Happy Halloween Minus Costumes

Yesterday after the sickness left the house we loaded the kids up and headed to the Arboretum. Isn't it the best feeling when you break out of a sick house? We could have gone to Arby's and it would have been like a vacation but since the pumpkins will leave soon we seized the day and drove down to Dallas. Here are some pics of the day: Tomorrow we will have costumes on and the joy will surely be palpable so I'm sure I'll take more pictures with the kids and their cousins...there are 11 kids in all on Sean's side--our baby will make 12 and if it's a boy there will be 6 and 6. I'm also taking suggestions on what to do with Charlie's hair. It was looking rough yesterday so I don't pretend to know how to handle it! Some days it is really curly and cute and other days it looks like mine after a long night with a newborn.

I know, I know, they ARE cute. I got Charlie's little bling shirt at Target for $5. I would have gotten myself one if I could wear little girls' clothes. That would be a stretch--and not the good kind.
I was singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider so that is what Ty is doing. Charlie loved feeling the hay.
This is Ty's glamour shot. His hair did better than most days yesterday.
Obviously Sean took all the pictures--some of which I didn't know about until he put them on my computer. This one captures the moment well though--me trying to get him to eat lunch while all he wanted to do was listen to the music. Charlie tried to get the fries out of my hands about 30 times and I let her to see if she will finally put something in her mouth. She won't. Just holds on to the fry, the cookie, the goldfish, for dear life but won't even let you stuff it in her mouth for her. She's an odd bird too. Neither one of my kids fit the mold. Am I lucky or what?! As Sean says, they may both live with us forever but that's okay. 
See the hair? Yeah, and the teeth. Bless her heart. She's cute as a button but those teeth are gonna need some help one day. She's getting teeth at rapid speed so she's been hurting lately but since they come in so fast I know she will be done quicker than Ty. He is still teething.And the classic "You want me to do WHAT?" pose for pictures. I was jumping out from behind Sean trying to make them laugh and these were the looks I got. It was a great day though and I'm so thankful Sean has been home all week so we could go together!

Oh How I Love You, Strawberry Smoothie

Oh how I love you, strawberry smoothie. You have gotten me through many a rough day lately and I'm kicking myself that I never tried you sooner. When nothing sounded good the last few weeks, your name always had a nice ring to it and even though you are not featured on the happy hour 1/2 price list you are worth it. Sonic has outdone itself with you, friend. I recommended you to Carley and she, too, raved about you. I thought I had said goodbye to you since I don't need you anymore but alas...in walked the vomiting virus. 

Thank You, God, Ty has not had it and thank you strawberry smoothie that I think I did but didn't notice any difference from pregnancy yuckiness and once again you just made the yuck less yucky. You are the perfect blend of sweet and crunchy iciness. While this may indeed by our last meeting I want you to know I'm a believer. You are the best thing on the menu. I'll catch up with you once I am not monitored by the blood sugar police anymore. I'm thinking delivery day. 

In Case You Were Wondering...

This is what Max the fugitive did to our fence. All by himself. My Mr. Fix-It husband already Mr. Fixed it.
The three cousins (on my side of the family) during their Halloween photo shoot. See how impossible it is to get them to all look one direction? Behind the camera there were approximately 7 people dancing, singing, counting, etc. How do you like the outfit I had Ty in? Nice. Real picture-worthy. I was barely standing up I tell you. It was a rough couple of weeks.
My nephew Henry. Isn't he soooo cute? He doesn't look like my kids at all! He was in the process of shoving all of those little pumpkins into the plant behind him. 
This is what we're having for dinner since the cold front blew in last night. Brisket. You can't really see it under all of the veggies but it's in there and it's been in the oven since 8 a.m. Yum. Nothing says cold weather and momma's feeling better like a slab of meat and potatoes.
And finally, the last thing you were wondering about: Our playroom rug. Well, I know most of you weren't aware that we needed one but since last night Charlie was feeling poopy and decorated our rug for us with the poop, we needed one. It's in the garage awaiting a good steam-cleaning. Does that have a hyphen? I'm not sure. Anyway we decided that since the rug that has been in there is not very squishy anyway to go for the alphabet/number mat that is actually quite squishy. When Ty gets up from his nap he will flip. And then flap. He still flaps but our Dr. assures us that if he only does it when he is excited it's not a sign of Autism. Hmmmmm...we'll see. That boy of mine is hilarious but he has a few quirks that we haven't figured out yet! He loves letters and numbers more than any two other things so I feel pretty sure he'll enjoy the new high-dollar (not really) rug. 

I hear crying. Happy Day.

AMMMA

TY SAID MOMMA TODAY! I always said I'd make an announcement if it ever happened and today at lunch he said it. It was more "AMMMA," but it was his first attempt so I went crazy with praise! 

That's Life

Ah the light at the end of the tunnel...I have experienced it the last few days. A few hours with little nausea and more energy. Patience for the kids/life. Last night while laying in bed I came to the realization that I have not handled things well lately--and even though my thoughts were scattered and fuzzy (It WAS, after all, already 9:00 p.m. and this is a danger zone for me if I'm still awake,) I knew that I was in the wrong. "Lord," I prayed, "help me see these days as a great blessing and not as a chance to wish for something else. Give me the patience that You can give me, which has nothing to do with how I feel." So I'm gonna work harder. Committed to take in each hour with the kids and enjoy it, find the humor in it. There's always humor in our day. Even when I'm by myself something wierd or funny happens. This might not seem like a good example but go with it.

Last night when I parked my car I thought, "I should take the GPS thing out because tomorrow I'm getting the oil changed and my mom taught me that something always gets stolen at those places." Good old mom looking out for me. Then I thought, "Well, I'll have time in the morning." Well, it's this morning and guess what got stolen out of my car overnight. Yep, my Christmas gift from last year. Now, this in itself is maddening. Not funny. What IS funny is that I have forgotten/misplaced so many things in my life that no one believed me for quite a while. My mom suggested multiple places to look. Everyone told me that I probably had already taken it down and just forgot. I don't put any of this past myself but this time I know I'm sure it was in the unlocked car overnight. Oops. Did you catch the unlocked part? See, not funny but I always lock my car. If I had a dime for all the times I have been holding a child and tried to get in my car to load them up to find that my car was locked I'd be able to walk right out and buy a new shiny GPS system before Sean gets home from his trip. Have I mentioned that I haven't told him yet?

That's not my fault actually, he had a Cancun overnight and they charge $ 4.70 a second when we talk on the phone so we try not to call each other unless it's an emergency. In light of my newfound desire to live life as a thankful, engaged mom this really isn't one. It's frustrating, expensive, and scary but it's life.

I'm a Big Kid Now

I can sit on the bench by myself and eat my lunch. Fries. No sides please. I don't do fruit.
I can play the piano. I like to touch each key and reflect on how it makes me feel. I'm a musical genius. Momma is trying to figure out how to tie that to getting me to talk.
I can climb the ladder and go down the slide at almost any playground. With or without shoes on. Momma forgot my shoes again this week when I met David at the playground.
Here I am on a good shoe day going down the slide at Mimi's house. When I am done sliding I clean up the ground by separating the wood chips from the concrete. Daddy gives me lots of praise when I clean up! Momma is perplexed that I know how to put the wood where it goes and I still won't say, "Momma."

Max the Fugitive

To put it mildly, the last few days have been hard. Not in the eternal significance sense and I'm thankful for the health of my kids even on days when I ask people I don't even know to take them. I'm thankful for a home. For family, and food to eat. What/Who I'm not thankful for is my dog. This is why.

On Wednesdays I go to Sean's parents house in Denton for the day. It fills up the whole day and I have help and a few meals with his parents. It has been a great relief the last few weeks because of feeling bad and not wanting to cook. The bonus is that the kids normally sleep well when we're there. Oh my friend that was not the case this week. Ty has massive allergy issues and Charlie is teething--okay trying to stay positive. This week Ty did not nap at all and Charlie slept for maybe an hour. For those of us who are blessed with good sleepers, the days that they don't sleep well kinda throw us off. It makes you thankful for the many many days that they DO sleep. It also makes you wish you had a nanny so YOU yourself could take a nap :)

Nap struggles aside, the day went fine until the trip home. Sean was already in Atlanta about to leave for work and got a phone call from the Police Dept. Since our kids aren't old enough to drive or break laws that leaves one family member in question: Max. Not that I am exempt from breaking laws but my dad is a lawyer and always told us that if we got arrested for something he wouldn't help us out of it. I believed him and still think if I got arrested I'd have to call someone else. Anyway sure enough it was about Max. Guess what he did. 

When I left him outside to go to Denton he freaked out and started digging a hold under the fence to get out. I guess he was going to try to find us? He's got separation anxiety. Like the real kind. I leave him outside all the time and for some reason that day he couldn't take it. So he dug a hole but found that it didn't allow his 70 lb body under the fence so he broke the fence. I don't know if he used his paws or his teeth or both but he broke the fence. It's a big fence. A police man saw him and tried to read his collar but Max tried to bite him. Sure, my dog who gets his eyes poked at and tail pulled 45 times daily tries to bite the officer who is trying to read his collar. 

He was over the edge I tell you.

Animal control had to come and since I wasn't home when they called (3 p.m.) they shipped him to McKinney to the doggie jail. He had to spend the night. This is Max who got stressed when we moved him from our bedroom to the adjacent room so we could sleep. Max loves the vet, the groomer, and any other field trip. What he doesn't enjoy is spending the night with 34 other dogs on a concrete floor. The next day I had to go get him before I made the drive to my parents house. I had to pay to bail him out, which is maddening because in truth if it was my decision I would pay them to KEEP him not give him back. God love him he is just the hardest child I have right now.

I went from McKinney to my parents' house (1 hr 15 minute drive,) and then once we got down there Ty didn't nap. Two days in a row no nap for the 2 year old who is not fun to be around when he hasn't gotten all 13 hours of sleep each night + at least 2 hours per nap. Yuck. You know the saying, "If Momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy." Yep, that's how it's been in our house. Just replace "Momma" with "Ty." Today upon returning home I called my babysitter and asked her to come over and she said yes. Whew. Jesus is certainly still on the throne and today He gave me some relief in the form of a babysitter.  Thanks Katelyn! 

Scary Websites

Okay don't have time to go into why now but I've just discovered two websites that have made me think twice about what I order at a restaurant. Check them out before you go out to eat--You'll solve the mystery of why eating "healthy-looking" things at restaurants don't always help you lose or maintain your weight. Prepare yourself to be frustrated with your favorite restaurants!!

www.calorieking.com

www.dailyplate.com

The Cousin and The Fair

How's that for a creative title? I actually don't have pictures from the fair yet--tomorrow maybe? Here are pictures from Saturday while we watched the kids play together. You know they don't actually play together at all but like any play date it's a good chance to catch up with the adults in the room/vicinity. This is my parents' back yard, the same yard I played in when I was little.

Here is the cousin Henry. Isn't he cute?! He does look like Graham a little more now but we still think Ty is Graham's "mini-me." That's my Dad posing in his best picture-ready outfit. See why it doesn't bother me that Sean wears shorts and t-shirts almost every day of the year? Look what my dad wears! My sister in law Ana is in the background. She had just made the 6 + hour drive with Henry. 
Charlie in her bucket. Bless her heart we just put her in there and give her a toy--literally one toy-a ball and she's happy for like 2 hours. The ball can't get away from her and she's protected from ants. I wonder why she doesn't crawl yet...
Ty learned how to throw "horse apples" the last time he stayed with Nattie and Popeye so he showed me this time how good he is at it. I have no idea what those are really called so if it's not horse apples I apologize.
When at Popeye's there is always a little violin time. See he could wear those same clothes years from now and fit right in with Pat Green's band. My son the future fiddle player.
Emmy, Charlie, and Graham. We had just finished taking the kids' pictures with the pumpkins--I promise I'll post them when I get them. Nattie's been busy hosting everybody and hasn't had time to look through her pictures yet!

The Fair was a success. It was hard but the good kind of hard where you know it was worth the effort. There was a fair amount of walking and eating, a few fits, and a lot of family togetherness. True to form, Ty would not eat the food. We tried pizza, two kinds of fries, and crackers. We resigned ourselves to the fact that his dinner would be golden grahams and saltine crackers but near the end of our time there he finally ate some fries. Victory! Sad that we throw a party when he eats fries. At least there is something in his stomach when he goes to bed. Am I a poster child for organic, low fat, homemade food for your kids or what? 

Lord Help Us

It's been a big weekend here. Friday night I decided to drive down to my mom's house with the kids for the night and acknowledged it was UT/OU weekend but thought to myself, "Well, it's 6:00 p.m. the day before the game so people who are already in town are already out...doing their thing...and people who are coming in tomorrow are, well, coming in tomorrow so we'll be fine." An hour and half later, while still on the toll road heading south, I punted and turned around. I was only five miles away from my house. Had this happened when I was pregnant with Charlie my road rage would have likely gotten the best of me. It was the kind of traffic that makes you want to cry. Just ask my children. They both did (6 o'clock is pushing it for bed time anyway,) so we came home, slept then headed out early the next morning. 

My brother and his family are in town so we got to see them Saturday for a few hours. We only see them every few months and the main attraction is Henry, their 14 month old son. He started walking since we last saw him and he's a sweet little man. We'll see how he does at the State Fair tomorrow--on that note, if you've got extra prayers for silly things laying around, could you attach Ty's name to one of them and send it up? Thanks so much. We'll see how he does at the State Fair too. Around his age I got lost at the same State Fair because I stopped to watch a lady eat french fries and when my parents found me I was asking her for one. How much does THAT sound like Ty? Oh my it runs in the family. It'll be interesting to see what/how he does tomorrow. I'm thinking bribes and time with Nattie just might get us through. His most spoken words right now are "Nattie" and "Popeye." The word "violin" is a close third and clearly the three go together. Dad always lets him hold/play the violin when he is at the house and it is like crack to Ty. Is that my first drug reference on my blog? Maybe...but it might not be the last.

Mom took about 50 pictures of the three kids yesterday so as soon as she sends them I'll post them. It has been her life's mission to get a good picture of them over the last year and I think she succeeded. I'll see what you think about who the kids look like-even Graham (brother) has said Ty looks more like him than Henry (his own son!)

Nothing Goes Together

None of this goes together but well, do my thoughts normally go together if we're honest? Usually when I wait a few days between posts it is because there is nothing to write about and no new pictures. Or I am on a trip/vacation--like I do that a lot. Twice this last year. Anyway I know it's been a few days and I thought I'd explain: I feel like I'm carsick all day. Every day. The nausea has kicked in and I'm on meds round the clock so I can take care of my kids. I have one pill that I take during the day that doesn't really do a whole lot-just takes the really bad edge off and then I have one that really works but puts me to sleep. Since Sean is on a trip I can't exactly take that one so it's been a rough couple days. Sorry to complain but you can't really talk back and tell me to "buck up," so I thought I'd mention it to explain why I haven't been updating! A few things that don't go together:

Sean calls McDonalds "McNasty's." I do not share his disgust for McDonalds. I actually love their cheeseburgers and really love their big straws. I mean you can choke on a gulp if you're not experienced with their straws. Yum. We go to McDonalds most Sundays on our way home from church  because there is one right by our house and the kids are starving since our church doesn't end until 12:35-45. Yeah I know that's just wrong. Anyway we were making our weekly trip last week and Sean decided he wanted something different and looked at the menu for a few minutes. If you ask me he took way too long but anyway he picked something and started ordering. This is what he says:

Speaker Lady (SL): Hello welcome to McDonalds, can I take your order?

Sean (S):  Yes, I'd like a # 2 for my pregnant wife, a large fry for my son, and a Big N Nasty.

SL: What? 

S: Laughing so hard can't talk

SL: What did you want? I no understand you. 

**There was also a language barrier.**

 

I find stuff like this hilarious because Sean never does stuff like that without planning it out and I knew he hadn't. He wanted a Big N Tasty but since he thinks of McDonalds as McNasty's he got confused.

Ty has learned to go up the ladder and down the slide by himself! Victory! We were a little worried the first few times but now he is a pro and he is soooo proud of himself. He loves doing it so much that Wednesday when I took the kids to Denton to Sean's parents house he tried theirs out too. Without shoes on. I forgot his shoes at home. What kind of mother forgets shoes for her son who is an eternal mover/shaker? A nauseated one.

I bought Charlie a baby book this week. She is ten months old. I'm taking care of things, aren't I?

I have a copy of The Shack on my desk here and can't bring myself to read it. I've heard that it involves losing a child and I don't think I'm up for it right now. Hormones are the reason for the nausea and I don't think that is a good mix with a book about loss. I alternate between Blues Clues and Runway Moms for entertainment...nothing too engaging or emotional. Been learning a lot. See why I won't home school my kids? They would not learn anything!

I ripped my favorite jeans on Wednesday and man was that sad. They are stretchy and I've worn them about 200 times in the last two years. Might explain why they were a little thin around the knees. I was playing with Charlie on the floor trying to motivate her to crawl and twisted the wrong way...rrriiiiiiiiipppppp. It was that loud. 

My brother and his family will be in town this weekend and we're going to the State Fair. A tradition in my family and not in Sean's family. We've made him go the last three years and he actually has fun once he gets there. The corn dogs have a good pull on him. Personally I like the funnel cake. Last year I could only eat a few bites because I was already on my diabetic diet so Charlie wouldn't come out weighing 12 pounds. She only weighed 8'11. Three weeks early. Okay I ate almost the whole funnel cake.

Babies are up...bye bye.

Ty the Lion

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

Halloween! Oh the excitement of passing huge blow up zombies on the street...well even more exciting is seeing candy corn on the end of every aisle at the grocery store! Last year Ty was a lion. He was supposed to be Spider Man but the costume that I ordered on ebay ended up being too small so at the last minute I borrowed the lion one and it was so cute! I'll look through pictures to see if we have one with him all gussied up. Do you have big plans for Halloween? We are heading over to Amy's (Sean's sister,) to eat taco soup and trick or treat with all 9 of Ty and Charlie's cousins from the Wilborn side. It's fun. There are always at least two kids that cry the whole time. Any bets on which two this year? Yeah we think so too.

The New Development

Little more info about our new development...not that anybody asked but it's on my mind today because of Bible study. 

We went to Santa Barbara a few weeks ago and before we left my mom made a comment that she would send some form of birth control with us since this was our first getaway together in a long time. She said she didn't want us to get carried away on our trip and forget that raising our kids is a tough full-time job. She made comments during the trip that made us laugh (little did we know I was already with child,) and we totally understood her point of view! We have laughed at our inability to parent them both so many times--They are alive by the grace of God. I felt fine on the trip and was really tired but we walked quite a bit more than I do on a normal basis so I never thought anything about it. We got home on a Wednesday and that Sunday was Ty's birthday. I felt totally normal but realized it had been a while since I had needed...what are the proper words...feminine products. I knew we had taken preventative measures and that I could not be pregnant but thought a call to my Dr. office was in order so I called on Monday. My nurse, whom I would happily give a kidney, laughed and told me it might be a fluke or an adjustment issue. I had stopped taking the pill months ago and maybe my body just wasn't fully adjusted...ha ha. That ha ha was her. She told me to take a test to make sure. I didn't. As scatter-brained as I am, I still knew we were careful. 

A few days after Ty's birthday I felt wierd. So I took the test that I had bought the day Justine (nurse) told me to buy but knew I wouldn't need. Then I saw that it was positive. Then I put it in my pocket because I just couldn't bring myself to tell Sean just yet. The perfect moment presented itself about two hours later, while both of our kids were having massive meltdowns. I started laughing and couldn't stop, which only made the kids more upset because I couldn't tend to them. I laughed until I cried. Sean looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, "You're pregnant aren't you?" I had not told him I was buying a test, etc. It was just a dead giveaway that I found our kids' fits hilarious. I mean what is God thinking?! We are clearly defeated at two!

I was most nervous about telling my family because they are who help me raise my kids when Sean is on trips. I waited about a week and a half to tell them, and at least five times during that time mom mentioned how glad she was that our kids would have each other and how much easier it would be on me, them, Sean, and the whole family now that we were done having kids. I thought she was calling my bluff or something but pregnancy is not something she jokes about! Time after time she would say something she thought was encouraging and I'd get off the phone and think, "Well now I KNOW I can't tell her."

I finally did. She said, "Do what?" Then she said, "Well, we'll figure it out. It happened to me too." The "IT" in her life was me. I've known for a long time that I was an accident and in some twisted way God made me believe I may have been an accident to my parents but that I was here for a reason. Thankfully it was always a joke and my family didn't use it as ammo against me, well a little bit of torture from my siblings, but I never questioned that they loved me. 

Today during our study we talked about the truths that we can teach our children while they are little. We talked specifically about the truth that all of us here are on purpose, part of the world to bring God glory. The point of the lecture was to help moms apply this truth while parenting, to help our kids understand that no matter their circumstances, they are here because God wanted them to be here. They have meaning and relevance.

We are still in a little bit of shock about this pregnancy but we are thankful for what God is teaching us. I go to the Dr. next week and will find out more details but for now, we are grateful for Ty and Charlie and hopeful for this baby.