and for the briefest of moments, I pondered never returning

Because my time away from kids, husband, house and laundry all responsibility whatsoever was utterly DELIGHTFUL.

But I do love my family...

So I came home...

and I ran of fun money... so I had to.

Nuance.

It was a mini trip of food, coffee, more food... talking about food, and shopping until you have that slightly glazed over look, your left foot goes numb and you dream of dressing rooms.

So in other words...

Practically perfect.

and to top that off... I Instagramed it all for you...you're welcome.

It was me and 3 of my dearest friends. Who all at one point in time, happened to live in room 359 of Earhart Hall at Purdue University...

The 359 girls... if we were a band.

Anyhoo... We all live in different states now, making it harder to see one another and catch up on the important things of life, like our kids, husbands, makeup and skinny jeans...

Because of the lack of face time... the mini vacay was born. Hotel, spa day food til you puke... just the girls. And now that we have had the experience, we are planning our next.

So this was, as my friend Suzanne V. puts it, our first pancake.  Where you test the heat of the griddle, the thickness of the batter... all the elements as to make changes for the next pancake... to make it better... and better, until you have the perfect balance.

Our first trip = our first pancake.

It was yummy, folks!

Not much tweeking to be had...

We, and by we I mean Julie, sought out some primo deals through Groupon and LiningSocial. All that deal scoring was very beneficial to our pocket books and allowed for much more shopping, or more coffee... or cheesecake... let's just say it got us more rest and relaxation.

Our final day, as sad as it was, included a facial and a massage at a local spa.

DEVINE.

Although, after filling out the pre-self-indulgence questionnaire, Julie thought my answer about experiencing stress should be changed... consider me outrageously optimistic...

 I cannot believe how fast it went... and how much I miss them already, unbelievably wonderful it was.

Also... how ready I am for my second pancake...

Gettin' ready...

New and exciting things await us in the next few days....

Mama's gettin' away.

A mini vacay is in store starting.... (EeeEEkKKkk!!!) tomorrow!!!

You know, just me, some of my closest friends... no kids... no husband... no responsibility... a shower EVERYDAY, hot meals eaten slowly in one sitting, focused, uninterrupted conversation, and SHOPPING....

ARE YOU JEALOUS?

because you should be... just a wee bit.

because it is going to be

AWESOME!!!

or something to that effect...

Not only do we have Mama's "sanity saver" coming up, but we have even more exciting news.

The Captain is starting A JOB next Monday!!!

Can I get a Praise Jesus?!?

What an answer to prayer. Thank you so much for keeping my husband and my family in your prayers as we walked this interesting path the last few months.  God has been gracious to us, He has shown His loving kindness to us through you and your prayers and gifts. We have rarely had time to forget how blessed we are. And when the occasion did pop up for doubt, self-pity and stress... you all encouraged and loved on us.(or just me... I seem to be the complainer of the family)

THANK YOU.

Now... to packing!!!

eeekkk!!!

phone dump...

Man! Y'all know how to encourage and lift a girl's spirits! Thanks so much for all the comments, emails and all around awesomeness. The prayers and virtual hugs were felt.

and now I am back to my usual overly-sunny self...

some days are just hard and you need a good hard whack gentle perspective reminder.

So thanks!

This post is just an end of the week phone dump. So now I can do something with the pics I keep taking... and you see a bit of the untold brilliance that goes on around these parts...

These are in no particular order...

Ryder would crack up whenever I put this hat on him...it must have tickled, because he would shove his ears into his shoulders and giggle...so cute.

a rare self-portrait...

  

Ryder is everywhere and into everything... and he is silent and fast... not a great combo for a toddler. So here he is surrounded by a pile of wipes that he just successfully disengaged from their container.

 

Rigg is a huge cheese-ball lately. He is constantly dancing and singing... and fake laughing...which makes me laugh... which makes him "real" laugh...and then we have a bit of a giggle fest.

 

Ryder is a snuggle bug... he loves a good long snuggle right after nap time... don't mind if I do!

 

Rigg wearing a little brother T-shirt...

He might not feel it... and some may never know...but he is a little brother!

 

Ryder eating a mid-morning snack...

 

and me watching him...you know,they say cleaning your house while the kids are up is like shoveling your driveway while it is still snowing... I was just applying that principal... and the dog helped with the clean up! 

Happy Weekend!!

what I need

The weather today is gorgeous.

65 and sunny.

But despite the loveliness out of doors... I am having a day.

It has been one of those mornings when you wonder what God was thinking allowing you to parent children. My mommy attitude has been poor. I have been nasty and grumpy to my kids... my precious blessings... and then I have guilt which in turn has put me on the verge of tears all morning. 

It's one of those days where the lies of the evil one are loud in my ears... telling me I could do so much better as a mommy, as a wife, as a home maker, as a friend...

I suppose it has been building.

 I feel like I desperately need a break, physically, emotionally...mentally... and there is none to be had.

Today everything stressful and emotional in my life seems to have hit at once.

The Captain still has not found a job... and he is home... a lot.

My house looks like a toy/clothes/(dog)fur/stuff bomb exploded.

My one year old is teething BIG TIME. There are like 8 teeth coming in!

Rigg is testing and toeing the line.

My kids and I have been sick for 16 days and counting.

and then there is the $$ thing that comes with a husband with no job...

and the I feel fat thing that comes from having 3 babies in 3 years...

and on top of all that...

today I miss Caden so much it hurts.

It's just one of those days when all the crap of life hits you in the face...

and then laughs at how poor you are handling it.

I just need a big, long hug... on a beach... in St. Lucia...from the person who paid for me to be there and is watching my children.... for 9 days.

that's all I need.

that and a candy bar that tastes just like a snickers, but when you eat it you lose a pants size....

that's all I need.

or maybe just some prayer... for my attitude... for my husband.... for my broken heart.

because today

that really is what I need.

a day (or 2) at the museum

We have an excellent children's museum near us.

It is HUGE and colorful and jam-packed full of kid loving goodness.

We recently acquired a membership pass...which allows us to attend whenever we want. SO many useful benefits, especially with littles. We can go early and leave before lunch.. if we don't do everything, who cares? We can go back next week!!!

So we have been making good use of our new pass. I have instagramed our last couple of trips...so the photos were taken by camera phone, on the move, chasing people under 3... if they are a bit sub par, you will understand....

Right now they have a Mr. Potato Head exhibit. Rigg loves "tato head" and it is hard to get him to move on to the other options in the room. Rigg's favorite "tato head" accessories are hats, shoes and mustaches.

Ryder and a col light exhibit...

watching Andy and Rigg drive the bull dozer was hilarious!

There is a play scape with a section for children under 2. All the floors, walls and toys are big and plush... Ryder loved crawling through the tunnel and rolling down the ramps.

All three boys played/ stared at this ball machine for about 10 min. 

 

The museum has a carousel that has been there since I was a kid. It is 90+ years old and was once in one of the parks around town. Rigg wanted to ride the lion and Ryder danced himself silly to the music.

 Stellar kid watching by the Captain...

 

A hall of mirrors...

  

a trip to Egypt...

 

A "life sized" Bumble Bee. Rigg talked about Bumble Bee all day after this.

 

Ryder started getting sleepy... my friend Cristi was lulling him to sleep...



 An awesome dinosaur exhibit. The sky changes color and it simulates a thunder storm...

Which helped put this little guy over the edge...



a bit random

Life has begun to slow down here.

In a good way.

but it makes for boring blog posts...or with my recent track record in mind... no blog posts...

I have come here today to rectify that... the no blog post's part... I cannot promise not boring.

I have a bit on Rigg and Ryder planned for later this week, so you won't see much of them today. But do not fret...they are well.... and crazy and adorable and maddening...as all little boys should be.

Ryder is a handful... but so cute I want to squish him all the time.

Rigg has been over the moon with some Valentines he recieved this year.  He carried this heart around for days... even slept with it a night or two.

In the first week of March I am going on a trip. My first "away-ness" since this trip I took with the Captain after Caden died. I am not going with the Captain this time. I am going on a girls trip. The Captain will have to stay and hang out with the boys for 3 days and 2 nights (poor Captain) While I will relax and shop and sit and eat all of a hot meal in one sitting (yeah me!!)

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am.

SOOOO EXCITED!!!

But it is not for another 2 weeks... So I need to cool my jets a bit.

In other super fun news...

I got a new-to-me light!!!

It used to be my grandparents. It hung in their home since the 70's or earlier. When I was over helping my mom clean out my Mama's closets, I told Papaw that I loved it.

Next time mom went over, he had it down and ready to move. Now it resides over my club chair in our living room... and I could not be more delighted about it.

Pretty, huh?

swoon

The Captain got me a great Valentines day gift...

no, I am not pregnant...

He bought me new dinning chairs....

3 out of 4 of the old ones were broken. And by broken I mean 1 was completely gone... broke in two ages ago. The other 2 were falling apart fast, and they had nails and sharp bits poking out all over... unsafe for littles, or accident prone persons such as myself.

We found an excellent deal on some that looked good with our table (it is holding up nicely, if you ignore the huge burn mark in the not so exact center where I let a candle burn far too long) and everytime I gaze over at the dining room I get a silly smile on my face...

ahhh...new chairs...

and yes, that is Ryder chewing on a swiffer in the background...

also for my dinning room... months ago, I had a craft day with my friend Lauren... our main job was to add a splash of color to the top of my BLACK armoire, which sits against my DARK BROWN wall. Every time I looked at that corner I said blech, and heard a sad whaa-whaa.

So we made some (large) colorful pears to brighten it up!

How cute are they? And oh-so colorful... my little heart could burst with the joy of it!!

and they help a lot!!! Still this picture looks rather boring... but ther was no good way to crop it...so there ya go...

I also helped my friend Cristi make some more cakes... this time for a bridal shower. Cute polka-dotty goodness.They were tuquoise, pink and red... but my camera phone didn't quite capture the adorableness.

And to end this jaw dropping post with even more earth shattering news...

The Captain and I have been having some epic scramble battles...

upon one of my more thrilling victories, I snapped a screen shot... to memorialize it's greatness.

 Ahh, sweet victory!!!