Conspiracy Theory

So...I was on time this morning. I got up, showered, got ready (hair, make up, clothes) got the kids ready (all three) and was out the door and on my way to Ladies' Bible Class. ON TIME!!!

Now, some of you may remember my little dark cloud. Apparently,I've still got it.

I got maybe 10 minutes from the Church building and heard Hailey exclaim, "I'm dunna frow up!" I whip into the first parking lot I come to, throw the car in park, jump out of my seat, grab her towel and...I missed it! Yep, it was ALL over her and the car seat. Better yet, she tried to stop it with her hands and deflected it into my hair and onto my shirt. Fun!

I really didn't want to completely ruin the morning and after this happened, I desperately needed sympathy from the Ladies in my Bible class so I decided to press on.

After a 30 minute stop off at Target for some new clothes and a replacement towel for the car, we were back on the road and I was a mere HOUR late. (Okay, so an hour when referring to tardiness cannot be considered mere. It's a freaking hour! Of a class that is only an hour and a half long!)

HUMPH -- Like I said, I'm just not able to be on time. I think I'd rather be late on my own than late because I had trouble getting where I needed to be. I think I will just stop trying...

It's a conspiracy, I tell ya! They are all working against me. You know who "they" are. (Oh, who am I kidding? No one really knows who "they" are.)

Two Men and a Lady

Yesterday was my birthday...I am officially --- one year older. (You didn't think I'd divulge my age, did you?)

So, I had a nice day with two of my favorite men - Hot Rod and Carter-man! What a great day out shopping at the outlet mall. We were able to find coordinating clothes for the whole family so that we can get our family portrait made next weekend when we go get Carter's 6 month pictures.

I had a nice break from my crazy daily schedule with all three kids. After lunch, the girls spent the day over at their Aunt Laurie's house so that Mommy and Daddy could have a relaxing day out.

Lately, I have been handling the kids all on my own from getting them up, fed and dressed to getting them bathed, teeth brushed and to bed. It was starting to wear on me and I really needed a "stress" break.

Hot Rod has been traveling a lot with work over the past few months. It's amazing how even just having another adult in the house can improve things. I must brag on my dear sweet hubby. He does so much around here - helping me get/keep the house clean, feeding the kids, discipline, etc, etc...

I had no fancy meal, no trip to the theater, no movie...just good quality time with my very best friend. What a wonderful birthday!!

She said, He said...and he did it AGAIN!

While I was getting dinner ready yesterday for the girls and me, Carter was sitting in the kitchen just hanging out. He started to get upset and was jabbering a bit and then, he said his first word!

MA-MA!

I know - fluke, right? That's what I thought, but still I got excited and scooped him up. He was looking right at me when he said it! Did you say Momma? Totally made my day!

But, it wasn't a fluke. Nope, he said it again. After dinner, I had him sitting in the living room playing while I cleaned up the table and kitchen. The girls were playing around him and when he decided he had enough...

MA-MA, MA-MA!

Sorry, Daddy, but I won this one!!

It's awesome...except I didn't get to revel in it long.

Here's where the story takes the unfair twist.

Daddy stayed home with us a little while this morning since he had just returned from being offshore. Carter was sitting in the bed with me while Hot Rod was standing beside us talking waiting for the shower to warm up. Carter looked up at his Daddy and...

DA-DA!

Yep, and he said it again. Oh well...at least I can say he said Momma first.

WOW Wednesday (WithOut Words)

Okay, not so much without words just more pictures than long paragraphs...

One of my favorite pictures

Here is Carter's latest trick. He finally gained the perfect stability this past Sunday

If you look closely in this next photo, you can see his two pearly whites

He's growing up so fast!

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!

We Have Power!!!

Whew...the power came back on around 8:45 this morning. Praise GOD! We have been in the heat since we lost power at 1:00 AM Saturday.

I'll post more later when I'm in the mood, but for now we're all okay! I've got a few pics to share as well as some stories.

P.S. If you have arrived here from a link off a friend's blog and you speak to them, please let them know that we are open to company. There's plenty of cool air and water to go around...

When you're bored and you know you should be in bed...

I can't sleep.

I'm bored.

I'm also very ready for this storm to pass. Why is it that even though watching it on TV bores me to death, I am physically incapable of changing the channel? It's like when you see a car accident and you just have to look...you can't turn away.

I know I should go to bed, but I think that deep down, I am trying to soak up every little second of electricity.

I'm totally prepared for the power outage. We've got plenty of food, water, and other supplies. (I've never seen so many batteries together outside a store in my life.) I even made sure to get over to the library Wednesday and checked out 20 books that I could read to the girls.

The weatherman is cracking me up. Apparently, I'm not the only one awake waiting for this creep of a storm to pass through. Frank (the NBC Weatherguy) said that people are saying, "Where's the storm?"

Uh, folks...it ain't quite here yet! Hold on to your hats. And if you venture outside, perhaps you should leave those hats indoors. The wind is picking up and I can hear that all too familiar whirring sound outside. eerie...

I really can't complain. The whole household is sound asleep. It's fairly peaceful (aside from the television I'm currently glued to) Best of all...my little man is curled up with his Momma! I cherish every moment the two of us spend "cuddled" - for one day, he will be "too big"