Mini-Vacay

If you read my last post, you know that I was in somewhat of a panic over all the things on my to-do list in such a short time. And although my sweet husband was aware of this, he thought he had the perfect solution to my stress - leave it all behind and go on a mini-vacation to family & friends. At the last minute. To a place that takes 14 hours to get to. In the car. With three childr....er, boys. LOUD boys. Of course. That should definitely cure my anxiety. Even though I said 'NO' a few thousand times, in the end, I decided to try out the little thing called spontaneity . I texted my boss to let him know I would be off a few days (totally NOT my style), packed my entire family in 20 minutes and at 9pm EST, we were officially Midwest-bound.

No real drama on the drive in except the I-40 detour and my speeding ticket. Yes, by now, everyone has heard about my speeding ticket. Apparently D1 has forgotten that he had one of his own less than two years ago on Father's Day. And I remember very clearly how understanding I was but he wasn't quick to reciprocate. We were just under an hour from our destination and I was going a bit over the speed limit (just 86 in a 70) when a trooper pulled us over. This encounter was not without humor, though (as if I thought it would be, given the company I keep). D1 happened to be in the 3rd row with d3 and the other two were sitting behind me in the captain's chairs. I pull over on I-70 and Sarge comes up on the passenger side and before he even mutters the dreaded 'license and registration,' d2 shouts to him 'Hey, what's your name? I'm going to my grandma's. We live in South Carolina. Is that a fireman's hat?' Sarge didn't really have a sense of humor. He then informs me of my excessive speed but tells me he would reduce me to 82. I figured it must be a significant reduction in fines. Uh, yeah. A whopping $20. In comparison to the total, it's peanuts. When he returned to give me the citation, d2 was firing off another round of loaded questions when Sarge asked if they all belonged to me. The sarcastic side of me could have answered that in a few ways but I just decided to stick with the compliant response of 'yes, sir.' And in hindsight, I wonder if he thought D1 was one of mine, too. After being up almost 30 hours, I probably looked the part. Had we thought about that a little longer, we could have had a little fun with that, too. D1 could have easily played the role and likely gotten me out of the ticket - or in jail.

Once we get there, all the boys want to do is ride the mower or sit in the 'ole red truck and pretend to drive. Constantly, back and forth. I have pictures but Blogger is not cooperating to post them. Picture two little boys on a zero turn lawn mower. One smiling, one frowning. I'll let you decide which is which.

Our visit was definitely a whirlwind but it actually was one of the best, even if we didn't make our rounds entirely. We did get to have a big dinner with many of our close friends, which was lots of fun. I got to hand-deliver some baby gifts that I otherwise would have mailed and see these momma's in their glowing selves. The boys got to spend lots of time with their grandparents, particularly Grandpa S. In the truck, on the mower and in the hot tub. They love it. d3 developed yet another obnoxious cough while we were there that is still lingering.

Although D1 was on spring break all week, I had to get back to work to close out the month so late Monday night after the boys were sound asleep, we packed it up and headed out. The drive home wasn't horrible but we had a few encounters I could have done without. First of all, Tennessee drivers are the WORST. Sorry, M. I think you are from TN so don't take it personally but they (some) are just horrible. Our cruise control is very random (and we WILL have that fixed before the next trip, husband!) so on the occasion that it works, we certainly don't want to have to break it because someone is in la-la land. Which happened more times than I care to remember. I totally understand road rage and how people can go loco. I was on the verge. At one point, going up into the mountains, I had some lady in front of me and just refused to get back over so that I could pass her. So I decide to go around her in the RIGHT lane and just as I get next to her, she blows me a kiss and speeds up so that I can't get around her. Seriously? And we played this game back and forth awhile before I finally put her in the dust. D1 wanted to blow her a kiss back when we went past her but we decided to take the high road - even if my thoughts were anything but mature.

And then there was Shoney's in Knoxville. Let me set the tone. It's 7am on a Tuesday morning and the boys have been strapped in the car for 11 hours. They are bursting with energy in their matching Spiderman jammies. Remember - Shoney's on a Tuesday morning. There are NO children in this restaurant at the time. Instead I can only guess everyone dining are either members of the Rotary or the Red Hat Ladies. So to say we were stared at is an understatement. In fact, we noticed some individuals that came in later that flagged the waitress down and requested a move to the other side of the restaurant away from us. Ouch. I guess I just can't understand why some people wouldn't want to hear d1 complaining that I didn't put enough syrup on his pancakes. Or d2 detailing what he needed to do in the bathroom. Or even d3 in a non-stop coughing fit that sounds like he has TB. You KNOW that terrifies the old people. And then d2 flings half his yogurt all over the place. Wouldn't you want to sit near us? I'm confident that had we been there 5 more minutes, we probably would have had a free breakfast - I'm quite certain the Red Hats were pooling their bingo fees in order to pay our ticket and get us on the road. We weren't getting those old people, grandparent looks of 'awe, how cute!' I was seeing contempt and lots of it. If I weren't so darn respectful of the elders, I just might have posed the 'can't you remember what it's like?' question. My children aren't horrible, they are just young and energetic. Yeah, that sounds much better than obnoxious and annoying.

So my feelings for TN weren't the most positive but we made it home - Praise the Lord - and it's good to be back. I'm still recovering. I remember thinking how old people had to 'recover' from trips - does that mean I'm getting old?

Bad News on the Homefront

I guess I shouldn't call it bad news, just not news we wanted. As I mentioned in a prior post, our house is back on the market, although it may be a short-lived stint again. Our subdivision (like many others) has been hit hard by the real estate market and our values are taking a big nose dive into the toilet. We were hoping we could squeeze by but it's not looking good.....

The house across the street has been vacant for a good while and has an identical floorplan as ours. We assumed it was in foreclosure but hadn't seen any signs up and figured it might hurt us but we would try (again) to beat the clock and sell before activity began with that. Apparently the buzzer has gone off and our time has run out. That house is now on the market with a listing that is a whopping $50k less than ours. How in the world could it be that much less? I mean, I'm sure the last owners (cuckoo was my nickname for her but doesn't even begin to describe the bizarre personality) didn't take great care of it but it's only 4 years old. How bad can it be? We might see about taking a peek inside, just to satisfy our own curiousity but it likely won't matter. We might just be stuck awhile longer. Oh, patience. Not my strong suit. A few months back, I believe I had a lengthy session with God and prayed for patience in all areas of my life. What I meant to say was I needed help in all areas of my parenting life.

Obviously, I'm not a realtor and don't know the statistics around these types of situations but I do know what HOPE is and it's alive in our home. Do I think a miracle is needed at this point for our home to sell? Yep, pretty much. But I happen to believe in miracles. And more importantly, I believe He has a plan for us in every aspect of our life. D1 and I continuously pray for God's will in our lives and we have peace and comfort in that alone. Sure, there are no shortages of our own selfish pleas where we tell God what would be best and shoot him an outline of why but ultimately He knows. So what if I have to continue my 45 minute drive to work? I HAVE a job. So what if we have to drive an extra 10 minutes to TFBC? We have an awesome church body who loves our family. So what if I have to pay more than my 'burb friends for internet? OK, that one really hacks me off.....

So instead of pouting (you know, since we're trying to set good examples for our little people), I've decided to be upbeat and positive about this small bump in our road and look at all the great things about our home. We have plenty of space for our rowdy crowd to play and just be looney toons. Our playroom is awesome and if we are staying, it might be time to take it to the next level in organization (which totally excites me - I am an organization goob!). Our backyard is beyond huge, backing up to a creek with a daddy-built swingset. Only thing we lack in our backyard is a fence and a shed. Maybe we start taking steps toward those projects. Have I mentioned how amazing our grass is? That may be a ridiculous statement and I would have thought so a few years ago until we moved to this house and had nothing for a yard. I mean nothing. Nothing but dirt (er, red clay) and weeds. My talented and persevering husband dug it up and started from scratch. And it is quite possibly the most beautiful yard in the subdivision. In the beginning, he was fervent in watering, even if it had to be done at 5:30am to beat the heat. And we don't have an in-ground sprinkler system. We have a very manual system where D1 goes out and rotates the Dollar General specials around every 8.5 minutes. If our neighbors had just been awake those mornings he was moving them, I bet it would have been quite entertaining. He never wanted his feet to touch the grass he was watering, so he was jumping like a crazy man all over the place. I imagine it looked like someone with OCD who cannot step on a crack or it will break their mothers back. All those details and side stories to say that our grass ROCKS. One more thing to brag about my house - we live on a double cul-de-sac. Which means there is really never any traffic except the homeowners. This gives us such comfort in letting our boys ride their bikes or drive their Gator outside, even if we aren't right there to watch. It's pretty sweet. And our neighbors are quite awesome, too. You know, the ones who let me borrow their car on d1's first day of school? You don't find those kind of people everyday.

On a related note, D1 had an interview this week for a spot into the Greenville County administrative pool. It went really well and now he is just waiting to hear if he made it the next round. The process that is involved in making it into the pool is crazy. I've been comparing it to getting into an Ivy League school. So all you parents who have children in this county's public school system should take comfort in the fact that the principals are highly screened and the selection process is thorough. OK, so even if he makes it through this next 'cut,' it's not a guaranteed job. He would then have to wait until a position comes open and go through that interview process with the individual school. The applicants were many and the spots were few just for this round so imagine what it will be to actually get into the pool. With budget cuts out the wazoo, there really doesn't appear to be many positions so they're not going to take a lot of candidates. I am biased, of course, but I know with complete certainty that he would be an excellent administrator and an asset to the district. If it's meant to be, it will be. No doubt about it.

Next week is busy busy. We will be celebrating d3's first birthday with a little family party at our house.....where I've been convinced by my BFF that I can make his cake myself. I'm not incompetent in the kitchen but the idea of me making a monkey cake for my son's birthday has started to give me a bit of anxiety. You know, that feeling that someone is physically resting comfortably on your chest and you just can't breathe right? That and all that we have going on next week - d3's pictures, throwing a baby shower, Easter (baskets, outfits, dinner). Along with a busy week at work. Coupled with the uncertainty of our home. Magnified by my deadlines of sending out baby gifts to my out-of-state friends in time for their showers. Because you know how I feel about being late. I told D1 that lately I find myself sitting at my desk and staring off into space and my thoughts go a little like this - *can't forget Ms. Waters birthday tomorrow *d2 needs plastic eggs and candy for the hunt by Monday *d2 also needs an Easter treat by next Thursday (no peanuts) *don't forget K's shower is next weekend for the twins and it's 1,000 miles away *yes, she gets TWO girls *shed a tear *don't forget to pick up the cake for C's shower on Thursday *make sure the name is spelled right *get on the ball about booking d1 & d2's birthday party before it's gone *what should we get them this year *my filling still hurts but I have no time for the dentist *boys need dental appointments this summer *drop stuff off at Goodwill *mail Grandma the picture d1 colored of the farmer *book plane tickets for MO trip in September *decide which month we won't eat to cover the costs of all 5 flying *get D1 and d2 fitted for their tuxes soon. I tease D1 about him having ADD but I'm starting to wonder if it's a shared family trait. No, I take that back. I know what it's called. It's called multi-tasking and we mommies have it down to a fine art. Can I get an amen?

Money-Saving Monday

I don't typically post my savings success on here but thought I did pretty good today and it's a way of changing things up from my typical posts about the joys of boys so if it bores you, hit the little 'x' in your top right-hand corner. If you are interested and want to know more, email me. This has become my lunchtime entertainment to see how much I can save in comparison to what I take home. It's nice because a) I save $$ on products we would have to buy anyway and b) I'm usually too busy to think about how much I want the chips and guacamole from Monterrey and, thus, I usually end up eating Lean Cuisine, again saving money.

So, today I made 3 trips (although one of those trips was unsuccessful and I'll vent about that in a moment). First trip was to Rite-Aid:

Purchased:

*1 pkg Little Swimmers
*1 pkg Huggies, size 5 (yes, size 5 - I've said he's a chunker and I have the size 5 diapers to prove it.)
*2 bottles St. Ives Apricot facial scrub
*1 pkg Always feminine items

Total Spent OOP (out of pocket): $10.57
Rebates Earned: $3.00

So that essentially means I 'spent' $7.57 because in a month, I will get $3.00 back from Rite-Aid. Anyone that buys diapers knows that you can't buy a package of Huggies for under $9 (before coupons) so my totals are after coupons. If I had paid regular price for everything, I would have spend around $25.00. Not bad, huh?

Then I went to Walgreens. Oh, me and Walgreens have a love-hate relationship that is quickly turning hate-hate. And it's typically with one cashier in particular. Unfortunately, she wasn't accepting my coupon for a bottle of nail polish (although it was totally legit) but I am proud to say that I didn't get upset (in public) because this is not the first time it has happened. I was trying to use my last RR (Register Reward - Walgreen's 'play money') and planned to never return because their management is clueless to their corporate policies (that I have reviewed thoroughly online) and they won't stand behind them. But I couldn't even do that. Big SIGH. I will try another Walgreens this evening on the way to bible study only because my RR expire today and then I am D-O-N-E.

OK, I'm over it. My next trip was to CVS. And I can say with confidence that I am done at Walgreens because going to CVS to bargain shop is like choosing Macy's over K-Mart, Chipotle over Taco Bell (Chipotle, mmmmm, doesn't that sound great?). The employees are always so helpful and friendly as opposed to the Bitter Betty's I encounter at Walgreens. And this is my success here:

*1 pkg Pampers Cruisers
*1 bottle Crest Pro-Health moutwash
*1 tube of Colgate Whitening toothpaste

Total Spent OOP: $10.54
Extra Care Bucks Earned: $9.00

You do the math - kinda like I spent $1.54 for all that. Sweet, huh? And I can't take credit for the ideas. Check out southernsavers.com for details. I <3 Jenny over at SS. She's awesome!

I'm always interested in hearing great savings stories so feel free to share. And beware of a certain cashier at the Spartanburg Walgreens store. I imagine she had security print a picture of my face from the cameras and is likely throwing a dart at the picture right now. We're not fans of each other. At least I can say that one of us remained calm. And that person is calmly blogging about it right now.

Snuggle Time

You might think the title means snuggle time with parent and child but in this instance, not so much. We have had d1 and d2 in the same room for well over a year now, in bunk beds, and this has been happening randomly since the beginning. This is how the story usually goes:

(somewhere in the night)

d1 - 'Daddy, I had a bad dream about bears/snakes/monsters.'

D1 - 'It's okay. There's no bears/snakes/monsters. Go get back in your bed.'

A few minutes later you hear....

d2 (in whiny tone) - 'Noooooo bubby. Stooooop.'

d1 - 'Move over. I had a bad dream.'

d2 - 'Get out of my bayed!' (this is really how it sounds with his lil' twang)

So we usually assume d2 won the battle and everyone is back where they belong. Until morning when we find this arrangement when we go to wake them.....

Either he gave in to d1's pleas or d1 waited until he was asleep to sneak in. Who knows. Those two are a mess.

And for the record, d1 never asks to sleep with us. And, no, we are not cold-hearted - if he asked, we might say yes but why open ourselves up to a habit we might have to turn around and break?

Like this habit....

This child is always sucking these two fingers. Always. Probably half the pictures we have of him have his fingers in his mouth. This past week, we tried to 'train' him off of the fingers and it really wasn't very successful. We pinned a sock over that hand but he ultimately just sucked with the sock on. It may be that he's teething again and it just comforts him so we'll try again later. Our pediatrician had me freaked out that his own daughter (who is now 4) still sucks her fingers and he's tried splinting/spicy nail polish/etc. to no avail. I'm concerned that a doctor (and a GREAT one) can't find a way around this but I'm not stressing. He's 11 months old. Maybe I'll start worrying about that when I'm sending him to K-5 and his fingers prohibit him from saying the pledge of allegiance. Until then, we'll get by. Maybe by fighting every possible virus out there that he picks up and sucks on but that's life, right?

And these 'habits' aren't really new to our family. d1 didn't take a paci but loved his 'Froggie.' He had one of those animals filled with little micro-beads that he carried everywhere. However, the obsession wasn't really with the frog but with the tag. He would take it between two of his fingers and rub it and make a moaning noise. In fact, the moan was borderline-creepy but it was soothing to him and put him to sleep every night. So, it was a sad day when Froggie went 'on vacation' and never came home. Actually, we tried to toss him out during our move to SC - I mean, it was time; this poor guy had taken more swims in the toilet than I care to remember - but D1's mom thought that was cruel and a piece of his childhood so I think she kept it. I didn't argue with her. If she wants a green-turned-light-brown frog that has a distinct odor resembling a mixture of urine and milk, who am I to stop her? In any case, Froggie never made his way home to us and we never really had much problems with it. But, again, he was almost 3.

d2, bless his little heart, took a paci like a champ. We tried it with d1 and had no luck but thought we would try with d2 and it was great. And I don't really remember having to get up in the night to search for it for him much (though I may have just repressed those sleepy times) so it was more of a daytime thing. We were a little more rigid with his habit, though. We 'pulled the plug' at around 11 months. In fact, I believe it was the same time Froggie took a hike. Oh yes, I remember. Like it was yesterday. D1 thought it a marvelous idea to cut off the paci just a week before we made the 3 day move to the South. Guess who d2 rode with on this 1,000 mile journey? Let's just say he wasn't riding shot gun in the U-Haul with Daddy.

All this to say - round one goes to the littlest D. We'll let him think he's in control. For now.

I'm a Baseball Player

d2 now reminds us of this daily. He has been waiting for this day to come forever. He has sat through countless practices and games for d1 and rarely did he ever complain. This will be his first year of t-ball and he is so excited. He has played backyard baseball with D1 and d1 for awhile now - he knows how to hit off a tee as well as hit a pitched ball. He throws right-handed but hits (and swings a golf club) left-handed. He had his first practice over the weekend as a Giant and it was so much fun to watch him interact and play with kids he has just met. No shyness here. Very easy going and congenial. Quite honest. And I view that as a positive characteristic in my son. As long as he keeps it appropriate. Here are some pictures from his first practice.

Side note: So that appropriateness I mentioned above - there's a story behind that. Many have heard it already but I'll document so that maybe someday after my nervous breakdown when I'm in a padded room, eating Jell-O and playing checkers and can't remember such exciting times, D1 can pull this up and make me laugh.

Saturday morning (prior to the aforementioned t-ball practice), D1 and a friend were working on some improvements in our home so I had to get the boys out for awhile. It was too chilly to hit up a park and too 'germy' to visit a bounce house (with a crawler) so I decided that I would bribe the older two with milkshakes if they would be on their best behavior while I stopped at a couple of furniture stores. I only made it to one and it was all I had in me to survive it. The behavior started out great, d1 was right by my side and following the rules. d2, on the other hand, was running all over the store, hopping on couches, throwing his feet up on the ottomans and just not listening to a word I said. And I had no stroller so I was lugging the 25-lb chunker around while chasing the disobedient one. Frustrating but I could have lived with that behavior. It wasn't until I flagged down a saleslady that it went from bad to worse. While we were negotiating a price on an entertainment center, d2 interrupts quite loudly and says, 'I just farted right here. He he.' And if that wasn't bad enough, the lady said, 'I'm sorry, honey. I didn't hear you.' I tried to intercept and tell him NOT to repeat but he went ahead....and LOUDER. This time, it wasn't just the saleslady that heard him. I wanted to crawl under that Broyhill table and cry. I believe the next thing the lady said was, 'Do we have any girls at home for you, Mom?' Um, nope. It's just me. But thanks for the reminder.

Needless to say, nothing was purchased from that trip.

Finally Found the Camera....

Some random pictures we've taken over the last month or so....

Here's d2's new bike I've referred to in prior posts --

Here is d3 in the baby swing in our backyard. The fact that d2 is behind him and where his hand is placed.....well, that explains a good bit of my stress. He loves his baby brother but sometimes I think he acts a bit maniacal with him, too. Hoping that's just an overflowing of love and not something else. And poor little d3 - he doesn't have a clue what his brother wants to do to him at this moment. He's just laughing it up.

Here is d1 during his warm-up for his basketball game. I feel bad but we didn't take many pictures of him playing this year. And one day I'll tell him the truth -- it was because we were so engrossed in the game and cheering him on, we didn't have a spare second to snap photos. He doesn't really need to know that it's because we forgot the camera week after week after week. And even when we did take the picture, it didn't come out great because of the motion. I'm pretty sure our camera has a function good for these events but I just haven't read up on it yet. I just find it hard to spend my 'free' time reading manuals.

And one last one - for once, I'm in the picture. Me and my little Spiderman. We'll pretend that he is smiling and laughing and babbling (instead of what he was really doing - whining, crying and growling at me to let him down -- his new developed attitude towards the one who carried and birthed all NINE pounds of him).