Just Us Girls

The boys are at Summer Xtreme this week, so I'm spending lots of time with Violet.  We're having a great time together!  She did get very upset yesterday and today when we dropped her brothers off at church, but after that, it's smooth sailing.  

Yesterday, we spent an hour at the YMCA, went to the chiropractor, had lunch with my mom, visited a friend who has a new baby, shopped, had dinner with Chris and the boys, and then came home and crashed.  That was a busy day!

Today was a little more low-key.  We started out at the YMCA again.  Then, we had plans to meet up with some friends at the spray ground.  

The spray ground was closed for repairs. Violet took the news rather hard.

We did play with our friends on the playground, though.  It was a nice day.  Not too hot!

This is Violet and her "best friend" Natalee.  Natalee's grandma and I have decided that they're going to be friends, no matter what. Ha!  They were born just a few months apart and have spent lots and lots of time together at church.  They get along really well most of the time.

My friend Elia brought her girls, too.  

Here's the best picture I could get of the "big girls", Natalee, Halle, and Violet.  I didn't get a picture of baby Bethany. 

We left the park and had lunch at Subway.  The girls made such a mess and things got a little crazy there at the end of our meal.  I think we were all in desperate need of a nap.  Violet came home and crashed.  She slept for three hours!

During all this time, the boys were having a blast at Summer Xtreme.  They went to Frances Meadows today.  I have absolutely no pictures of Jordan, but my friend Monica took this shot of Shaun on the diving board.

I saw this picture of Chris on Kidpak's Facebook page and had to share it.  

Violet and I picked the boys up and hurried back home because Jordan had football conditioning at 7:00.  This is voluntary.  I tried, extremely hard, to talk him out of just skipping this week but he wouldn't hear of it.  

Of course, Violet had to get in on the action.  Jordan worked really hard tonight.  He's improved so much since last season.

Finally it was home, dinner, baths, and now all of the kids are sleeping.  

Tomorrow's another busy day!

Freaky Friday

It's Sunday night, and I'm still recovering from Friday.  

It was supposed to be such an easy, fun day. 

We picked Chris up from work, grabbed lunch, and took the kids swimming at the YMCA for a little while.  

Last year, Violet loved the water.  This year- not so much.  

Frankly, it all started with her swimsuit.  She picked out her own swimsuit this year.  She insisted on "The Little Mermaid".  I really created a monster when I checked that DVD out from the library for her.  Really, I wanted to see it again, for old time's sake. My plan backfired.  Vi is obsessed with it.  It was cute, not it's kind of annoying.  

Last week, in anticipation of the first swimming trip of the summer, we bought new swimsuits for the kids.  I, now and always, really dislike "character" clothes.  I know, I know.  It's weird, but I just think they're kind of tacky.  I held out several cute swimsuits for Violet to choose from, but she had eyes only for The Little Mermaid suit.  The only suit I really didn't want her to even see!  I guess her love for Ariel surpasses my dislike for character wear.

So, on Friday, we went to the pool.  As I was changing her clothes in the locker room, Violet was oh so excited to get into her Ariel swimsuit.  

She sashayed around, pointing to her stomach and saying, "See?  See A-reee-ul?"  It was cute.  

But then, THEN, she had to put her lifejacket on and, GASP, cover Ariel up.  And no, Violet did not like that.  At all.

She cried and cried.  Finally, she got over herself, but she never really had fun in the water.  Mostly she was content to walk around the pool.  She did go down the huge water slide all by herself.  I watched in horror from the edge of the pool as she climbed up, up, up the stairs, murmuring to my friends, "She's going to get scared.  She won't go all the way up".  But she did, with Shaun right behind her but not coaxing her at all.  

And then she was at the top and I said, "Surely she'll be too scared to go down".  But she wasn't.  I still can't believe the lifeguard let her slide.  But he did.  She came shooting down the slide into her daddy's arms.  So brave.  And, then, SO over the water.  

We stayed a few more minutes and, when it was time to take off the lifejacket so we could change, she started screaming again.  Because, of course,  now she wanted to swim.  

We left, and things were calm for a few hours. The kids and I ran some errands and then stopped at Granny's so Jordan could check his tomato plants.  He's trying his hand at gardening this year, with Granny's help.

These pictures are so precious.  My kids, following Granny out to the garden.

Jord showing off his tomatoes.  

This one is my favorite.  I love the way Violet's looking up and talking to Granny about gardening.  I'm glad we have Granny, because my kids certainly won't learn any gardening skills from me! 

We went home for dinner a little bit later.  As we pulled into the yard, I told the boys to start getting all of their toys, shoes, clothes, etc out of the car.  I got Violet of of her carseat and was so surprised to see my boys disobeying me.  The were messing around on Shaun's bike instead of cleaning out the car the way I'd asked them to.  

To make a long story short, Jordan hurt his ankle.  I tried to downplay it, but he was crying and he couldn't walk.  The ankle was a little swollen and I sent a picture of it to my dad, who thought we should have it x-rayed.  So we did.  

Shaun and Violet went back to Granny's and Jordan and I went to the hospital.  I really was so mad and frustrated about the whole situation.  The boys have been struggling with obedience lately and the fact of the matter is that they were disobeying me when the accident happened.  

Both boys were very remorseful and I think they learned a lesson.  During the drive to the hospital all I head was tearful cries of, "Oh, I won't even be able to go to Summer Xtreme if my foot is broken.  And what about football?  What if I can't play football??"

I tried to bite back snappy replies, but really, didn't succeed very well.  At the hospital, the nurse asked Jordan how bad his pain was, on a scale of 1 to 10.  Jordan's answer?  A 20.  I shot the nurse a look that said I really didn't think he was in THAT much pain.  And I was right.  She ordered an x-ray.  Jordan was pretty nervous while he waited.

An hour later, the x-ray confirmed that we were only dealing with a sprain.  Thank God!
We left with an ace bandage, a popsicle, and questions from Jordan regarding wether or not people could sign his ace bandage.  Ha!

Yesterday, he was all but healed and today he's just fine.  

Just in time for Summer Xtreme!

And I Had a Bad Day

Ugh.  Today was bad.  Crappy.  The worst. 

In an attempt to have a better day tomorrow, I'm going to really make a big deal of today's terribleness here on my blog. Then, tomorrow, when things are peachy again, maybe today won't seem so bad.  

Today really started last night when I couldn't sleep.  Chris worked late and I wasn't in the best mood.  Okay, I was mean.  Grouchy.  And tired.  I woke up early this morning when I wanted to sleep in a little.  Chris needed Jordan to be in a video at work today, so I made breakfast for everyone before they left.  I had tons of leftovers because Chris and Jordan left without breakfast.  

Five minutes after they left, Shaun and I had a fight.  A teenager vs mom fight over disrespectfulness.  I never, ever thought I would have these kinds of arguments.  I'm supposed to be the cool mom, don't you  know.  Way cooler than my parents ever were.  So cool that my offspring would never even have the desire to backtalk to me.  Well, I'm here to say that any parent who thinks they can be "friends" with their teenager is just crazy.  

The fight just set the tone for the whole day.  It was a tense day over here!  

Plus, I had a headache.  A really bad sinus headache.  All day long.  So much pressure around my eyes, forehead, and even on my neck.  My ears were clogged.  I was dizzy and tired from this headache and it just would not let up.  I had plans to get so much accomplished around the house today, and I just didn't get around to it.  Violet was fussy and clingy.  I was lucky to get the dishes washed.  What a waste of a day.  

We had an appointment at the chiropractor's office late this afternoon.  I made it late in the day so that Chris could come, too.  But he had to work late.  There was a miscommunication and Jordan ended up  not making it to the appointment either.  Shaun, Violet, and I went by ourselves.  

It was packed.  We had to wait an hour.  Shaun was fine, of course.  He had his Kindle.  Violet was okay for the first 30 minutes.  Thank goodness, the office is extremely kid friendly with lots for them to do, but after awhile, even the toys grow uninteresting.  All of the chairs were full, and Violet really wanted to sit in a chair.  So she fussed.  Lay down in the floor and whined.  I attempted to ignore her and actually quoted down.  A few minutes later I realized why...she'd found two sanitary napkins in  my purse and thought they were toys.  Now, I realize that I'm not in middle school anymore, but what girl wants a whole waiting room of strangers to know that it's her time of the month?

Not me.  And apparently not Shaun either, because he was mortified.  "Mo-o-o-mm," he hissed.  

Finally, finally, it was our turn.  Shaun was adjusted first.  Then Violet, who screamed and screeched and ran off to the Lego table the minute her turn was over.  The doctor asked me how my day was going and I replied, "Oh, good.  Good.  It's fine."

I think he saw right through me.  Ha!

I told him about my headache and hopped on the table.  The minute I got situated, Vi came back and started screaming, "Mom.  Mommy.  MOMMY!!"

The doctor just laughs and starts checking my neck.  "Oh.  Wow," he says.  

"Mom.  Mommmyyyyyyy.  Wah wah!" screams Violet.  

"What.  What?!?!"  said I.  

I wasn't sure who I was talking to, the doctor or the baby.  They both answered.  

The doctor starts trying to explain that I've got lots of pressure on some nerve that's causing sinus pressure.  Violet, miraculously, gets quiet.  When my adjustment is over, I get up and see that she's sitting on the floor, playing with the pads again.  Of course, they're in purple packaging.  Very noticeable.  Again, I know I'm 33 years old and things like this shouldn't really get to me.  But come on, I could've went all day without having Dr. A know that I was all weepy and emotional because I'm on my period.  

He just laughed.  I said, "Seriously, Vi?" and began trying to gather our things to finally, thank God, get out of there.  

While I was getting our bags together, Violet found a stuffed animal and began trying to give it an adjustment.  And she wouldn't let it go. The doctor had her in his arms twisting stuffed camels neck all around.  I was all sweaty from being so flustered, Violet was crying, Shaun looked like he wanted to crawl in a hole.  "Let's go get Daddy.  Mommy's struggling today."

And the doctor gave me a look as if maybe he understood.  Not personally, of course, but maybe his wife had days like mine.  He patted me on the back, and we left.  

When I read this back, my day didn't sound quite so bad.  It's the last week in May.  The Hubs is busy with Summer Xtreme stuff.  I get attacked at this time every single year. Spiritual stuff.  I've come to expect it.  Plus, as everyone in the office now knows, I'm a little hormonal.  

Today was just one of those days where I felt like I was swimming against the current.  Against everyone.  Not making any headway.  

Now, the house is quiet.  The kids are sleeping.  I can breathe a little easier.  My head even feels a bit better.  I can look back over all of the craziness that was today and even laugh a little.  

I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

It doesn't take much...

...to make me happy.

Contrary to my husband's belief.  Ha!

As you all know, I love to read.  LOVE it.  Always have, and I hope I always will.  I have problems, though, finding good reading material.  I'm kind of picky.  I generally don't read a lot of Christian fiction, even though I am in fact one.  A Christian, that is.  With a few exceptions (namely Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and most Ted Dekker novels), I just can't find a good Christian series that I really love.  I will say, though, that Christian writing has come a long, long way.  It used to  be that you couldn't find anything in the genre that didn't involve Amish people.  Thankfully, more and more authors are spreading their wings and writing about things that interest me more.  Not that the Amish people aren't interesting, but you know what I mean.  

Anyway.

I've been so busy with my little busy family that I haven't had time to read much lately, even if I wanted to.  I did read a really good book a few months ago.  It was one of those books that'll stick with me forever.  The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  If you've never read it- go read it.  I borrowed it from the library but I think I want to purchase it.  I found out about it by accident and thought it sounded interesting, and it sure was!

I'm rambling.  Back to how busy we've been.  I was getting to the point that I was mourning a good book.  Our Bible study ended at church and now summer is here and I needed something to read.  Is there anything better than staying up late to read in the summer time?  I used to get so excited about doing this when I was a teen, and  not much has changed.  

So, the search began.  I decided to reread some of my Jodi Picoult favorites.  I thought I had read everything she's ever written, and loved all but 2.  In case you're interested, the two that didn't interest me were Lone Wolf and Sing You Home.  In all fairness, I don't think I gave Lone Wolf a fair chance.  I'll give it another go this summer. 

So, I went to the library to check out some Picoult.  I chose two.  Change of Heart and Vanishing Acts.  I got the surprise of my life when I opened up Vanishing Acts.  I'd never read it.  I don't see how... I'd looked at the cover countless times.  Somehow, I'd skipped over it.  I felt kind of stupid at first, but then I was so happy!  This was almost as good as reading a new release!  

I told you, it doesn't take much.  What a perfect way to start the summer.  Now pleas excuse me, I have some reading to do. 

Mother's Day 2014

As I'm sure you're aware, Mother's Day was last Sunday.  My family gave me my present a few days early... a day to myself!

Chris woke up the Thursday before Mother's Day and told me that he was taking the kids to a Gwinnett Braves game that morning.  All by himself.  I can't even imagine.  I just would NOT want to do that, so I was so grateful to him.  I told him to take lots of pictures because it was Violet's first "big" baseball game.  He only took a few.  When I asked why he didn't take more, he just gave me a "look".  Apparently Vi was a handful.  Ha!

The pictures he did take, however, are so precious.

I started off  my day at Divine, the ladies' Bible study at church.  It was our last meeting for the spring session.  I could write a whole other post about how great this particular Bible study was, and I probably will.  

Here are some of the women in my group. 

I love these girls!  They each have their own stories, and we all learned something from each other.  Three of them have been in my group for the past two sessions.  On the last day, we realized that they are the in-laws of one of my good friends.  We never knew it until then.  Such a small world.

After Bible study I went shoe shopping and then met a few friends for lunch.  So relaxing.  Lots of laughs.  Much needed conversations.  I want to go again!

After lunch I went to get my hair cut, which took a lot longer than I thought it would.  By the time I got home it was pretty late and Chris needed to go into work, so the kids and I hung out outside, went to Weezie's for burgers for a late supper, and then watched a few episodes of "The Haunting Hour".  They're into R.L. Stine lately.  I'm not sure how I feel about this yet.  

It was a really good day.  The best Mother's Day gift they could have given me and I really appreciated it. I was so relaxed and easy to get along with afterward.  :)

And I even got to go to the movies on the actual Mother's Day. 

"That was the low point."

Have you ever seen "Father of the Bride"?  The Steve Martin version?  It's one of my favorites, especially the scene in the grocery store.  You know, when George Banks has had all of the wedding stress he can take, so his wife sends him to the grocery store.  He's wearing a navy blue tuxedo that's supposed to be black, it has a rip in the back, and he's at the store buying hotdogs.  Good ole' George is frantic about the amount of money his daughter's wedding is costing him and decides right there on the hot dog bun aisle that he's not paying for one more thing he doesn't need.  He freaks out because he can't find a hot dog bun package with the same amount of buns as the amount of hot dogs in the hot dog packages.  So he "removes the superfluous buns".  Ha ha ha!  He gets caught ripping open hot dog bun packages, the manager gets called, and he gets arrested. The next scene shows George Banks sitting in jail and he narrates, "That was the low point.  Freaking out over hot dog buns".  

Ha ha ha!  It really is very funny!

I had a George Banks moment a few days ago.  It was time to leave for the chiropractor's office and as soon as I instructed the kids to head to the car, they started moving in slow motion.  We were running late.  I had our afternoon planned out to the minute and we could not afford to be late to this appointment.  We (finally) managed to get into the car and as soon as I started the engine I heard a "BEEP".  I was almost out of gas.  Chris had driven us home the night before and he ran me out of gas!  Maybe not such a big deal to most people, but the gas stations close to our house are so much more expensive than every other one of the 10 gas stations we had passed the night before on the way home.  I was a little frustrated.  

At that exact moment, Chris called.  I guess his ears were burning, because I was talking about him!  He apologized, and I forgave.  And I drove down the street to the expensive Texaco.  As I was filling up, I noticed that one of my tires was low on air.  Gah!  I was still on the phone and Chris insisted that I needed to pump it up before driving all the way to Dawsonville and then back to Gainesville.  

This presented two problems.  One, I hardly ever have quarters.  I can thank my kids for this!  Two, the past two times I had tried to use the air pump at this particular Texaco station, the machine had taken my money.  I told Chris this, and he said it would probably be fine this time.  Jordan coughed up some quarters and I deposited them into the machine.  And the blasted air pump machine did not turn on.  I had no more cash, no more change.  I looked at the tire again and decided it wasn't that low and that I could make it to the RaceTrack air pump that has a credit card machine on it.  I knew it was pointless to go into the Texaco station and ask for my money back from past experience.  

I was really, really irritated and irrational.  I stood outside my car and almost had a panic attack.  Then, I just got mad.  Mad at that stupid machine.  So I called the service phone number listed on the machine.  I was put straight through to voicemail, and I left a message something like this, "Well, hi.  I'm calling about your air pump machine at the Texaco on Mount Vernon Road.  It just took my money.  Again. In fact, it's taken my money every time I've ever tried to use it.  You really should fix it, put up an Out of Order sign, or just take it down.  I'm very irritate right now.  My name is Erin and my phone number is *** *** ****.  Please call me back, I'd love to hear what you have to say."

The whole time I was talking, in the back of my mind I kept hearing, "That was the low point.  Freaking out over an air pump machine".  I'm pretty sure that I was battling the worst case of PMS of my entire life.  

I'm still mad, though.  I want a refund of the three dollars that machine has taken from me.  It's not about the money, it's the principle.  Why should the owner of that pump get away with this?  I saved the phone number in my phone as "Stupid Air Pump" and I'm going to keep calling until I get an answer.  

Over the top?  Maybe a little.  

Moms' Night Out

This year for Mother's Day, my sister and I wanted to do something a little different for our mom and our Granny.  Instead of "gifts", we treated them to the movies.  Of course, we saw "Moms' Night Out".  

Ladies, if you haven't already, go see this movie!  It's a winner on all counts-  humor, honesty, an inspirational message.  I haven't laughed so hard in a long, long time.

Since Chris had to work for  most of the day, my family got together for dinner cookout.  As soon as we were finished eating, us moms ran out to the car so we wouldn't be late.  Almost as nice as getting out to the movies was the fact that we didn't have to clean up a single dish from dinner.  The men did it all.  It was Mother's Day, after all.  

We met up with another mother-daughter pair at the theater and we all enjoyed the movie together.  

As is our custom, we took a group shot afterwards. Some of the greatest moms I know, from left to right:  my sister Lori, my Granny, my mom Susie, my friend Suzanne and her mother, Nancy.

Sarah Drew, who I already adored from watching Grey's Anatomy, did not disappoint me at all with her performance as Ally.  Neither did Patricia Heaton...what's not to love about a sassy preacher's wife who comes off as calm and cool but who's really a frazzled ball of nerves and stress on the inside, right?  Ha! I could totally relate to her character!

I must admit that I didn't really know much about this movie, apart from what my sister had told me.  So, I about jumped out of my skin when I saw Anjelah Johnson on the screen.  She's one of my absolute favorites and I always get really excited when I see her in a supporting role.  

My Mother's Day was a pretty good one.  Church, lunch with my kids, a nice nap, dinner with my family, and a night out.  Doesn't get much better!