Bad day saved by Goulash?

August 31st...

Ok, nothing SERIOUSLY bad happened today and I really had no reason to be as mopey as I was...but that doesn't mean I wasn't. I was in a bad mood all day long, most of the reasoning I can blame on payday because money is really just an illusion. You think it's right around the corner, it's coming and then everything will be ok...nope. It's gone before it even hits the bank account! URG! Anyway...that was the basis of my frustration today and Cael's attitude didn't make things any better. Dinnertime finally rolled around and halfway through cooking I realized I had completely forgotten to go grocery shopping today (which also means I forgot to buy stamps and my bills will be one day later...awesome)and we had no milk. After throwing the tiniest of tantrums and I figured I could make spaghetti. Well, I poured the sauce into my hamburger and there was so much of it, I really had just made a swimming pool for the meat more than anything else. So, answer? Noodles that go into the sauce before it hits your plate to counter act how much there was. Goulash. I honestly can't remember the last time I had it, but I have to be honest. It was so freaking good! I could just feel my happiness meter creeping upward at a steady speed. Partly because the food was good, and partly because I didn't completely freak out and throw a whole pound of hamburger into the garbage before heating up a burrito.

Well what did you expect??

August 30th...

Hilarious!! I'm making lunch and a frantic Cael runs into the kitchen yelling "car car! car car! couch!" I asked if he had a car stuck under the couch and he said "uh-huh!" I walked into the living room and cracked up! What did he expect was going to happen when he placed the slide of his fire station UNDER the couch? Of course he had cars stuck under there. I got them out for him this one time, but in the future he is on his own lol.

Day one and I'm still sane!

August 29th...

Today was our first day without Nana here and honestly it went better than I thought it was going to. I am really getting tired of being here by myself, so I thought I would break down and cry as soon as I was alone again. Well amazingly, I didn't! I kept my cool and just tried not to let myself stress out too much. Cael asked for his Nana when he first woke up in the morning, but he knows she's home and he got over it pretty quick. So all in all, a good but boring day here for us.

Poor Averi, in this picture I was using her crib as a playpen while I did the dishes and she wanted out!

Bye Bye Nana

August 28th...

Oh man...that was a really fast week. It really was great to have my mom down here with me, I had been dying to show someone where I live and what it is like here. There are so many differences between here and Washington that it's hard to describe, you just have to see it. And finally my mom got to! The bonding time between her and the kids was absolutely irreplaceable and I know Cael won't forget for a long time. Hopefully it won't be long before she gets to visit again, or anyone else for that matter! Thank you mom, you mean the world to me and I am so glad you were able to come stay with us, it was amazing.

Woo Hoo!

August 27th...

Mom, Faith and I were all in Averi's room tonight going through her baby clothes and deciding what to give away. She was sitting in her crib, just playing and getting ready for bed, when out of nowhere we all saw her raise herself up to her feet! I don't even have words for how proud of her I was, and I could tell she was just as proud! She stood there for quite awhile just smiling and watching us, with her cute little death grip on the railing of the crib. Part of me was thinking "Nooo! Just wait a little longer, I'm not ready for you to walk!" But it's inevitable. I am happy for her no matter when she wants to start walking, and I know Derrick will be too. She is such a big girl!

Nashville!

August 26th...

I've lived here for 8 months now and I finally got to tour Nashville! Mom and I were total tourists today - there was no hiding it. We had the camera's around our necks, taking pictures of things that normal people could care a little less about like billboards and glass buildings, but we were having fun! Our very first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame, we decided it was the only "pay to get in" type of thing we wanted to see today and I just happened to accidentally drive us right to it! It was very cool inside. I am a little young to really appreciate the majesty of everyone in there maybe, but it was still a very cool experience to have. After the hall of fame we went to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe where we completely offended our waiter by being cheap and skipping the alcohol and sharing a plate of nachos. Oh well. He still got a tip so I think he forgave us in the end. We hit a few gift shops and other things like that before we drove down music row (which was an experience, let me tell ya!) Music Row was very cool, but neither of us knew what to expect. It was lots and lots of recording studios down a very pretty street, I can't believe we didn't anyone famous, I bet it was CRAWLING!! Oh well, on the way their we almost died so we were happy just to drive down it, even if we didn't see anyone. To get there, we had to go through a round about which I have only done maybe twice before in my life. In my defense, the ones I have been on had lines just like a road. This one did not! Nothing! Two make believe lanes that can either be there, or not, whatever the driver would prefer at that given moment. I am telling you, once you enter into that circle it is ever man for himself! It's a free for all! Cars just swerving in and out of each other trying to get to an exit relatively close to the one they originally wanted. It was absolutely terrifying. And to top it off we had to go through it 3 times to get to see everything we wanted to see. That is one street I will probably never drive down again, no matter who might be recording down there!

Taking mom to the lake

August 25th...

Mom and I decided we wanted to take the kids swimming today. We figured either the lake, or the water park would be equally fun. The waterpark is closer...the lake is cheaper...it's a win either way. Well, the laws of retard-ness made up our minds for us. What waterpark closes in the middle of August?? They are only open on weekends for the rest of the season. The season?? This is about as "season" as season gets if you ask me, it's the hottest month of the year! Oh well...lake it is! I was totally confident I knew which exit to take since I had been their once before, but of course as we started seeing signs for other lakes along the way, I started to think maybe we could find a closer one. Ya...no. We drove for an hour before realizing their was no lake at that particular exit and we got back on the interstate with still an hour to go before we got to our actual lake. If that was enough, as we get to the exit guess what happens? Yep...it's starts raining! What luck we have! Actually we do because the water was perfectly warm, it only rained for a minute and we had the whole swimming area to ourselves! There did happen to be some nasty dead fish on the beach...those didn't smell too great, but it was only every once in a while that we noticed them. All in all, no matter how long it took to get there, it was a good day and that was something I really wanted to check off my list while mom was here!

Birds

August 24th...

Driving home from Nashville last night after the zoo (I know, I know, this isn't "today's" picture) we were absolutely crawling! There was a game going on at the stadium and the interstate was jam packed, construction on top of that and it took us 2 1/2 hours to get home! On the way, I saw all these birds land on a telephone wire after the game's fireworks sent them fluttering. I just thought it looked cool.

Nashville Zoo

August 23rd...

Mom and I took the kids to the Nashville Zoo today! I had never been, but we were both very impressed! This is the first zoo I have ever been to where the elephants weren't standing on a concrete slab. They were actually in a huge meadow with a water hole and everything, it was very refreshing to me. The giraffes are always a hit with me, and it was cute to see how much the impressed Cael too! They were very close to the fence so we got an awesome look at them. In the gift shop Cael got to pick out a present from Nana and between a zoo hat, a truck and a bag of animals, he picked the animals! I was a little surprised, he is such a car boy...and a hat boy! But nope, he wanted a bag of rubber animal toys (probably because of the giraffe that was in there) and he hasn't played with his cars since. He is officially an animal boy now I think. He sleeps with them and everything. Goofy kid and his phases :)

Back Porch Artist

August 22nd...

At our trip to Hobby Lobby on day 1 of mom's visit I bought Cael some $1 sidewalk chalks. Cheap of me? A little. I figured...he's 2. Chalk is chalk. When he is in kindergarten and all the cool kids have Crayola glow in the dark, 3D chalk that actually makes pictures come to life and start talking to you...we'll go that route. But for now, dollar chalk! Anyway, my point, he loves it! He makes the most awesome little pictures all over the patio out back and it's so fun to watch him. One thing I have learned though...sidewalk chalk + potty training = one messy toilet seat! Green and purple little fingerprints everywhere!

If you get down on her level...

August 21st...

I can't remember exactly what mom and Cael were playing on the floor...but it really isn't important. Once you start sitting on the floor, you are in Jo's territory! You couldn't possibly be down there to play with anyone but her. It doesn't matter how many times you try to push her away, that just eggs her on and before you know it you are on your back with a 70 pound dog pinning your chest to the floor and licking you to the point where you honestly start to worry about suffocation. I tried to tell her...

Seeing Ft. Campbell

August 20th...

I took mom all around Clarksville today. We went down to the river and then up to the base. We shopped for a while at the PX and had Little Ceasers for lunch. The kids are still getting over the trip so we called it a day after that.

Faith came over later that night to watch the Big Brother episodes that we missed during the trip and they were the best ever!! There was fighting which was hilarious to watch, and things went just the way I wanted them too! :) Best line ever : "Everything about you is fake, your boobs are fake, your face is fake, the only honest thing about you are the pimples on your chin!" HAHAHAHAHAHA Ahhhh Ragan...you are awesome.

Home!!

August 19th...

Ahhhh....

We are home!! 2100 miles, who even knows how many hours driving...we were more than ready to get out of that stinkin car! Cael learned how to say "I want out!" along the way so that was really fun to listen to for 2 days straight. Now comes the exciting part of showing my mom where I live and what it's like here! So far so good, she loves our house and (for now) she LOVES the heat!! We will take a day of rest and then start showing off Clarksville tomorrow.

Bear Country

August 18th...

Early morning today before we even left Rapid City, we went to the Bear Country Drive-Through Wildlife Park. Faith and I saw billboards for this park on our way to Washington and knew we wanted to go on the way home. It was really cool, you stay in the car and drive through acres and acres of wildlife preserve. There are signs telling you which territories you are entering and what animals to look for. We weren't sure if it would be hard to see them or not and if they would be behind fences, but it turned out to be way easier than we thought! They were free as birds. Sleeping on the shoulder of the road, walking across, whatever they wanted! There was even a bear (The bear section was AWESOME) that was scratching itself on the grill of the car behind us! It was an awesome time, and I will definitely want to go back when the kids are a little older.

Devil's Tower and Mt. Rushmore

August 17th...

Today was very cool. In Wyoming we decided to take a small detour off I-90 and see Devil's Tower. It has a really cool legend about 7 little girls who wished for the rock to rise out of the ground to save them from a bear. Our tour brochure said it's actually the inside of a volcano and all the earth around it has eroded away. Either way, it was pretty awesome!

Later in the after noon we got to Rapid City, South Dakota where we got a motel and stretched our legs for the night. We stopped there specifically so we could visit Mt. Rushmore which none of us had ever seen before. It was just about the coolest thing in the world. The faces are so big it's hard to fathom how they are even there. It was amazing. There are some very talented people that have walked this Earth. Very talented.

Headin home...

August 16th...

Well today is the day we leave and head back to TN. It was hard to say goodbye to my dad, I could tell he was putting off his hugs for the kids for the very last minute. Goodbye's to my sisters weren't as painful as the first time just because I know now how easy it is to come home and visit. (And I use the term "easy" VERY loosely...30+ hours in a car is never easy)

It was great to see everyone, and I'm sorry for those I didn't get the chance to catch up with while we were here. I don't know when the next visit will be, but I will more than likely have my husband with me that time :)

**Oh my, first rest stop we hit on the way home was in Montana somewhere, it was pitch black outside and all we could hear was a hoot owl somewhere in the trees. Faith and I were coming out of the bathrooms, back to the car and there was a wall we had to go around. I was in front so as I came around the wall I gasped and jumped back like something scared me and Faith's reaction was hilarious! She screamed like I had never heard before for about 10 seconds straight with her hands over her face. It was so funny, I'm laughing right now as I type this. I got her so good, I was very proud of myself...until we got into the car. Jo got her even better and completely stole my glory. Faith was sitting in the backseat with the kids and she had forgotten about Jo who was sitting in the very back. She was calming down from the scare she just got from me when out of nowhere Jo sat up in the back and made some crazy sound while she was yawning. Her scream was about 1,000 times longer and louder than the one outside! Jo got her so scared that she was crying before her heart finally resumed to normal beating.

Ahh....it was awesome. A night I will never forget, my throat hurt from all the laughing by the time we had all calmed down. Love you Faith! :) And for once it wasn't me who was getting scared!!

Workin all day

August 15th...

What an awesome day today, Cael got to ride on Uncle Rodger's combine!! That's not super exciting news if you live in Whitman County, I know...it's kind of the norm, but we left before Cael ever got the chance so this was exciting for us! He wasn't too sure at first but I told Rodger to just go ahead and take him and I would wait for a few minutes to "rescue" him if need be. When the combine didn't stop and they headed off back into the fields, I took it as a sign that Cael was alright and was enjoying some quality time with his uncle.

Motorcycle!

August 14th...

Papa brought out the motorcycle today to offer Cael a ride. All was good, we went out and looked, and oohed and aahed, Cael tried to push it himself, he climbed up (with a little help of course) and sat on the seat, Nana handed him his helmet...and that was the end of it. I guess the helmet made it a little too real for him, he changed his mind that quick and decided he didn't want to go for a ride after all. During mine and mom's rides (and with the motorcycle out of view) he was all gung-ho again, but as soon as he saw it turn into the driveway it was back to "no...no...no"

Maybe when your older bud :)

Hey Bj!

August 13th...

BJ and I met in a birthing class while we were pregnant with our boys. We lived just a few blocks away from each other and had a great time watching Cael and Braxden grow together for their first 2 years! It was always so nice to just sit and talk with her while the boys slept, then it turned into visits where they sat and stared at each other, then they played together, then they stole toys from each other, then they started talking to each other. It was fun to watch another little boy grow up at the same time as my own, and it was great to have someone to lean on.

We made a special trip to Colfax to see BJ again today and it was like no time had passed at all (with the exception of Averi who was never part of our visits before.) The boys had a great time playing and getting reacquainted with each other, and so did we!

Can you see it Libby?

August 12th...

Oh Libby...you are so cute! Can you see the caterpillar in there? For a little girl who does not like bugs (at all!) she sure did get a good look in that jar!