Pirates, Mothers, and Babies, OH MY!

I don't even know where to begin. I feel like I must blog about last week or it will completely vanish from my memory. It was just that busy.  It started Monday when I took Sarah and Eli and we met my Mom at Party America to do some birthday party shopping. A pirate theme had been chosen and we found the treasure. We got a lotta loot. Get it? HA! Um, okay, moving on....

Tuesdsay night we had dinner with some friends and it was so much fun. Our kids play so good together. How good do they play, you ask? So good that we actually got to have complete conversations. A-mazing!

Wednesday we celebrated Eli's birthday with some family time. We enjoyed our day until Josh left for church and I headed to the bathroom to put my face on. Before I could fix myself I came back out and there were nine kids at our house. I looked out the back door for them and there was a random dog in our backyard. I headed to the playroom to inquire about this dog and I found this--

Another dog y'all. How rude of me not to invite the other one in, right?

Dont' worry, these kids assured me Buster needed to be in the playroom. Apparently the other dog was fine outside with Daisy.

This is how I was feeling about the whole situation. Don't worry, I totally put on make-up and fixed my hair before church. I would not subject the general public to this. Just y'all. :)

Friday was a much anticipated day. We took Sarah and Eli to stay with Mammy and headed out with Kate in search of the perfect bike. We went to the Wal-Mart on the beach and had no luck finding a bike, but I did find an awesome clearance rack.  We then headed to Target. Again, no bike. I don't know what it is about Target, but I want EVERYTHING in there!! Does anybody else experience that? We then headed to Old Navy. I had decided that Josh and I should pick out outfits for each other. Bless his heart. And Kate's. We were in there forever. Have I told you that there are no clothes on the planet that fit me right? There aren't. I finally picked a shirt and sweater that I liked and loaded up an arm full of stuff for Josh to try on. Kate was sooo patient. I felt bad because they had a big gumball machine full of bouncy balls. I got her one and she tried to chew it. :(  She got drug all over creation and couldn't even get a stinkin' piece of gum!

We had one more stop and then we were dropping Kate off at T's house. I was just thinking that Kate was going to sleep good when I looked back and she was passed out in the back seat. Josh ran in the store while I waited with Kate. I had just happened to pack my make-up bag (and maybe my whole set of make-up brushes) in my purse, so I took advantage of the time to freshen up for our upcoming date. In a hot Jeep in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. I busted out the mascara and sprayed myself with my Calgon body spray. My husband is a lucky man I tell ya. :)

We dropped off Kate and headed out for dinner. We are getting so old. All week we had planned all kinds of things we wanted to do on our child free night. But when the time arrived, we just wanted to eat and go home. We got to eat on the deck of the restaurant at sunset overlooking the bay. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was so perfect and I was so hungry. I probably embarrassed Josh inhaling my popcorn shrimp and salad, but honestly I think he was too busy stuffing his face to notice. I joked about how we always try to have deep conversations at the dinner table with constant interruptions from our kids, but without fail, if we get to eat alone we are silent. Not a word. We just soaked up the peace and quiet. And it was in that moment that I decided I wouldn't trade the comfort and intimacy we share for the newness and excitment of a new relationship. Sometimes I really miss the days when everything seemed new. But that night, I couldn't have been happier. The humidity was causing my hair to do things that should never be seen in public, I was scarfing my food in a very unladylike way, and I didn't have anything cute or witty to say. But it was cool. I know Josh decided to keep me a long time ago, bad hair days and all.

We hit the ground running on Saturday. I went into overdrive trying to recover my house from the busy week. It always amazes me how I can get more done in 30 minutes without my kids than I can in 5 hours with them home. Josh had made the decision to take on the baking of the birthday cake. He had created a very cool pirate ship and needed to finish decorating it. Have I told you my husband rocks? He can do it all. The only thing he hasn't been able to do is birth the babies, but in case you didn't notice, they looked just like him even so. Anyway, I am very blessed.

Soon it was time for the party!

Pirate Eli and his treasure ship cake!

Pirate Kate!

Pirate Sarah Beth!

Pirate Mom! The eyebrows on this mask caused me to think that maybe I'm really part pirate?

Is he cool or what????

Oh yeah, we finally found the PERFECT bike!

It was a fun day full of shark's blood punch, a treaure hunt, a cannon ball pop, and a very dangerous pinata experience. I asked Josh to bring something to hit the pinata with. We have like, 15 bats. He brought some kind of metal pipe. Good thinkin'.....

My hubby is either brave and fearless or....well, since I've been singing his praises I'll just say he is brave and fearless. :)

We wrapped up the party and headed out for some Mexican food with my Mom and brother. Sarah insisted on spending the night with my Mom. Sunday morning I was awakened by a sweet little boy with a card he  signed by himself! It had a gift card too that was almost as nice as his "I love you Mommy"!

We captured this shot before church and you can see that my children were overcome with joy on this occassion!

After church we spent the day doing NOTHING and that was just as I wanted it!!!! A day of rest was very much in need. All 3 kids even laid down at the same time. Can you believe that????

Well, this week proves to be just as crazy and eventful. Today Audra invited me to lunch to meet some of her friends and we had a great time. Then I had to make the dreaded grocery store trip to Panama. Tomorrow we have a playdate and I am planning on six kids ages 7 and under making their own pizzas. Is it sleep deprivation? Did I get hit in the head with the pinata pipe? I don't know. I'm pretty sure I'm just crazy. Wednesday, I have an interview for the dance teacher job! I am equally excited and terrified. I will be teaching the studio owner's two daughters in a mock class and I am also supposed to take a written lesson plan for a 3-5 year old class. Do you think "Let them run in around the room and spin in circles until they pass out" will work? Yeah, I didn't think so....Josh is running his Dad's bread route Friday and Saturday. He's going tomorrow to help and learn the route. So, he's in bed with an estimated wake-up time of 2:00 am. Wow, this brings back memories!

I promise I'm about to wrap up this excessively long, detailed update , but first I have to tell you the most exciting news! Baby Watch 2010 is officially underway! My sister could go into labor any day! Or if she had it her way, any minute!! I have to admit I'm a little on edge. I usually don't answer my phone if we're eating, but tonight during supper my phone rang and I literally JUMPED out of my chair and over the table saying "WHAT IF IT'S JENNY?" I then answered with "ARE YOU IN LABOR????"  She wasn't. But the night is still young...... :)

You Taught Me

Mama, I tried to find a poem that would be appropriate for this day, but I ended up laughing out loud just reading the titles. Here are a few I found:

• "I Know How Difficult I've Made Your Life"
• "I Know Sometimes We Argue"
• "Love Has Never Been About the Genes"
• "Even Though We Just Recently Met"
• "Dear Mother, Please Don't Take Away My Baby"

Seriously, for real, those are titles to poems I found when I googled "poems for mothers". None of those just seemed to capture what I wanted to say. :) I thought I would just attempt my own. Perhaps I'll call it "Mama's, Don't Let Your Daughter Grow Up to be Poets"?????

****************************************************
You taught me how to walk and to talk,
You taught me how to draw on the sidewalk with chalk.

You taught me the importance of hairbows,
and to color coordinate my family's clothes.

You taught me how to sit like a lady,
to chew with my mouth closed and not act shady. :)

You taught me to listen and carefully choose my words,
to think about others and what might be overheard.

You taught me to say thank you, ma'am and please,
to smile for the camera and always say, "Cheese!"

You taught me to alway do my best,
to give my all and never settle for less.

You taught me to appreciate my roots, but gave me wings,
You taught me to want nothing as much as being a Mama and all that it brings!!

************************************************************

I love you Mama and am very thankful for all that you taught me. The older I get the more I realize that not all kids grow up with Mamas who teach them manners, encourage their dreams, share their love, and forgive their mistakes. I was one of the blessed ones. Happy Mothers' Day!!!

This Post is Brought To You By the Number 5

Little man, my favorite number has always been 5. When I played ball that was my number. When I had to pick a number 1-10 that was my number. And thanks to you, I have another reason to love the number 5. On 5/5/05 our family welcomed you into the world and today, you are 5!!!!!!

I always knew I was going to have an Eli. Don't ask me how, I just knew. And you have been everything I expected from a little boy. Fun, energetic, messy, sweaty, smart, busy and FUNNY!!! I never knew a little kid could be so witty, but you are! You are a mix of rough and tumble and sweet and sensitive. You are curious and attentive. You are definitely a little boy now and not a baby. But you still make my day when you wrap your skinny little arm around me and squeeze tight! :) You are just what this estrogen filled house needs and you rescue your Daddy from a complete takeover of hair products and nail polish.

Top 5 Things I Love About Eli:

1. Your infectious smile!
2. That 98% of your wardrobe is all the same color, but without fail you will dress yourself in the two most clashing pieces of clothes you own. :)
3. Your sweetness.
4. Your artistic abilities. You draw the coolest pictures and I LOVE the way you write your  name.

5. Your snuggliness. You are some kinda cuddly!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY BOY!!!!

A Road Trip Down Memory Lane

I originally posted this in May of 2008 and titled it "If Life Is A Highway I Could Sure Use a Pit Stop".  I was thinking about this experience today and realized it was exactly 2 years ago. Thought I would share it again. :)

Sarah often asks me when my summer break starts. I have to tell you that lately I would settle for a 5 minute break! In April I had such an awesome month. It was so uneventful and peaceful. I even had time to read 3 books! I guess I should have realized that it was just the calm before the storm.
I started out the month with a trip to the ER. I had gone to the Dr. and found out that I had a bladder infection, but later that night I was hurting so bad and I knew there was something else going on. I googled my symptoms (of course) and everything I read made it sound like I had appendicitis, so we headed to the ER. Turns out I had a cyst on my ovary and the only thing they could do was give me pain medication which would have been great if I could just sleep for days, but that is not an option.


The next day I went in to work and did half of the paperwork I needed to. I promise I have to sit in the parking lot in my car to do my paperwork because of the drama in the office or the insanity at my house. Oh well. I then went to an eye dr. appointment. Yes, I managed to see the dentist, family doctor, er doctor, and the eye doctor in the first 3 days of the month. Leave it to me. Anyway, I had lost one of my contacts a few weeks back and I was just now getting to the eye doctor. Yes, that means I had been with one contact for quite awhile. One of my patients calls me "His lady with the one eye". When I got ready to leave the guy told me that he didn't have the prescription I needed and that he would have to order them. I explained my situation and he got me one and said "Here, this should be close enough." Great, I don't know what is worse, only having one contact or having one that isn't even the right prescription! It didn't matter because they had dilated my eyes and I couldn't see anything anyway! I hadn't thought about that and I was by myself. I drove to Wal-Mart because I had to get Eli's birthday cake. Man I felt sick! Between my antibiotic for the bladder infection, the nausea from the cyst, the hangover from the Loritab, the dilated eyes and the wrong contact prescription I was one dizzy puppy!!! I was trying to look at stuff and the closer I would hold it the blurrier it would be. I'm sure that I was quite a sight. Somehow I managed to make it home. I had no idea what the weekend would hold....
We got up the next morning and had cake and ice cream and Eli opened presents. We had gotten the news the night before that my great-grandma who had been suffering from Alzheimer's had passed away. We decided to go ahead and take the kids to the zoo in Jackson like we had planned and then head to the funeral home from there. We had a good time at the zoo and headed out. We stopped at a Backyard Burgers for lunch and that turned into a fateful stop. We were just going through the drive-thru but Sarah had to go to the bathroom. When I opened my door the jeep was making an awful sound. Josh decided to park it and let it cool down so we went inside to eat. He called and found out where the closest auto parts store was and we headed that way. We only made it about half a mile and Josh got worried and turned back around. We stopped on the side of the road across from Backyard Burgers. Josh called a tow truck to take him to the car parts store and called a taxi for me and the kids.

The kids and I headed back in the restaurant so they could play in the play area but they had strict orders that when I said it was time to go we had to run to catch the taxi. It was very nerve wracking watching Josh leave as I had no idea where I was or where he was going. Finally the taxi came and the kids and I started running like crazy getting their shoes and running across the restaurant. By the time we got outside he was gone! So, we ran back through the restaurant to the other side. Fortunately he had just driven to that side. I was glad because that was the side the car seats were on. Yes, I had to load up two car seats and thankfully they sent a van. I have to admit that I was a little concerned when I saw our driver. I don't want to sound mean but you know what the serial killers always look like in movies? Well, that's who came to pick us up. He started talking on the radio and I was waiting for him to say "I have my latest victims, a crazy lady and 3 rugrats, 10-4, over". But he didn't, and he only had to take us about 2 minutes down the road. He turned out to be very nice and I tipped him well for the hassle of the car seats (and because I felt guilty I thought he was a serial killer). By the time we got there Josh had the hood of the jeep propped up with my tennis racket and he was finishing up whatever it was he was doing. We loaded up the car seats again and headed down the road. Again, we made it about 3 minutes down the road and had to pull over. It was something worse than Josh had thought. We finally ended up calling a tow truck to take Josh and the jeep back to Montrose (about 90 miles) and I had to call my dad who had just gotten to Brookhaven for the funeral to come get me and the kids. I'm sure he thought his days of picking me up from the side of the road with broke down cars was over, but it wasn't and now I come with 3 kids, 2 car seats, a stroller and some Wal-Mart bags. We went to Brookhaven to the funeral home to get the key to my mamaw's house. Then, I had to go to Wal-Mart to get baby food, toothbrushes, pajamas, and stuff like that as I had not planned on spending the night away from home.


The next day was the funeral and Kate decided she wanted to blow bubbles the entire time and do it VERY loudly. I finally had to take her out and sit out on the front porch with another mom who had exiled herself from the service. Josh was coming to pick us up after he was done preaching Sunday morning. He was supposed to meet us at the church where the family was eating. Of course, leave it to me I told him the wrong church and after my dad took us to meet him we had to go find the other church because Sarah was there with my aunt. When we finally found the church and said our goodbyes we were running really late as Josh had to get back to preach that night. It didn't matter. We got totally lost and Josh ended up calling someone at church to tell them they'd have to cancel service because we were lost in the woods and would never make it back in time. Praise Jesus I got to stay home from work Monday because my jeep was still messed up and Josh had to take the Nissan (the car we've been borrowing since his motor is blown up) to school.


Well, we recovered from that weekend and began planning for the next weekend as my parents, Josh's mom, sister and grandma were all coming for Sarah's kindergarten graduation. Friday night I was busy fixing potato salad and a pound cake for the fire dept.'s fund raiser on Saturday when I realized I had dill pickles instead of sweet pickles. So, me and Sarah packed up and headed to Bay Springs for some pickles. We did our shopping and when we got in the jeep (it got fixed, thankfully)I called Josh to see what he wanted from Sonic. Well, I guess while I was talking to him I put the jeep in reverse. Then, I saw a garbage can in front of the store and decided to throw some trash away. Guess what I did. I got out and when I did my jeep started rolling away!!!!!!!! With Sarah in it!!!!!!!!!! I had no idea what to do. I thought about trying to jump in and hit the brake but then I was afraid that I would trip and the jeep would run me over. So, I just held on to the door and walked with it screaming at the top of my lungs. Again, I'm sure I was quite a sight. Finally it hit another car. It didn't do much to the jeep but it busted the other cars lights. I felt bad for the girl who by the way had just checked us out in the store, but I was kind of relieved that it had stopped the jeep before it could roll out into the street. It didn't phase Sarah. She jumped out and was checking stuff out. The police officer came and at first I thought he was going to be a jerk. I didn't have my proof of insurance because Josh had taken it out the previous weekend during that event. So, I got a ticket for that. My tag has also been expired since October due to a clerical thing that we have no control over. I got a ticket for that too. As I tried to explain the situation the cop was trying to hide his grin. I know he was thinking, 'This lady is loony as a toon!' Oh well, I was absolutely humiliated. I guess he could tell I was a little stressed out because he ended up being very nice. I'm just glad that no bad words slipped during the chasing the jeep time. I could just see the headline in the Jasper County News. "PREACHER'S WIFE CUSSES LIKE A SAILOR AS SHE CHASES HER CAR THROUGH THE PARKING LOT OF THE PIGGLY WIGGLY!!!" After all was said and done I was just glad I had gotten my new contacts. Next thing you know I'd be getting a ticket for wearing the wrong contacts!!! :)

If life is a highway, I could sure use a pit stop...........

Let's Play!

Lori at The Foremans tagged me and I decided to play along. I would love to hear some of your answers to these questions too!

Three names I go by:


1. Emily

2. Mrs. Preacher

3. Mama


The jobs I have had:



1. legal assistant (me too Lori!!!)

2. hostess at Ruby Tuesday (my very first job) and the Treasure Ship.

3. social worker (me too again Lori!!!! :)



Three places I have lived:



1. Petal, Ms.

2. Jacksonville, Fl.

3. Panama City, Fl.



Three fave drinks:



1. Diet Coke

2. Diet Dr. Pepper

3. Smart Water (I promise it tastes better than any other water!)



Three TV shows I watch:



1. What Not To Wear (Someone PLEASE nominate me!!!!)

2. Drop Dead Diva

3. Castle (I would be looking forward to watching it tonight, but Josh has found a new show called "Southern Fried Sting" that I will be forced to watch instead. It's the country version of COPS. It makes us feel classy.)



Three places I have been:



1. Miami

2. Omaha, Nebraska

3. Kingman, Kansas (Bet nobody else has been there. :)



Three places I would like to visit:



1. Ireland

2. Greece

3. Australia



Three fave retro TV shows:



1. Designing Women

2. Golden Girls

3. Murder She Wrote



Three fave dishes:



1. Chicken Quesadillas

2. Sour Cream and Chive Fries (does that count as a dish???)

3. Broccoli and Cheese



Three things I am looking forward to:



1. My new niece's arrival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. Eli's birthday party this weekend

3. A date night with my hubby Friday night. The WHOLE night!!!!



Three bloggy friends I am tagging:


1. Amber @ The Journey of A Mother's Heart

2. Melody @ Life is a Bowl of Wedgies

3. Cindi @ Musings From a Minister's Wife

Weekend Forecast: Cloudy and Humid With a Chance of a Full Moon

Well y'all, I hope the crazy weather this weekend didn't mess up anybody's plans. You can pretty much blame me and Josh. I got my hair cut and he washed his car on Friday so that just guaranteed 100% chance of rain. Does that happen to anybody else? I was having the best hair day ever and then BAM! Humidity=450%. We went to Panama to do some shopping and luckily I was able to just tuck all 3 of my kids right up in my frizz ball to protect them from the rain. It was bad y'all.

Saturday morning was hoppin'. We had a kid's day at our park (don't you love that I've lived here less than two months and I'm already claiming parks?) in our neighborhood for the kid's at church. Josh had put a lot of work into planning it and I am just thrilled with how it turned out. We had a great group of kids and I was really excited with the adults from our church who showed up just to support it. It was the first time to really interact with our new church family outside of church and I so enjoyed swinging with one of our young moms while the kids played in the sand and joking with some Gator fans (yes, we show Christian love even to Gator fans). My favorite part of ministry is getting to know people for real and doing life (as Audra and Bran would say) with them. This was right up my alley. Anyway, I was worried we were going to get rained out but the rain stayed away and it was overcast enough to feel cool and breezy. With the exception of the insane wind that was not helping my hair situation, it was perfect!

The kids had fun playing games like the egg toss. Sarah ended up with a little egg in her hair which reminded me of a beauty secret I learned from Sassy Magazine (did anybody else read that?) in middle school. Conditioner made of eggs and mayo. Oh yeah! And I wondered why the boys didn't like me?????

Josh taught the kids about David and Goliath and brought a 15 pound cement block for them to throw to get an idea of what the tip of Goliath's spear weighed. I was impressed, we've got some strong kids! He also brought a ladder to let them climb and see how tall Goliath was. My favorite part of the day was when Josh asked the kids if they would've been scared to fight Goliath and Eli's new little friend, Luke, answered, "I wouldn't, I have karate skills." I'm tellin' ya, there is nothing like the confidence of a four year old boy!

We are not suspicious people (praise God because we've broken 945 mirrors in the last few years), but just in case......we feel it is safe to stand under a ladder IF you hold a Bible on your head. :)

The day was a big success, and as soon as we left the park it was time to book it home to get ready for a wedding. Josh's cousin got married that afternoon and by the time we got all of the food and stuff back to the church and unloaded we were pushing it trying to get everybody ready. Okay. Trying to get me ready. Dolly Parton says, "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap" and I say, "It takes a lot of time for me to even look halfway presentable to leave the house." I know, mine isn't as cute or catchy, but it's just the truth. Speaking the truth here, y'all. It was my first day to have to style my new hair and we were at the 450% humidity level and WHY THE HECK CAN'T I FIX MY HAIR LIKE THE HAIRSTYLIST????? Anyway, I hadn't bought the gift yet. I knew what I was getting so we just stopped by the store on the way and it would have been fine, but I asked them to gift wrap the present and for pete's sake, I could've wrapped our family Christmas presents for the next 3 years in the time it took her to wrap that present!!!!!!Oh well, I always pay for procrastination. ALWAYS!

Today has been slightly calmer. We joined the church this morning. About time, huh? It took us forever when we first went to Montrose because we just forgot. Same thing here. We've actually only had about 3 Sundays that we haven't had company on Sundays so we always had a million other things on our minds. We just forget we actually have to move our membership. Really. It seems like once they give you a house to live in it's pretty settled, right? :)

During service this morning Eli leaned down to pick up something and when he stood up his head was UNDER MY DRESS!!!!! I felt it start creeping up and quickly scared the mess out of him snatching my dress down. I am completely mortified at how close I came to "shining" in front of the congregation and NOT IN A GOOD WAY!!!!! I am happy to report that no where in this weekend's forecast did we experience a FULL MOON!!!!!!

Hug That Much Harder

April 28th would have marked the 18th birthday of my cousin, Cat. She was killed in a tragic accident at the age of 6. It seems completely unbelievable that so much time has passed. She would have graduated from high school this year and that fact is not lost on me. She died the summer before my senior year of high school. I still remember having the opportunity to lead my class in prayer at graduation and realizing as I stood on that platform that my senior year was a tremendous wake-up call to real life. At the time I felt like I  slammed head first into the ugly world of adulthood. A world where six year olds die. A world where heartache played out in courtrooms and news stories. Now I can look back and see that year more as a time of unwrapping a priceless gift. The gift of life.

The last few days I have just felt such an urgency to share with you that life is short and it is precious. I learned that at the age of 17. By the time I had my first baby I knew that I wasn't guaranteed the first day of kindergarten, middle school dances or high school graduation. Life is a gift and our days are borrowed. I've never been one for drama, but lately it almost pushes me over the edge. Sometimes when I hear arguing, conflict and complaining about silly things that will mean nothing in the long run I almost can't stop myself from screaming "STOP! Don't waste your breath or your days on this silly stuff!" It's not worth it y'all. I guess this year I had an extra reminder when I lost my Dad who was only 55. I will never forget standing by his casket and having someone tell me "It's too young. It's just too young."

I am as guilty as anyone else of not using my time as wisely as I should or not loving on people the way I should. I know how tempting it is to wait until tomorrow. Unfortunately I also know that sometimes we don't have that tomorrow. Tonight I went searching for an old e-mail and found myself pouring through messages from my Dad. When I found this one I knew I needed to share it. It's from May 3, 2007. It was so sweet to read this and have my Daddy tell me what I needed to hear as my heart has been seeking to embrace this gift we call life.


YOU SAID IT ALL , I LOVE THOSE PICTURES OF

THE KIDS, MAN I WANT TO HUG THEM AND YALL

LIKE YOU CANT BELIEVE. I MAILED A SUPRISE

TO ELI THIS MORNING FOR HIS BIRTHDAY, NANNA

PICKED IT OUT AND I GOT IT TO THE POST OFFICE!

ENJOY THE KIDS NOW LIFE FLYS BY IN A HURRY

THE MORE THEY AGGRAVATE YOU HUG JUST

THAT MUCH HARDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YALL HAVE FUN AT THE ZOO AND GIVE ELI

A BIG HUG FOR ME ON HIS BIRTHDAY, HUG

SARAH TOO.

EMILY, PLEASE BE SAFE ON THOSE RURAL ROADS,

YOU AND JOSH BOTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lOVE

DAD