Embrace the Camera

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Thursday was a busy day. I still had continuing education in South Tulsa. Josh had a band concert and Jackson had his Kindergarten program- at EXACTLY the same time.

So I took Avery and Jacob and we went to Josh's concert. Randy and Abby went with Jack. Then we met back up for dinner at La Mansion. Boy, will I be glad when we get more restaurants in Catoosa!

See? Here's my Embrace.

What She Wore Wednesday

So it must have been a jammie day at my house today. This is what she was still wearing when I got home:

To be fair, they really ARE cute jammies.

See the Cousin It hair?

He must have been hungry.

I made it through the first day of my CIC class. This is the last I have to take the test on (there are 5) and I'll have my designation. I'll be glad to have some letters after my name. The down side is, if I don't pass, the $385 comes out of MY pocket. Ouch.

The speaker was pretty funny and kept things interesting today. I hope tomorrow is as good!

I Don't Know What You're Stressing About...

These seven words were nearly the last Randy ever spoke.

You see, the time has finally come for my Dad to move in with us. Do we have room? No. Is his house sold, or even on the market? No. Is his house cleaned out and ready to sell? No. Did I ever get that storage unit in Kansas cleaned out for him? No. Will I be able to take time to go through the stuff with the rest of my siblings? No. Do I think they will do it without poking, prodding and fighting? No. Do I know in my heart of hearts this is the right thing to do and we’ll all be happier and sleep easier for it? Yes.

But as we are sitting at lunch today discussing the logistics of the move: the cleaning, sorting, selling the house,  finding a truck, getting all that sh!t from point A to point B, building out a room in the garage, the need for a bathroom in the garage bedroom, the need for a BIGGER HOUSE, I am chanting my new mantra “It’ll be fiiiiiine.” I don’t know how many times I’ve said that in the past few weeks, but it has to be hundreds. Literally. Hundreds. And it will be fine. I am my mother’s daughter, after all. I’ll pretend it’s fine until it actually is.  And Randy pops off with, “I don’t know what you’re stressing about.”

‘Scuse me?! Really?! Seriously?!

But alas, before my eyes popped all the way out of my head, he adds, “I’ll take a couple of vacation days, find a truck, borrow Thomas’ trailer, and go load everything up. Everything that is not out of the house, I’ll just bring back here and we’ll deal with it.” 

Whew. That was close. I’m pretty sure his life flashed before his eyes at the look on my face, but as always, he said just what I needed to hear. It WILL be fine. I have him to support and love me (and Dad) and help me make it all come together. He always does. Thank God for him in my life. (Insert music clip here “God Bless the Broken Road.”  Perfect, huh?)

Besides, when you start counting blessings in my neck of the woods, be prepared to take your shoes off. (Think about it.) Here are a couple of my little blessings just this morning:

This is my current favorite outfit...there's a bumblebee on the front pocket.

Look at those eyes...

They're oh-so-brave when their archenemy, the vacuum, is not plugged in!

It Feels Good To Do Good Monday, May 9, 2011

A fellow TMOM member sent out an email over the weekend. Apparently, her family owns a trucking company. One of their drivers delivered a load that took him down into the heart of what looks like a warzone in Alabama.  He was inspired to do something to help. Here’s the link to the news story (which I saw the same morning I read the email).

http://www.newson6.com/story/14592763/truckers-collect-donations-at-tulsa-reasors

So I collected a little money at work, and some baby food & items from another TMOM member – Lisa. And last night, I loaded up Jacob & Jackson and we went to drop off what we collected, and buy more baby food to donate. Jacob was so proud to be helping. It was exciting for me to see him “get” the whole helping others thing.

Mean Mommy (This apple didn't fall far from the tree...) May 8, 2011

So Avery threw all of the videos off the shelf and into the floor and I made him pick them up. So of course, I had to take a picture of him picking them up.

Which reminded me of a picture from when I was about the same age. I had spilled a glass of milk, and the picture is me trying to wipe up the milk with a tea towel. Mom told me all the big brothers & sisters thought she was SO mean for making me do that. Haha Like mother, like daughter. There are worse people to be like!

Almost Marching for Babies Saturday, May 7, 2011

So Saturday we had to be in South Tulsa by 8 am to walk with some of our TMOMS friends in the March of Dimes’ March for Babies. We were there on time, amazingly enough. They had breakfast and activities before the walk started. Which was unfortunate, because we were there almost two hours and had not yet started.

Well, the babies were getting cranky and I knew there’s no way they would make it through what would surely be at least another hour, probably more. My friend Tami also had her twins there along with her hubby- and all of them were getting crabby too. Well, Tami was fine. hehe We left and took the whole crew to IHOP for a snack before heading to the house.

So that’s how we almost marched for babies. It was the thought that counted though, right?

AC and Lily loved this huge English Mastiff that was there.
He was a real sweetheart and let AC crawl all over him.

Jacob & Abby and Josh & AC dancing to the music.

Picnic at the Park, Friday, May 6, 2011

Since I took the whole day off of work, I was ambitious and decided it was a good day for a picnic in the park. We stopped and picked up some Larry’s Chicken (holy guacamole that stuff is good- boneless of course!) and some chips and soda.

Then we were off to the play park in Owasso. Which is very nice, but not really tailored to the little ones. And since their sense of adventure has developed faster than their sense of danger, the twins immediately headed different directions. Thus, they spent at least half of the trip in the swings, where at least they were contained!

Mother's Day Makeover Friday, May 6, 2011

Jackson’s kindergarten class had a “Spa Day” to celebrate Mother’s Day. Excellent idea! So glad it’s not more macaroni art. Not that I don’t LOVE any artwork from my children, but…

 

Naturally, not every mom could make it, so Jackson’s friend Zach helped with my makeover. He was pretty heavy handed with the makeup and it looked like I had two black eyes. But we all had fun…and I got my revenge! Jackson’s teacher started calling him “Jackie.” Hehe

 

What She Wore Wednesday

Here is what she wore yesterday:

What's that you say? Sundresses shouldn't be floor length? Well, ya see. Some of the clothes that I had sorted (too big, too small, not cute) got rehung in the closet by mistake. The things hanging in the closet are only supposed to be the size they are wearing right now. That way, Randy can reach in and grab anything, and not worry about checking sizes, etc.

Well, apparently, there's no going back to the closet, even if something doesn't seem right. He DID however pin the straps at the back so it would stay on. And the plus side is, I know I'm going to like those colors on her.

As for the hair, I really need to teach Randy how to do pony tails, but so far he's resisting, so most of the time she runs around looking like Cousin It.

AC, on the other hand, was a victim of the "too small" pile.

But again, we have so many clothes, I can't really expect him to remember what fits and what doesn't. Guess I'll be going through their closet again this weekend. :)

Does anyone else have interesting outfits when Daddy helps?

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