"Not Me!" Monday

Welcome! Are you feeling embarrassed this week that your house was a total disaster when your husband's grandmother dropped in for a visit? Or maybe you opened the washer to find you had washed a Pull-Up along with all of the kids' clothing? Perhaps you're just totally frustrated that your kids never fail to totally soil their bedsheets right after you wash them. No worries! "Not Me!" Monday was written just for you. It frees me up to admit my many imperfections and vent about the absolutely ridiculous things that are my everyday. Enjoy at my expense, and join in the fun by commenting below!

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Last week I was miserable. Callan's pediatrician, in an attempt to stall an inevitable trip to the gastroenterologist for his persistent reflux, suggested I cut out all dairy for a week and then give him a call to see if Callan's symptoms improved at all. Turns out I eat a lot of dairy. A lot. I discovered that most of my "go-to" snacks for sustaining myself throughout a busy day are dairy: yogurt, cheese cubes, large glasses of milk, etc. And I was a grumpy mess of a Mommy without them. On top of that, the main dish at our leadership retreat was my favorite: lasagna. And on the last day of the retreat we all went out for lunch at, of course, The Cheesecake Factory. Seriously?! I hadn't been there in like four years. Ugh. After the week was up, I called the pediatrician this past Tuesday, only to find out that he was out the entire rest of the week for Thanksgiving. Seeing as how Callan's reflux or colic hadn't improved in the least with the diet change, I certainly didn't take matters into my own hands and decide to begin eating dairy again without speaking with the pediatrician first. Nope. And I definitely didn't reintroduce it with an enormous midnight binge on a carton of ice cream. No way. Not me!

During the Thanksgiving holidays, I did not catch my son running in circles around his grandmother's house, chasing his brother and cousin, blowing large, slimy, disgusting chunks of snot from his nose as he ran. Nope. Not my child!

I am a total scaredy-cat when it comes to dramatic, tension-filled movies or TV shows. I won't watch horror flicks and literally cover my eyes at intensely violent scenes. So even though I read the synopsis and knew the episode was about a serial killer, and I knew it would freak me out with Kyler away hunting, I did not plop right down in front of the computer and watch NCIS anyway on Wednesday night. (And it didn't keep me up for hours, imagining that every noise was a posse of black-clad ninjas climbing in through the windows to carry us all away....) Not me! 

My mother-in-law's bathroom is now the cleanest in town. Just in case, you know, you had an emergency and needed to stop by. This is not due to the fact that my precious three-year-old, in insisting to stand to urinate like Daddy and in the process discovering some of the mess-making capabilities of his male anatomy, has urinated all over it no less than five times in the past four days. Not my child!

Speaking of bathroom accidents, (isn't that a great way to start a sentence?!) it was not my dear nephew who took matters into his own hands after all of the adults in the house were clearly too dense to pick up on the fact that he needed his diaper changed. I did not walk by the hallway bathroom just in time to find him standing in front of the toilet, poopy diaper around his ankles and its contents spilling all over the floor, with a giant wad of toilet paper stuck up his rear end. Nope. It also was not me who was then, ahem, fortunate enough to be the one to clean up this mess of diaper, toilet tissue, and runaway toddler poop balls (that's right, I said it) while all of the other adults in the house were (or promptly made sure they were) otherwise engaged with Thanksgiving preparations. Not me!

Cameron got into a large canister of bird seed at his grandmother's house this week. (Seriously, the kid is an ox. He weighs 35lbs. and can schlep a 15lb. can of birdseed around the house. Nuts.) After he dumped some of it on the floor, his grandmother made him clean it up with the vacuum. Cam loves vacuuming with their central vac system. But he obeys the rules at all times. So he didn't continue to dump large quantities of birdseed throughout our stay there, just so he could vacuum it up. And during our final night there last night, it wasn't my husband who finally got a clue and made him pick every last seed and kernel up by hand. We are certainly all much faster to catch on to our toddler's schemes.

During a rare family outing to a restaurant for dinner yesterday, my husband did not have to jump up and literally chase Cameron through the restaurant after he "escaped" from our booth. Twice. And Kayden didn't chase after him. And the boys definitely weren't both squealing with glee as they ran. And I most certainly did not just sit there, "attending to the baby," pretending that the rest of my family wasn't running laps around normal families (who don't have to chain their toddlers to their seats after they finish eating). Nope. Not me!

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"Not Me!" Monday is an incredibly fun, blogging carnival started by MckMama. In a nutshell, it's where we all can be open about the ridiculous things that happen in our lives. Join in the "Not Me!" fun and leave a comment about all of the things you didn't do this week!
  

One, Two, Three

      
Counting my Thanksgiving blessings...

...is as easy as one, two, three.
     

Leaves

How silently they tumble down

And come to rest upon the ground

To lay a carpet, rich and rare,

Beneath the trees without a care,

Content to sleep, their work well done,

Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly

Until they nearly reach the sky.

Twisting, turning through the air

Till all the trees stand stark and bare.

 

Exhausted, drop to earth below

To wait, like children, for the snow.

 "Autumn" by Elsie Brady

"Not Me!" Monday

Wishing you had an outlet that would help make your crazy life seem a tad bit normal? Wishing you hadn't had a total emotional meltdown this week over something ridiculous? Embarrassed that you only mopped the floor recently because you dropped a massive bottle of bubbles in the kitchen? Looking for a place to vent your frustration at your toddler's propensity for urinating on every blessed thing in sight? Look no further! "Not Me!" Monday was written just for you. It frees me up to admit my many imperfections, and vent about the absolutely ridiculous things that are my everyday. Enjoy at my expense, and join in the fun by commenting below!

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I finally had a postpartum OB appointment this week, after having Callan nearly twelve weeks ago. It wasn't me who put it off and procrastinated so long. And since I'm nursing exclusively, I eat healthy foods 100% of the time. Which is why (even though I had to take the babe along and was running late) I made myself a healthy and nutritious breakfast. I did not just chow on a huge stash of animal crackers I keep in the car for my children. Not me!

It was not me who opened the washer this week to discover that, along with an enormous load of kids' clothing, I'd also thrown in and washed a Pull-Up. It did not absolutely cover everything in tiny, water-absorbing balls of goo. And when I found it, I certainly didn't ponder whether it was clean or dirty when I put it in the wash. Oh well, guess it's clean now! Errr....sort of. Too bad the clothes aren't....

We spent the weekend at an awesome leadership retreat that my husband put together for some of the adult volunteers in our teen ministry. My incredible mother-in-law watched our two older boys, and we took Callan along with us. It was challenging, trying to fully participate while bouncing, feeding, and entertaining a fussy baby. And I'm exhausted, like, all the time now. But the sessions were great, and my husband was leading them. So when a friend offered to take Callan for awhile, it wasn't me who totally took advantage of her, ignored my husband, ducked into a nearby bedroom in the suite where we were meeting, crawled into bed, and took a nap. Nope. Not me!

On the way home from the leadership retreat, Callan wasn't too interested in eating, so I had to pump. My dad called while we were in the car, and spoke with my husband for awhile before asking to talk to me. After skirting around why I couldn't talk and still being pressed for info, I told my Dad via speaker phone that I was otherwise engaged with a breast pump at the moment. I then did not hear my dear father holler (that's Texan for "shout," loudly) up the stairs at my mother, "Do you want to talk to Heather?! She's pumping!" And he certainly didn't then get back on the phone and say, "Call your Mom later. We have company."

Seriously?!?!  

Not me!

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"Not Me!" Monday is an incredibly fun, blogging carnival started by MckMama. In a nutshell, it's where we all can be open about the ridiculous things that happen in our lives. Join in the "Not Me!" fun and leave a comment about all of the things you didn't do this week!

Turkey

Yummmm.....

TURKEY.

We held our annual college ministry Thanksgiving dinner last night.

Fun times!

This is probably my favorite event of the year. I love the way so many folks pitch in to help, and sharing a meal with 40 people at one ridiculously long table is just not something I experienced growing up. I love it, and that's saying a lot coming from an introvert who is generally not energized by crowds.

Enjoy the pics!

 

 

 

 

 

I love how long this table is. It's at Kyler's parents' house. They are gracious enough to host and help with this event every year.

There's just something to be said for all sitting together at one table. A space long/large enough to host this kind of dinner is among our top priorities as we've searched on and off for a house that will better accommodate our growing family (and be close to the college for ministry, and be in our meager price range, and have at least some yard for the boys to run around in...)

Anyway...

I love the fellowship at this Thanksgiving table!

 

Joel's turkey "barbarian" pics have become somewhat of a Common Ground tradition. Crazy kid.

 

 

 

I can't wait 'til next year!

While You Were Nursing, Part 2

Click here to read my first While You Were Nursing post.

Well, the saga continues. As you know, I frequently try and multitask while I'm nursing the baby. Sometimes I blog. Other times I read. Mostly I armchair quarterback wrestling matches and minor skirmishes between my two older children.

Lately, the boys are really upping the ante when it comes to trying to win my attention while I'm nursing their baby brother. In the past few weeks...

Kayden climbed up on top of the television and threw his brother's beloved taggie blankets behind it. Ear-splitting screaming ensued....from all of us. Amazing things, chain reactions.

Cam went upstairs without permission, and when I called for him, reappeared two minutes later with dripping wet hands. I am choosing to believe this is because he actually washed his hands in the sink, as he claimed, not in the toilet, which is much more likely.

One morning, I was nursing the baby and trying to check e-mail while the boys watched a cartoon. When I heard some odd "clicking" sounds, I turned to find both boys sitting on the coffee table, right next to the television, happily running two large magnet toys back and forth across the screen. Luckily, the damage wasn't permanent. It only took an hour or two for the proper color to return to the screen. Their newfound penchant for this fun activity however, is taking longer to eradicate.

Cameron climbed up on the counter in the kitchen and retrieved the bottle of Flintstones vitamins. Not just on the counter, mind you. I know better. No, I keep the vitamins in what I initially thought was a safe location. (Safe...ha! I just may need a safe!) Cameron pushed a large kitchen chair with a highchair attached across the kitchen to the counter, scaled it, stood up on the counter, opened the cabinet door and reached up onto the third shelf inside the cabinet to retrieve the vitamin container. Thank the Lord for childproof caps. And my ultrasonic mommy hearing. He hasn't figured either one of those out...yet.
       

Table Manners

Sigh.

It's been a long day.

 

Needless to say, table manners were the least of my concerns.

       

Five Days

           
Last Friday, Callan and I embarked on a journey to Texas.

It was a short stay of only five days, but in that time we did quite a lot.

We celebrated the life and mourned the death of my Uncle "Buh,"

my grandmother's only brother.

It was a nice service, and I was glad to be there to support the cousins and other family members who were there for me when my grandmother passed away several years ago.

We ate a lot of food. A LOT of food.
Oh, Texas BBQ, real barbecue, how I miss thee....

We posed for pictures...

My cousins and I took lots of pictures.
I don't get to see these girls nearly often enough.

We laughed...

We cried...

We carried on...

We rejoiced in the news that someone is pregnant (not me!!)

We stayed with a cousin I hadn't seen in several years, and met his new wife. I really enjoyed getting to spend a good chunk of time visiting and catching up.

I got to see another aunt and uncle, and the house they are working on renovating.

I saw my cousin Kristian and the house he recently built for himself.
My favorite part was the room with an entire wall painted in
diagonal yellow and black construction stripes. Nice.
And just like Kristian.

Callan got to meet his Opa.
They hit it off and had a great time just hangin' out.

This is in the car waiting for Omie to come back from the bathroom.

Opa was not pulling a Britney Spears,

justsoyouknow.

We drove over to Galveston one afternoon for lunch, and so I could try and find the houses that Kyler and the teens worked on during their mission trip this past summer to help victims of Hurricane Ike.

I found one house and took a picture:

But it wasn't the house they worked on. Darn. 

Someone has worked on it though,

probably another Good News Galveston group.

Doesn't it look great?

On our way out of Galveston,
we drove by the shipping yard and docks.

We saw this:

Seriously. Is that not huge?! I was in awe. Maybe you've been on a cruise; I have not. I literally could not believe how big this ship was. It was evidently just about to leave port. Pretty cool.

Maybe someday...

I hung out with my darling nephews.

Cool cats, both of them.

I can't wait to get all five of the boys together.

 

 

They belong to him. The one with the camera.  

And his wife of course,

who is surprisingly adept at ducking out of pictures

at just the right moment. 

 

Callan met his great-grandparents on both sides of my family.

It was so fun sharing my beautiful babe with them.

It was a good trip.

A happy and sad sort of visit.

Happy for the opportunities, sad for the occasion...

but a very good visit.