Die Another Day

There are a lot of June updates to post - it was a very fun, very full month! And July is proving to be just a full and fun. Laura and Clay's wedding is this weekend and we are having so much fun showering the couple with fun parties and gifts.

But first...before any of those updates...I must share my last 48 hours with you, my beloved three readers.

I will cut straight to the point; there is no easy way to say it - there is a mouse in my new house.

The week started out great. We closed with no hick-ups, had a relatively easy move,  and by Monday night we were sleeping in our new home.  Trey was off all week and started tackling the long to-do list that comes with a new (old) home.

To top it off, it was a long weekend. I love a holiday and a 4 day weekend.  It was the set up to a most perfect, relaxing time.

Until Saturday.

As I was unloading the dishwasher Saturday evening after a fun day, I noticed the evidence of a mouse in our cabinet.

It did not go over well with me.

But I am adult, so I did what all adults do when faced with danger - I called my mama.  She calmed me, and said to set a trap and that it will be gone in no time.

She reminded me that the home had been vacant for a few months and everyone has mice at some point or another.

I was somewhat calm at this point.

Then it happened.  It was 10:45 Saturday evening.  Kids were asleep and Trey was in the family room reading.  I was back in our bedroom getting out of the bath when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye scurry across our bed room.

Panic sets in.

I did the only rational thing to do. I jumped on the bathroom counter and called Trey 17 consecutive times with no answer.  Then I remembered that his phone died earlier that day and was charging in the kitchen. 

He couldn't hear my cry for help.

Deeper panic starts to take over.

At the second sighting of the unwelcomed house guest, I screamed. Loud. A good mom would have recognized that her children were asleep and that, while gross, I was in no real danger and my life was not threatened.

I am not that good mom.  I screamed loudly.

The mouse ran away. But my tears didn't stop.

After a piggy-back ride on my husband, I was safe in the den sitting Indian style on the only piece of furniture currently in the room. 

Then I sent my mom a panicked text message around 11, because I am a thirty year old woman and that is what adults do. I told her I was coming to her house; there was no way I was staying another moment in a rat-infested house. (the small mouse grew in size and number in my mind as the night went on)
She tried to rationalize with me and told me I could come if I really wanted to.  Trey was staring at me in disbelief saying he would happily pack my bags and send me on my way.

Whatev.

In the end, I decided I was a nursing mom and couldn't just abandon my children.  And I couldn't just run from my fears - I must look at them straight on.  So I sent my husband to Wal-Mart at midnight to buy all the traps money could buy.

The drama didn't stop there.  Now is a good time to point out that I am in the process of shopping for a new master bed.  We moved our bed to the guest bedroom, which is in the process of being painted.  We haven't bought a mattress for that bed. 

So our box spring and mattress is on the floor.

ON.THE.MOUSE.FLOOR.

There was nothing that anyone could say or do to get me to go back to our bedroom, much less sleep with the rodents on the floor. 

I spend the night in a chair in the middle of a well-lit family room. 

Sunday morning, when the traps showed up empty, I realized it was time for war.  Trey was long gone for work when the kids woke up.  I, being the responsible and sane mother, told Jones that our bedroom was off limits. When asked why, I told him the only thing  I knew to tell him - there were big bugs that would bite him if he went in there. 

It worked.

I am a ministers wife and knew I had to be at church after a month away.  I am sure people wonder about  my role as it is, but 5 weeks of not being there might be suspicious to some of the elders.

But I was not about to go back in my bedroom, because all practical and rational adults know that a mouse would never, ever, leave to a second location.

Idiot.

So I threw clothes on the children, pulled my hair up in a bun, and put on a dress that was wrinkled in a bag in the back of my car.  Trey later asked why I just didn't shower in the kids' bathroom.  The obvious answer is because everything was in our bathroom including my flat iron and we know my hair just isn't going to look right without a flat iron.

I can tell this story is getting winded...I will wrap it up now by saying that after church and lunch with friends,  I loaded Anna Joy up in the car and we went to Wal-Mart, again, to arm ourselves with everything that Google told me to buy. 

Turns out that googling "how to rid your home of mice" can lead to an expensive(possibly unnecessary) Wal-Mart trip. 

Don't care. $176 and lots of plastic pantry bins and traps later, our pantry is looking good and 35 traps have been strategically placed around our new home.


As of this morning, no mouse has been caught. In addition, there is a high probability that Trey wants me to leave with the mouse.  This experience has shown us nothing if not how I react in times of desperation. (read: panic)
The only glimpse of hope left is that I tracked down a pest control guy and called him at home yesterday afternoon.  After 10 minutes of me in hysterics, he promised to be at our home today to rid us of this problem.

I sure hope so. This is no way to live. 

Godspeed, little mouse.

The surgery that...umm....wasn't

My husband may not appreciate all of this being open for all to read, but it's a private blog, right? He can deal.

 

Yesterday I took off at noon to go get Trey to take him to his appointment that HE made and HE was 100% for only to have him tell me an hour before cut time that he canceled. Backed out. Didn't want it.

 

He is killing me!

 

So, no procedure.

 

Too much info?

Sorry.

 

So instead of him having the surgery and me waiting on him hand and foot all weekend, we went swimming and I just enjoyed a half day off work!


It was nice. Jones was happy to show us what all he has learned during swimming lessons this week and Anna Joy enjoyed her first dip in the water.

We are so thankful for friends with pools!

Busy (but super exiting) times

I just posted that Laura is getting married in one month, so as you can imagine, we are super busy planning, preparing and partying! Kristen and I are hosting a lingerie shower the weekend before, she has friends throwing her a mini-in-town bachelorette party and another group of friends throwing her a couple's shower. It's amazing what all can truly be done in such a short amount of time. She is one loved girl and so many people want to shower her, so lots will be done after the wedding, but before the reception.

And then a couple of weeks ago, this happened...

We bought a house.

Oh my.  We weren't even looking. It just happened.  Before I knew what was going on, I was signing my life away, yet again.

If you know me well, or just read the blog, we know we have moved more than a few times.

This will be house number 10 (3 of which we owned).

TEN, I tell you! In 7 years.

I am tired just thinking about it.

This house does seem different, more permanent, and for that I am super thankful and super excited. The house we are living in now is a rental, and while we love it, it is just that - a rental.  It's in a great area, though, and we will miss the neighborhood.

Trey starts seminary full-time in August. It will take him about 5 years to finish with school. He is already a candidate in the Methodist Church, so after seminary, there is a good chance that he will serve here locally for a couple of years before the church moves us.

So, with that said, we are looking at around 7 years of being in Columbus (more, I hope!) and the thought of renting that long made Trey lose his mind.

So when we were told about a house that came up on the market due to an older gentleman in our congregation passing away, we thought we would go look. I was a brat and said I was NOT moving again unless it was a perfect fit.

And it was a perfect fit.  Funny how it works like that.

So we made an offer the next day. And it was accepted. And now we are moving...at the end of this month.

I can't wait to share pictures!

Actually, I just can't wait to see it again. The only time I saw it, I was carrying Anna Joy and chasing Jones. It will be like a surprise house when we move in.

Good grief, I stress myself out.

The summer is one of Trey's busier times with the church.  He will be out every weekend until AFTER our move date. (Including this weekend, when he will be recovering from a...ahem...manly procedure.)

Between two kids, full-time jobs, a wedding, and crazy weekends, I am not 100% how this move is going to happen.  But I am pumped!

Here are a few pictures from when I took the kids to spend the night with my parents last Saturday night.  Trey was out of town on a youth trip (of course) and I was desperate for an extra hand!

Henry and Jones had their first slumber party.  Jones tested us a lot, but in the end, slept all night on the air mattress with Henry at the foot of my parents' bed. Fun memories.

 So thankful family is just 30 minutes away!

My sister is getting hitched!

 Lala is getting married...in ONE MONTH!

Clay proposed one week ago....one WEEK ago! We like to keep things interesting. They are having a small family-only wedding on July 12 and then a reception for family and friends this fall.  We are over the moon for them. It's about time, Clay!

 

Last weekend, we went dress shopping in Columbus.  It was so fun. We found all of our dresses! Thankfully, and understandably, Laura is being very relaxed about the whole thing.  We went in, told them our timeline, then told them to show us what they had in stock that we could get in time! We ended up loving the bridesmaids dresses....they had two left in almost our exact sizes.  Meant to be! We go back on Saturday for a fitting and tailor. 

 

Laura and Clay are a perfect match and I couldn't be happier! Love them both so very  much and can't wait to celebrate...ALL MONTH LONG!

 Cheers to the bride!

Oh Jones.

I should really write a book.  The book title could just simply be "Jones".

This kid cracks me up. Trey and  I constantly look at one another and wonder where he came from! I don't want to forget a thing (though at times, in the heat of a Jones moment, I would love to forget it!).

He is still so super strong willed.  Like I have never seen.  I am praying it serves him well in the future - we are holding on to that hope! We still struggle with obedience, but he is getting much better.

A few Jones-isms lately:

• The other morning he asked me if I wanted a sip of his milk. I responded with "no thank you". He looked at me, pointed his finger, and said "mama, you need to say 'no mam'."
• One day after a particularly rough morning, Trey and I were talking to him on the couch about how we are the boss and he needs to obey us, even when it is hard to do so, etc... Trey was doing the majority of the talking and Jones never took his eyes off of him, as if he was taking in every word he was saying.  As soon as Trey finished, Jones looked at me and said "What is he saying to me??"
• Jones and I were playing with Anna Joy on the floor when Jones randomly hit her on the head.  I took him to his room for a spanking and asked him why he did that. His response: "Because my sorry! My thought I was super man!"
• Yesterday when Trey picked him up from school he was wearing a different shirt than what he came to school wearing.  His teacher said that he said there was poo poo on his shirt and he needed a new one.  When Ms. Janice looked over his shirt and saw nothing (and knew there was no poo poo on it) she told him it was clean and he didn't need a new one.  Jones refused to give up. Wouldn't go outside, play, etc. He said "I can't! There's poo poo on my shirt!" so finally they gave up and changed his 'poo poo' shirt.
• I was in the den and he was in the play room one morning and I said "Jones, what are you doing?" just as a conversation starter, not in a questioning manner. He responded ever so nicely, "Oh nothing, Mama, just making a big big mess."
• He very proudly yelled from the bathroom "Mama! I tee-teed in the potty AND all over the floor! I did it!" When I asked why he did that, he said "Because I wanted to. I had to!"

He wears me out more than anything in this world. He cannot sit still for anything and wakes up every morning running, but I would not change him for all the calm and quiet in this life.  He is a joy, has a huge heart, loves to give hugs and kisses, and vows to protect his baby sister forever.  He is my little man and I love him...to the moon and back.

It's June already!

The weekend started off rough. We got a call Thursday afternoon that Jones woke up from nap at school and was screaming because his head was hurting.  That is very unusual, so I immediately left work to get him to the doctor.  We got there just in time for him to throw up...everywhere. All over both of us and all over the waiting room.  Thankfully we were the only ones in there at the time.  Nurses came to help clean him off and gave me an extra pair of scrubs to put on. 

 

Turned out he had strep...again.  Twice in a year.  I blame daycare.

On everything.

 On the way back from the doctor, after I had already been in the hot pink scrubs for an hour, he looked at me and said "Mama. Why you in doctor clothes? That's what Kristen and Pam wear".

No fooling him.

 After good medicine and a restful day off of school on Friday with his Daddy, Jones woke up Saturday back to his normal, wild self. 

It was high-time to get him out of the house...

So we checked out the splash pad in Columbus. He loved it! We will be going there lots this summer for sure. 

Later that evening, we all went for a walk. I took baby girl in the stroller while Trey walked next to Jones on his scooter.  That boy rode the scooter by himself for an entire mile.  He was exhausted when we got back to the house. He refused help and wanted to do it "all by myself".

Love him and his strong-will (sometimes!).

I introduced Anna Joy to my Baby over the weekend.  I thought it was time to pass my childhood (ahem...and adult...) baby doll down to my daughter.  She squealed with delight. I have such cute pictures on my real camera, I will get them off soon. For now...It's Iphone pictures!

I hope she takes Baby to college, not unlike her mother.

Anna Joy's Beauford Bonnet came in on Friday. I die. DIE!

She may wear it everyday until she turns 18.

(For the price, she better...)

And finally, I leave you with real life...

Sunday afternoon Trey didn't have Youth group, so I took advantage of him being home by taking a nap with Anna in our bed. 

Little Miss Priss was very proud of the present she left behind.

Oh the laundry you do with children (and husbands).

 

(In other news, Starkville is hosting a regional.  We play tonight for the championship! We, sadly,  haven't been able to make it out to watch any of them, but we've been closely following our bulldogs. HAIL STATE!)

Simple things

I find myself getting down at times about being away from the kids all day, 5 days a week.  Rationally, I know it makes sense for me to keep my job. Suck it up and do my best. But irrationally, I want to quit tomorrow and stay home with these two...maybe even start wearing jumpers and homeschool them. 

Just kidding.

About the jumpers.

Really, it is a constant struggle.  I understand that I am not alone - I am not the first mother that has  put her babies in school (I still can't bring myself to call it daycare, for whatever reason). I know I am not alone in wanting to be home.

Some days are easier than others.  Some days I am so busy at work that I don't have time to think about the things I am missing.

But then there are days like this week.  It's slow. It's quiet. It's summer.  And while there are plenty of things I could be doing to get ahead of the game, nothing is pressing and I find myself throwing a pity party and wishing I was taking the kids to the splash pad, not in an office.

I have to remind myself to think about the good. The blessings, which really are all around.  The simple things that make my time with the kids and Trey so great.  Nothing spectacular, but the joys of everyday life - like all getting on our bed after bath time, watching Jones swim in the blow up pool in the yard, and watching as Jones 'protects baby sister', as he says. Such precious things.

I am trying to focus on the good, and not dwell on what I wish could happen.  "Work is a blessing" - I have heard that my whole life. And I understand that. I am thankful for my job. I really do enjoy it. And I adore the people I work with.

But my heart is at home with these two, who are growing up entirely too fast.

Ok. Enough of that.  Here are some funny things that Jones has said lately:

• His teacher asked me the other day if we were going to the beach on Monday, because apparently he has been telling everyone he sees that we are. (I wish, buddy.)
• This morning he took Anna Joy's headband off of her and said "mama! She is too little for bows!"
• The other night we were getting ready to say the blessing before dinner and he said "I CAN'T say the blessing! I have the hick-ups!"
• We were sitting on the couch and I told him I loved him and that he was my best friend.  He said "No, Mama. I love Henry.  Henry's my best friend."
• He picked up my breast pump and announced it was funny horn.
• He has started having an opinion about his clothes that he wears to school.  He has been begging to wear these lizard print swim trunks and his batman PJ top for about a week now.  If you see him in that outfit, you know I lost the battle that morning!
• He is doing great with the potty...even #2! But if he is playing or busy doing something, he will wait until the very.last.minute to pee.  The other night he was playing and I noticed him holding himself and crossing his legs. I told him to take a potty break and then he can come back to play. He said "I don't need to potty! I am just holding my tee-tee-er!"
• On that same note, we went to the eye doctor the other week. He was using the "I have to potty" over and over as an excuse to not do what the dr. was asking.  After about the third time of me taking him to the potty and him not doing anything, I told him to not tell me he needed to go when he really doesn't. He very loudly, in front of a large group of people, stated "MAMA! There is NO more tee-tee in my tee-tee-er!!!" Well, there you have it.
• He has a new appreciation for being naked and prefers to take off his clothes when outside. This is especially true if he is swimming or playing in the sprinkler.  In a matter of two seconds, he can go from swimming in swim trunks in the back yard to naked and on the scooter.  We give the neighbors lots of laughs and head shakes, I am sure.

Memorial Day Cook-out / Mom's birthday party

Monday afternoon, we all went over to Kris and Rob's for a cook out and to celebrate mama's birthday.  The boys played on the slip & slide all afternoon - complete with Dawn dish soap for extra slip!

Jones and Anna gave Lita a flower pot with their handprints on it with pink flowers. Trey said it was a gift only a grandmother could love, but I was proud with the outcome. Thanks, Pinterest.

Really...is there anything better than topping off a long weekend with good food, family, and a slip & slide?
I love long summer days!

Memorial Day weekend getaway

Trey and I went on a much needed weekend getaway over Memorial Day.  We went to Ross Bridge and had the most wonderful, relaxing time ever! We both read a book, ate way too much, took naps in the sun, and just enjoyed uninterrupted time together. It was good for the soul!

 

We decided we were old when we were excited about reading books, sleeping until 7 am, and wearing a one-piece swimsuit (Ok, that's just me, not Trey).

I love a three-day weekend and I love a relaxing trip with Trey, but I was ready to get home to my babies!

 

Anna Joy's Baptism

May 19, 2013

Rev. Raigan Miskelly

FUMC Columbus

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
Psalm 139:13-16