A Day in the Life

Somedays I wonder how I maintain my sanity, especially lately with D1 going back to his passion of coaching. Maybe this is a whiney post but I don’t care. Sometimes Momma needs to have a meltdown, too.

5:40 – alarm goes off
5:49 – alarm goes off again…..and I get up
5:55 – d3 awakens thanks to a coughing frenzy (courtesy of the 3-month cough) that leaves his beautiful eyes red-rimmed. I put him on the floor while we finish getting ready for work
6:05 – d2 comes into our room, and ‘loves’ on d3 but in turn, knocks him over and d3 begins to cry
6:10 – d1 stumbles out of bed and immediately asks if he’s taking a lunch to school. When I say yes, he throws himself on the floor and cries……even before I tell him I’ve packed his fav – a drinkable yogurt
6:12 – we all head downstairs, where the boys’ clothes are laid out on the couch. ‘d2 sees that his shirt has nothing on it (i.e. tractor, basketball or drums) and he starts crying. Keep in mind, the other two haven’t stopped crying
6:13 – dreaming of that first cup of coffee
6:14 – I jog back upstairs to get d3’s extra change of clothes for school since he’s been termed the ‘spitter’ in his class
6:15 – pack d3’s bottles and ask d2 to please put the plain blue shirt on and stop crying…AGAIN. Meanwhile, d1 has moved on to tantrum #2 of the morning when he is given Cocoa Puffs for breakfast. Because he doesn’t like that kind of cereal. Really? Even if you asked for it yesterday?
6:20 – put d2 and d3 in the car, double check that I have all diaper bags, jackets and hats
6:22 – jog back upstairs for my wedding rings I left on the bathroom counter
6:23 - We begin our 40-minute morning commute.
6:28 – I realize I forgot my laptop at home. Turn around.
6:29 - what flavor shall I drink today? Pumpkin spice? Cinnamon roll? White chocolate macadamia nut?
6:34 – We begin our 40-minute morning commute. Again.
7:15 – both boys are in their classroom and have begun their day
7:20 – arrive at my office. Immediately go to the break room to start the coffee. Recall those slight chest pains I had yesterday after the 3 cups of coffee I had. Push the ‘brew’ button anyway.
7:27 – coffee cup out, Cinnamon Roll creamer out. Pour, stir and enjoy.
7:30 – let my work day officially begin
11:00 – pick up d2 for his pediatrician appointment. During the car ride, remind him that we do not pick our nose, and no, Dr. Y does not laugh at his farts like Daddy does so DON’T DO IT.
11:45 – still in the waiting room for the appointment. ‘d2 asks me, rather loudly, what is taking them so long to call his name? I tell him it will just be another few minutes. Hopefully.
12:00 – into the exam room. While Dr. Y is talking with me, d2 is opening multiple tongue depressors, spinning the stethoscope around like a lasso and repeatedly triggering the electric hand sanitizer to dispense. Thankfully, Dr. Y has the patience of a saint and doesn’t seem to mind a bit.
12:15 - appointment is over. Swing through McD’s drive thru (hey, don’t judge – at least I got him apples instead of fries) and head back to the CDC.
12:45 – returned to my desk…..with 30 new emails…..and 3 new voicemails. Seriously? It’s only been 2 hours, people.
4:00 – leave work to pick up d2 and d3. While signing d3 out, he burps and ‘overflows’ onto my sweater. Sigh. I’ve only worn this sweater twice.
5:00 – drive to d1’s school to pick him up for basketball practice.
5:15 – drive thru Chick-Fil-A and toss some nuggets-and fries- back to the ones with teeth. (ok, so I’m not June Cleaver with the healthy lunch packed in the picnic basket; some days we’re in survival mode)
5:35 – dash through the door of TFBC for practice. ‘d1 has meltdown #284 of the day when I make him wear pants instead of shorts. Even though 3 of the 6 other players have pants on. We frequent the ladies room a few times for some ‘reinforcement of authority.’
6:30 – load em’ up in the van after practice, with everyone crying because I’m tired/I didn’t get another snack/Joe wouldn’t pass the ball to me. I simply turn the volume up on ‘Madagascar.’
7:00 – home. Everyone to bed. I will spare the details here – it’s far too traumatic to write down. Let’s just say it’s all done by 7:45 and I collapse on the couch.
8:00 – D1 home from practice. I try to smile.

But…..my night is not over…….

2:00 AM – d3 wakes up – you know, in that coughing frenzy again. He can’t stop coughing so, in an effort to keep the other boys asleep, I take him downstairs to the couch and we fall asleep around 3:00.
5:40 – D1 shakes me awake on the couch. I can’t straighten my neck out. AND…..I get to do it all over again.


All this sounds like I’m complaining and maybe I am just a tiny bit but, despite all of this madness, I am BLESSED and I do love my life. Maybe some days more than others. I just never knew how crazy a life with little ones can be. And maybe I’ll look back and laugh at these wild times. Maybe. For now, I'll use my blog as therapy. And maybe my local Target.

Hello Again

So, I’ve been out of the blogging world the last few months. Not by choice and I know it’s cliché but I really cannot find the time. If you want to know what’s going on with us more regularly, join Facebook and watch for status updates because that’s about all I can manage at this point. Life has just gotten exponentially crazier in the past few months and I don’t really know how to slow it down. Between D1 gearing up for his basketball season, keeping up with all the activities of a kindergartener (yes, there really are more than one might expect) and both Mommy and Daddy trying to enhance their spiritual lives with individual bible studies during the week, it seems all extra time is spent on the couch in a vegetative state. Oh, and did I mention the craziness of my job these days? I seriously find it difficult some days to leave for lunch and wind up taking work home a few nights a week. I truly LOVE what I do but with my co-worker/partner recently relocating to Little Rock and working remotely, I have recently felt the strain. No worries, though – anyone who knows me well can say that I’ve never been one to hold my thoughts back and I’m not planning on trying anytime soon so when it gets to be too much, my good ole’ boss will hear from me. Until then, I’ll push through and be a team player!

So, in a nutshell, here are some quick, happy tidbits about the Family of D’s:

*d1 is writing full sentences (and obviously inherited my writing skills as opposed to his fathers) and has mastered some ‘popcorn’ words. He has recently taken a liking to old re-runs of 'Full House.' Seriously, you can only take so much Danny Tanner before you want to scream.

*d2 can spell his name outloud, count to 18 (skips 13 and 16 but are they really that important?), and can swing a left-handed golf club quite nicely.

*d3 weighs in around 21lbs (94th%), is on the verge of crawling and loves his solid foods and first two fingers to eat. He is such a HAPPY baby.

*We visited Nivens Apple Farm in 45 degree temps and drizzle so not much pickin’ occurred. More of the grab-a-bag-of-apples-from-the-cooler, snap a few pictures and call it good. We’ll try again next year.

*I hit my Weight Watchers goal and am now down 30lbs since my journey began in May. Now I can begin to enjoy food a little more…..and I could even more if I would motivate myself to get to the gym at lunch. Oh wait, I don’t always get a lunch. Pffft….

*I have begun mastering the art of couponing and have found some friends to join in. We even attended a short seminar. In the last month, I have reduced our monthly grocery budget by approximately 15% but think I can get it down to at least 25 or 30%. My goal is 50% but I’ll give myself time to get there. Hey, I have three growing boys so I better figure something out now or we’ll all be living on beanie weenies and cup 'o noodles until they are out of college.

*D1 and I redecorated our living room last weekend and are very pleased. It’s pretty subtle but we found a way to do it without having to paint which was GREAT, especially since we did not agree on the color choices. And on a budget, of course.

*We met Phil & Amy from Biggest Loser, season 7.

And some not-so-happy facts:

*Averaged 2 trips/week to the pediatrician in the month of October alone, yet (so far) have managed to avoid the hiney (H1N1 – look at it; can’t you see ‘hiney?’) flu. Instead, we’re battling ear infections and coughs/colds. At one point, I felt it more efficient to just hand my paycheck to the Walgreens pharmacist than to have it direct deposited.

*Learned that the head pastor of our church was leaving to pursue an opportunity in Missions. We’re happy for him but it’s also a little frightening for a church our size.

And some random, yet funny, notables:

*(riding home in the car last week) –

d2 - ‘Mommy, I need to brush my teeth. There’s something stuck in there’

Me – ‘OK, we’ll brush them tonight before bed. What did you eat that is stuck?’

d2 – ‘A booger.’

*(first day of music class for d1) –

Mrs. C – ‘Amanda Jones?’

Amanda – ‘Here.’

Mrs. C – ‘Jaden Foster?’

Jaden – ‘Here.’

d1 – ‘Hey, why are we doing all this talking? Aren’t you supposed to teach us a song or something?’

*(d1 staying with our good friend, SS for the day; SS feeding him lunch) –

SS – ‘Would you like some pretzels with your lunch?’

d1 – ‘Nah, but I’ll take some chips and dip if you’ve got it?’

d1 – ‘Hey Maya, you gonna eat your pizza rolls?’

Gotta love the brutal honesty of a child. Here are some recent random pictures – clearly I’ve been slacking on my photographing as well. It’s that issue of time again. It’s just easier to snap a less quality picture with my phone than figure out where I hid the real thing from the little people.

Farmer Day

Growing, Growing, Growing

d3 is 5 1/2 months old already.....seems insane at how time flies. He is approx. 20 lbs (and according to an intoxicated elderly woman at the Drive game, 'that there baby is obese!') and has the most beautiful eyes. He has a love for sweet potatoes and Daddy's tickles. He has just been such an easy baby and we are so thankful for that!

First attempt at cereal at 4 months - he caught on rather quickly....

Pure Silliness

d2 has developed a silly side lately and loves to make everyone laugh....and for some reason, it usually comes out when he's in his undies and ONLY his undies. Here are some recents -

In his boots

Wearing his 'work goggles'

Off to K-5

A month has now passed since we sent our oldest son to his first day of kindergarten. And yes, I am a slacker when it comes to posting pictures but no one told me that your life REALLY would get beyond crazy when baby #3 arrives so that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. Although, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that I haven’t posted the story behind this eventful day yet because I’m still coming down from my maddening rage but who has time to dwell? I know I don’t so maybe after I write this, I’ll be able to laugh about it. Yeah. We’ll see

To set the mood, let me just say, for those who don’t know me really well, that I am a planner. Some (my husband) might even say it’s borderline-OCD but nonetheless, I am one who needs to be on time, on budget and in order. To me, it’s essential in a world with small children. This was SO not the case for this big day. And I will try not to point fingers as to WHY this day didn’t go as planned but I’m sure you smart people will figure it out.

The night before, I had muffins made, clothes laid out, backpack ready, camera charged….all that was left for the next morning was to wake, feed and load up all three d’s for the trip to school. So, next morning comes and is seemingly smooth. While they are eating, I load the backpack, camera, and my purse into the van so that all we have to do is get in and go. D1 has to leave early to get his class ready for the kids to arrive so we tell him good-bye, that we will meet him there to walk d1 in together. We were even ahead of schedule enough to sit down and enjoy some good ole’ Tom & Jerry before departing. Everything is going just as planned, right? Five minutes before we were set to leave, d1 comes in and asks me to come unlock the van. I turn to get my keys and realize….yep, they are already in the van. LOCKED in the van. Apparently, ‘someone’ needed to get something out of the van before ‘someone’ left and ‘accidentally’ locked the doors when finished. It had to have been an accident, right? Because how many people lock their vehicles when they are in the GARAGE!!!!

So, I literally scream, ‘NO!!!!’ loud enough for all neighbors within a mile radius to hear and pick up the phone to call D1 at school. He explains that he can’t leave yet, maybe in 20 minutes. I am hysterical, crying that ‘my baby cannot be late on his first day of school’ and asking what I should do. And no, we had no spare key (we do now!) and there were no windows even cracked to try and reach in. The only solution I could come up with in my state of panic was to bust out a window. Yes, I know – a bit rash but what else could I do? I actually got to the point of tapping the hammer on the window and realized that I would probably end up severing an artery and that would probably scar d1 permanently AND ruin his first day so I decided against it. As I’m crying in the driveway and trying to figure out what to do (do taxis come all the way out here?), I look over at my neighbor’s house and realize they have three vehicles outside. They don’t need all of those, right? I run over, tell my story, and they tell me to take their van. They are AWESOME people and I was speechless….until I said, ‘Great, where are your keys? I gotta go!’ Keep in mind, EVERYTHING is locked in the van – drivers license, cell phone, backpack, CAR SEATS. d3 is the only one who had a real car seat (but fortunately their van had built in 5-point harnesses so I wasn’t completely breaking the law). We throw them in and I am feeling like Mark Martin on a NASCAR track with the turns I was taking and the speed I was hitting. Obviously, I know I’m not winning Mother of the Year award for this but we were not going to be late. I was not going to be that mom.

So we get to school, unload and head in. I am almost jogging into the school (in heels, no less – with a bit of streaked mascara and a 4-month-old, head-bobbling baby in arms), pulling d2 along and nudging d1 to hurry until we see D1 at the school entrance. He joins in on our little ‘race to the finish,’ unbeknownst to him on how we got there and we make it to d1’s class with about 30 seconds to spare. Other parents were crying tears of sadness/joy and I might have been one of those parents, had I had TIME. Fortunately, my tear-streaked eyes didn’t draw attention since every other mother was doing the same – although I can bet their mornings went a little smoother. And funny thing is, probably half of the kids were sad that their parents were leaving them. Not mine. Nope. He was probably thinking, ‘Get me away from this lunatic!’ I was so proud of him.

In the end, we made it in time, even if we had no backpack or camera (because, you know, I’ve only been planning this scrapbook page for 5 years now). So, the pictures you see below are from his second day of school – D1 was ‘encouraged’ to re-create the first day since the real one didn’t go as ‘planned.’

To those who have heard the story, sorry for the repeat but I need to document this for d1 to read some day because I’m certain there will be two sides to the story and he needs to know the truth. ;)

Fun Family Pictures

Recently, we met some friends in downtown Greenville on a Saturday morning and had some random pictures of our family taken, mainly for a project I've been wanting for our master bedroom wall (which I hope to post soon). We had a lot of fun taking them, met up with some other friends in the process and just goofed off. Here are some of the pictures PP snagged of my kiddos -

Funny thing about this picture - it's the 'before' shot. The 'after' is a soaking wet little boy - yup, he fell in the water. After 85 warnings that it would happen. Guess he had to make sure....

I just love his ornery grin.

Such a cute pose - isn't this girl just made for the cameras? Both of my boys are crazy about her - d2 even tried to push her into Reedy River. That's true love.

What a Deal!

So I am new to the 'game' of couponing and how amazing it can be. I have used coupons in the past but not to this degree and I can't believe how exciting it is to walk out of a store after spending only $18 with the amount and quality of food I got today over my lunch break. I LOVE www.moneysavingmom.com and that site is where I learn of most of my 'deals' so I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to save some $$ on their grocery bill. Having 3 boys with very hearty appetites, I have no choice but to start learning the ropes now on how to stockpile, bargain shop, and save. Here's what I got today for $18.29 at my local Food Lion:

*Healthy Choice Chicken Fettucine meal- $2.50 less $1.00 coupon = $1.50
*Lean Cuisine Panini - $3.49 less $1.00 coupon = $2.49
*Healthy Choice Lemon Pepper Fish meal - $3.49 less 40% = $2.09
*Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers - #2 - $3.49 less 40% = $2.09 x 2 = $4.18
*Food Lion Instant Oatmeal - $2.32 less $1.00 coupon = $1.32
*Food Lion Kookies Cereal - $1.89 less $1.00 coupon = $0.89
*Food Lion Raisin Bran - $2.49 less $1.00 coupon = $1.49
*Kelloggs Corn Pops - $1.99 less $1.00 coupon = $0.99
*Starbucks Mocha Frappucino - $1.89 less $2.00 coupon = $0.11 overage!!
*Ragu Spaghetti Sauce - #2 - 2/$4 less $2.00 coupon less $1.00 coupon less $0.55 coupon = $0.45 (yep, that's $0.23 EACH!)
*Hi-C 10-ct juice boxes - 2/$4 less $1.00 coupon = $1.00
*12-pk Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper - $3.00 less $1.00 in-store coupon = $2.00

You just can't beat these deals. I mean, seriously - if I can go shopping and make money just by purchasing a Starbucks Frappucino, it's a good day!! I could probably spend a little less on my lunches instead of spending $2 on my Healthy Choice meals but I buy them on sale and they really satisfy me, are quite tasty and are low in WW points so I'll splurge a bit now while I whittle away my waist line......hopefully sooner than later.....