The decision to spell it like Emily-with-an-N was because of the Emily's and the spelling of the nickname Emi. Which is how Joe liked it and is also how my oldest Emily friend shortens her name. Grace was just a pretty name. And I like Grace Kelly. Rear Window is an awesome Hitchcock film that I watched with my mom when I was younger. I'm also a huge fan of tea length dresses (below the knee and above the ankle), which Grace was known for making popular in the 1950's (and it's coming back!!)

this is my wedding dress and the ad that made me love it

Emilyn was our surprise baby. We didn't know what she was until she was born. Birth story here. We had the boy name Benjamin (Joe's middle name) Robert (my grandpa's name and brother's middle name). I was so sure we were having Baby Ben I was a little sad we didn't use it. And who knows. Baby #3 may be BRW, but I also love Lucas (Luke or Luca for nicknames) and Joe says he likes that a little better than Benjamin. So it's on the table! Plus, Lincoln & Lucas is SO CUTE!

Our next girl is Sara-without-the-H. Apparently the H makes it Jewish?? Never heard of that but I'll trust Joe. He grew up in 1980's Middletown, NY and he knows these kinds of things. :D Sara doesn't have a middle name yet so I will be trolling through all the other baby name link-ups to see what other people name their little girls!!

Offer me your suggestions! We'll add them to middle-names selections. This is fun! Let's see what I can write about every day for the next 6 days!

The Most Important Word in the Human Language is....?

Somewhere, sometime ago I heard that the most important word in the human language is your name. Google it and you won't find it, but I swear I heard that. And it makes sense. It's a huge part of your identity. Some people hate their names, some people have special meanings to their names, traditions, funny spellings. It's a big deal, ya'll. Even more so when you name your own children. So here I go, 7 posts in 7 days over at conversiondiary.com and starting with another link-up to Team Whitaker on how and why we chose our babies names.

Let me just start with my own name. Michaela Joy McCulloch. Seriously parents? I loved to HATE it growing up (oh, the mockery I received, "michaelamcculloch, michaelamcculloch, michaelamcculloch") and now that I'm a Wagner (no, I'm not German) I do kind of miss it. I actually turned McCulloch into a second middle name instead of hyphenating my last or dropping Joy (I was afraid my mom would be really hurt if I dropped Joy). I do have this small little part of me that wants to be Dr. McCulloch like my dad but I'm sure I'll get over it 'cause I do love my husband, it's nothing against Wagner... I just didn't know what I'd be when I grew up and I always entertained keeping McCulloch. Joe doesn't like the hyphen either McCulloch-Wagner, and it is a little long... who knows. I have plenty of time before Dr. precedes anything.

Joseph Benjamin. Nope, he's not Jewish, but he hates plain boring names like Joe. Fair enough.

So when it came down to our own children we already had some ideas about where we didn't want to go with names as well as some idea that we liked meaning and tradition.

I knew Lincoln was a boy from the start. It didn't take us long to pick his name at all. We had friends in Germany whose son was named Anthony Jr. and his middle name was Linkoln. They called him by Linkoln. Joe liked it spelled traditionally because he's a history dude - as in Abraham Lincoln - and I liked it for the very reason that I'm a total nerd and thought Link (like Zelda) was a cool boy's nickname. I like nicknames within names. My Grandma Barb also lived in Lincoln, Nebraska and we were lucky enough to announce my pregnancy to her before she died. She showed us all the houses she lived in growing up, told us about her first jobs in high school and where she went to meet up with friends, and I learned a lot about her. We found out we were having a boy just before her funeral. We felt very deeply that he was meant to be a Lincoln.

Funny enough, Joe came home a few days ago and told me another reason he subconsciously liked the name Lincoln - it used to be his call sign "514 Lincoln"! He may have blue blood already!!

Joe's first son received his name as a middle name so that was already off the table. My dad's middle name is Michael and mine is obviously the feminine. St. Michael is also the patron saint for Police Officer's AND his feast day is September 29th (Lincoln's original DUE DATE!!!) Dude, I just got chills for figuring that out. Sorry, Joe, it's starting to look like Lincoln is destined to be a police officer. Lincoln was born on the 28th only because of augmentation of labor through AROM. The doctor predicted that he would be born around or just after midnight but we did not predict just how fast he would come after the rupture. Birth story here.

Emilyn Grace was our girls name we had picked out before we were even married. And since Joe picked Lincoln and I picked Michael we switched this time. I had Emilyn and he wanted Grace. Emilyn is my "made up" name. I was in Iraq when it came to me. We were in our marriage prep classes talking about everything and I knew his Grandmother's name was Evelyn. I liked it a lot but I'd already seen a baby Evelyn on mother baby before. I knew older traditional names were coming back. Two of my best friends are named Emily though and somewhere in my mine I melded the two. The decision to spell it like Emily-with-an-N was because of the Emily's and the spelling of the nickname Emi. Which is how Joe liked it and is also how my oldest Emily friend shortens her name. Grace was just a pretty name. And I like Grace Kelly. Rear Window is an awesome Hitchcock film that I watched with my mom when I was younger. I'm also a huge fan of tea length dresses (below the knee and above the ankle), which Grace was known for making popular in the 1950's (and it's coming back!!) 

this is my wedding dress and the ad that made me love it

Emilyn was our surprise baby. We didn't know what she was until she was born. Birth story here. We had the boy name Benjamin (Joe's middle name) Robert (my grandpa's name and brother's middle name). I was so sure we were having Baby Ben I was a little sad we didn't use it. And who knows. Baby #3 may be BRW, but I also love Lucas (Luke or Luca for nicknames) and Joe says he likes that a little better than Benjamin. So it's on the table! Plus, Lincoln & Lucas is SO CUTE!

Our next girl is Sara-without-the-H. Apparently the H makes it Jewish?? Never heard of that but I'll trust Joe. He grew up in 1980's Middletown, NY and he knows these kinds of things. :D Sara doesn't have a middle name yet so I will be trolling through all the other baby name link-ups to see what other people name their little girls!!

Offer me your suggestions! We'll add them to middle-names selections. This is fun! Let's see what I can write about every day for the next 6 days!