He Even Does Dishes...

Carter is always helping me unload the dishwasher, so I thought I'd let him take a whirl at loading it too.

Not too bad...He'll get the hang of it, girls!

Take a Breath, Child!

This morning Maddie was explaining why I needed to wash her purple blanket.

"Mommy, I need you to wash my purple blankie. Remember when we went to the park with Daddy and Hailey and Carter to that park where we went with Princess TD and Little TD, but not the same day that we were there with Princess TD and Little TD, but after we went and had our pictures taken before we went to Poppy's house and then to Grammy and Paw-Paw's house and I got all sweaty and used my purple blankie to wipe my sweat? It's dirty!"

A mother's work is never done.

Goodbye Heat & Noise...Hello A/C & Quiet

It's so great to have power in the house. Fortunately, we thought to pick up a lot of ice to store in our big freezer before the storm even headed this way.

We lost power just after 1 AM on Saturday morning. Waaaay before we expected. Really, we thought the wind would pick up more before the power went out.

Everyone was down for bed in the Master Bedroom. We figured by putting Maddie's mattress on the floor in there and Hailey's bed in the corner, we could avoid little girls flinging our bedroom door open and running into our room crying.

Wind really started to pick up around 3 AM. Boy was it loud in our room. The wind was whistling and the windows were popping. We were afraid that they were going to crack. The rain was coming down hard too.

It was really starting to get HOT!

Hot Rod went to the other side of the house to check things out. He came back to report that the volume across the house was significantly lower and the temperature was slightly cooler.

It was time to move.

We drug Maddie's mattress, Hailey's mattress, and one of the swivel rockers into the hall. By this point, the kids were wide awake. Daddy and Mommy were worn out. We hadn't been able to sleep much due to the high (AND LOUD) winds and heat. The girls read through the pile of books we had borrowed from the library and still were not ready to settle back down.

Finally, we had to make them just lie still. Maddie curled up with Mommy and Carter and Hailey found a spot on the couch across from Daddy in the gameroom. Eventually, the winds died down a bit and we were able to catch a few Zzzzzz.

Saturday, we walked out to find one tree that fell over, the back fence that almost completely knocked over and some possible roof damage. We're still waiting on the contractors to come check things out for quotes. (Pictures to follow...)

Saturday night was another hot one. We went up to Hot Rod's office and set up beds in his office so we could sleep in some cool air for the night. We had been there for about an hour and were just settling in when we received a phone call from a neighbor letting us know our power was back on. Since home is more comfortable, we packed up and headed back to the house.

The house had already cooled off, so we got the kids in bed and settled in.

Just in time for the power to go back out.

And stay out.

ALL NIGHT LONG....

It finally came on Sunday morning about 8:45 AM and stayed on. YAY!!

Sunday, Hot Rod was able to get the tree back in the ground. It looked like the ground just got so soft that the roots got loose and with all the wind, the ground wouldn't hold.

We had a few scares with the electricity flickering - we were afraid we would lose it again. We didn't.

Aunt Laurie and Emma spent the day with us until they received word they had electricity.

Monday, Poppy joined us since he still had no electricity. Which brings us to today, Tuesday.

The girls had an absolute blast dragging Poppy all over the house and eventually out into the backyard to play.

It's all quiet in the house now. The kids are down for a nap and all our company has gone home. Daddy is at work and Mommy...Mommy has to go do some cleaning now!

Who needs sleep? Not me!

So, the saga continues another day. It didn't start out so easy today.

At about 3:30 AM, I hear the creak of my bedroom door and it's Maddie...

Maddie: Mommy, I need to go to the bathroom
Me: So, go!
(back again)
Maddie: I don't want to flush it because I don't want to wake up Daddy.
Me: Go flush the potty!
(truth is, she does not like the sound of the toilet - any toilet - flushing)
Maddie: Can you take me back to bed now.
Me: Sure (In my mind I'm thinking: Hey, why not, I'm only half asleep now - who needs sleep? Obviously not me! I don't work...)

So, I take her back to her room - thought I saw something on the floor, but in my state of mind, I thought I was just seeing shadows - and back to bed for me - YAY, 3 more hours of sleep!

Maddie: Mommy, it smells in my room. I can't sleep in there.
(Again, in my mind, I'm thinking: Clean sheets, she's got clean sheets - how can they smell and at this point, Carter is awake, so I'm feeding him and I'm just too tired to deal with a stinky room)
Me: Just sleep in Hailey's bed. (Hailey had already joined us in our bed - because she woke up disoriented - 3 hours in her own bed, not bad - we're getting there!)
Maddie: Can you cover me, I can't cover myself very well.
WHY NOT, remember: I don't need sleep anymore...

...I slept in.

Don't get me wrong, I got up dressed the girls, loaded them into the Expedition and sent them on their way with Daddy to Aunt Stephie's house for the day. Then, I went back to bed. Turns out, I DO need sleep...Who'd have thought?

The girls had a great time today. They went to the mall and played, they rode the carousel and had lunch at Chick-fil-A (I'll never forget Maddie called it Chicken Yay for the longest time - so cute!) After lunch, they all went to the pool for a swim. Boy were they tired. Both girls were in bed an hour early. Nice! Hailey asked if she could go back again tomorrow. Sounds like a plan to me. What do you say, Steph?

Today I turned my attention to the kitchen. And one more load of laundry - Maddie's sheets, again! Some time in the middle of the night - lets just call it 3:30 AM, she got sick. Which would explain the spot I thought I saw on the floor and the "smell" she reported that was keeping her from her sleep.

What did I accomplish today while my little man slept? 1/2 of the Kitchen and Maddie's room...we'll do pictures tomorrow.

I'm really enjoying myself. It feels so nice to have so much energy to clean. I never knew sitting behind a desk/computer could drain me so much.

I am loving this SAHM thing...

Just call me Mommy-Sue

So, Monday was my first official SAHM day! I had a great day with my little man. We started our day off with a quick breakfast together. (He nursed while I ate) Anyway, after that we had some wonderful Mommy-Carter time talking and smiling at each other. Then, I laid out his quilt made by the wonderful quilters at Church for him to have a little tummy time. Check out those bright fun colors!

While he coo'd and drooled, I spent my time here:

Now that I'm not "out" making money, I've got to earn my keep. (No, my Husband's not making me -- although, he would be disappointed if I sat around all day, I'm sure!) It's my personal goal over the next couple of weeks to go "room by room" cleaning the house. Not just picking up and putting things in their proper place. CLEANING! We've both been so busy with work and the kiddos we haven't had a chance to keep up with the house as well as we'd like. And boy did I clean...I got down on my hands and knees and wiped down the baseboards. I Lysol'd the windowsills, mopped, dusted (with Pledge) and made sure not to miss any nook or cranny.

Did I mentioned I washed, dried (remember BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!) and folded 5 loads of laundry. Yep, we all slept with clean sheets.

Which room will I tackle next?