perspective

It's been a long week.

Between football practices, games, parent/teacher conferences, and church activities, I think Chad has only gotten to see the kids for about 30 minutes on Monday night and in the car to and from church Wednesday night.  So of course, he's wiped out.  And when he's gone so much, that means I'm wiped out.

I was so looking forward to Friday night.  My parents were going to come up and spend the night.  And after football practice, Chad would be home and we could unwind together and put off our stressors for a few more days.  I needed Friday night.

Then yesterday, Chad found out that he had to chaperone the school dance Friday night, which meant he would have to go straight there after practice and stay until 10.  Ugh for him.  Ugh for the family.  Double ugh.

At least my parents would be there so they could help with the kids.  So all was not lost.  Right?....

Then my mom called and sadly informed me that dad ended up having to work, so they wouldn't be able to come tonight after all.

*Sigh*

My heart sank.  I let the tears come and I cried like a baby.  I wanted to stomp my feet and slam doors.  I wanted to get on my blog and whine about how it sometimes feels like I'm a single mom.  I wanted to feel sorry for myself.  I wanted others to feel sorry for me.

And then God slapped me.

Not physically, of course.  I would be dead.  But He slapped me with the truth of what a big baby I was being.

The truth is... I'm not a single mom.  I can't even begin to imagine how hard that would be.

The truth is... my husband isn't currently deployed like several other dads I know.  I actually get to have my husband around on the weekends and sleep in the same bed as him.

The truth is... I have a wonderful, loving husband who is also an incredible father who hates not being able to see his kids as often as he'd like to this time of year.

The truth is... football season is almost over and then life can get back to normal.

So I stopped feeling sorry for myself and instead prayed for the moms I know whose husbands are deployed... or just not around.

And I realized how blessed I am.

And then I felt really stupid when I realized what a big baby I can be.

my handsome little man

If you're a facebook friend, you may have already seen these.  But if not, then I must share.  These are some of Tate's one year pictures taken by my friend, Sarah.  She's amazing.  Here's proof: (Oh, and if they appear grainy, it's because I just copied and pasted them from Sarah's facebook album.  But yes, I will have the originals so they'll look clear!)  :)

 Oh man, do I love this little guy!

I also love how these pictures were taken at our house, in his nursery and in his chair from my parents.  It just makes it so much more personal.  Thanks, Sarah!!

for my sadistic friends

Yes, you know who you are.
Those of you who openly admitted to laughing out loud at my birthday story, which involved painfully embarrassing public displays.

Well, after my trip to the doctor's office yesterday, I figured some of you with a tendency for sadism might enjoy hearing about my painful experience.  So, here you go (you sick, sick people):

Millie and Tate were a month overdue for their well-baby checkups.  So after picking Addie up from school, we headed over to the doctor's office for our 3:45 appointment.  After Addie got out of the car, she bent over to fix something on her shoe and as she stood up, I heard the sickening sound of skull striking metal.  Yes, she banged her head on the edge of the car door.  So, of course, and rightfully so, she burst out into a torrent of tears and sobs.  My heart broke for her, but I didn't know what to do - we had to get to our appointments. As I bent down to console her, Tate (whom I was holding) got a handful of her hair in his little hand and pulled.  That brought on more tears from big sister and then tears from Tate after mommy told him NO.

So, I entered the doctor's office with one girl crying uncontrollably from a big boo-boo on her head and a baby crying angrily at mama.  Millie was the only normal looking one among us.  Needless to say, we were quite a sight (especially since Addie had spilled ketchup on her white shirt and skirt at lunch so it looked like she had blood dripping all over).  I asked the receptionist for an ice-pack (which they had to hunt down)... apparently doctor's offices aren't emergency rooms and therefore aren't well-equipped with first aid supplies.  After 30 seconds of the ice pack (which had created such a fuss), Addie decided she was better so I had to sheepishly hand it back to the receptionist with an apologetic shrug.

Here we were, waiting happily in the play area of the waiting room (despite occasional screams from Millie accusing Tate of destroying her Lego creations) and right on time.  Things were going just fine.  For the first 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes of playing mostly peacefully, Tate decided he was bored and started hollering (have you heard this baby holler?  It's ridiculously loud... really) for mommy to hold him.  And of course, as soon as I would pick him up, he would wiggle out of my arms to sit at my feet and holler for me to pick him up again.  I know you ladies who watch him in the church nursery know what I'm talking about!  This went on for another 40 minutes.  Yes, we sat in the waiting room for an hour!  With many apologies from the receptionists of course... especially when they saw (and heard) my constant struggle with Tate.

Finally, an angel appeared the nurse came and called us back to get the standard weight and height checks and then led us into a tiny little room made to hold 2 adults and 1 child.  However, we were somehow going to squeeze 3-4 adults and 3 children in there. (The doctor had an intern with her and the nurse was in and out quite often.)  I think I may have heard about 1/4 of what the doctor was telling me since Tate was either hollering in my ear most of the time or I was trying to keep him from tearing up the paper books. (Seriously, why are there paper books in a pediatric check-up room?)  Then he discovered the doctor's tools hanging on the wall and started pulling all of those down.  Fabulous. I'm pretty sure the intern decided right then and there that she would never have children.

So... after enduring the check-up parts of the kids' appointments (which, I must say, Tate was awfully cute when we laid him on the table, giggling uncontrollably every time the doctor touched him), Millie suddenly burst out in a shaky little voice, "Mommy, I'm peeing!!"  And yup, she sure was. Pee was streaming out from under her skirt and splashing all over the berber carpet.  But you can't really blame her - by this point, we'd been at the doctor's office for nearly 2 hours!  Thankfully, the doctor (who is definitely a saint), assured me it was no problem and she even took Tate for me and walked him around so I could help Millie get cleaned up.  And, unlike the last time this happened (check the link at the top of this post), we actually had a change of clothes with us.  Phew.  Mishap taken care of.  Little girl all dry.

The appointment ended with their shots - which Millie endured with barely a flinch and no tears at all!  And Tate... well, the poor baby didn't know what was coming, so of course he was pretty upset.  I didn't even bother putting his pants back on since he was such a wreck.

By the time we left the office, it was 6:00!  That's right.  We were there for 2 hours and 15 minutes!  Needless to say, we were by far the last ones in the office besides the receptionist (who was probably cursing us under her breath).  By the time we got home, the chicken soup I had in the crockpot for dinner was overdone and we had chewy chicken soup for dinner.  Super.

But you know, even after an appointment like this, I left feeling very blessed, knowing that all 3 of our children are healthy.  I know sick children that have to endure much longer appointments and even stays in the hospital.  So, trust me... I'm not complaining.  Just sharing a little of my Thursday afternoon excitement.  ;)

movin' on up

After seeing this picture in one of my recent blogs:

I decided it was time to get Tate a bigger kennel.

Oh yeah, and Odie's pretty happy about it too.

baby, baby, free stuff, more baby

NO, this is not a baby announcement.  It's just a simple fact I've noticed (and I'm sure you have too) all the pregos out there right now.  Seriously.  I know there's always certain times of year when a lot of people are pregnant, but right now it's just CRAZY!  WHAT were you people DOING last winter?!  ;)  Even in the just my little group of blog friends (and yes, most of these are real life friends too), I know of Amy and Jenn and Jenny and Lenae and Marissa and another friend who I'm not sure if I'm supposed to put it on here or not...  And then in real life they're EVERYWHERE!  Have you noticed it?

Well, if you are one of these beautiful pregnant ladies and you like free stuff, or if you need to shop for one of these mamas soon, or if you've been a mom for awhile and just want to feel hip with a new bag, then you need to check out this giveaway from NewbornSerenity.com.

Are these diaper bags not the cutest?  I couldn't even tell they were diaper bags!  So chic.  And you could win one for FREE!

They have tons of beautiful baby stuff and the best part is that the owner of this online boutique is a mother of 3 (so she definitely knows her baby stuff!) and is a sweet, wonderful lady and a terrific mom.  Trust me - I've seen her in action!  ;)  Now wouldn't you like to give your business to someone like that?  So, please check out her site and enter that giveaway!

And if you'd like to make a baby announcement on here, I'm always up for that too.  ;)

{stuck} in the middle

Last week Tate got his one year pictures taken by this awesome photographer.  (I can't wait to see how they turned out!!)

Then Friday was picture day at school for Adeline.

So Thursday night, when we were laying out Addie's picture clothes, Millie said in a quiet, sad little voice, "Mommy, when do I get to have my pictures taken?"

It nearly broke my heart.  You see, I always felt guilty making Millie a middle child.

Don't get me wrong - we wanted Tate very badly.  We always wanted to have three kids.  But I knew that by doing so, Millie would get stuck in the middle, and I just felt bad about that.

However, Chad was a middle child and he said it didn't really affect him.  So that did ease my guilt a little.  But Chad is also very easy going, so he handled that role really well.

But here we were, in one of these situations where being the middle child had caught up with her.  The baby was getting his necessary one-year pictures and the oldest was getting her first school pictures.  And since Millie just got her pictures taken in the spring, she wasn't really due for pictures again yet.

So Friday morning, we got Addie all dressed and ready for her pictures.  And then we got Millie all dressed up for her pictures (to be taken by mommy during Tate's morning nap, of course).

Totally unprofessional, but totally fun.

So, in the end, Millie did get her pictures taken after all.

And everyone was happy.

winner announcement by a special guest!

So I know you guys have been waiting anxiously all weekend for this drawing.  Each time you've dug through your purse, unable to locate that much needed lipstick or car keys or ringing cell phone, you've thought,

"Gee, my life would sure be easier with one of those Kangaroo Keepers.  I sure hope I win that drawing!"

I only wish I could give one to every single one of you.  You all need it.  I can hear it in your comments, in your desperate pleas for me to "pick" you (although I'm not really "picking," it's completely random).  I know how you feel.  I, too, was in your condition just a few weeks ago.  But now I'm moving on with life, happily finding every single thing in my purse within seconds.  Even my tweezers.

The next time I'm at a baby or wedding shower and they announce we're playing the "purse game," I will be SO ready.  Look out, ladies with over-stuffed, embarrassingly messy purses.  I've got this one in the bag.  (Yes, pun intended.)


Okay, okay.  I'll stop bragging and do the drawing already.

Yay!  Congrats you lucky winner you!  This gal is a sweetheart who loves organization, so I know she's gonna love it!  Plus, with baby #2 coming very soon, it'll come in real handy when doing serious purse-digging while holding baby!  And Amy, since I know who you are and I know where you live (yes, creepy, I know), I will drop it by on my next journey to Tar-jay, which will probably be today!  :)

Wasn't it fun seeing my gorgeous husband on video?  He's a good sport.  I only had to twist his arm a teeny bit.

Sad you didn't win?  Don't despair!  You can still order one from here for a good price, or I think I saw one in the Bed, Bath and Beyond flyer last week.  Either way, it's totally worth it.  Now go out and get one so I'll have some competition for that purse game!  :)