Sep 19, 2014

Eureka Springs Train Ride

After hearing about this wonderful idea during my walking group Craig and I decided to start taking our kids on one on one dates each Wednesday evening. September is Craig's month so each Wednesday one of the kids get to go with him somewhere special.  It could be anything from going to a movie or out for ice cream to painting nails or a park date.  Next month will be my turn. We have been wanting to take Ty on the train ride in Eureka Springs for a while now so we decided this was the perfect time to do it. Instead of doing a Wednesday date, Craig took Friday off and we shoved off as soon as Jace and Brooke were on the bus for school.  Ty got a special mommy and daddy date! Eureka Springs is such a fun little town. Ty loved the train ride. He was soaking up every second and was so excited when the engineer tooted the horn and the conductor called everyone "all aboard!" He kept looking outside the window, then at Craig and then outside the window again and had the biggest smile on his face the whole time. It was so fun to be there with him to enjoy this fun experience through the eyes of a two-year-old that loves trains. We stopped halfway through our journey and the conductor had us get off the train and gave each of us a nail and some coins to put on the track, then the train ran them over and flattened them. It made for a fun souvenir of the trip.

After the train ride we went out to lunch at a fun little restaurant downtown and made it back just in time before the big kids got off the bus.  We've had a lot going on lately and this was the perfect little mini vacation away.










How cute is this kid!?!

Sep 17, 2014

3 Weeks of the Flu


The week after Jace broke his collar bone we got struck with a HORRIBLE flu bug that went through our entire family one person at a time and lasted 3 weeks before we were all better.  I thought I was going to go crazy with exorbitant amounts of barf and diarrhea cleanup.  Jace and Brooke did pretty good about getting to the toilet in time but toddlers just don't get it.  Ty barfed all over the place 2 nights in a row.  Laundry was never ending and my poor little people were so sad and just not feeling good.  Hopefully we will have a little break from injuries and illnesses for a bit.



Mommy finally remembered to charge up McQueen so Ty enjoyed driving around the back yard on his sick day.  I little sunshine does the body good.



I did make some yummy homemade chicken noodle soup.


Sep 5, 2014

Broken Collar Bone


Poor Jace broke his collar bone.  He was throwing water balloons at a neighborhood girl twice his size and she came after him to get him with one too.  Instead they both toppled to the ground and he ended up with a broken bone.  I called my sister and dad since they both had recent experiences with broken collar bones and then took him to an Instacare clinic.  It happened on a Friday evening so we couldn't take him to his pediatrician.  I really didn't want to take him to the ER for a broken collar bone because I knew that they couldn't really do anything for it and we end up paying the bill for a year afterwords.  It's one of those things that just has to heal on its own.  The first Instacare I tried said that we were 5 minutes too late and even though we got there 10 minutes before they closed they admit their last paitent 15min. before closing.  I tried to explain that we were there on time but it took us 5 minutes to get Jace out of the car and into the building because he was in so much pain.  She looked at me annoyed and just repeated herself.  I wanted to punch her in the face ... and I don't have those kind of emotions very often.  I tried another Instacare just down the road and even though they too were closing they were very helpful and brought a wheel chair out for him and helped me start to get checked in.  When they discovered that he had a broken bone they told me that sadly we would HAVE to take him to the ER.  :(  They called ahead for me so we wouldn't have to wait as long.  They did X-rays in the ER and confirmed that it was indeed a broken collar bone.  They gave him a back brace that pulls his shoulders back so the bone will have a better chance of healing properly.  

The first few days were extremely painful for him.  I felt terrible that we could only give him children's tylenol.  He did get lots of gifts, treats, and attention from lots of friends though.  He even admitted that he was getting a little "too" spoiled.  lol! :)  He got to miss out on a week of school and just relax at home.



My 2 wounded warriors:  blackeyed Tyger and Broken bone Jacer pants.

Sep 4, 2014

All in a Day...


 Today was particularly difficult. It started with a rushed, chaotic morning. Whom ever decided that having elementary age students have to be at the bus stop by 6:50AM should be beaten with a wet noodle. They are never fully awake to be able to just get dressed and eat breakfast without being drowsy, forgetful, and/or ornery... even if they DID get to bed on time. I had forgotten to make Jace and Brooke's lunches the night before so I was trying to manage getting them both up and dressed while making breakfast, their lunches and school snack simultaneously as well as signing Brooke's folder and getting it in her backpack, combing her hair and helping Jace find his shoes. Little elf thieves must sneak into our house at night and steal shoes because they are never to be found. Jace was being grouchy and complaining about what was going into his lunch (slim pickings... I desperately need to go to the grocery store) just as Ty woke up screaming that he wanted a "dwink". Craig fumbled out of bed to get Ty a drink and asked if I could iron a shirt for him. I rushed the kids out the door so they wouldn't miss the bus, plugged in the iron, and sank into the couch in my messy living room. Today was going to be great, right?!? I quickly ironed Craig's shirt and put on Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood for my little Tyger to watch as Jace and Brooke tromped back inside fighting. They had missed the bus. Craig said that he would drop them off on his way to work. The baby woke up crying. As I was nursing her Craig texted me and said that it took him extra long to get to work because Brooke left her lunch box in the car and he had to go back to the school to drop it off.  Of course she did.

 I threw on some sweats, put my hair in a messy bun and headed to the grocery store with my two littles in tow. What a morning! I grabbed some essentials at the store and rushed back so I could quickly pick up the house before the plumber arrived. Last week while Craig was in Denver for work the toilet in the master bathroom leaked all over and flooded one of the bedrooms. That's a whole other story. Lol!  As I was unloading and putting the groceries away Ty threw a fit that he did not want to come inside. He loves the car and wanted to look at it and touch it and hug it. I let him hang out in the garage just while I put things away. When I went to bring him inside he kept telling me that the car had an "Owie".  As I looked closer I wanted to die. He had found a nail or something sharp on the floor of the garage and scratched all around our brand-new 2013 Mazda5. Ty said "I'n sowey mommy, car have owie." He buries his head in my chest and cries. I want to cry too. In my head I'm thinking, I hope there is some hack on how to fix this on Pinterest because who knows how much that just took off the value of our car.  ... Sigh. The price of having a two yr old... He shattered the screen on my iPhone just a few days ago.

The plumber arrives in a not so perfectly clean house and I show him into the master bathroom so he can fix the toilet. I stay for a few minutes to explain what was going on and then he explained what needed to be done and I left him to his work. I had left the baby on a blanket in the front room and had cartoons on for Ty to watch.  When I walked back into the front room there was an awful stench. I looked down to see Ty digging in his diaper and then trying to feed it to the baby. She had poop all over her face and her hands. It was completely disgusting. Ty looked up  at me with a mischievous smile and started laughing. I quickly ran them both into the other room and wiped them both down as best I could. I would have spanked him but I didn't want to touch the mess anymore than I had to. He got a good scolding instead. I changed diapers and ran them out to the garbage outside along with all the dirty wipes, threw the dirty blanket the baby was laying on in the washing machine, put new clothes on Ty and scrubbed his hands with soap, and quickly put my princess in the tub to scrub her clean. As I am washing her down Ty grabs Jace's MP3 player from the dresser and throws it in the tub, then starts running in circles and yelling at the top of his lungs. He has reached the terrible twos and is in overdrive. I'm exhausted and the day is only half over. I put some essential oils in the diffuser to try and mask the stench of Ty's mess. All while the plumber was here...

Fast forward a few hours.  My big kids are home and have finished their homework and chores. I promised Brooke she could have a friend over so we go pick up Kate. I am nursing the baby in the girls room and Brooke yells underneath the door that Ty must have a poopy diaper because it stinks in the living room. Then she runs back and yells "mom quick!! Ty rubbed his poop all over the carpet." NO!!!! Not again!  I handed the baby over to Brooke which evoked sobs from my not yet finished eating infant and rushed in to see what Ty had done. There is Ty sitting in a pile of poop on the living room carpet, smiling at me with his big hazel eyes and telling me that he's "sowey". Yuck! Gross!! Please not again. Sometimes being the mom and being on cleanup duty stinks ... literally.  I put Ty in the tub hoping it will keep him entertained and trapped for the moment so he can't destroy anything else in our home for the time being.

 I have a whole bag of chicken boiling in a pot on the stove, the baby is crying, Brooke and Kate are loudly debating what to do to help the baby, Ty is whining in the tub, and I am cleaning up poop out of the carpet. A LOT of poop and its gross and its smudged in deep. I want to cry and quit my job and run away to a tropical island. After the carpet is cleaned up somewhat I take the baby from the girls and nurse her in the back room. Ty is still whining from the tub for someone to come get him out. I was so mad at him, I just ignored it and continued to nurse the baby. Then there was a loud crash and tears. He had tried to get out himself and slipped in the tub. I snuggled him in a towel and examined his wound not sure if he would need stitches. I texted Craig a picture and told him to come home early. I was overwhelmed and I needed help. I put ice on Ty's owie, salted the chicken, and continued to clean up the carpet. Luckily when Kate's mom came to pick her up she had a spot carpet cleaner in her car. Hallelujah! 

When Craig walked in the door over an hour later, a little earlier than when he normally would come home, I was seething and exhausted. I had just finished the carpet clean up and when I checked on the chicken for dinner it tasted horrible. I was frazzled when I salted the chicken earlier and I WAY over salted it. Ruining an entire bag of chicken that was supposed to be for 3 meals was the cherry on top. I lost it. I grouched at everyone and told Craig that I was leaving and I didn't know when I would be back and to enjoy the salty chicken and tortillas. I grabbed the baby and left. Mostly I just drove around in circles for a while. When I finally calmed down,  I went over to a friends house that was selling some kids clothing for $.50 apiece and picked out some jeans for Ty. Then I drove over to Rogers and walked through Bed Bath and Beyond because I had a $25 gift certificate there. I was too indecisive to actually buy anything though. On the way home Craig called me and told me that he loved me and that all the kids were asleep in bed so it was safe to come home. Lol!! All in a day's work...  Being mom is rough sometimes.

Here is Ty's shiner:


Sep 3, 2014

Morning Jenni Snuggles

Miss Jenni my little wiggly baby is so happy to be awake in the morning! 
I love playing with her and giving her morning Luvs.






Sep 1, 2014

Weekend Trip to Grandpas


We love it when grandpa Brammer comes to visit us on the weekends and occasionally we get to go visit him too. Labor day weekend was the perfect time for a long weekend at grandpa's in Oklahoma City. We swam at the pool and went to church with him. Seeing grandpa is always fun!