If any of you read my last post, you know I should be packing some boxes but since I ran out of packing tape...I'm done for the night. (right?).
I'm reminiscing tonight: SO I don't know how many of you returned to your Alma Maters for your five year reunion, but one of my besties from college and I promised ourselves we'd do it. And by golly, come what may, we DID!
Lucky for me, the reunion only meant a three hour drive for us. My friend had to fly (with her two kiddos), stop for a bit to see another friend, rent a car and drive for three hours (coming from an opposite direction of course or we would've just driven together :) ). She somehow toted two carseats, several carry-ons and only one (yes I know, impressive, right) checked bag~two toddlers in tow. And did I mention she was 6 months pregnant?!?
As I was making preparations for our trip, I somehow caught my pinkie toe underneath a door and broke it. It swelled and the whole foot was turning all kinds of purples and greens. I was also just barely 6 months pregs and my husband (bless his heart he works too hard and has the craziest schedule) was super busy with work. I'm a first born and often just do things on my own (I'm also stubborn I guess) so I loaded all our stuff up in the car and headed to see my friends! Luckily my in-laws live in the same city as the Alma Mater-we were all crashing there for the weekend.
I get a frantic call from my friend~she's at the ER! Her daughter was playing on a trampoline and ended up breaking her leg. Poor lil thing! Such a trooper, my wonderful friend (who is also a wonderful mommy) finally arrived at the in-laws house in the wee hours of the morning ready for a fun weekend.
We had the crazy idea we would take ALL the kids to chapel, a great tradition of our Alma Mater. My friend's sweet daughter couldn't walk so we needed a stroller for her, one for my then 20M old, and one for her 1 year old. My creatively inventive father in law helped us rig two Walmart bought umbrella strollers together with some rope and some 1x4s and some zip ties I think. This way I could push one and she could push one. It even folded, he did such a great job! :)
Of course we were already running late...we finally packed everyone and everything in the car. I have an Equinox with only three seats in the back. We packed all three carseats back there, two strollers, snacks (of course), and our bags in there and headed out! We made it to the Alma Mater, got out the strollers, buckled the kids in, stashed the snacks and bags, and made the hike to chapel. So here we were two very pregnant mommas (both of us were showing way more than we had in our previous pregnancies), a rigged double stroller, one kid in a cast, one of us with a broken toe across campus! This is dedication right?! We made it to chapel only to hear the very end of it before we could all the strollers in the door!!! Oh my!
We also had the great idea that we'd take them all to the Homecoming carnival-strollers, broken toe, broken leg, preggers and all! It was a task to get those stinkin strollers around the field but the kids had lots of fun. Got to see the mascots, play some games (I just found a hacky sack we won from a game there yesterday), ride a pony, and pet/hold some animals.
We had fun eating out and catching up with friends and family the rest of the day. Eating out with kids is always fun and we always leave our mark at unsuspecting restaurants! Oh and bonus, our husbands made it in that night as well. So now at least we had help :)
The next morning we headed to the Homecoming parade. Admittedly, we had never been as actual students in college, but figured it would be fun for the kids! The seats were already arranged in my car so the moms and the kids headed out in it, our husbands in my husband's car. Of course finding parking wasn't easy, running late again. AND the husbands couldn't find us till the parade was almost over! It wasn't too long and not extremely exciting but they did throw some candy...not toward us though. We obviously had three kids and one was in a hot pink CAST~throw some candy our way!!! Ok, ok, we got a couple pieces!
Next was lunch with another bestie/roommate. She had alluded to us through several conversations that her kids (daughter and son) were crazy, like really hyper and crazy. When we all got in to the restaurant, greeted each other with hugs and sent my husband back to pick up keys from the house, my daughter decided to show her what crazy was and literally took off on an obstacle course sprint throughout the restaurant! I'm talking in and out and under tables (where people were sitting, already eating...excuse me sorry about that), around and behind the bar, and almost into the kitchen. She's fast! And I was 6 months pregs with a broken toe!
We sit down, trying to catch up with everyone but with five kids 3 and under at the table let's just say there were lots of interruptions. My daughter, the star of the day, was in a mood and started screaming that she was ready to eat! After calming her down (yea, the food did take a LONG time to get there; guess that's why that place is closed now), the food finally came. My friend who had made the long trip and I still laugh~our other friend, who claimed her kids were SO crazy was actually enjoying her meal. We remember it like a slow motion movie playing in our heads: Our friend with the "hyper" kids were literally sitting, using utensils correctly, not using bibs and eating their food very quietly and politely. Our kids~well my daughter had not only thrown her cup several times along with random bouts of screaming but she was currently flinging her macaroni and cheese all over the restaurant, over her shoulder, across the table, on my husbands lap, etc, etc. Her kids~ I laugh shaking my head at my daughter's behavior and see my friends' kids~the sweet little girl with her broken leg has her cast literally up on the table, foot and all right by her plate. She's wearing a dress~legs wide open! My friend's cute little boy at the end of the table is chewing on the tablecloth! What a lunch that was! Crazy and hyper? No sweet friend, your kids were so well behaved and were like angels!!!
So many great memories came from this crazy weekend! Oh I forgot to add that my in-laws who were so gracious to offer their house for all of us to stay in had LOTS of plumbing problems at their house! We had a couple times where we had to wait a bit in between flushes and showers but it was all good....at least on the inside. The side of the house where the line was exposed showed a different picture!
We all had so much fun that weekend!! We did make so many great memories that we will never forget! We kept our promise to each other and returned to the Alma Mater! No matter what happened that weekend, we were together. This friend of mine who came from so far, ordered me to be her friend only minutes after we met. The rest has been history! Our other friend/roommate had been my roommate the previous year and we all just clicked. We have seen each other through a lot! Through lots of laughs, tricks, some tears, crazy dances, singing in the shower, long nights of watching the Bachelor finales, nasty school projects, Miss America dress up parties, late night talks about our futures, dating, proposals, planning weddings, long games of nerds, being in each other's weddings~ GROWING up! I love those girls and I hate that we don't get together more often! But that weekend, we were together, our husbands were together, our kids played together, it was like old times~and THAT was completely worth it! All of it! I SO hope we all make it back for our 10 year reunion, but I am forever blessed by the memories of that weekend!
You can't make this stuff up folks! It's TOO crazy, but it's my crazy!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Moving boxes?!? And yes my baby boy is eating pink crayons
So we got an awesome letter in the mail today, didn't open it until right before dinner. My husband read it first and told me what it said...any of you who knows HIM knows he's always joking so its hard for me to take him seriously!!
Nope he was correct:
The owner of the house we are renting wants to either move back into it or sell it so we get the boot and have to be out in a month. ONE MONTH! How is this going to happen? We don't have time for this!! Don't they know we have two crazy kids and TONS of toys to pack up? Don't they know my hubby has an insane work schedule and is even traveling for work this month too? Don't they know I'm trying to get to my sister's house to spend time with her sweet family before they move across the big pond?!?
We've had lots of "trouble" with our rental company, including about a three month stretch where we were saying our AC wasn't working and they didn't do anything about it until water was literally filling up buckets on our second floor. Even though we live in Texas and it was over 100 degrees outside and at times 98 degrees inside and I have two children under 3, ACs aren't considered emergencies! I'd like the people at the front desk I talked to several times to come spend the day with me and my babies in the heat and then see what they think is an emergency! But I digress.
After the shock wore off, we had to laugh. YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP! We are military and will most likely be stationed somewhere else next June so another move now is just awesome (hope you're getting my sarcasm here) for us.
I eat dinner-hubby busy with work stuff. I wash dishes, play with kids for a bit, read a few books and start a double bath solo. Bubbles is the request from my oldest, so bubbles it is. I put in bubble solution and turn to see my son with pink crayon all over his mouth and a big smile. I clean him up and fish the remaining pieces out of those sweet chubby cheeks trying not to get bit! I begin bathing my babies, more pink crayon. I can't figure out where he's getting these pieces! We have bath crayons but I can't see them anywhere (I've fished most of them out already to prevent this AND there's Mr. Bubbles everywhere). I clean him up.
I rinse out my daughter's long hair. This is always fun because she's terrified of getting soap in her eyes. More pink crayon again! I clean him up and sweep the cheeks! I bathe him and begin the drying cycle! Take Mr. Cheeks into his room for jammie time. He smiles super big while we are singing Jesus Loves Me and MORE PINK CRAYON! I still don't know how he got so much or where it was coming from but
Moving boxes and yes baby boy eating pink crayons!
You can't make this stuff up!
Nope he was correct:
We've had lots of "trouble" with our rental company, including about a three month stretch where we were saying our AC wasn't working and they didn't do anything about it until water was literally filling up buckets on our second floor. Even though we live in Texas and it was over 100 degrees outside and at times 98 degrees inside and I have two children under 3, ACs aren't considered emergencies! I'd like the people at the front desk I talked to several times to come spend the day with me and my babies in the heat and then see what they think is an emergency! But I digress.
After the shock wore off, we had to laugh. YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP! We are military and will most likely be stationed somewhere else next June so another move now is just awesome (hope you're getting my sarcasm here) for us.
I eat dinner-hubby busy with work stuff. I wash dishes, play with kids for a bit, read a few books and start a double bath solo. Bubbles is the request from my oldest, so bubbles it is. I put in bubble solution and turn to see my son with pink crayon all over his mouth and a big smile. I clean him up and fish the remaining pieces out of those sweet chubby cheeks trying not to get bit! I begin bathing my babies, more pink crayon. I can't figure out where he's getting these pieces! We have bath crayons but I can't see them anywhere (I've fished most of them out already to prevent this AND there's Mr. Bubbles everywhere). I clean him up.
I rinse out my daughter's long hair. This is always fun because she's terrified of getting soap in her eyes. More pink crayon again! I clean him up and sweep the cheeks! I bathe him and begin the drying cycle! Take Mr. Cheeks into his room for jammie time. He smiles super big while we are singing Jesus Loves Me and MORE PINK CRAYON! I still don't know how he got so much or where it was coming from but
Moving boxes and yes baby boy eating pink crayons!
You can't make this stuff up!
Monday, February 24, 2014
Crazy Walgreens Mommy
Here's the first of MANY crazy adventure stories:
So my baby boy was born last February. He put me through the ringer with colic until about June. Everyone had their own "remedy" for colic but one thing that seemed to help him at least to sleep most of the time was a homeopathic medicine called Colic Calm.
I try to have a somewhat structured day that I'm sure looks more like chaos than structure to any outsiders :). I usually start making lunch around 12:00 and try to have both little ones (who usually still take at least an hour nap) down for a nap around 1:00-1:30 every day.
We were out of Colic Calm and I knew we would need some for naptime but especially for nighttime. It was about 11:30 so I thought ok, we run to Walgreens (one of the only stores that carried this magic elixir) to grab it and be back around 12:00. I load everyone up in the car~which is a feat in and of itself~and head out.
We get there and I put my daughter, who is 2 1/2 at the time, in her new Minnie Mouse stroller. This is the first time she's been in it so she's super excited and willing to sit there while I get her little brother situated. I bring her, in the stroller, over to my baby's side of the car. My plan was to put him in our baby carrier (we call it the harness). I open his door to the wonderful aroma of a nasty poopy diaper. And there's poop everywhere! I mean everywhere! All of him, all over the carseat, on his face~everywhere!
We live in Texas and it was hot, like 95+ hot and humid! I try to get my daughter out of the stroller and back into the car while I clean up her brother. Of course she can't bear getting out of her new stroller when she'd only been in it for less than five minutes. So I park her best I can, safely and close to me, while I clean him up. We are all sweating at this point! He is finally clean and we head inside!
I know exactly where this medicine is so we go straight there and grab it. All of us are hot and sweaty and now the kids are both hungry. I get up to the counter only to realize that in all of the excitement outside, I forgot to bring in my debit card. Awesome, right?
Run out to the car and just go straight to counter. The very nice employee comments on how cute my baby is and tells me about the latest discounts and coupon programs. Do I look like I have time for that at this very second? Since we had just come in and went straight up to the counter, I had left my daughter, in the stroller, facing the rest of the store. I pay and go to grab her and she's not anywhere to be seen!
She's "walked" herself down towards the food aisles on the back wall of the store. She's hungry! I know this because she's yelling EAT! But she's not saying "eat", she's saying "scheat". So she's stroller-walking (she could probably win an Olympic medal if that ever becomes a sport) away from us yelling "SCHEAT" SCHEAT!!
Everyone around is losing it laughing at us~all I can do is laugh along!!! It aint over yet folks! We get out to the car, I get everyone back in their carseats. I catch my breath and put the car in reverse thinking to myself "Wow, that was way more complicated than I imagined" and "wonder if people are watching and what they've thought of this whole ordeal" and noticed it was now 12:45!
Car's in reverse, I back up~Crash!!!! I think "What in the world?!?!" Put car back in park, hop out to see what I hit~ OF COURSE, I ran over the stupid Minnie Mouse stroller!!! I laugh out loud literally and shake my head. I check it out and the stroller is fine. It recently made it through a whole week at DisneyWorld!
You can't make this stuff up! This is my crazy life, but I wouldn't have it ANY other way!
So my baby boy was born last February. He put me through the ringer with colic until about June. Everyone had their own "remedy" for colic but one thing that seemed to help him at least to sleep most of the time was a homeopathic medicine called Colic Calm.
I try to have a somewhat structured day that I'm sure looks more like chaos than structure to any outsiders :). I usually start making lunch around 12:00 and try to have both little ones (who usually still take at least an hour nap) down for a nap around 1:00-1:30 every day.
We were out of Colic Calm and I knew we would need some for naptime but especially for nighttime. It was about 11:30 so I thought ok, we run to Walgreens (one of the only stores that carried this magic elixir) to grab it and be back around 12:00. I load everyone up in the car~which is a feat in and of itself~and head out.
We get there and I put my daughter, who is 2 1/2 at the time, in her new Minnie Mouse stroller. This is the first time she's been in it so she's super excited and willing to sit there while I get her little brother situated. I bring her, in the stroller, over to my baby's side of the car. My plan was to put him in our baby carrier (we call it the harness). I open his door to the wonderful aroma of a nasty poopy diaper. And there's poop everywhere! I mean everywhere! All of him, all over the carseat, on his face~everywhere!
We live in Texas and it was hot, like 95+ hot and humid! I try to get my daughter out of the stroller and back into the car while I clean up her brother. Of course she can't bear getting out of her new stroller when she'd only been in it for less than five minutes. So I park her best I can, safely and close to me, while I clean him up. We are all sweating at this point! He is finally clean and we head inside!
I know exactly where this medicine is so we go straight there and grab it. All of us are hot and sweaty and now the kids are both hungry. I get up to the counter only to realize that in all of the excitement outside, I forgot to bring in my debit card. Awesome, right?
Run out to the car and just go straight to counter. The very nice employee comments on how cute my baby is and tells me about the latest discounts and coupon programs. Do I look like I have time for that at this very second? Since we had just come in and went straight up to the counter, I had left my daughter, in the stroller, facing the rest of the store. I pay and go to grab her and she's not anywhere to be seen!
She's "walked" herself down towards the food aisles on the back wall of the store. She's hungry! I know this because she's yelling EAT! But she's not saying "eat", she's saying "scheat". So she's stroller-walking (she could probably win an Olympic medal if that ever becomes a sport) away from us yelling "SCHEAT" SCHEAT!!
Everyone around is losing it laughing at us~all I can do is laugh along!!! It aint over yet folks! We get out to the car, I get everyone back in their carseats. I catch my breath and put the car in reverse thinking to myself "Wow, that was way more complicated than I imagined" and "wonder if people are watching and what they've thought of this whole ordeal" and noticed it was now 12:45!
Car's in reverse, I back up~Crash!!!! I think "What in the world?!?!" Put car back in park, hop out to see what I hit~ OF COURSE, I ran over the stupid Minnie Mouse stroller!!! I laugh out loud literally and shake my head. I check it out and the stroller is fine. It recently made it through a whole week at DisneyWorld!
You can't make this stuff up! This is my crazy life, but I wouldn't have it ANY other way!
HELLO!
Where to begin? I love life! My faith, my family, and my friends are my life. I am so very happily married to my best friend and high school sweetheart (I know, I know how cliche). We have a beautiful three year old daughter and a handsome one year old (just turned one, still so weird to say that) son. Both of them are super energetic, have no fear just like their daddy, have the sweetest little personalities, laugh all the time and keep this Momma on her toes!
When my daughter was born, I became a full time mommy and have loved it ever since. Now that I have two little ones at home, my days are always full of fun times, crazy stories, lots of messes, and busyness! I'm sure I will probably overshare on here about my babies but they are too funny!!! And you can't make this stuff up!
I also recently began living a longtime dream of mine and started my own photography business. It's been such a blessing for me to get out there and capture clients' exciting moments now to have and cherish always.
I guess more than anything I am just a normal stay at home mommy that has crazy adventures. Hopefully if nothing else, this can be a comic relief to any followers. Can't wait to meet some of you soon.
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