Friday, June 28, 2019

Cole: 7 months!

Cole is 7 months old!


He can push up onto his knees now and tries to crawl, but will scoot on his belly across the floor (or off the bed elsewhere). He still cries a lot, but also laughs and squeals. He isn't sitting up very long unassisted, nor does he have any teeth yet. He hates baby food right now so we're still breastfeeding and sometimes supplementing with formula. He's starting to reach for us and can entertain himself for short periods. Classical piano music soothes him when he can't relax, so I usually put that on Spotify and he calms down. He gets upset when he hears other babies crying and is learning how to play Peek-a-Boo. His smile is the best.

Thursday, June 27, 2019

VBS stands for Vacuous Bull Shit

So, VBS was this week. Jac signed up as my assistant since he's in the youth, which he was happy about since he had access to the teacher's lounge and the "good food". My first night doing crafts was Monday... sand projects. You know, where you take a tiny funnel and put colorful sand in a tiny container? It sucked. I had two groups come in. The first was 4th-5th graders, including my Leah. They weren't terrible, only 6 of them. They shared, they made jokes about boneless pizza, they were well-behaved. Jac felt a little sad that he couldn't be in the group with them, but I let him do the sand project, too. My next group was 1st-3rd grade and, let me tell you, I could hear O Fortuna as they scrambled down the hall to my classroom. I had all the jars set up neatly and these little monstrosities of stranger spawn started screaming and grabbing for their own sand, "THIS ONE IS MINE!" "QUICK, GRAB THAT ONE BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE DOES!" Like, um, you brats is gonna share. It was rough.


Tuesday was a little better, far less messy. No paint, no glitter, no markers. I had the kids color some wind chimes with crayons. I wonder if it's universal child language to always be discontent and need MORE things? I give one sand container, they want two. I give one wind chime, they want two. What is that? They were supposed to bring home flyers for their parents/guardians/etc. tonight and one kid was annoyed that he had to hold his wind chime AND a flyer. Another kid was chewing bubble gum and blew a bubble that popped all over her face and got in her eyelashes. This is why I'm not a public school teacher. I would probably put vodka in my water bottle or chloroform in their markers.


Wednesday, I was going to have the kids make some owl headphone holders, which looked better as bookmarks. The bigger kids made them easily, but the smaller kids were having trouble peeling the felt adhesives apart. So, they made butterflies instead. I have that one kid who just irks the hell outta me and of course, tonight she helps herself to the sand and makes a huge mess. She doesn't listen and is highly dramatic. But, there was pecan pie in the lounge, so I rewarded my patience.


Thursday was the last day! And I will hand them my death certificate if they try to rope me into teaching next year. Jac was an awesome helper this week. He helped make sure the kids had crayons, helped peel stickers, and helped me clean up. I'm proud of him. Leah and Elias performed their end-of-the-week songs and the boys won the canned goods competition (they had more), so the boys' leader (the pastor) threw a pie topped with glitter at the girl leader. Glitter galore. This felt like a really long week. Like, it felt like a month. I've never dealt with so many children that aren't mine in a long time. We have no plans on Friday but to stay in our pajamas and do absolutely nothing. No library, no groceries, but maybe doughnuts. I'm exhausted. Good news, though: Cole was suuuuuuuper good yesterday. Maybe he sensed I needed less crazy for the day, who knows? But he barely cried and he entertained himself in two-hour intervals throughout the day in his playpen, away from me. He actually played with toys and creeped around happily. It was so nice. Please oh please let this be a new thing.

Monday, June 24, 2019

Granny

Today is my Granny's 82nd birthday. We drove out to Meridian yesterday and went to her church, then had lunch at Olive Garden. I even ordered a tiramisu. We couldn't stay and visit after lunch because I had to get back to a meeting at our own church to discuss VBS. I've been volunteered as tribute to oversee the crafts for 1st-5th grade and tonight is my first night. I'm a little anxious.

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Glutton for punishment

A few months ago, a lady from our church had a Yorkshire Terrier free to good home. I asked about him and she was ready to give him to us, but her husband wanted to give him another shot. I told her thanks for letting me know and we ended up getting May. Well, she texted me a few days ago asking if I would still be interested. Zac didn't say we couldn't get him, sooooo, I picked him up. We kept him for a few days and got to know him, but I decided to pass him to Mom since she's been wanting a pet ever since Dad died. Since he's 10 years old, neutered, and housebroken, she really doesn't have to spend time training him. He isn't super active and is really just the sweetest little dog. I feel guilty having him for a few days just to move him to a new home again, but I think it's best right now. However, I told her if it doesn't work out and she can't keep him, I will happily take him back. His name is Chewy, short for Chewbacca.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Animals and Swimming

We went with the church group to McClain Lodge and went on a safari tour, feeding animals, similar to Global Wildlife. The kids had so much fun, but OMG it was fucking hot. I had put Cole in the harness, but not even five minutes later, I had to just hold him because I was sweating profusely. We went to their petting zoo on our way back to the main building and THERE WERE BABY PIGS I almost died, they were so cute, but too far away to snatch up and put in my diaper bag. I managed to find delicious coffee: their signature tasted of buttered pecan and caramel. I grabbed some cookies for the kiddos and we headed to Mrs. Rita's for some pool time. Cole slept the ENTIRE time! We had pizza and hung out, but got sunburned a bit. It was a lot of fun. We went to the library after getting back to town and the AC was broken in the library *hysterical laughter*, so we headed home. Zac actually developed a heat rash from holding Cole. He didn't swim, so he wasn't able to cool off much. Oh well. Lesson learned!

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Father's Day

Happy papa day to this amazing dude. He's such a fun and sweet dad to our kids. I don't know what I'd do without him. We spent the day with Mike and Ashley, enjoying grilled burgers and quality time, just being lazy for Sunday. It was a nice day.


On another note, this is my first Father's Day without my dad here. I wasn't sure how the day would feel, but it did get sad toward the end. I always made him a card, even as an adult. He loved getting homemade cards and it was even more special when the kids would draw him pictures. I miss him terribly.

Saturday, June 15, 2019

C-Spire

Today's C-Spire was Mario Kart Double Dash. When Zac and I started dating, he was in high school and worked evenings at Pizza Hut. Almost every night after work, he would come to my house with a stuffed crust pizza and we would spend a few hours playing on the Gamecube that we bought together. Double Dash was one of our favorite games, next to Animal Crossing. We would sometimes stay up all night trying to unlock new cars or racers. Recently, we set the Gamecube up in our bedroom and played a few rounds. We're still pretty good together.

Kyle came to spend the night this weekend, so he joined us at the tournament today. He was able to experience Zac's amazing homemade burritos for dinner last night along with the breakfast croissants this morning which are based after Dunkin' Donuts' discontinued (locally) chipotle and brown sugar bacon breakfast sandwich. Kyle, Zac and I didn't make it to the final tournament, much to our disappointment. But, if we've learned anything from watching Chopped, the arrogant competitors are always chopped. However, our big kids made it to the final round and ALMOST won. They were so close. It was a lot of fun. Kyle promised he'd come next month along with Sean.

 

Monday, June 10, 2019

Milky Way

So, a while back, our cat, Fig, died. It was August at the time. We grieved and felt we'd wait a while before getting another cat. Well, that October, my elder sister, Karen, found some abandoned kittens and tempted us with them. I was hesitant, they were very small and sick and needed a little extra care, but the kids were sad and kept asking for a new cat and the pressure was on, so I caved. I had talked to Zac about maybe getting two from the same litter so they'd have each other and would cause less mischief, though we found out the hard way we signed up for double the hair, double the litter box, double the mischief. We picked both of them up and brought them home. Autumn came and went, I lost my sister, Dad's health started failing, then I got pregnant with Cole. Spring allergies hit, but they didn't let up. It turned out I was allergic to Maple, our fluffy orange cat. I couldn't bring myself to remove one cat while we kept the other. I've seen how pets become depressed and go through grief. I know some people do that, but they were together since birth and separating them felt wrong. What would Smokey do without his brother? I tried to deal with the hair fluffs all over everything, but after a year of constant allergies and living in a Benadryl-induced fog, I just couldn't do it any longer. I was already miserable, very pregnant, then lost my dad, and felt overwhelmed. We weren't going to put them in a shelter. That was out of the question, so we found them a home. The kids were okay and that was it. It was hard for all of us. I never wanted to do like my parents and obtain pets only to remove them once the attachment set in. I felt guilty for a long time over it. But, I wasn't opposed to getting a cat again later on, when the timing was right. I found myself browsing through adoption sites to look at cats and kittens. Anyway, last week I brought the kids with me to pick up Jac's and Leah's eyeglasses and there was a pet store next door. I told them if they behaved, we'd go look and see what they had. Kittens. They had kittens. Five, to be exact, and they were small and fuzzy. I asked about the adoption policy and it was much simpler than PetSmart, so I told her I'd call back Monday (today) after we were back from our trip. I told the kids to pick one of the kittens (they wanted a brown female tabby) and if that one was available after we got back, I'd take it as a sign from a higher power that it was meant to be. They gave me all their birthday and Christmas money and tried to keep their hopes realistic. I called this morning, the shop girl said there were two available, so I told the kids to get dressed and let's go look. The little brown tabby they picked out was still there. I left the kids in the car, made the purchase and their money combined was just enough for all her starter items (sign number 2). Then, she got a free vet visit for her second round of vaccines, her results from fecal and blood work were all normal, clean ears, trimmed nails, fresh bath, no extra charge (sign number 3). We named her Milky Way, but call her May (and also May-May, Kit Kat, and Elias calls her Runny because she runs a LOT). She's absolutely the sweetest and most playful kitten, sleeping in our laps and purring. I promised the kids, allergies or not, we're keeping her until the end.

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Pensacola 2019

Zac had a half-day on Friday. I spent most of that morning packing last-minute toiletries and loading up the van. Once he was home, we brought the dogs to their pup hotel, then drove to pick up Mom and make the four-hour drive to Florida. The kids, even Cole, were SO GOOD, until the last 30 minutes when Cole woke up screaming. But OMG those first 3.5 hours of silence was amazing. We made it to the hotel around 7pm, unloaded everything into the room, threw on our swim suits and went down to the pool. We got a good hour or two in before climbing out to get dressed and go eat dinner at Flounder's Chowder House. The last time we were there was 2013 and omg Jac and Leah were so itty bitty. The big kids and I ordered sushi, while Mom and Zac shared a seafood platter with Elias. Sushi was easy as I had to nurse Cole pretty much immediately after being seated. We got back to the hotel and called it a night. The room was nice, though. There were bunk beds, two queens, and a pull-out sofa bed. Jac slept on the top bunk, Leah and Elias shared the bottom, Mom had her own queen, and I made Zac sleep with me on the sofa bed. It was easier watching TV without disturbing anyone else, plus I like waking up by the window.


So, before going to sleep, Jac informed me he wanted to set an alarm so he could wake up early. I told him he should not do such because there was nothing for him to do and he would be bored. I went to bed around midnight after getting Cole settled down. Around 5:50am, I hear that GD alarm going off. Elias woke up and got fussy, telling Jac to turn it off. Then, Leah woke up telling him to turn it off. THEN, Mom woke up, got out of her bed and shined a flashlight in Jac's face to wake him up because he was the ONLY one who didn't hear the noise. Once he shut it off, they went back to bed and I had to get Cole settled again. Guess what? Not even half an hour later, that damn alarm went off AGAIN. Same thing all over. He couldn't hear it. I got up, took his phone and hid it in my bag. It was about 6:30am, I couldn't sleep. Cole passed out on his own, so I brushed my teeth and sat out on the balcony and watched the ocean for about two hours. It was fascinating. The ocean makes white noise so my mind couldn't wander much. It felt good to not be needed for a while. I watched the sun come up through overcast clouds, the pools were cleaned and prepped for the day, the beach opened up, and guests made their way to the water. Cole woke up, so Zac and I got dressed and went downstairs to pick up some Starbucks and a variety of pastries. It felt strange, yet nostalgic to carry a single baby around. We talked about how different life would've been had this newest addition been our first. Would we have moved to Mississippi? Wisconsin? Maybe Montana? Would we have been to Europe yet or taken a cruise? But the weight of six beverages and a bag full of pastries brought us back to the NOW and we rode the elevator back upstairs. The kids put on their swim suits and we went down to the beach. A yellow flag indicated choppy waves and to use caution, so the kids and Zac stayed near the shore. I sat under an umbrella to feed Cole but did get up a few times to take some pictures. The tide was coming in and some of the waves were unpredictably high, so of course, my pants got wet. Oh well. It started to rain, so Zac brought the kids to the indoor pool, I headed upstairs to leave Cole with Mom, put on my swim suit, and join the fam. I actually wore a two-piece. I haven't been seen in a swim suit that wasn't covered since 2000, but swallowed my vanity and pushed the "you've got a mom bod" voice out of my head, and jumped in. We swam for a few hours before Mom called to tell me Cole was hungry, so I went upstairs to shower and feed him. Zac brought the kids up to get dressed and we drove to Peg Leg Pete's for lunch. We have tried to make it here every time we go to the beach. It's totally worth the drive. I even ordered gumbo. When I was pregnant with Jac, I threw up gumbo and couldn't eat it again, but finally ordered it and it was amazing. We got back to the hotel and Mom decided she was going to take a nap, so Zac brought the three bigger kids to the pool for a swim and I brought Cole on a walk to the souvenir shops to find a shot glass for Emily and something with names on it for the kids. No luck on the names or the shot glass. I came back to the hotel, got a bottle of water and some pound cake, then rode the elevator upstairs to watch Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 while Mom was still asleep. Zac finally came up a bit later and picked up some hot dogs for dinner from Dog House Deli. The kids had their baths, I packed up most of our stuff and we went to bed.





This morning, I woke Zac up and we went downstairs to grab coffee and pastries. We ate and got dressed, I finished getting our stuff together and we checked out and drove to the Dog House Deli to grab breakfast and make one last stop to look at souvenirs before leaving. I found a shot glass for Emily and a plush manatee for Cole. We drove to the Cordova mall to walk around for a bit. I bought some Bath & Body Works semi-annual sale goodies and some macarons, and almost moved into a store called Earthbound. It reminded me of the Ra Shop and had so many psychedelic trinkets. After leaving, we picked up some snacks from the gas station and made the long drive home. I'm full of sugar and feel like sludge, but tomorrow I'm going to detox with a smoothie and lots of water. The kiddos are getting in their beds as I type, thanks to Zac. I've got our laundry washing, and Zac is picking the dogs up tomorrow after work. We really had a fun trip, even though the weather was gloomy. No sunburns, no barf. Win/win.