An idea for Wal-Mart

Hey Wal-Mart...I have a new idea for you.


This came from personal experience, very recent in fact (today).


After fulfilling the large shopping list in hand, with both kids in tow, we managed to get back to the car in one piece.


Got one kid in the car.


Check.


Got the second kid in the car.


Check.


Time to start unloading the massive cart, but...


WHERE'S THE CART?!


For a split second I thought I was completely losing it. How did I get to the car with two kids and no cart? That's when I heard the rattling noise and saw my newly purchased storage bins and cookies healthy food flying through the parking lot in their apparent Wal-Mart Corvette.


And that's when the sprinting ability kicked in and anyone who may have been around saw this woman making a mad dash for a runaway cart, which was, in fact, seconds away from hitting a car.


Yeah, just what I need. Another random bill to pay.


Anywho, all that to say...listen up, Wal-Mart. Some of us moms might appreciate brakes on your carts. It could lead to fewer parking lot accidents, less I-just-ran-the-cart-into-the-back-of-Mom's-legs incidents, and a possible decrease in our blood pressure.

Just a thought.

Relaxation and Baby-Proofing

This past weekend was a little more low-key than usual. It was one of our last weekends in the first house we bought (*sniff sniff*), and I liked having a minimal amount of events.

Friday night brought errand-running and a meeting with the bank to sign our lives away some preliminary mortgage paperwork.

Shortly after breakfast on Saturday morning, Peanut displayed her new activity: walking her "dog".

Yes, that would be a little girl's belt wrapped around her little brother's waist. How she got him to sit still long enough to get the belt around him is beyond me. But making Baby crawl around and petting him brought her great joy and us a lot of laughter.

On Saturday, I got to do something that, I feel, has been long-coming. For my birthday, Hubby gave me a gift certificate to a spa for a massage. I have been waiting, trying to pick the perfect time to go. And since this past week was full of more child sickness, lawn mower issues, increased workload, meetings, and the such, I decided that Saturday morning was "MY" morning. Even if someone was vomiting, I was outta here! You see, I'm not one that relaxes well. Even when watching t.v. or even a movie, I constantly feel like I need to be multi-tasking...maybe making a "to-do" list, or doing a cross stitch...something to get two things done at once. So to go to a spa and just get a massage for an hour was truly glorious. (Thanks, Hon!)

While away, Hubby started on a project that I like to call "child-proofing". Yes, we already have a 3 year old and yes, the house should already be child-proof. But apparently it wasn't. You see, when we bought this house, the basement door had a small cat door installed by the previous owners. Since it didn't bother us, and since our Peanut never really touched it or played with it when she was a baby, we left it alone.


But of course, I have always been told that boys are different. So I should have known.

This little guy thinks the cat door is great. Something to swing, throw his sister's toys through and laugh...that sort of thing.

I should have known.

I should have guessed that one day, he'd try to shove his head through, then his body, then tumble down the stairs and land on the carpeted floor.

I was right there, at the bottom of the steps when he landed. After scooping him up and a few tears (on his part, Danae's, and mine), all was done...and the boy went back to the cat door, smiling at me and laughing. He knows he's going to give me a heart attack one day.

So, I promptly called Hubby and said that, even though we are moving in three weeks, that door is to be given the eviction notice.

We parted ways with the door on Saturday. And while my little man crawls over to the new door and looks for his favorite way to make me jump, I now have a peace knowing he can't get to the basement by himself anymore.

On Sunday we decided to meet up with Hubby's parents at a park/walking trail after the kids' naps. It was a beautiful afternoon, and Peanut loved feeding the ducks. No huge fear of animals from this one!

All in all, a fun yet accomplished weekend!

9 Month Update

It's unbelievable to us that this little man...

...now weighs 21 pounds, is 29 inches long, cut his first tooth this past weekend, and is already 9 months old! WOW! I'm pretty sure I popped him out not too long ago!

Caedon is also a fast crawler and loves to get into his sister's toys...probably just to make her scream and cry. Seriously, he'll crawl right up to her, pull her hair, and laugh. Yup, pure boy. But, we'd take him no other way. :o)

Racing Girls

It only took nine months post birth, but I finally did my first race on Saturday: the Turkey Hill Country Classic. Yes, Turkey Hill...as in the ice cream and teas/drinks. And boy did they have PLENTY of free snacks and food afterward! Never before would you see so many little kids walking around with ice cream cups and hot dogs at 9:00am and their parents not freaking out. Really, it's a once-a-year thing, and Peanut has been dealing with an ear infection, so whatever! :o)



Back to the races.



So, since I barely trained (the last time I ran was at least a week prior), and dealt with sickness all week, my time was H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E.





Really bad.





Not as bad as if I would have walked (which I didn't, so there's a plus!), but still...really not good. I don't know what in the world I was expecting. In my mind I totally knew I wouldn't and couldn't place in my age group because I didn't train, but still. Oh, and the surprise hill kind of threw me, too. Somewhere I read this was a "fast and flat" course. Right. Within the first mile the course turns a corner and WHAM! There loomed a hill, and I instantly thought, "Yeah...as flat as my behind!" It could also be the age. I'm wondering if turning 30 has a direct effect on race times...hmmm...



No more complaining. I really did have a good time, didn't walk, and really liked the course (despite the "flat" hill). Hopefully some training will bring back my normal race time...

The other highlight of the morning that was the most fun was the kid's race! We entered Danae into the 3 & 4 year-old race, and for the past week the girl kept telling us she was going to win. Even though we told her it's okay if she doesn't win and other kids pass her, she would promptly tell us, "Yeah, but I'm going to win." We should have known we'd have a problem on our hands...



Right when the horn blew and the short 40-yard race started, a little boy darted out in front of her. From the sideline I saw the look of confusion then disappointment come across her face, so I flew to Hubby at the finish line, where he was already holding our crying girl. She just kept saying, "I'm not racing anymore! I didn't win!" HOWEVER...

Even though three boys finished before her, Danae was the first girl across the finish line! It took some calming down and talking, but she eventually stopped the waterworks, got her hand painted, ate ice cream, and had a ball. First girl, fourth overall...that's my racing girl. :o)

Pray Pray Pray

Well, it's April 30, and we official settle in less than a month and get a-movin'!

On the one hand, it's a very exciting time, and we have lots of things that we're looking forward to: the kiddos get to play in the back yard and not have their mom constantly hovering over them and telling them to stay near; MUCH more storage space; and a first floor laundry (YES!).


On the other hand...


Our current house still has not sold. We will still settle on May 29 regardless, and we trust in the Lord that He has it all planned out and has our backs...but it's still a little disheartening. If you know me, you'll know that I'm a "list girl". I love to-do lists, packing lists, chore charts...it brightens my day to see a list completely checked off and done. And this...well, this is STILL on the list, unchecked.

I haven't been at all nervous, but for some reason the thought, "What if our house doesn't sell...EVER?" hit me like a ton of bricks today. Yeah, I know...that stinkin' devil's playing with my mind, and my level of God Trust needs to increase just a smidge.

So, your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Please pray that things will go much smoother than we could have ever thought or planned...that I'll calm down a little...and that God brings the right people to this house.


"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15).

And the ants come marching...

Sorry I haven't been my blogging self lately. Here's the short list of what we've been up to:

- sickness
- used car shopping/trading in the Jeep
- mortgage shopping
- working full-time plus part-time plus mommy-time (that's a 24/7 job)
- keeping the house clean/organized for those soon-to-be house viewers out there (Hey, anyone want to buy a cute townhouse?!)
- traveling to NJ
- fighting the ants

Yeah, there's been a lot going on and a lot on the mind, so please bear with me for the next few weeks. :o)

Probably the biggest battle here in the house has been with those tiny black creatures that don't really serve a purpose in my book: ants. Ever since my little Peanut dropped her apple slices behind the couch months ago, these buggers seem to think they can trickle in when they want. They took a couple months off, and just this past week they are back in action. They show up on my kitchen counters and floor, coming when we least expect it. I have been so paranoid about it that I don't leave the tiniest crumb sitting on the counter, I wipe everything down at least twice a day, I make the kids eat at the table and no where else...there is nothing out for these dummies to get!!! They came once, so Hubby said they'll come looking again. We keep spraying ant shield stuff in cracks, and I sprayed the entire perimeter of the house, so now we'll see who wins this game! Ha!

In other news, we did deal with another sickness in our house. Some type of virus hit the kiddos and me, and we were out of commission for a few days. Of course, my turn to deal with it was right over Easter...so yes, I had to skip yet another ham-eating holiday (same thing happened at Thanksgiving). I braved church that morning, only to keep leaning on Hubby due to the dizziness and nausea. I also made it to his family's house that evening...but then ended up laying on their couch the entire time, burning up in fever, ready for Jesus to call me home (and also feeling a tiny bit jealous of my family, who were on vacation together in Florida...lucky dogs). But, thank the Lord, we made it through that sickness...and hopefully nothing else will strike again!

So, I'll try to do a better job at posting/updating. I'm thinking that shorter, topic-specific posts might have to happen (since the days are seemingly shorter lately)...and that way you'll hear from me more often and not wonder if I fell off the face of the earth.

Happy Tuesday!

We're Moving!

If you could see me now, I'm doing a little dance, thanking God, unable to concentrate on work and the deadlines that I have, and so beyond excited!

You see, we have been house hunting for almost two years now (yes, two!!!), and finally...



finally...




FINALLY an offer we put in this week on a house was accepted this morning.


YAH!


Over the past one and a half plus years, we have looked at probably 30-40 houses with our realtor. Seriously, we saw him more than I see my family. We also went to about 5 auctions where we bid on houses or land and didn't get them, even though we were the high bidder. The Lord continually shut doors, and even though it was so frustrating and tiring, we kept to the promise that He is in control and has something especially for us. We know that anything can happen between now and May 28, but I'm actually going to allow myself to get excited and not feel like I have to hold back on this one.

Here's a sneak peek of our soon-to-be new home:






We are so thankful and so, so, so blessed!!!