Movies

A few nights ago Jaime and I had the opportunity (thanks to my mom for babysitting) to go out to dinner and to see a movie. Usually we take turns picking the movie, but it had been so long since we went to the movies, neither of us could remember who's turn it was to pick. Since I picked where we ate dinner at (Mellow Mushroom), Jaime got to choose the movie. He chose Thor. I was really thinking I would hate dislike it, but I actually really liked it. Action movies usually aren't my thing, but this one has a love story in it and a good storyline.

I love getting to the theatre a little early so that I can watch the previews for the upcoming movies. I usually always find something I want to see. This time of year is a good time to be watching previews too, because there are always lots of good movies that come out in the summertime. I thought I would share with you a few that I am looking forward to watching....

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

 

These movies are always good. Plus, who doesn't want to see Johnny Depp dressed as a pirate?? I'm a little sad that Orlando Bloom won't be in this movie, but I'm excited to see how Penelope Cruz does in her role as Angelica, a woman from Captain Jack Sparrow's past. This movie comes out May 20.

The Hangover Part II

If this movie is anything like the first one, it is sure to be wild, crazy, and hilarious! I can't wait to see it. The Hangover II comes out May 26.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Kung Fu Panda is one of Aiden's favorite movies. He gets excited everytime he sees the previews on TV for this movie. The first Kung Fu Panda was also the first movie that we took Jenny to see in theatres. While Aiden has already been to the theatre to see Megamind and Yogi Bear, this will still be one of his first movies to see in theatres. This movie comes out on May 26.

Also, how could anyone not want to see a movie with a panda in it? :)

The Green Lantern

While this is probably not a movie that I would want to see, I am sure Jaime will want to see it. The Green Lantern comes out June 17.

Mr. Popper's Penguins

This is another movie that I will probably take Jenny and Aiden to see. It is based on a 1938 children's book, and is said to have a modern feel to it. I have never read the book, but with Jim Carrey in it, I'm sure it will be funny. It comes out June 17.

Cars 2

Besides Toy Story, I would said that Cars is Aiden's favorite movie. Jenny likes it too. I have been waiting for this movie to come out since sometime last Fall. I can't wait to see Aiden's reaction to this movie on the Big Screen! Cars 2 comes out June 24.

Captain America: The First Avenger

This is another movie that Jaime will want to go see. As you can tell, he is very into action movies and/or movies about comic book characters. This movie comes out July 22.

The Smurfs

The Smurfs was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, so I can't wait to see how this movie is. It is going to be shown in 3D which I am looking forward to as well. Although, I probably won't take the kids to see it in 3D (because the 3D glasses don't fit on their faces very well). The Smurfs comes out July 29.

Cowboys vs. Aliens

Once again, this is not a movie I would normally choose for myself, but it is one Jaime will want to see. It has Harrison Ford in it, so it should be pretty good. It comes out July 29.

Unless otherwise noted, all pictures are from Movie Insider.

There are lots of good movies coming out this year! There are many more that are coming out that I'd like to see, but this is a list of the ones that I will definitely probably see. What movies do you want to see this summer?

My Behind the Scenes

"One reason we struggle with insecurity; we're comparing our behind the scenes to everyone else's highlight reel." -Steven Furtick

Yesterday I saw this quote on Twitter, and it really spoke to me. Later, I saw that a few bloggers, Jenn and Whitney, were doing posts about their "behind the scenes". I liked the idea so much, that I decided to write my own "behind the scenes" post.

First, let me start by telling you that I am a very insecure person. I look around at all these other moms who seem to have it all together. They are always on time, they dress well, their hair and make up looks great, their kids are always clean and looking nice, etc. Then I think to myself, "If I could just be more like her...", or "I wish my life was as perfect as her's...".

There are times when people give me much more credit than I deserve. I am definitely not Supermom, although I have been told before that I am. I am not an organized person, but I have gotten comments about how I seem to have it all together. As much as I appreciate those comments, I also cower inside thinking that I have led someone to believe that I have it all together, or that I am always a certain way. If only they could be a fly on the wall in my house to see my day to day happenings, my good and my bad moments days. My behind the scenes, if you will. So, here goes...my behind the scenes. I hope that I can at least encourage a few of you, and make you feel a little better about your housekeeping and/or parenting.

•  I am great about putting our dirty clothes in the washer and dryer. In fact, I don't mind that part at all. It's the folding/hanging and putting away part that I don't like. On any given day you will find several loads of clean clothes sitting in baskets in the floor of my room, the laundry room, the bathroom, etc.
• Very rarely do I ever cook dinner. Most of the time we go out to eat, get take out, or Jaime cooks. I do cook sometimes, but when I do, it is usually either spaghetti or tacos.
• Unless I have somewhere to go that day, I am probably sitting around the house in my PJ's without makeup, and with my hair up in a sloppy ponytail. In fact, that's how I am right now this very moment. Most of the time Aiden would still be in his PJ's too, but we are potty training so he is only wearing underwear right now.
• Sometimes at night after the kids are in bed, I feel so guilty for not spending enough time with them, not talking to the enough, not playing with them enough, yelling too much, being too busy, etc etc etc. Sometimes on those nights I feel so guilty that I will go get them out of their bed, and let them sleep with me in my bed to make up for it.
• We usually pay our bills late. Not because we can't afford them, but because I forget to pay them. In fact, our cable has been turned off before simply because I forgot to pay the bill. Even after it was off, I still didn't remember. I even called the cable company to report a problem with our cable. They told me that there wasn't a problem, it was turned off because I never paid the bill. Oops!
• Sometimes I will go into the bathroom, shut and lock the door, and just pretend that I'm using the bathroom. I will do anything for a few minutes of quiet time.
• My children watch TV more often than I'd like to admit.
• Our bed is unmade more than it is made.
• If you were to come over to my house unannounced, you would probably find my house is a mess. Complete with a sink full of dishes, mail and other random papers all over the place, toys in the floor of every room,  and clothes (most of them dirty) all over the house.
• I drink more Coke than I should, and I only drink water when we have nothing else to drink. I will drink a glass of milk or juice before I will even consider drinking water.

So there you have it. My behind the scenes. I could keep going and tell you much more, but I have a child who is running around the house in nothing but underwear and I need to take him potty. If you wanna know anything else, email me at ajqmama{at}gmail{dot}com. I would love to hear from you!

Valentines Day 2011

We had a great Valentines Day! Instead of having one Valentine, I get to have 3! Jaime, Jenny, and Aiden all either asked me to be their Valentine, or agreed to be mine. Haha. We started the day off early before Jenny went to school by giving the kids their Valentine gifts from Jaime and I.

They each got a balloon, a stuffed animal, a box of chocolates, and a Valentine shirt. I forgot to get a picture of Jenny in her Valentine shirt, I didn't have time to get it before she left for school. Her shirt was cute though, and she got to wear her "high heels" to school.

Aiden's stuffed giraffe and box of chocolates.

Jennys stuffed love bug and box of chocolates.

You can kind of see Jenny's Valentine shirt in this picture.

Aiden's Valentine shirt said, "Eligable Bachelor"

Our Valentine note for Daddy. Jenny drew the stuff in blue, and Aiden did the stuff in orange.

That night, after the kids went to bed, Jaime cooked me dinner and we gave each other our gifts. He cooked chicken linguine alfredo. Yum! We hope you had a great Valentines Day!!



A Look Back at 2010

Looking back on 2010, there aren't really any big, life-changing events that I can think of. In 2010 we played with our kids, spent time with family, cherished our realationships with friends - and gained a few new friends too.

When I look back at the blog posts from the past year, it is obvious that we have been very happy. We have had lots of fun, laughed a lot, and created wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

Jaime dedicated himself to working harder than I could have ever imagined, allowing me to stay at home with Aiden and Jenny. I found other ways to keep myself busy though. I started going to MOPS, and met a lot of great mothers who are all in different stages of motherhood. I became involved in Jenny's school, and I found the time to co-lead her Girl Scout troop. I started going to a church that I love, and that also inspires me to volunteer and serve the Lord.

We moved from a 4 bedroom home, into a 3 bedroom apartment. We sold or donated a lot of our belongings in order to squeeze ourselves into a much smaller home. Sometimes I regret moving into an apartment, but then I look around and realize that it doesn't matter where we live, or how much space we have. All that matters is that we're together, happy, and healthy.

I am always having to remind myself to pick my battles, don't sweat the small stuff, and to enjoy stop obsessing over how clean the house is or if she laundry is done. My search for personal satisfaction led me right back to my kids. I learned that I never want to be too busy (especially with chores) to see what Aiden or Jenny is doing on that particular day. I never want to be too busy that I can't stop what I'm doing to sit down and play choo-choo train, Hungry Hungry Hippos, or to finger paint. I will do what I can, but my kids will always come first in my life.

One of the most important things that happened to me in 2010, was that I grew closer to God. I know that He loves me just the way I am. He has taught me to see myself the way that He sees me. Of course, I still struggle with this everyday. I am by no means perfect and I am by no means done being taught. I am however, very blessed and very grateful for what I  and my family have been blessed with.

I think the thing I am most grateful for from 2010 is that I found a church that I love so much. I really feel at home there. The congregation is much smaller than what I am used to, and that makes it much for personal for me. They encourage you to serve in the church and to help out in the different ministries of the church. I have never felt so involved in a church before and I am truly thankful for that.

In going into 2011 with no presumptions. I'm not setting any resolutions. I don't want to hold myself to standards of any kind that may cause me to stress or obsess over them. I don't want to miss out on the things that matter most in my life - my kids, Jaime, my family, my friends, and Jesus.

I am looking forward to becoming the woman that the Lord wants me to be in 2011. I hope to focus on what I have rather than on what I don't. I want to learn to be more grateful for what I have. Not just the matieral things, but the relationships with people in my life. I am going to strive to be more appreciative of the time that I have with Jaime, Aiden and Jenny, my parents, extended family, and friends.

A Busy Week

For the last week, I have been balancing on the line of too busy and slightly bored. I have SO much to do before Aiden's birthday party which is less than a week away! When did preparing for a two year old's birthday party become so difficult? If planning a two year old party is this hard, I don't wanna plan them for him when he's older! I can't even begin to imagine a sweet 16 party or even an 18 or 21st! Of course by then he won't want anything to do with me, so I surely won't be on his party planning commitee. Which means, I have to make each little moment count, even when they are so frustrating I could pull my hair out!

By the way, have I mentioned how much I hate the terrible two's?? In the past month Aiden has changed from a baby into a little boy. It makes me sad, and happy all at the same time. I am sad that he isn't my little baby anymore, but happy and excited about all the new fun things he can do. I will say though that a lot of attitude, free will, temper tantrums, and complete breakdowns have also been on our daily schedule lately. I don't like them, but whenever I start complaining, I always try to think of the women out there who so desperately want to be a mother, or the women out there who have babies with cancer or some other terminal disease. There are women out there who would LOVE to deal with a two year old temper tantrum, and that makes me want to reconsider what I take for granted so often.

Can you believe Thanksgiving is this Thursday?!? I am in shock. I still can't believe Jenny is in Kindergarten, let alone it's almost Thanksgiving! What are y'all doing for Thanksgiving? This year we are eating dinner at my parents house. Jenny is out of school all week so we have a lot I am hoping to be able to do with her. This is my most favorite time of year, and I love all the things that I can involve the kids in. I'm already thinking of ideas for homemade ornaments, Christmas cookies, and all kinds of other things.

We put our Christmas tree up tonight. With the busy week I have ahead I figured there was really no other time I'd be free to sit and do it. Between Jaime's busy work schedule and Jenny only being here every other week, it's hard to find time to do anything as a complete family. I haven't taken any pictures of it yet, but I'll post some when I do. 90% of our ornaments are from the Dollar Tree. Since we have two young kids living here, I don't want to spend a lot on ornaments that will just get broken. A lot of the ones from Dollar Tree are plastic anyway, so they don't break as easily. That's a HUGE plus when you have a two year old! I went to Dollar Tree today to pick up a few more things and I came home with the cutest little ceramic houses and buildings! They aren't as nice as I'd like, but hey, they were only a dollar! I'll post pictures of it too, but it's not quite done. I am also thinking of updating our stockings this year. I bought the stockings at Big Lots a few years back and I put the names on them myself with some glitter and glue. I did an ok job, but now the glitter is starting to wear off and they are starting to look pretty rough. I'm thinking we need some monnogrammed ones!

Well, I think that's about all we've been up to lately. Girl Scouts tomorrow, dentist for me Tuesday, the party decorations should be here Wednesday, Thursday is Thanksgiving, Friday I have to clean my mom's house and get ready for the party, Saturday is my great Uncle's 80th birthday party, and Sunday is Aiden's party. As you can see, I have a very busy week ahead. I love being busy, but I don't like it all at the same time. It can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very stressful.

I hope you all have a great week, and if I don't post again this week, Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Gwinnett County Fair

Earlier tonight Jaime and I took the kids to the Gwinnett County Fair. I have been going to the fair for as long as I can remember, and it is nice to be able to take Aiden and Jenny now. Jaime and I have been taking Jenny every year since she was two years old. Last year was Aiden's first year to go, but because he was so small there wasn't much he could ride. This year he was able to ride a lot more, and he had a lot of fun! Of course, Jenny had lots of fun too, but I think she is starting to get to the age where she is starting to get bored with the kiddie rides, but she's still too small for the bigger rides.

This was their first ride, and they loved it! As you can probably see, I rode behind them because I was afraid Aiden would try to get off of the ride if he didn't like it. They really enjoyed it though, and I could hear them both laughing as we drove along. Aiden wanted to ride this one again and again.

This was the 2nd time they rode it, this time they rode without me.

Aiden was also very excited to ride this one, because he is so interested in trains right now. As soon as he saw it he pointed and started yelling, "Choo-Choo Train!!". They rode this one twice too, the first time with me and the second time they rode without me.

Jenny picked out this ride. She liked it because she said it was a water ride because the alligtors were like little boats floating in the water.



The swings! These were my favorite when I was Jenny's age (if I remember correctly), and I think they were hers too. I was really hoping Aiden would be able to ride these, especially because I know how much he likes to swing, but he was too short. The adults can ride this one too, but even with an adult riding Aiden was still too short.

The car ride was one that they both really liked. The cars went around on a little track, but when they got to the parts of the track that were curved, it went really fast around the curve. The first time they rode this one their car was parked right before the curve started. So, when it went around that first curve really fast Jaime and I thought for sure that Aiden was going to scream the rest of the ride. But he didn't! He ended up really liking it, and they rode this one two or three times.

This was one of the rides that Jenny rode without Aiden because he was too short. I probably wouldn't have let him ride this anyway, because it was something that only kids could ride. I didn't know how comfortable I would have felt knowing he was so high up and could have possibly tried to come off the ride. Jenny wasn't too thrilled with this one though. She was a little scared to get on it, but then when she got off of it she said it was boring. Ha!

Jenny and I rode the ferris wheel together. She said she really wanted to ride it because she had never ridden before. I was a little nervous to let her ride it because I didn't know how she'd react when the ride stopped to let people on and off and we were at the top. Sure enough, when the ride stopped with us at the top she was nervous. I think she would have been alright, but there were two young girls riding with us and they were acting like the ride was broken since it stopped with us at the top. So of course Jenny thought the ride was broken and we were going to be stuck up there forever. I told her that they were just stopping it so someone else could get on and we would start moving again in a few minutes. She was ok after that, and it didn't take long before the ride started moving again.

Overall, we all had a great time! It was a great way to spend the evening as a family, and it created memories that we won't soon forget. Jenny has already asked me when we're going back again - she knows we usually go at least twice. She is such a smart girl, and doesn't forget anything. =) The funny thing is, we were already making plans to either go back tomorrow or Saturday night. We can't wait!