Traded my sanity for more space

Last week was probably the busiest I've been in a very long time. Maybe years? I don't even know. I'm exhausted, to say the least.

What's been going on, you ask? Let me tell you:

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, we live with my parents to take care of Dad. The house we've been living in wasn't big enough (spaces were invaded, hips were bumped against, and noise was too close for comfort) and Mom was considering moving us to a larger home, yadda yadda yadda. My brother and his wife (who had been living in my parents' previous home) wanted to live in town (they like the schools better). So, crazy idea, we switched houses. We moved on Elias' first birthday, which put me in a pissy mood, to put it nicely, but we went out and celebrated with pancakes at Cracker Barrel.

Oh, we have a cat, too. He was found abandoned at a gas station, hiding under a car. I brought him to the vet and he's estimated to be six weeks old. A possible Independence Day kitten. I wanted to name him Loki, but the kids voted against me so his name is Figaro (Fig) Newton. He's so sweet, not even afraid of the pups. My kiddos are absolutely smitten and neither are showing signs of allergies.

Elias is ONE!

Elias has turned a year old! It's late, but we haven't had our computers hooked up.

My littlest baby has been with us a whole year. I planned a birthday party, but the weather in Louisiana was so bad, I cancelled it. Instead, we just had a small party at home with a cake. He was so thrilled!

Five Things

Five names I go by:

1. Amanda
2. Amy
3. Babe
4. Mama
5. Woman

Five Places I have lived:

1. New Orleans, La
2. Slidell, La
3. Hammond, La
4. Covington, La
5. Flowood, Ms

Five things I love to watch on TV:

1. New Girl
2. Chopped
3. Bob's Burgers
4. Ink Master
5. Friends

Five places I have visited:

1. Florida
2. Tennessee
3. Missouri
4. Texas
5. Georgia

Five things I love to eat:

1. Sushi
2. Macarons
3. Chips
4. White chocolate
5. Potatoes

Five favorite drinks:

1. Tea
2. Amaretto sour
3. Piña colada
4. Orange juice
5. Sobe water

Five jobs you have had:

1. Smoothie King
2. Great American Cookies
3. Bath & Body Works
4. Hollywood Video
5. Target

Random

Zac and I decided to take the kids out and about. We went to the Outlets and window shopped. The big two liked riding the mechanical bull together. Elias was sleepy, so we headed home so he could nap and Leah helped me cook dinner, then we enjoyed listening to the rain. Elias loves the rain. I've also been working on a rainbow blanket that seems like there's no end in sight. 

School and Stuff

School has begun here. 5th and 2nd grade! Leah didn't want to progress to third, so we're repeating second... We never really finished the grades last year, so I don't see the harm. She's where she's supposed to be anyway.

My books arrived later than I wanted, then I forgot to order an arithmetic text book, as well as two test books. Ugh. They've been ordered, so now we wait.

Meanwhile, we just got the air conditioner fixed in the house and I think the plumber is coming later today to fix the shower. It's been quite a few weeks. Elias' birthday is around the corner, as well as more vaccines, then his party in Louisiana.

To quote The Pixies: Where is my mind?

Bubbles

I ran a bath for myself and added some Bath & Body Works body wash (note: the body wash gives way more bubbles than the actual bubble bath). The bubbles got a bit out of control, nearly engulfing the entire tub, until I decided to get the kids to take them away in a bucket. They brought all the bubbles outside and had themselves a blast.

The Plague 2016

This past weekend has been a total puke-fest nightmare. We went shopping for school supplies on Saturday, but Leah was complaining of a tummy ache. It started pouring rain, so we decided to come home and see if she needed to use the bathroom. She barfed. I got her a pallet on the floor and was getting ready to go to bed, when Jac got up and barfed. Zac set them up with some buckets and they prepared to sleep on the floor in the sitting room to be close to the bathroom. I prepared a bucket for myself "just in case" and decided to go to bed early. I couldn't sleep, just tossing and turning for what felt like hours. Around 3am, I felt it and told Zac it was my turn and can honestly say I'll never eat Oreos again. Or Burger King (TMI? Oh well).

I made a bed on the sofa and tried to rest, then I heard Zac rush to the bathroom. We were up all night, balancing our own misery with our kids, trying to rest and medicate, all while hoping the baby didn't catch it. Luckily, he didn't. He's been a cheery little peach. Jac was the last to recover, but we're all okay now. All the linens have been washed, baths have been had, and disinfectant has been deployed.

Here are some happier times because there was no way I was taking sick pics.

A.T.

My dad turned 80 (see what I did there?). It feels strange to have a dad that old. But I don't even see myself in my 30s. In my mind, I'm still 17, nervous behind the wheel of a car, and unsure what I want to be when I grow up... but with kids. He's EIGHTY. That is old. Like, grandpa-old. But he's still kickin' it, sitting down in front of his TV.

Elias 11 months

My baby boy is 11 months old already.

He's still crawling, but will take a step or two. He says "mama", "papa", "dada" "hey dad", "baw" (which is bottle), and "bat" which is bath. He doesn't like to be told NO or to be scolded. That bottom lip pops out so fast. He's also a great faker with the tears. He'll scrunch his face up and start whining or squeaking. He won't wear shoes or socks and is very determined to remove them if we put them on his feet without consent. He laughs easily, and loves to snuggle at night. I've started sharing whatever we eat with him and he loves scrambled eggs, pancakes, and spaghetti. He's not a big talker, but he understands a few things. He's also a mischief-maker. I'm most likely going to have to baby-proof... something I never had to do before with the other two.

Independence Day 2016

We went out of town for 4th of July. Sean invited us (along with Kyle) to stay with him and we spent most of the weekend being lazy and playing card games. It was so, so, SO hot. We didn't even want to go anywhere or do anything. I did pop by GAC for a cookie deal, so everyone was happy. Jena even came by to visit for a short while and we played One Night Ultimate Werewolf.

We came back to my parents' house Monday night and were home early enough to pick up some flammable goodies and hot dogs. I sat out in the driveway with Elias while Zac and the big kids lit firecrackers and sparklers.