The Good, The Bad, and The Holidays

Man, the last two weeks have been such a whirlwind of people, emotions, places, driving, and general craziness.

Let's begin where I left off. Of course, immediately after I wrote my last blog, Rin decided to misbehave the entire evening! As a parent, I was hoping this wouldn't happen, but still fully expected it.

To be quite honest, I don't remember much of anything that happened that Wednesday or Thursday. Thursday, I got the news that my Aunt Laura was in the hospital again. She had been battling cancer for 22 years, so this was nothing new. What was new was that she went to the hospital because she had become unresponsive and couldn't recognize her family as the day went on.

The doctors did a chest x-ray and a CT scan. Which is when we found out she had a brain bleed. The brain bleed had little to do with her condition, however. Her unresponsiveness was due to her carbon dioxide levels being extremely high and her body was retaining fluid.

Early Friday, we found out that all the fluid around Laura's lungs was actually straight cancer. And that there was no longer anything to be done. She was already on a ventilator. They decided to wait until after her sons' birthdays to do anything, though.

Right after I found all this out, we drove down to Gaston County for a job fair/interview for Andrew. I won't give out a lot of details, but I can say that it went really well. (If you are familiar with that area, I'd love if you could email me or message me on facebook about it! We've been trying to learn more about the potential areas we could eventually move to.)

Saturday was a day of a lot of sleep for this lady. And I honestly don't remember much about Sunday.

Monday was the day that it was planned for Aunt Laura to be taken off the ventilator and feeding tubes. It was planned to happen around 10 am. Andrew and I had to get a little Christmas shopping done, so at least I was distracted.

We had a rather entertaining moment while we were out. We were letting Rin walk around a bit to get her energy out since it had been rather yucky outside for a while. She started to wander in the store, so Andrew called out her name. A little girl, who had to be about four years old, turned around, eyes wide, and either said "I know Rin!" or "Hi, new friend!" (Andrew heard the first, I heard the second) and proceeded to hug her. You guys, Andrew and I were laughing. Rin had a look on her face of "What in the world is happening right now?!"

The little girl's mom apologized to us and explained that her daughter has "never known a stranger." She then told the girl that she is supposed to ask before hugging people. So she asks Rin if she can hug her, then hugged her again when Rin didn't answer. So the mom told the little girl that she has to wait on a 'yes' first.

The interaction went on a bit longer, but Andrew was laughing the whole time while I was trying not to split a rib from NOT laughing. It was fantastic.

However, around noon is when I got the news that Aunt Laura had passed. That day was when I discovered that as long as I keep busy, I don't cry. And that my husband is an excellent comforter when I stop being busy.

I'll skip the specifics of the rest of the day, other than to say that an excellent book to read is Brightly Burning by Mercedes Lackey. It is wonderfully written. Just be prepared to cry.

Tuesday was packing and cleaning day to go out of town. We were planning to hang out with a friend for a game night, but he unfortunately had to cancel due to not feeling so great. So Andrew and I made our own game night. And it turned out to be kinda crazy and a lot of fun.

Game night!

Wednesday was a crazy long day. We left to go home around 10 am. We met with the wonderful CJ and had lunch before heading to a secondary family's house. We hung out over there for a few hours before heading back to CJ's house (thank you again to her family for hosting us for a few days!) for dinner.

Thursday, I dropped Andrew and Rin off at my in-laws house and drove down to Charlotte for my aunt's funeral. I didn't get back until much later than originally expected, so we went and got refreshed quickly before heading back out to dinner with some friends from high school. It was delicious and a lot of fun!

Friday, we all went down to Charotte again, this time to have a little bit of a Christmas celebration. When we got back, we checked into a hotel, then went and had dinner with a friend of ours. Afterwards, Andrew went to hang out with the guys while I took Rin to the hotel to put her down and have some much needed alone time.

Rin plopped down on the pillow after looking at me and saying "Night night!"

Saturday morning, we went back to our original host family's house for some present opening. I feel so lucky to have friends (really another secondary family) like these. Even though they knew we couldn't really give in the way of gifts, they still gave generously to us. Andrew and I have music and books galore, plus hats and other stuff. Rin got a barn that makes the noises of the animals it came with, and she has played with it basically every day since.

After lunch, we went and all took an excellent long nap before heading to my extended family's, where we were blessed yet again. Rin got SO many toys, some of which we haven't even opened yet. I think we might have hidden them away for when she gets older (hehe). She also got a much needed coat!

Christmas day was super long. We got up and got ready and got festive! Then we headed to my brother and sister-in-law's for some breakfast, fun, and gift giving! And, of course, some yummy (mostly decaf) coffee for this mommy.

Pawpaw reading a book to the littles.

The Rosemans and Moffitts!

Rin, of course, decided to not play with anything she got and that she wanted to play with all of her cousins' things. Sigh. We all had plenty of fun, though. And we got the above picture in one try

Around noon, we headed over to my in-laws for some lunch, naps, and gift giving! Mommy had to sing Rin to sleep, but it didn't take long at all. Her little eyes were rolling up in the back of her head and she was still fighting it. Mommy sat down on the couch soon afterwards and fell asleep on the couch for a bit as well.

After naps, Andrew's brother and sister-in-law got there. Around 4, Rin started in on presents. There was one in particular that she just kept going back to in between each present. After she finished, the adults started while she played with anything she could get her hands on.

Again, we were overwhelmed by the generosity. We got things we wanted, things we needed, and things we definitely would have never guessed or dreamed of asking for (in a good way). Let's just say that our minds were blown.

And that we had to recruit help to get everything back home.

Monday, we checked out of the hotel, had breakfast with my mom and dad, loaded up and headed home. By the time we got back, we went to get some lunch. We were all exhausted, so after lunch, mom and dad headed back while we went home and passed out for a while.

When we woke up, it was time to unload the car and sort out Rin toys from adult toys from clothes. The first thing we did was get some of Rin's toys out of their packages so she could play. Then we went through our "toys."

After sorting and dinner, it was bed time. Andrew and I didn't stay up much later than Rin! All we did was open up the presents to ourselves (hey new slippers!). We were all still so tired.

Tuesday was when we finally got to give Miss Thang her presents. She got socks in her stocking (not very exciting, but she was excited), a book, some slippers, and a tricycle and stuffed bear.

The rest of that day was full of playing and relaxing for us all. The only productive things we did were try on and de-tag clothes.

And did I mention play?

Yesterday, we did a lot of catching up. We got groceries, did a ton of laundry, and did some general cleaning. Then bundled up and went for a lovely evening walk around campus before heading back and getting ready for bed.

It has been a long, crazy, full holiday season for this family. I hope others had a wonderful holiday as well!

Much love to you all. 

A Good Week

As I've promised before, I'm here to write not just about the good or the bad, but both. Last week, it was about the bad.

This week, it's aaaaaaaallllllllll good.

It really has been a wonderful week for us. Andrew took his last exam last Tuesday, which marks THE LAST UNDERGRADUATE EXAM FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE!!!!

Thursday, I had a checkup at the doctor's. Everything is looking and sounding just right, which is always good news (prego brain alert....it just took me at least 10 seconds to remember how to spell news).

Thursday afternoon, we all drove down to Ashe County and met Andrew's cooperating teacher for next semester. Which took a load of stress off all of us, as she has a lot of experience, but still seems passionate about her job. Plus she seems really nice!

Friday, we got Christmas shopping done for the three of us. We got Rin a tricycle (here's hoping she likes it!). And some slippers....cause that girl will not leave socks on and her feet feel like ice!

For ourselves, we took the easy way out this year. We each needed/wanted a few specific things, so we picked our things out together.Which means we know what we're getting from each other this year, but I do believe we are perfectly okay with that!

We did some other odds and ends over the weekend, but those days are all blurring together. Andrew let me sleep in quite a bit, which was lovely and much needed.

Yesterday was a pretty close to perfect day. We all stayed in our pajamas most of the morning and were just lazy. Which was made even better by the fact that it was cold and rainy in Boone yesterday. We went and got "cheap" Japanese food for lunch (and I have leftovers..score!) to celebrate a straight A semester. When we got home, we all passed out in food comas. Rin was in her crib while Andrew and I were snuggled on the couch. After we all woke up, we just kept taking it easy!

It's been an excellent week for Rin as well. She's still as stubborn as can be, but she's been much better behaved this week.

She's been almost consistently pooping only in the potty  (woohoooooo!).

She used a spoon the best we've ever seen her use one last night.

She's been repeating the alphabet back to us and has even started recognizing some of the letters on paper.

This morning, she counted to ten almost on her own. Say WHAT?!

And she's been overall very happy and snuggly.

Snuggling with Daddy to watch him play Pokemon

Now, if things take a turn for the grumpy, here's hoping it doesn't happen while we're home for the holidays!!

Until next time!

The Trenches

Hello all.

My original plan for the past few weeks was to post the previous blog the Saturday before Thanksgiving, then do a post the week after Thanksgiving telling you about all the different recipes we tried that week (and I'm still willing to tell you about them if any of you would like to see a recipe adventure blog post), then keep doing a weekly blog. Obviously, that didn't happen. I posted the above mentioned post about three weeks after the fact, then had a week that I like to compare to being in the trenches.

We all have these times. They can be a few hours, a day, a week, a month, sometimes even a year or more. And they feel like hell.

Last week was one of those weeks.

It started off beautifully. Saturday, the 26th, I got to enjoy some delicious coffee and a doughnut at a local coffee shop while laundry was going.

The next day, we decorated our Christmas tree while singing along (sometimes obnoxiously) to Christmas music.

I don't even think that Monday was too terrible. It was a little crazy because Andrew had to go back to class after almost an entire week off for Thanksgiving. But it was manageable.

That night, I didn't take my savior of a nausea medication because I was out of samples. I figured I maybe I'd be okay. Boy, was I ever wrong. 

I've had food poisoning. The next morning was worse than food poisoning. With that, I tossed my cookies maybe once an hour. With this round of morning sickness, I ran to the bathroom six times in less than three hours. I finally found that ginger ale would stay down. And you can bet your hind end I called the doctor. 

During this awful morning, Andrew had to go to class, and would be gone all day. Which left me to figure out how to deal with Rin while I was stuck snuggling with our toilet bowl. 

Enter Rin's FAVORITE movie: Zootopia. It bought me enough time to get my stomach settled without having to make sure the apartment was staying in one piece!

The doctor called though. They had no samples of the medication because their supplier had been on vacation. The lady told me that the medication costs WAY too much if I'm still waiting on my insurance to come through, but that I could try Unisom and vitamin B6 if I wanted.

Yes. Yes PLEASE!

So I took that and felt a little better in the morning. The doctor called me back the next day to tell me they had samples in again (YES!) and to come pick some up. They provided me with enough to get through the rest of the first trimester!!! 

And that was a highlight of the week.

I took a bath that morning, and left Rin to her own devices in her room so I could bathe in peace and get clean. When I got out, I looked in Rin's room. No pants. No diaper. 

Great...

Fortunately, she didn't pee anywhere on the carpet. What she DID do was pee all over her favorite blanket. 

We do laundry once a week on Saturdays because we use coin laundry. This is only Wednesday. Okay, we'll have to make do and just hope she'll be fine without it (which, for the most part, she was).

Thursday was "reading day" before final exams started Friday. I took the morning to go get my hair trimmed up. When I got home, hell broke loose again and we were back in the trenches. 

I wish I could give you more details, but at this point, my subconscious must have blocked most of it out because I don't remember much. What I do remember is that my toddler was driving my husband and I NUTS!

She became uncooperative in every way. I yelled at her. I cried for yelling at her and thought I was a terrible parent. I forgot to do the little things (like closing cereal containers and running water in dishes so the food doesn't stick and leaving coats laying around) which got Andrew irritated with me. Especially since he already had end-of-semester stress on top of toddler stress. 

There were a lot of tears in this household. Mostly from me, because I cry at everything now.

Friday night, we did that classic stressed couple thing. We got into it over something ridiculously stupid at dinner time. Andrew went to bed early. I got Rin ready for bed and put her down. I went to bed in a pissy mood. 

Welcome, 3:30 am. I woke up to hear crying, which quickly got louder and more frantic, coming from Rin's room. So I stumble in there to comfort her....and I feel wetness on my bare foot on the floor. 

My first thought? Crap, she took her diaper off again. So I stumbled back to the bedroom, put my glasses on, went back to her room and turned on the light. And I see puke. Everywhere. It's on her floor, all her blankets, her stuffed animals, her pajamas....and it's in her hair. 

So I picked her up and ran her to the bathroom, ran some water, stripped her down, and stuck her in the tub. She's still crying. Andrew has now gotten up and put all the blankets and animals in the laundry basket. He comes in the bathroom and tries to get Rin to calm down. She's shivering, so he gets her to lie down in the tub (partly to warm her up and partly to start getting the puke unstuck from her hair). I stripped her crib and put fresh sheets on. 

After cleaning the puke out of her hair (which almost made me get sick), we got her out and got her dried, diapered, and clothed. Then we took turns snuggling. She finally stopped shaking. We put her in a clean crib with a random assortment of folded blankets and clean animals. And at about 4:30, we laid back down. 

The next morning was filled with awkwardness as we all stumbled around sleepily and Rin just wanted to snuggle. We got her feeling better. Andrew did the laundry for me (and I'm so thankful, because ewwwww). And we spoke our feelings. It was awkward. We both said some hurtful things that had been weighing on us. We apologized. 

And we finally started digging our way back out of the trenches.

Now, that was four days ago. Since then, the atmosphere has become a LOT more relaxed. We're back to laughing. We're still getting frustrated because Rin is still being a classic headstrong toddler. I still cry because I feel like an awful mother. 

But we're trying hard to focus on the happy things that happen. And we're enjoying the moments when Rin shows us her joyful side:

We're laughing at my random pregnancy cravings (like chocolate covered doughnuts with sprinkles followed immediately by dill pickles....yes, that really happened).

And even when we have moments of bad news, like Andrew's student teaching placement is in Ashe County (it's a 40 minute drive one way) instead of what would have been much more convenient for our driving and family situations (Watuaga County), we endure.

My mom told me "You guys will do what you always do. You'll make it work." 

Not "You guys are just gonna have to suck it up and just get over it." 

Not "You guys are gonna have to make it work."

But she reminded me that Andrew and I are strong. We've been doing what we need to do to make things work and we can CONTINUE to do what needs doing.

We endure.

And by doing so, we will eventually thrive.

Preggers Lady Update

Guys, I'm sorry I'm just now posing this. I wrote this the SATURDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING! And then life happened. I'll hopefully get some more writing done soon. So, keeping in mind when I actually wrote this, enjoy.

This week, I had my first ultrasound (the one where they go "yep, your preggers and X weeks along!"and make sure the peanut is growing in the uterus and not somewhere bad.

We took little Miss Rin with us, and poor thing was so bored and upset that she couldn't get down and explore. But we found out that everything looks normal so far, there is indeed a peanut, and that as of Wednesday, I am 9 weeks pregnant! So that makes peanut's due date (drum roll please...........) June 20!

Next summer is going to be ca-razy for our little family, so please keep us in your happy thoughts/prayers. Andrew will be graduatingat the beginning of May (as long as student teaching goes well). Our family will be going from 3 to 4 people. I will start being sleep deprived again. And we will be moving out of our current apartment around the end of July/beginning of August. Where will depend on where Andrew finds a job. Even if we stay in Boone, though, we're getting out of this current apartment.

It's all very exciting, but it's gonna be nuts too.

Now, I'm going to sum up how Thursday went really quick for those of you who have a weak stomach: went to the doctor for initial bloodwork. My blood pressure is good. Bloodwork was done. Rin behaved well since they had toys in the room! I was pretty gross feeling the rest of that day and Friday and feel much better today.

If you have a weak stomach, stop there and have a wonderful rest of your day/week!If you'd enjoy a more detailed account of these days, stay tuned!

I've been taking samples of nausea medication until my insurance kicks in to cover it. I took my last one Tuesday night. So Thursday morning, I felt AWFUL. And definitely threw up. I was fortunately able to get some food down before we left for the doctor's, though, and I started feeling normal again.

I did manage to have a panic attack, however, at the thought of having bloodwork done. See, when I had my initial work done with Rin at the health department, they took 5 vials of blood and I almost passed out. And I REALLY didn't want to go through that again.

Fortunately, Andrew was able to calm me down pretty quickly and we left to go to the apointment. The first part went great. I weigh about the same as I did in August. My  pressure and heart rate are great. Most of our family history is the same since we filled it out with Rin.

Then came the bloodwork. My first vein disappeared on her. So we switched arms. I have a really good surface vein on my right, which is great for these purposes, but stings like a mother.

At this point, I was pretty happy because she was using a butterfly and changing out the vials at the end of a tube (the health department didn't do this, so I felt the needle move EVERY TIME they changed the vial).

She did a great job. She tried to keep me talking through the whole thing. But, like with Rin, at about vial number 4, my face broke out in a sweat, I went pale, my thoughts started fading, and I felt sick. She kept trying to keep me talking and as soon as she was done, asked if I was okay. At which point I said something about getting sick and started dry heaving into the trash can.

So hello pillow in front of me, cool towel on my head, and a juice box. Fortunately, I didn't pass out. And the lady apologized repeatedly because she hates making people feel bad.

But I'm serious, you guys. She did great. It's not her fault that she needed to drain "half my blood," as my dad called it.

Fortunately, Rin was super during this visit. The room had chairs galore, tons of mega blocks, and a big teddy bear. But I think her day was made when she got one of the bright green stretchy bands they use to find veins. New toy for the win!

After that, I was SO hungry. We went to grab a cheap lunch at Taco Bell..and I've never been so disappointed in them in my whole life. After dropping Andrew off for class, I should've gone home and eaten some more when Rin took a nap, but I laid down on the couch and crashed.

And woke up feeling awful. I spent that afternoon randomly running to the bathroom and dry heaving. I made dinner though, and it was the "best everything has tasted" according to Andrew.

I got Rin ready for bed and just relaxed after that. I got more samples from the doctor's office and took the full dose (I usually only do a half dose, but I was really starting to feel miserable). Thirty minutes later, I found out which part of dinner absolutely didn't agree with me.

Yesterday, I woke up feeling hungover: nausea, headache, and exhaustion. But without the fun the night before. I did manage to keep everything down all day and felt decent by dinner.

Andrew treated me to some chocolate pie after Rin went to bed, which made me one happy mama.

This morning, I woke up feeling much more like myself and was able to actually eat something other than try cereal for breakfast! And enjoy a cup of hot tea!

Ah, Toddlerdom

Guys, I could seriously just talk about how today has gone. It's been interesting enough on its own.

But, a lot has happened this week.

As for pregnancy, I decided to try something new after throwing up  straight stomach acid as soon as I woke up twice. I'm trying to make myself wake up twice during the night and eat a small snack. I've done it twice, and so far, it's working.

Also, I've done the stereotypical pregnant lady things this week including crying like a baby (if you like anime, go watch Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online II) and chowing down on pickles. Oh and taking hardcore naps.

As for toddlerdom....y'all. This week has been up and down. Rin pooped in the potty for the first time ever and now is constantly wanting to "poop." So she sits on the potty for about 1 minute before wanting to get down. Sigh. However, now, she wants to take her diaper off too (more on that later).

We've watched movies (and snuggled!) this week. She's brought different toys out to the living room each day to play with. She has literally crawled into my lap and given me the "puppy dog eyes" to get some of whatever I'm eating. This girl....

This morning, I went to the 1/2 off sale at a consignment store because most of Rin's clothes are getting too short. I was doing laundry at the same time and she definitely made sure I took her "be's," also known as blankets, to be washed.

When I got home, it was right at lunchtime. Rin had basically just nodded off in our recliner. So we woke her up for lunch.

Keep in mind, she was only asleep for not even five minutes.

We ate lunch, which is usually followed by a nap. An hour and a half later, she STILL hasn't gone to sleep. She's just in her room babbling.

Andrew went to check on her and walked tight back out with a look of part amusement, part "What the heck?" on his face. So, of course, I went in.

Y'all. She was standing in her crib. STARK. NAKED. She had stripped off her pants, socks, onesie, and diaper. And peed everywhere.

So I got her cleaned up and she was wide awake. This was at two. She got really quiet around 4:30 and this was the sweet sight of her:

Being a toddler is hard....

Until next time!

The "Not-Such-Joys" of Pregnancy

I've been debating on whether or not to write this. Because I know there are people who say, "There's someone out there who wishes they were in your shoes." Plus I knew too many who have fertility issues and have lost children.

But, this blog is all about life as a mom, so I decided to go ahead with it.

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing. It is. I'm literally growing a brand new human inside me.

And that's where the beauty ends. Because the nitty gritty of what the female body goes through is gruesome and feels terrible.

This past week welcomed some not-so-wonderful pregnancy symptoms. Hello heartburn, nausea, constipation, and exhaustion!

Let's start with heartburn since it is nearest and dearest to my heart (hehe I see what you did there). What do all the websites and doctors say about pregnancy heartburn?

1) Don't eat 3 hours before bedtime. That hero's with heartburn at night. BUT then you wake up feeling so hungry, you feel sick. Which means you don't feel like you can eat, which makes you end up feeling even more sick.

2) Don't drink caffeine. Um what? Caffeine is the only way I can function somewhat like an adult! Even with caffeine, I feel like I need a nap every two hours right now!

3) Don't eat chocolate. That's just cruel...

4) Don't eat spicy food or fatty food. Okay, I get these. But when you crave spicy or fatty food, this rule royally sucks.

5) Stay seated or standing for an hour after eating. I can testify to this. However, they go on to say don't do anything that requires bending over. I HAVE A TODDLER! EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HER REQUIRES ME BENDING OVER!

6) Don't drink so much during meals. Dude, pregnant women are generally some of the thirstiest people I know .

7) Eat smaller meals more frequently. This one is fair. Until you keep forgetting to eat more frequently and are so hungry you forget not to eat much when you do eat.

Now, all that I've written to this point, I wrote a week ago. And then I fell asleep and didn't finish. Then helped a friend finish packing to move. Then got incredibly sick.

Monday, I couldn't hold anything down. Part of it was morning sickness. There may have been a stomach bug involved as well (though no one else in my family got even slightly sick, so if it was a bug, it wasn't very contagious...

I was going to try more natural remedies. But when I realized I couldn't keep anything down and I couldn't function, much less parent a toddler, I called the doctor and practically begged for something to take. I am now taking a medicine, and have been since Monday. There are still some waves of nausea, though I'm no longer throwing up. I can function again somewhat normally (somewhat because I'm exhausted and this medicine makes me very sleepy) and I'm going to count that as a win!

Other than the not-such-joys of pregnancy, things are going pretty well. Rin has learned theword "no" which makes life fun.

Last night, we had a conversation that went like this:

Rin starts yawning and scrubbing her eyes around bedtime.
Me: "Are you sleepy?"
Rin nods sincerely.
Me: "Is it almost time for bed?"
Rin: "NOooooo."

Aaah, my child.

Until next time! (Hopefully not 2 weeks from now....)

Parenting While Sick And........

You guys, I am so over having the creepy crud.

It started last Friday as a throat tickle. I felt awful Saturday and Sunday. By Monday morning, I had no voice.

By no voice, I mean I could squeak out some words before I started coughing. (My husband found this hilarious. I can't blame him...too much.)

Tuesday was no better. Neither was Wednesday. By Thursday, I could at least talk for the most part. But I've been coughing a little through the days and a lot more when I lay down at night.

And I'm OVER IT.

But let me tell you about keeping up with a toddler in this condition.

First off, my child loves to be read to. Not having a voice and coughing when I tried to speak meant I couldn't read to her. Cue the meltdowns!

Disciplining becomes...interesting. Barely being able to talk makes it difficult for A) the child to realize your tone means trouble and B) why they're in trouble.

Stopping your child from getting into things they aren't supposed to from across the room becomes impossible. Normally, you can say "No" loudly and at least startle them into stopping. When you can't talk, you end up making a mad dash across the home to stop any catastrophes from happening. Which then zaps all your energy because you're, ya know, sick and....

Pregnant? (Yes, pregnancy hormones make me ridiculously sleepy.)

Yep! That plus sign definitely means I'm pregnant with baby number two!

I've been trying to do a decent job of tracking my cycles so I can be prepared even it comes. And I was pretty dang certain I was late by Wednesday. So I took a test Thursday...and a "let's double check" test Friday....and both came back positive!!

We told his parents yesterday and my parents, along with my brother, sister-in-law and a few close friends today. We're all pretty excited! And now you all know!

Until next time!! 

Traveling With a Toddler

Last Thursday marked the start of fall break for my husband. So we decided to take a whirlwind trip back home to visit our immediate families. By whirlwind trip, I mean we left Wednesday after lunch and came back Friday afternoon. 

Now, traveling with a toddler is some tricky business. I like being over-prepared. Which means at least one extra outfit and one extra pair of pajamas for the little one. You never know when pee will soak through, or someone will get sick. Which also means an extra shirt and pants for both mom and dad. Fortunately, the extra clothes weren't needed this time around!

Along with packing, we like to make sure Rin has all her "babies." It's hard enough to get her to go to sleep in a strange place. Surround her with her normal stuff! We also like to make sure she has something to entertain her in her down time. Got all that? Pack it into the car.

The next step is timing the drive. It takes us around two hours, sometimes a little more, to make the trip home. Rin's afternoon nap usually lasts about two hours, so we try to leave right after lunch. 

Here's where things got fun for us. We stopped to get gas (and caffeine). Rin slept for about an hour, then woke up. Guys, the look she gives us when she's stuck in the carseat and sleepy is one hilarious grumpy pout. Okay, so great...she didn't get a good nap in. Hey! Maybe that means she'll sleep tonight!

Fast forward a little to when we arrive at our (super cheap) hotel. Once we finally got checked in, we headed up to the room. Andrew brought in our stuff while Rin did what I imagine every toddler does in a new environment...explored EVERYTHING. I mean, she opened drawers, climbed chairs, tried to climb the bed, went into the bathroom....EVERYTHING. We unpacked everything as quickly as possible and headed right back out to my brother and sister-in-law's house to meet my parents. At this point, as you can imagine, my rambunctious and sleepy toddler did NOT want to be back in the car seat. 

Once we got to our destination, Rin looked right at my mom, also known as Bubbi, and said "Paw-paw?!" while pointing away from her. This girl loves my dad (Paw-paw). After hanging out around the house for a little while, we three and my parents went to eat at a Mexican restaurant. I'm never sure how well Rin will eat at a new place, but she had much food since lunch, so she ate. And ate. And ate. We discovered she loves salsa (as she was trying to dip her chip into my bowl). When she was finally done eating, we headed back to the hotel.

If you're traveling with a toddler, and said toddler usually goes to bed fairly early, expect their sleeping schedule to be SCREWED. Rin usually goes to sleep around 7. We didn't get back to the hotel until after 7. To keep some semblance to normalcy, I gave her a quick bath, read some books, and put her down in a pack-and-play. Guys, did I mention getting a toddler to sleep in a new place is really hard?! I think she finally fell asleep around 8:30.

The next day? Breakfast with the grandparents! Breakfast was delicious, and again, Rin ate. She normally doesn't cooperate with breakfast out, so I only ordered her an egg. We all ended up sharing something with her....bacon, biscuit, grits, toast. Girl was hungry! After that, we went back to hang out with my sister-in-law and her three boys. Craziness ensued with lots of stuffed animals and playing. This was the first time I can remember Rin really playing with her cousins.

Then it was nap time! We had a "picnic" on the hotel bed for lunch, then all three of us passed out. Andrew had to wake both Rin and me up. After we all got our heads un-fuzzed, we went to Andrew's parents (Grandma and Grandpa)! 

You guys, Rin went right to them even though she hasn't seen them in months. We all went outside and she played and played and played and played. They have three shelties, so there are plenty of balls to play with. She moved them back and forth through the yard. She took Grandpa in circles on their back porch. She tried so hard to get one of the shelties to play with her. She played on the swing set. She met one of the neighbor's giant birds. We all had pizza for dinner and she happily sat on Grandma's lap to eat her dinner.

We got back to the hotel around 7:30 that night after lots and lots of fun and conversation. After baths and books, it was time to sleep! This night, Rin was out. We laid her down and "hid" so she wouldn't stay awake just for us and in less than five minutes, she had stopped playing with her "babies" and passed out. We didn't stay up too much longer than her. 

Friday morning, we got up and got some really not good continental breakfast. Here's a piece of advice: if your toddler has been well behaved the whole trip, do NOT say anything about it! You will jinx it! I made the mistake of mentioning how well behaved she was and she started going crazy and not listening and crying for no reason and just....AGH! 

After checking out, we grabbed some actual breakfast, then headed back to my sister-in-law's. This morning was beautiful and warm, so we all played "soccer" in the front yard. As you can see, it was more just kicking a soccer ball around with the two oldest boys while Rin and the youngest boy ran around with plastic baseball bats, giggling.

All seven of us left to grab lunch with my brother. Trying to get food for four adults and four children under the age of six is...interesting. But fun. After lunch, we swung back by Grandma and Grandpa's for a bit. Rin played. When we left, she slept maybe thirty minutes until we stopped by Statesville to see Bubbi and Paw-paw again. I don't think Rin slept much more than that on the road. We finally reached home around 6:30 and we were all exhausted! I was started to not feel well. 

We all went to bed fairly early that night. 

Now, this may be too much information, but I have issues going to the bathroom when I'm traveling. If your toddler has this issue as well, be prepared for a poop-storm (yes, I'm censoring myself) when you get home. You will clean more poop up in one day than you thought possible from such a tiny person. I won't go into any more detail than that.

Moral of this long story?

When traveling with a toddler, be prepared with their favorite things, especially bedtime things.

Take extra clothes (just in case).

Be prepared for the sleep schedule to go crazy.

Don't jinx yourself by talking about their good behavior.

Take lots of snacks.

Be prepared for poop after getting home.

Oh, and be prepared to be completely and totally exhausted from the massive amounts of fun that you've all had!

Until next time! 

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That (AKA food, games, and politics)

Hello all. I'm going to start with some more lighthearted writing today, then add on some seriousness at the end. That way, if you wish to only read the happy things, you can do so without having to deal with my serious (more politically involved) thoughts. Because I know many of you are sick of seeing politics, and I understand.

So! This week has been mostly fun. I made homemade "chex mix" Monday, which was quite yummy.

Ingredients:

4 C rice chex (or crispix)

2 C pretzels

2 C goldfish

3 T melted butter

4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

hot sauce to taste (sriracha is great)

1) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

2) Mix all the ingredients and put in a 9x13 pan.

3) Bake for 45 minutes, turning every 15.

*I do it for a little less time as my oven runs hot.

4) Dump out on paper towels and let cool. 

Then I made pumpkin bread Tuesday! This was the second time I've made pumpkin bread. I found this recipe on Once Upon A Chef, which is also where I found a delicious recipe for chocolate banana bread. 

Now, the first time I made this pumpkin bread was last week, and it was the first time my husband ever tried pumpkin bread. He is generally anti-pumpkin because of all the pumpkin spice outrage. I believe his actual words on the topic are, "I'm sick of it." BUT he tried it, and he really liked it! Score! Plus Rin really likes it too. So....double score! And me? I love pumpkin bread, and this tasted amazing, soooo....TRIPLE SCORE FOR THE WIN!!!

Since this recipe makes two loaves, though, and I'm not sure there's a good way to cut it in half, this week, I made it on a day that we had friends over and "forced" them to take some home with them.

Speaking of! We tried a new game this week (after the peanut had gone to bed....because playing tabletop games is IMPOSSIBLE if she's awake) called Ascension. Oh my gosh, you guys, it is so much fun. And not too complicated. Beginner's luck was with me on this night too, because I kicked butt the second time around. I normally wouldn't brag, but I almost never win games with these guys, so I'm still feeling excellent about it! 

The rest of the week included the first pot of chili of this autumn season. We strained the chili so Rin could eat it, and eat it she did.

And today, I tried something new. Rin likes to "help" with the laundry, so I got her to put her own clothes away (yeah, not folded, but she yanks them out randomly anyways, and I get tired of re-folding them). She LOVED it. Thank goodness. I'd like to think that if we cultivate good habits in her now, she'll keep at them when she grows up. Then I remember what I was like as a teenager/young adult, and I can't help but think "Lord help us all." Haha!

To conclude the lighthearted section, here's Miss Thang playing blocks with her daddy:

Now, on to more serious matters.

I'm finding out a lot during this current presidential election season.

I'm finding...
...that this country is deeply divided on almost everything.
...that I know less about my extended family than I thought I did.
...that hatred in this country is rampant.
...that we, as a people, seem to have forgotten that the president, while the face of this country, is not who holds all the power.
...that we, as a people, don't seem to care about the smaller elections, thought those make a more regular difference in our lives.
...that the "liberal left" and the "conservative right" tend to view each other as enemies.
...that we, as a people, can't seem to accept that others see life differently.
...that we, as a people, see different from us is just wrong.
...that we, as a people, have lost (if, indeed, we ever had) the ability to work together to find a compromise.

You guys, if you talk to someone who isn't voting the same as you, or who doesn't believe the same as you, don't listen just to have the chance to attack them. All that does is create animosity. Maybe if we listened to understand, we could instead compromise our positions to find one that works for all people. Or maybe you could find your mind changed, or at least expanded.

It hurts my soul to hear and see some of the things people are saying to each other. They call each other stupid, sexist, racist, arrogant, misogynistic, lazy, and many other names I won't repeat  Maybe in some cases, it's sadly true. But I can tell you what we mostly are, and that is ignorant. We simply do not know everything. We don't know as much as we should because we turn a blind eye and refuse to listen to the valid concerns of our neighbors.

We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. We have become largely the land of hatred of differences and the home of the scared of everything different.

And that, my friends, breaks my heart.

If you wish to know more about what I personally believe, or anything else, feel free to ask. Until next time...

Life...It's freakin hard!

Good afternoon everyone!

Man, it's been a long time. Life gets busy, you know? And sometimes that busy-ness is, well, sucky.

I'm going to be real with you right now.
Married life is HARD.
Parent life is HARD.
Add the two together? It is the most difficult, beautiful, frustrating, gratifying thing ever.

It's especially difficult when all you see are the happy snips of life people post online ALL. THE. TIME.
And, come on, we ALL know no one's life is that perfect. But we fall for the trap of comparison anyways. Why is that? Why can't we all be real with each other? I'm sure I've written about this before, but it is something I feel needs continuous attention. Maybe, just maybe, if everyone can really grasp that what we see of people's lives online isn't a full reality, we can stop comparing and stop feeling like crap about ourselves.

And then maybe we can start feeling comfortable being REAL with each other. (I'm not telling you to air all your dirty laundry on social media either. I'm just asking you to stop acting like everything is picture perfect in your household.)

Now, here's the biggie. In order for us to be real with each other, we have to be real with ourselves (gasp!). We need to figure out who we are and be that person. You aren't just a mother, father, sister, brother, wife, husband, daughter, son. You are a HUMAN BEING with a sense of self. Who you are is NOT defined by your relationships to other people.

Mothers, I'm talking to you specifically now. I know I'm guilty of this, I get so caught up in being "mom" that I forget how to be myself. I forget to do what I enjoy, and eventually can't even remember what I enjoy doing! Let's try to stop falling into this trap. Yes, your role as "mom" is so very important. But you can't be your best mom-self if you can't remember how to be your self-self.

After falling into this trap myself, I've had to rediscover what I enjoy doing.

Some things are still the same from when I was younger:
Reading
Singing
Dancing
Coloring (anyone wanna have an adult coloring party sometime?)

Some things are new to my adult life:
Yoga
Baking goodies
Some video games
Wine (can I get a heck yeah?!)

Now, my new trap that I'm falling into is that of not being fully present with my loved ones. Even if I'm doing nothing else, my mind drifts when I'm with them. It's part of what has me scared to take care of myself. I start thinking I won't want to come back from my sense of peace from yoga, or whatever world I've immersed (finally just learned how to spell that word) myself in.

However, I wonder if I take the time to truly enjoy myself in some of these things, would I be able to start being fully present? If I allow myself to drift away into what I love, will I be able to concentrate more in this world?

Has anyone else ever had this conundrum? Or am I going crazy?

So I ask you all...

How do you find balance in your life? How do you juggle all your hats without losing your sense of self? How do you find the motivation you need to get even half of your to-do list done in a day?

Please, share your answers with me. I would love to hear them.

Much love to you all.

And to give a bright end to a solemn post, here's two pictures of my silly toddler.