Car Wash

For the most part, I don't have time to think about what life was like before having kids. Then sometimes, reality sneaks in and smacks me right in the face with a memory of how different things have become! For instance...
Before kids...
Ah, what a beautiful day. I think I'll wash my cute little black sports car.
Motivation: Work on my tan while making my car look beautiful.
Preparation: Put on bikini top and cut off shorts. Grab a sponge and a bucket. Crank up the music and get to work.
The task: Spray car with water. Wash car with sponge. Rinse car.
The wrap up: Put away hose, wring out sponge, dump bucket.
Stand back and admire the results of all my hard work.

And now, with kids...
There's only an hour until lunch. That's not enough time to walk to the park. We might as well wash the ginormous, gas guzzling kid taxi.
Motivation: If I have to hear one more cartoon voice I will pull my hair out!! The sun is out. Let's go wash the car!
Preparation: Put on t-shirt and capris. (No more bikini tops and cut offs for this chick!) Get kids dressed. Drench them in sunscreen. Find enough sponges for me and both kids. Fill bucket with soapy water.
The task: Unravel the hose. (Not as easy as it sounds!) Watch Presley dump the bucket of soapy water out as I am walking over with the hose. Refill bucket with more soapy water. Spray car. Encourage the kiddos to help. (That lasts all of 1 minute.) Continue to scrub the car. Get drenched with the hose by Presley, then chase her across the yard trying to retrieve the hose. Rinse the car. Scold Luke for trying to pee on the dog. Pick Presley up out of the bucket of soapy water. Spray both kids until they cry to relieve some of my frustration. (Hey! I had to get the soapy water off and it's not like it hurts, it's water for crying out loud!) Trip over sponges that the kids abandon after 1 minute of "helping". Rinse off parts of the car that the kids thought needed more soap on them. Stop Luke from smacking the car with a stick.
The wrap up: Dump out bucket of soapy water. Wring out sponges. Roll up hose while the kids run into the house soaking wet and dirty. Shew the kids back out of the house with Capri-sun's in hand. (Hey, all that work made them very thirsty!) Pick up all of the toys that they brought out of the garage while I was washing the car. Search for the shoes that they took off two minutes after they walked outside. Grab the camera so that I can have a visual reminder of all of the fun we had! :)
Stand back and admire the car before noticing the dark rain clouds approaching. Make a note to add money in the budget for professional car wash so that I never have to do this again!
(Even though I sound bitter, I know that one day I'm going to miss this.)

Yes, there are more of us!

Life is so crazy busy that my extended family rarely gets a chance to get together. So I was really excited to get an invite to celebrate my cousin Brian's engagement. We were also celebrating the fact that he is now a lawyer. I'm still trying to decide if that is cause for celebration or not. :)
It ended up just being me and my girls going. Bry had spent most of Saturday night in the emergency room. (By the way, thank you Bubba for taking care of my hubby!) He has kidney stones again and they are really giving him problems this time. He also wanted to spend some time with just Luke. With him traveling so much they really needed some guy bonding time.
Anyway, it was really great seeing everyone. Thought I would show off some of my family that I don't usually get to show off. Maybe one day we'll be able to manage having the WHOLE family there! We may need to rent out a hotel our something if that ever happens! There are lots of us!!

Some of the girls.

A few of the guys.

Ella and Mamaw

It doesn't get any cuter than my sweet Seth.

Bay and her Bubbo.

Bay talked Grammy into playing on the swing set with her. Grumps and Presley

School Days

Bailey has had a lot of fun things going on at school lately. The year is starting to wrap up and it seems like there is something new and fun going on everyday. A little while ago she did a book report on Florence Nightingale. She was supposed to dress up like her subject. Bre helped her out with the outfit and some props. She looked so adorable!

Her next report was about rabbits. She had to make a diorama of a rabbit habitat. I think she did awesome!!

She finally received the poetry book that her poem was published in. She was so excited about that! Her poem, by the way, was about her Crazy Family!!

Today I went with her on a field trip. I drove her and 4 of her classmates to the Macon campus to watch the students perform the play Brigadoon. If you've never been to a play at ECS you should really try to go. They do an amazing job!

This school year has flown by! I can't believe my baby will be out of the 3rd grade in a month! Time just goes to fast when you are a Mommy. I am so grateful that I am able to go to her field trips and spend so much time with her. I feel so blessed to be able to do these things with her! I hope that I am able to be there for Luke and Presley like I have been for her so far. Of course, they will be in school at the same time so I will probably be wearing a path in the hallways running from one class party to the other!

Mermaids Swim....Right??

Bryan and I were sitting down for the first time today, watching America's Funniest Videos. We were laughing at all of the parents who's kids were making fools of them in one way or another. Then we hear Luke scream "Oh my gosh! Look what she did!" Then we hear the toilet lid slam shut and Presley goes running through the living room with a Mermaid Barbie. We just looked at each other like "Oh crap!" .We walked into the bathroom and of course the walls are soaked, as well as the floor and any other surface in the room. Apparently, after Mermaid Barbie swims she likes to shake dry like a dog. Bry called Presley into the room and she gives him the puppy dog eyes and says "Sowwy Daddy". This is one of those times that we just had to laugh. I mean, mermaids are suppose to swim right? What else would she do with Mermaid Barbie?

I don't know if you can see it very well in this picture, but the walls are covered in water. You gotta love Bry's expression. He wears this face a lot. Aaah toddlers.
Look at those eyes. She has got that face down pat. The girl is good. And she has her Daddy wrapped around her little finger!!

Egg hunts, Family fun & a broken toe!

I must be crazy because once again I decided that my house would be a great place for everyone to come for Easter. On Saturday, the whole fam came over for dinner and to hunt some eggs. Before the hunt, we decided to do the Resurrection Eggs. We wanted to remind the kiddos that even though we like to do fun stuff at Easter, that it's really a time to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. I let them each pick an egg and when I called their color, they opened their egg and showed everyone what was inside. Each egg contains something that symbolizes a part of Jesus' last days and his resurrection. I actually think the kids really enjoyed it and I was amazed at how much they understood!

After that, we let them loose in the front yard to search for the eggs. We did that a little different this year too. Instead of individual baskets we just put 2 big buckets out there and they gathered the eggs and threw them in the buckets. Instead of putting candy in the eggs, they got a goody bag with a bunch of candy after dinner. That way, it was less of a competition and more fun. Also, it kept them from eating a ton of candy before dinner.

We had so much fun. The food was yummy. The kids all had a blast egg hunting, playing baseball with the Dad's, hunting for bugs...just being kids. I had fun watching everyone else having fun.

I can't go without mentioning that I think I broke my toe. Sometimes when my sister is around I forget how old I am. She started chasing me around the house with some ear cheese that she had dug out of Carson's ear. Yes, I said ear cheese. I almost threw up in my mouth just now from thinking about it. Anyway, she was chasing me and I slipped and ran into the door frame, bruised my leg and hurt two of my toes. I had to wear flip-flops to church this morning with my pretty Easter dress. Sisters! What are you gonna do?

This is the kids coming out to hunt. I love how excited they all look!

Luke didn't have enough hands for all the eggs he found!

The more realistic family photo!

Sweet Ella. Give us time, we'll make her crazy too!

Aussie searching for eggs.My beautiful Bay"Sefer"! I could just squish him! Chicks dig the hair!
I'll be nice and not tell you why Mom is so opposed to having Bre's hands in her face. I'll just tell you that they didn't smell very nice! I love Bre's expression. I had to add this one. The kids were all dressed up in their Easter best and Bry took them out for a picture. It was so cold outside that they said that it hurt to smile! Poor babies!

Target...not just for shopping!

Being able to have a date with my hubby is a rare treat. Normally, when we do get a chance to go out alone, we go to dinner and a movie. I love to do both, but here's the problem...we rarely get a chance to talk without constant interruptions. So I hate to spend the majority of our "date night" in a movie theater, with 100 other people. Not only is it not romantic, but there is no chance for conversation.

On Wednesday, we were able to go out alone, thanks to my Mom. Before we left the house, I noticed that Bry had printed out the movie times so that we could choose what we would watch. I started trying to think of something else for us to do. I looked over and noticed the movies that we had rented the night before, sitting on the counter. Do to our crazy schedules, we hadn't had the chance to watch them yet. I had a bright idea. :) I asked Bry to bring the movie and his laptop.

After a nice, QUIET dinner and a little shopping we pulled into the Target parking lot. We went inside and bought a large popcorn and coke and returned to our car. After moving the car seats to the very back of the car, we cracked the windows and settled into the backseat. Bry set up his laptop and we sat there (in the Target parking lot) eating our yummy popcorn and watching our movie. It was so nice outside and we had parked far enough away from the store that we weren't disturbed by people going in and out. Although, I was enjoying the movie and my hubby's company so much that the few times that a car door would slam beside us, it would scare me to death! Not only was it nice to be alone, but we were also able to talk to each other during the movie without getting dirty looks from other movie goers. (However, I think we did get a few looks from people who saw two grown adults climb out of the back of an SUV together.)

Now, I know that to some of you this may sound crazy. But I also know that those of you with multiple children and few babysitting options are thinking "Hey, that's not a bad idea!" And if your not thinking that, then you just aren't desperate enough yet.

By the way, the movie we watched was 7 pounds with Will Smith. I highly recommend it. Great movie, but keep the Kleenex box handy.

Anyway, I left my camera at home so I was only able to get a few pics of our "Target drive-in" experience with Bry's phone. Don't laugh at us too much. If you aren't desperate enough for a little quiet time with your spouse yet, you may be soon enough. And I bet when you are, you'll remember this and find yourself searching the aisles of Blockbuster and heading to your nearest Target parking lot. Don't forget the popcorn and Coke!

Happy Birthday Grumpsie!!

On Saturday we surprised D with a party at Fox Ridge Pizza. His actual birthday is (appropriately) April Fools Day. Mom reserved the back room for us which works out really well because it can get a little rowdy when we get all the kids together. Did I say a little rowdy? Maybe that is a bit of an understatement.

Anyway, a little about good old D. I have know D for as long as I can remember. He has always been the goofiest, craziest person I know. And that is saying something because I know some goofy folks. :) He always has this grouchy look on his face and tries to act like he is in a constant bad mood. Hence the name "Grumps", or as a few of them like to call him, "Grumpsie". What's funny though is that his grandkids ADORE him! He doesn't scare them at all. In fact, they love to smother him with kisses and hugs. Affection has not always been a strong suit for D. He tries to act like this tough old man, but you can tell that these little munchkins have melted his heart. His step-kids love to abuse him. For instance, on one family trip he woke up with a huge L on his forehead written in permanent marker. He never gets upset though. He just grumbles about how he wishes we would all go home and then goes out for a smoke. He doesn't have to say it, we know he loves us. hehe. I guess we kinda like him too.

I think he was really surprised with the party. We all had lots of fun! Happy Birthday D!!

Grumps blowing out the candles on his favorite cake. He basically likes chocolate icing with a few crumbs of cake thrown in. :)

Ella and Grumpsie

We found the little ones playing under the table. They were having so much fun together!