10-things I love about Zaq :) (my hubby)

Two toddler boys (3&4) a hubby, a mommy, a Dixie (20 year old live in friend/nanny/helper/awesomeness) & two puppies... wow. FULL HOUSE! Oh, and of course one on the way!! Good thing we bought a nice, big house this year or there wouldn't be room for us all!

Today has been a non stop day of laundry... I think I have done about 6 loads in the last couple days, and folded them allllll today. I swear, just as Im getting finished - the monster pile comes out of nowhere and I start all over. Its never ending. And today - to top it all off my lovely home destroying puppies pee'd all over my fresh out of the dryer sheets... RIGHT in front of me. Ugh. These puppies are gunna be the end of me. They are more destructive and messy than my kids. They are the only puppies in the world that I've ever head of to chew through rubber toys made for big dogs... I bet in the last 6 months we have spend well over $200 on pacifiers, why? Because in a BLINK, they pups will take off with one and disappear. Later we find it chewed to pieces... Zaq bought this one last night. Its outrageous. They have chewed trim off my walls and around some of the door frames, they have ruined expensive toys and countless puzzle pieces. They've been being potty trained outside for months and still poop & pee inside at least once a day. And the thing that makes me the most crazy... is that we have brand new shag carpet (which they scratched a huge hole into in one spot) but I can see if they have accidents on the carpet, so just have to get it cleaned. I don't even know what to do anymore. I love my puppies - but any more I can't even enjoy them.  Every time they are out, something gets ruined. Every room in the house has to have the door shut completely or something disappears! We are talking 9 month old Chihuahuas here!! Not giant great danes or St. Barnards! Im running out of ideas... out of patience... if any of you have any idea what i can do to make this chaos stop, let me know. Ive tried loads of toys... rubber chew toys, rope toys, congs, and they ruin it all... and the pacifiers, they will chew it right to the nub. HELP ME!! If i dont get this figured out before the baby comes, they're gunna have to go... I just can't take it anymore...

Is there just something in the air? I mean really... what is going on... maybe its just me but its doesn't seem like a good month for relationships... I have seen/heard from more of my friends that its non stop arguing, bickering, drama.... and I have watched more facebook status' change from "In a Relationship" to "Single" this month than the other way...

  Hubby and I have spent more time either bickering/arguing or being cordial, than being our typical lovey selves, and even that seems forced... and I gotta say - im reaching the end of my tolerance level. We can't have a conversation without drama... every other sentence is taken personally... its getting old. Everyone I ask says theyre doing the same thing... and its just the holidays... but I just don't get it! THE HOLIDAYS!! Its supposed to be the "most wonderful time of the year"... why has it become a nightmare? Im 6 hours away from my family this year... so yes - i was a little homesick...  but I did my best to hide it and put on a big smiley face. Help cook a nice dinner, bake pies, and throw a party for his family... I get that we both have stressful jobs for X-mas time... ZaQ was working 10-12 hour days... 6 days a week... I was working non stop in the store... shipping up to 20 packages 5 days in a row that last week...  it was chaos and I wanted to pull my hair out... we were sleeping terrible, etc. But I was always under the impression that when things get stressful... your partner is there to support you... and you help each other get through it. Right? Or not? I dont know.  Like I said, maybe its just this time of year... we have been in worse ruts thats for sure... and through worse arguments, etc. etc. etc. But for some reason this round is really pulling at the heart strings.  Any of you going through this sort of holiday rut? Any tips to pull out of it? Im thinking I could use a few. 

Snow, ugh. I dont think anyone actually "prefers" snow over sandy beaches... sunsets over the mountains... 65 degree temps all year round... etc. But that's what we gave up to come back home. So far its been pretty easy to stay positive... somehow spinning the need to spend an hour shoveling the drive as "a good workout"... and the below zero temps as an excuse to stay in and snuggle and drink whiskey ciders... and well, you know what they say around here... "the cold keeps the @$$holes away"... LOL

But wow... this last round of blizzardy conditions has been trying for sure. By the end of tonight we are looking at -30 degrees F with the windchill... and 18-20 inches of snow... ZaQ shoveled once last night... once this morning... and just a few hours later it needs to be done again... I'm locked into the house with the kids... can't get to the post office to pick up my tags or drop off packages... and I keep having to shovel the backyard a bit just so the puppies can go out to go potty... *note: California bred puppies do NOT like Minnesota winters* And to top it all off, the boys have some sort of crazed caged animal instinct that has taken over... and they are off the wall bonkers. LITERALLY running laps in my house screaming like a pack of wild wolves... asking me every 30 seconds if they can go play in the snow... how do you explain to a 3 & 4 year old that if they go out there, their little faces could LITERALLY freeze right off... "IzzaQ, do you like your nose? or your ears?... Ok, well if you would like to keep them, we should probably wait to go play outside for another day... when its a little warmer like it was last week. You know... like 15 degrees..." *head/desk* But really, who doesn't love a good blizzard? You get to drink whiskey, eat lots of warm comfort food. (ie. the pot roast in my crock pot right now...) and you get to think of creative ways to stay warm and burn energy... hence, the reason so many babies are born in August, September & October around here, lol Izzaq = October Baby... Zavery = September..... WHAT!? IT WAS A COLD COUPLE OF YEARS! Anyways, Minneapolis, I love you... i really do... but couldn't you have been a little more gentle on us after our first winter back from CA? We really would have appreciated it... But i know, i know... it'll all be worth it that first spring day... having breakfast & mimosas out on the patio at the CC Club. Everyone coming out of hibernation... saying hello to strangers with big smiles on their faces... taking Maddie & The Boys to the playground... Riding bikes around the city... and opening day at Target Field with my 3 favorite boys... I guess 4 (Tom, your alright, too... ill keep you around.) With that in mind, California... Angst for the memories... you've got nuttin' on Minneapolis. Midwest girl for life.