Flying

En route to Dallas, so far so good. I downloaded two apps for Ikey in case of complete meltdown and I haven't had to use them which is great. We've looked at books, played with his new dinosaur, had lots & lots of snacks, sang many songs, and had two naps. Unfortunately those naps have both started right before descent so neither is long enough, but at least they're something! Overall it's gone smoothly. Having a layover was key, I think, a little bit of run time never hurt anybody! Tonight we are meeting up with my main squeezes and all the kiddos!! There will be 11 kiddos in all!! Wow! Hopefully Ikey can hang, maybe I can get one more nap outta him before we go. 

Goin to Dub!

Me and this guy are headed to Dallas this week, whoot whoot!! He is staying with grandma & grandpa for the weekend while I head off on our 5th annual Mystery Girls Trip weekend!! I'm so excited. I know they will all be fine and I know it will be okay to leave him, but I'll admit that I have some anxiety about it. There's many things that I worry about that are dumb and I know my parents are on top of it, but they include the copperheads that frequent their neighborhood, ticks carrying Lyme disease, falling asleep in a hot car, wandering to the back field when it's flooded... I mean. Your mind can take you places when you're a momma and they're not always pretty. I know that the worst that will likely happen is he won't sleep very well and that will be hard for everyone. But that's the joy of being a grandparent, right? You do it for a few days then you get to take a nice long break! Hopefully I won't get a call saying come home... 1) bc I really want this to be a successful weekend, and 2) bc I'm not driving so don't even really have a way home!! I'm sure it'll be great...

On my end, I know it'll be great!! I haven't seen these girls (except for Marcy) in a year! A YEAR! That's a long time away from ones that I hold so deeply in my heart. A real long time. 3 days of water (I assume) and sun (I assume) and adult beverages (I guarantee)  and sleeping uninterrupted past 6:30 am (I hope) and so many hugs from my dear girls..it will be wonderful and I'm thankful to the hubby and my parents for helping me make it happen. Can't wait to see what you've planned, Emmer Jean!! 

(I do realize I've not mentioned the part about it also being MY first time away from my little dude and that's bc I'm pushing it to the waaaay back part of my brain where I can't think about it too much. My lucky daddy-o who will hopefully take me to Emily's house on Friday morning will probably get to see the raw side of that...)

Some days

Some days are thoroughly exhausting. Like back aching, need to sit on the couch but still so much to do, exhausting. I'm a stay at home mom (that sounds better than unemployed, right?). With one kid. How do people do it with more than one? Or with a job?! I can't even imagine. What I can imagine is the multiple layers of filth that would coat the floors and the hairballs in the corners of the bathroom. The litterbox overflowing, a backyard filled with poop, dirty diapers sitting on the basement floor never quite making it all the way to the washing machine. Dirty dishes overflowing in the sink which would be curious because who would have time to cook? Dirty sheets and towels, clothes pulled from the dirty clothes hamper on a regular basis (instead of "just this once!"), trash cans spilling onto the floor, pets and baby eating cheerio dust and raisin grime from under the couch. I can imagine the smell. Those damn cats.

I guess the backache is worth it. Lucky me, my insurance covers 12 massages a year for $25 each. Time to take advantage, these 35 year old bones get to achin'!


Ikey's new lunchtime arrangement. Being a toddler doesn't allow much time for sitting, this way he gets some bites then he gets to keep moving. Breakfast and dinner he slows down enough to eat with us, mostly willingly.

Beeline for the puddle with his friend Eleanor

Slide! Definitely one of his favorite things right now.

Backyard, watermelon, Ikey sized chair, life is good.

Hello neighbors!!

This kid eats, sleeps, and dreams basketball. All day long. I feel certain that in his brain we could find a map marking every basketball hoop within a 15 block radius. (And yes, this is a game of air basketball. No ball and I still had to drag him off the court.)

Photo Dump! (apparently this never posted, it's from last October)

Sorry it's been so long since we posted, here's some recent photos!

Swimming with friends

Cutie in a hat

Never. Enough. Booty. Shots.

Very special visitors! The Chobots were here from Chicago, Ikey & Layne got in some quality pool time

And bath time 

And story time 

New favorite thing to do!

Ball pit with buddies

Exploring a hollow tree at the Science Museum

Guitar lessons

Baby in a basket!

Getting into everything!!

Mothers Day

Happy Mother's Day y'all, it's a deserved holiday. My sick, screaming child woke us up at 6 am just to be sure we know how crappy he feels and to assure us that no, there's nothing you can do about it. The thing about a sick baby is they don't have the smarts to know they should just curl up in a snuggly ball and sleep it off, no, they still need to burn energy even if they scream at you the whole time. So we went to breakfast at the most delicious breakfast spot just blocks away, and sick screaming baby enjoys a good walk, so was actually pretty pleasant at the restaurant. When we got home we played ball then he and his Dada went for a bike ride. And Momma? Emptied dirty diaper trash cans, threw diapers in the wash, cleaned poop off of and out of the buckles on the stroller (yes..), and picked up dog poop in the backyard. There's a lot of poop handling around here.

We capped off the morning with one massive fit the likes of which I haven't seen from my guy before. He's sick, he's tired, there's a lot of emotion, and that's pretty tough on a little dude. After trying every other thing I could think of, I took him into the bathroom and turned the shower on super hot. We sat on the toilet while he nursed and I thought about the precious water and the cash flowing down the drain as the room filled up with steam helping my baby breathe. And I thought about his little hand behind my back playing with the edge of the toilet seat where it connects with the toilet, knowing that I'm usually pretty good at wiping down the bathroom and hoping that that spot, a magnet for nasty, is clean just this once. I'm watching him breathe, and nurse, and calm down thinking that there are more glamorous Mother's Day experiences out there, that some Mommas get away to the spa, or their garden, or a day out with their own Momma. It would be nice to do any one of those things, but in this moment, on this toilet, in this steamy bathroom, I know that my sick, screaming child needs me the most right now, so even though I'm tired and I'm sick of being screamed at and I miss my happy boy, this is the very best place for me.

He sleeps now and I hope it's a long one. For both our sakes.

I am one lucky Momma :)