Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of sidewalk chalk...

aGLORY TO GOD, a beautiful day in February!!  We began by putting on our boots...never mind changing out of our pajamas, and heading to the Chick-fil-a drive thru for today's free breakfast item. Oh, I'm sorry...did you not KNOW that Chick-fil-a is giving away a free breakfast item every day in February? Yes, they are. And yes, we have been.  Many times.
That aside, we headed out...and then headed back...and then, (gasp!) played OUTSIDE!!! It was marvelous...such a freeing feeling to be out breathing in the fresh air.

Not only that, but I discovered today that we have a bazillion little buds popping up already!  Some have even bloomed! That is crazy to me- it's February!!  When I saw the little reminders of new life, I remembered this happening this last year too.  We live in a very old little house...1925 to be exact...and a little old lady used to live there and garden...like crazy garden.  We have bulbs EVERYWHERE in our yard.  In all seriousness, there are definitely over 200 hundred bulbs of this same flower pictured above in a patch of our yard.  I wish I could go back in time and see what this little lady was like.  I'm sure she had a design going on...(I say that because there isn't one now.  The next guy who moved in after her neglected the yard for 12 years.)...and I'm sure she spent hours and hours in the yard.  I'm sure she was diligent and patient and caring.
Sadly, like I said, the next guy who moved in...I'm not sure he was any of those.  The yard now is a HUGE project.  I would LOVE to salvage some of the bulbs and move them to different places...there are seriously different flowers that pop up every month all through Summer into the Fall. I want to preserve the beauty and history of the house...but I'm also a little overwhelmed at where to start....I suppose I should just try it out.
Kory and I want to landscape as we can afford it...move things, build retaining walls, a dry creek bed, lay sod, you know, the works...we'll see what I can salvage from all of the amazing- though overgrown or weirdly placed- plants and flowers.  I am sure it will happen in stages, so stay tuned.

It was a fun morning.
I was glad for that because our afternoon wasn't as enjoyable...
McLean has had pink eye this week and long story short, we ended up having to make an appointment with a Pediatric Ophthalmologist.  First off, I didn't even realize they HAD Pediatric eye doctors, but I guess it makes sense.  Well, this guy that we saw was very much NOT pediatric-minded.  He didn't look me in the eye one time, talked to me very bluntly and hurried with his back to me, and did not engage McLean at all- who was sitting like a scared mouse in that big black chair.  I almost had a few snippy words to say to him SEVERAL times in our visit.  McLean did AWESOME and was very brave, however...as anyone looking that closely in your eye can be scary (Even I still almost laugh every time I go in to get my vision checked for my contacts.  It's weird!).  Well, we walked out without getting kicked out, and I will not be returning to that guy...Dr. Cibis...for those of you who want to know who NOT to go to.  So, now we have drops to do every two hours and hopefully we will be rid of the nasty eye "boogies" (McLean's words) very soon.
All in all, the weather made up for the nasty part of the day....I can't wait for Spring!...Though, actually, after our eye specialist visit AND a Pediatrition visit this week, we might need another little snow so Kory can work to pay off the freaking medical bills.

The Love of a Mother

For the record, I am giving all who are not mothers at the moment a fair warning that the images below may be disturbing. Actually, let me rephrase that- the images below ARE disturbing.  And if you are a mom, you will laugh as you remember a similar moment with your own child (please laugh like that....this HAS happened to you too, right?!).  If you aren't a mom, you may laugh...but for a different reason.  You will be laughing in disbelief that this happened and maybe secretly wonder what it was that I did wrong to allow this terrible disgusting thing to occur.  You may also be laughing AT me- so glad that you don't have to deal with what you see below.  Whatever the laugh or small vomit in your mouth you experience, all I have to say is, yes, it was gross.

Really, these pictures speak for themselves....

and sadly enough, this is not the first time this ridiculous explosion has happened....

...and what other baby would smile through a situation like this? Although, to her credit, she obviously feels better after relieving herself...

So, obviously this was not merely a wipe down situation.  She was plopped in the tub and cleaned until she smelled like that sweet baby smell I love so much.  Smiling the whole time.

My firstborn, however, did not find the situation as fun.  She was so bothered by the mess and the fact that poop was all over her baby sister that she threw herself on the floor in tears.  I wish I had a picture of that as well, but I'm not that mean....(okay, I might be, but I just couldn't capture the moment between holding a poop covered infant). We just had to have a little conversation (again) about how everybody poops...and sometimes there are messes. 

So there you have it. A day in my world. Welcome all...

Oh...one more picture.

This one cracks me up because you get a great view of our dishes...which, yes, sadly look like that most days.  We don't have a dishwasher and things just get out of control too easily.  In fact, in the spirit of letting you in on my life at home, let me post two more pictures.  The dishes....the thorn in my flesh...and the babe WITH the dishes. Thankfully I had room to plop her in the sink that day.

Sigh.

This too shall pass.

That smile, however....I can live with that the rest of my life :).

Snow, Snow, Go away...Don't come back another day.

I used to love the snow....all warm and cozy inside.  Actually, I still like that part...the warm and cozy part, I mean.  But these last couple of years have been harder.  Kory works for a landscaping company and so when it snows, life stops as we know it, routine is completely  interrupted, and he is nose to the grindstone, er...snow...until it is all plowed.  He works insane hours, leaves in the middle of the night, comes home in the middle of the day, is exhausted and stressed, and all around very focussed on the task at hand.
Now, to give him credit, he is just doing what's in front of him.  He is focussed because he wants the job done as much as I do so life can get back to normal.

And to put perspective on my venting, I know that there are countless families out there that have routine interrupted constantly as well...daddies who are doctors or who travel a lot.  Or even families with school age kids who have been home for the last freaking month on snow days.  I get it, I'm not alone in my frustrations of "routine interrupted."  I'm just expressing the fact that I don't like it.
Now, if we want to get spiritual here, I suppose all this has a screaming meaning...."Amanda, you like to think you are in control of your environment and you aren't.  And Amanda, you like to be comfortable in your routine, and really, you can't create comfort all the time."
I know, I know....just let me complain for a minute here!
On a happier note, since it's snowed the girls and I have been busy at home creating fun.  Here's a couple of shots...

Now, I really would like to say that I am a super fun mom who takes her kids outside to play in the snow despite below freezing temperatures....buuuuuutt, I'm not.  Give me a 32 degree day and I'll think about it.  On this day, however, I literally dressed McLean in her snow stuff, brought her outside, stuck her in the snow, took a picture, and we went inside.  HA!  I wanted to get a picture of how much snow we had gotten, and it was nap time (which you do NOT mess with nap time- aka, an hour and a half of question free moments), so a quick shot and we were in.  The next shot is of the "warmer" snow day variety...nothing says a snow day like a couch fort. Notice our dog, Buck, who also thought this was a great idea.

Lastly, here is sweet Hazel and what she has been doing during the crazy snow....just being dang cute.  I mean, come on, look at that face.  Hazel's, I mean, not the guy holding her.  "The guy"
is my dad, who we lovingly call "abba" (which he will tell you means "loving father" and not "God" as you may think...though we still kinda make fun of him).  He is great with the girls and I've gotta get more pics of him with them before they are too big.

Whelp, I guess that about sums it up.  The snow is fun and all, but I am ready to have my family back to normal and life re-established. The end.