Girl Date

A few weeks ago I promised our girls I would take them out on a girls-only date to pick out new bathing suits for the summer and buy a little friend of theirs a birthday present.

Friday was the day and we were all really excited for it.
In the days leading up to it I had to field a bunch of their ideas of what else we could also do on our date: buy a dog, see a movie, is Maddie coming with us?, eat at taco bell, eat at Chick-fil-a, eat at Olive Garden,....

The list goes on :)

The three of us decided that Kenna and I would pick Larissa up from school, then we would eat lunch and play at Chick-fil-a, shop for bathing suits and a few summer clothes at Once Upon a Child, then end it with a needed stop at Walmart (in my mind I also added buy them a treat at Walmart and visit the local humane shelter).

I might be the only person in America who isn't crazy about Chick-fil-a.

It is ALWAYS crazy busy, packed, and chaotic with kids and I'm not a huge fan of chicken honestly. 

But this visit we got there a bit after 11 beating the lunch rush (yay!) and I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich which I never had before and loved. 

So it was a win-win for me this time and the girls just always love it.

88 cent pineapple?!

I grabbed several and I wish I had grabbed more. 

After Walmart, the girls thought we were headed home but I surprised them with a long awaited trip to our humane shelter. 

I've been wanting to bring them there for a long time but I knew as soon as we saw some of those babies we'd want to take one home. 

Willing to take that risk, I pulled into the parking lot to see what we could see.

This was one of the dog areas and it was LOUD LOUD LOUD!

Between the smells, sounds, close quarters, and imposing number 

of pitbull breeds it was a pretty overwhelming area. 

Larissa pretty much walked with her hands over her ears the entire time. 

We did come across this adorable little long haired dachshund 

though who I wanted to run out with immediately.  

So timid and lovey. 

I may actually go back and get this baby though.

Like for real. 

I love her.

She was so sweet and affectionate.

Plus a cat for a pet has been on our mind for a bit now. 

Wanted attention....

....wanted nothing to do with us. 

I love my girls. 

They say and do the funniest/weirdest/sweetest/oddest things and it was good for me to take a minute with just them and see that afresh. 

They're at an age where the questions (good ones and also many many many unnecessary ones) are pretty much endless. 

That wears me out. 

I get impatient and snappy and just plain sour. 

During our date, I made a huge effort to engage with them fully. 

I wanted to stay patient with the flood of questions and comments that pour out of their young, hungry brains. 

I don't know if I was 100% successful but we had fun, made a memory or two, and found some pretty adorable bathing suits to wear all summer. 

Good Friday

Good Friday was all kinds of good yesterday. 

Before we had to be at church for the Good Friday church service, the kids and I took advantage of the sunny day to tromp around in the mud. 

Malachi's not too sure about this situation

A hollow tree just begging for some little girls to come along and "make soup".

Agh. 

Gorgeous.

And nourishing to mine soul.

La-dee-da-dee-doo

Pretty baby.

Making more.

This time it was coffee I believe. 

I hope he let's me carry him even when he's a tiny teenager.

No?

That would be all kinds of weird?

You're probably right. 

It's amazing what blue skies and chilled sunshine do for the heart, soul, and mom-kid bond. 

The Weekend

Our weekend was pretty full.
We saw it coming so we're not in too bad of shape here on the other side.

Thursday
(Yes, our weekend started on Thursday night)

Adam's parents came into town to close on their old house and stayed overnight. 

We went to a local place called FiFi's for dinner.

Their slogan is comfort food with a twist. 

I had never been before but heard it was really good. 

Oh my gosh. 

Sooooo good!

If you live nearby, go. 

You will not regret it. 

Afterwards, we caught the tail end of the church softball game so Chris and Monique could see everyone. 

I love our church softball games. 

It's just quintessential summer time fun where I can talk with my friends while the kids run and play with theirs. 

Sometimes we end it with ice cream or getting dinner with everyone. 

So fun.  

Friday

Pumpkin had a doctor visit on Friday. 

He has some mysterious issues so our pediatrician referred us to a genetic specialist at Riley hospital to take a closer look.

After much talking, observing, blood sampling, and an x-ray, we should hear something back in a couple of weeks. 

It was just the two of us so after his appointment, I had some fun and stopped by Target (we don't have one where we live) and one of my favorite Goodwill stores. 

Of course.

I was so glad I stopped because I found: a wooden maze toy, a wooden matching game, 2 sleeping bags for the girls, a 70's patterned pillow case, shorts, H&M flats, and a top for $40!

I'm sorry.

You just can't beat that. 

Especially when everything I got for $40 were things we needed/really wanted and looked brand new!

Chris and Monique drove back to close on their new house. 

We can't wait to go see it!

Saturday

Pumpkin + Peanut playing. 

She is so sweet with him. 

She brings him all her favorite toys and just places them all around him. 

Peanut will pat him on the head and just grin. 

Lovey, lovey. 

A friend of mine organizes marathons, triathlons, and other sporting events. 

He had one Saturday morning and had all this pizza left over. 

He asked if I wanted some for our small group meeting that evening and I was like sure, maybe 5?

Before I know it, my kitchen table looks like this and our small group AND young adults group is covered for the foreseeable future. 

Small group time.

Talking and eating before we study the Word together. 

That's my Sweetums on the right. 

The other three girls love her and she LOVES them.

My husband. 

We don't see much of him on this blog.

That's him. 

That's what he looks like :)

And there's my son, rollin' around as he does these days. 

Sunday

Speaking of which.....

...8 months old. 

Crazy. 

It's been a blur. 

And he's just perfect. 

Not pictured, but we also went to a double birthday party Sunday afternoon. 

My friend's children were born 11 months apart.

So for a month the are the same year!

Isn't that fun?!

They shared a big birthday party at an indoor bounce place with a bunch of those blow up bounce houses. 

Wish I got a picture of the crazy fun. 

So Monday's are my catch-up days and that's what I've done today.  

I try to get to the store to restock our cupboards, find homes for the accumulated clutter, do a load of laundry, put away the clothing that has been scattered from top to bottom, eat a little more wholesome after all the party food.....

You know. 

Find some clarity after the hustle.

It's good and we're finding it.  

An Unfortunate Event

This past weekend our little guy had a rough time.
Saturday night he started vomiting up his formula every time he ate.
This carried into Sunday and he developed a fever and became very congested.
You could just tell he felt terrible even when he wasn't getting sick.

He's such a little one and his weight has always been a bit of an issue so I headed to the emergency room with him for help.
He immediately got an IV  and after a few hours of tests, he was admitted.

The tests for RSV and bacterial infections came out negative.
He had caught a random virus though and needed fluids to protect him from dehydration.

It all really turned out to be no big deal when he was able to get the help he needed.
Thank the Lord for resources like a hospital and an emergency room when a small bug could turn into a very big problem for such a little guy.

We were released the next day and he's getting back to normal very quickly. :)
All's well that ends well. 

The Week That Kicked My Butt

That about sums up last week.
On the front end was caring for 2 sick babies, right in the middle was ruining my new phone, and the whole end was being sick with the stomach flu myself.
Adam was sick too with awful congestion and restlessness at night.

After pushing myself too hard on Friday thinking I had gotten over Thursday's episodes of throwing up, I was even worse on Saturday. :(

I will spare you the details.

Adam took one for the team and cared for the girls all day while I stayed in bed the whole of Saturday.
It was just what I needed
But what is with the guilt that comes along with taking that kind of time and leaving it all up to him?
Adam was completely sweet, gracious, and capable.
But for some silly reason I just kept feeling like I was slobbing around and not doing my job.
At the same time I wanted to take the day to truly get over whatever was invading my digestive system and get back on track.

Being a mom is weird.
So many conflicting emotions.
Even when I am truly down and out, I feel like I should be up and going.
Is that pride talking lying?
Probably.

Sunday shone a bit brighter though.
I felt SO much better and we all clicked back into place.

After such a rough week, I've done my best to plan a more upbeat week for us all with a group playdate at our house on Tuesday, going to Adam's basketball game, an afternoon in the mall's play area, and Valentine's day fun this weekend.

Here's to brighter, HEALTHIER days. :)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Actually my mom's birthday was like a week ago.
But we celebrated this past chilly Saturday with a picnic and a hike.

This is my mom's favorite day I think. 

She LOVES spending a day at Turkey Run with all her people together. 

So it was sure to be a hit. 

Sweetums was a trooper and had a blast. 

Happy birthday, mom.

I love you and you are the best. 

:)