Wow! That's a lot of kids...THAT'S THE DUGGARS!!!

Just a little something I left off of my last blog about my mom conference weekend.

There we were.
 Coming back from dinner, ready for Session 2 and kinda flustered from being lost for the 3rd time that day. =)
We took a pit stop for a couple of moms in our group [Kristin and Keisha]
As Melissa P, Melissa E, Sonya and I stood outside waiting for the others we were looking around at the endless and plentiful hallways wondering which way to go. [inside or out ... apparently none of us are great with sense of direction].
Kristy: "Well most people are going that way..That has to be it."
Melissa E: "No, those are kids. Why are they all in red t-shirts?"
Melissa P: "That's the Duggars!"

My husband and I love the Duggars...well I like the Duggars...He LOVES the Duggars.
This was a very exciting moment.
I ran into the bathroom, completely ignoring all the women staring at me as if I am crazy [which I AM NOT]
I then shout.."Kristin! Keisha!...The Duggar's are HERE... they just walked by us."
In a split second leaving no time for wiping or washing hands Kristin dashes out of the restroom shouting.."I'LL JUST USE HAND SANITIZER."
Like I said I like the Duggars but Kristin [ like my husband ] LOVES the Duggar's!
She then loops her arm through Melissa P's and they are off. In kind of a stalker run .. hunched over and giddy.

This is the day that I met the Duggar's.
 I spoke with some of the girls, talked to the grand baby, and had my picture made.
I called Adam, who was green with envy...I could sense it through the phone. =)

And thus ends my star struck days. GOOD TIMES ... GOOD TIMES

Be The Sunshine!

Just a side note before I rant for a few paragraphs..I'm thinking of renaming my blog...FLOG [family+blog=FLOG].

Phewww.
 What a weekend. It was what you might call a "bipolar weekend".
Friday morning I left behind my family for the first time. On our way for Adam to drop me off my eyes were teary and my heart was confused. I was looking forward to a wonderful weekend of refreshment and worship for my King, but I was already missing my family that I was still in the car with.
I had thoughts like...

• HOW WILL THEY MAKE IT WITHOUT ME!?
• Will they miss me as much as I will miss them?
• Will their diapers be changed?
• Will they starve?

They all stayed the weekend with Mimi, so Adam did have some help, BUT so much could still go wrong. [I'm not so great at the leaving thing].

The conference was wonderful. I learned so much. We were taught

• Be The Sunshine!
• Just pick up the socks!
• Our highest calling is not motherhood..it is glorifying Christ through motherhood.
• Don't let the busyness get you ... realize what is ACTUALLY important and what is God-centered amongst the busyness.
• Some things HAVE to be left undone for the GREATER thing to be done.
• Teaching our children about Christ isn't as effective as showing them how to live for Christ.
• Oh yes and always wear PRETTY underwear!

Worship was wonderful The speakers were great. We stayed up wayyy past bedtime .We laughed .. we cried .. and then we laughed.. and then we cried.
One mom made the statement it was as if she had watched a Chick Flick all weekend. =)
We were lost SEVERAL times...most of the time.... driving and walking. [good times]

We were on the homestretch and we were all ready to see our families. On the drive home I recieved a phone call that went something like this.
Adam: "Hey babe. Having a good time?"
Me: "Yes. We just ate dinner and are about to be back on the road."
Adam" "Ok. Good. Well I'm on my way to Walmart to get PEDIALYTE."

Yes .. we all know what pedialyte means. Ansley my 9 month old had a stomach virus. It started around 6 that evening and by 1:00 AM I was waking up my 2 year old and loading up in the van for a trip to the ER.

Ansley could keep nothing down and was throwing up some blood. So in my head it was something like this for that whole car ride AHHHHHHHH.
We knew NOONE with this virus so I wasn't sure thats what it was.

They took samples of puke..samples of blood.. and samples of pee.
I tried to hold back the tears as they put in the IV and then carted us away for x-rays.
By this time I had convinced myself ..THIS IS NO VIRUS .. SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH MY BABY GIRL.
So as I held her in my arms on the hospital bed trying to keep her from pulling out her IV [ I was warned by the pleasant nurse that it would be my fault if she did] I prayed. I prayed for my baby and for God to hold us in his arms.

We left the ER at 6 that morning and now Monday afternoon Ansley is finally back to her smiley self. It WAS just a virus but it KICKED HER BUTT.

So as my "bipolar weekend" has come to an end, it is back to life as a stay at home mom. I plan on being an intentinoal mom..a mom with a purpose to shine light on my family and show my girls who God is..why we are here and how to glorify Christ in everything. I'm positive I will fall short of this but I know that God makes great of everything that is His.


....another side note....as I am blogging Anna is now singing "Go to sleep little baby" in SCREAMO. Should I be worried? =)

www.hereigo.MOM

Tomorrow morning [early morning] I am leaving for a mom's conference in Birmingham. dotMOM.
Super excited but kind of sad. I will have to leave my hubby and my babies...that NEVER happens.
We have to pick 4 breakout sessions from a list of like252 [this is an exaggeration] so I have decided to go with

• And God said It is Not Good.
• Modern Parents, Vintage Values
• One Hot Momma
• Living Beyond Chaos. Moms can't live on caffeine alone.

I have high expectations for this weekend and I refuse to be let down. =)
I am hoping to learn some vintage values, some insight on the blessings that are children, and perhaps how to lose some of this baby weight [haha].
I am also in an internal struggle with homeschool vs. public school. I am praying that God might use this event to reveal what He will have us do.

I am going with a group of 6 other moms in my sis-in-law's mini van. This should get interesting being as none of us will have our children. It could get wild, we might even be spontaneous [yes, spontaneuous is WILD for me]...staying up past Midnight is also WILD. =)

KRiSTY

Naps are MANDATORY!

My children are blessings and are truly wonderful. They make me smile.
But last night Anna was not my child. I will not claim her as from me. I'm only kidding I love her despite her daddy's traits. I'm kidding again.

My girls take a nap around lunchtime each day and almost always take a nap later in the afternoon. NAPS ARE MANDATORY!

Anna missed nap #2 yesterday. The list below are results of "No Nap Anna".

• Anna and Ansley had disappeared from my sight for longer than is ever good. I happened upon them in the kitchen floor where Anna had found a jar of bananas that Ansley HAD to finish eating. Yes, thats right Anna felt Ansley was malnurished and fed her and a large part of the kitchen floor Gerber's finest bananas.
• Following the banana fiasco came bathtime. Bathtime is always the same.
• Both go in the water.
• They play.
• I bathe Ansley.
• I dry Ansley off.
• I dress Ansley.
• I bathe Anna.
• I dry Anna off.
• I dress Anna.

          Anna usually just plays with her bath toys and babydoll while Ansley is putting on her "jamas".
          However "No Nap Anna" takes the cup I use to rinse her hair and flooded the entire bathroom.
          Four towels later I was able to wade in to finish batheing Anna.

• Both girls were clean and bedtime was getting closer. Both girls disappeared once more. Again I found the two of them in the kitchen floor this time with a bowl of butter and a spoon. No need to expound on that one. =/
• Bed time had come and gone and to Anna our furniture had suddenly become a playground.The running and jumping and jumping and running.

There must be a limit to how many timeouts one child can have a day. =)

Today is a new day and fingers are crossed for BOTH naps.
I love my girls.
The terrible 2's are about half way over. The 3's aren't so bad.....right?

Mrs. Independent =)

Alright, this is going to sound funny and probably lead you to judge me. Please be kind.
Today I did something I've never done before. Other people do it ALL the time, but I have never so it's kind of a big deal.


Usually...well ALWAYS when we go grocery shopping I'm never alone. Yes, that's right, you read it! Since I have had Ansley, Adam has always went grocery shopping with us.
I have never ventured out alone with BOTH of my girls ANYWHERE. No exaggeration! Other than a ride in the stroller to meet Adam for lunch [walking distance].


We have a very busy weekend and NO groceries in the house. Adam has class and as soon as he gets out this afternoon the busyness starts. So I had two options

1. Starve
2. Grow Up

Before Adam left for school, it was decided. I had to step out of my comfort zone and take both girls to Walmart. I had several reservations. So many things could go wrong and make our shopping trip turn for the worst.

1. THE TANTRUM: many things can set off a tantrum but the result is always the same, the child screaming and throwing themself onto the floor or backward into the buggy and kicking don't forget the kicking. Which leads to everyone in the store looking at you as if you have deprived the child of love, shelter, and nurishment.
2. THE "I WANT" SYNDROME: Walmart has everything. This world is all about consumerism which leads children to see, want, and expect things that they desire. example : "MOMMMMMYYYYY, THE PHONE, THE CAR, THE DOLL, MOMMMMMYYYY PLEASE!" If the item of desire is not immediatly put into the buggy see #1.
3. INDEPENDENCE: Independence is something toddlers long for. They are in the stage of "I do it!" "I can!" "Let me!" There are several opportunities for independence in the grocery store.
1. "I can walk, not sit in the buggy." [translates I will walk and then run away]
2. "Let me push the buggy." [translates I will knock over a display of cheeze whiz into an old lady]
3. "I will get that for you!" [translates I will try to put the entire store in the buggy when you turn your head] 

             Refusal of independence leads to #1.

As I began to get myself and the girls ready, all of these situations ran through my head. I had almost conviced myself that I was NEVER going anywhere alone EVER, but I had to press forward.

We went, we shopped, we loaded and unloaded avoiding all tantrums and are now safe at home =) PHEWWW.

I DID IT. Just call me Mrs. Independent. Who needs a hubby to help. I got this..... I think, Well Maybe he can still help some..... Who am I kidding I still need ALL THE HELP I CAN GET!

KRiSTY
     

I Love You Monster!

One thing about being a stay-at-home mommy is you are never lonely and always feel loved.

Just an update on the girls: Anna is doing very well in big girl panties during the day. I've had to clean up just a couple of puddles [luckily we don't have carpet], and Ansley is trending after Speed Racer in the crawling. She is also pulling up on everything. I feel walking isn't too far off.

Anna managed to melt my heart just a little bit ago. I was sitting on the couch watching, you'll never guess, BUBBLE GUPPIES. She crawled into my lap, kissed me on the cheek and said "I love you Momma." I replied "I love you more." Her reply, "I LOVE YOU MONSTER!"
Now I can take this to mean one of several things

• with her being a fan of Monsters Inc. she realizes that monsters are big and this is her way of saying that she loves me BIG =)
• or she could be saying that I AM a big hairy monster
• or that she fears me so that she is scared into loving me

I will choose to go with the first option since she was joyful in her statement.

The "green" Spit-up!

One week ago today Ansley started to slowly crawl toward an object of desire [a toy, Anna, Mommy, or Daddy].
Now one week later she has developed speed and a sense of direction, not to mention curiosity.
[insert sigh of exhaustion here]

When Anna first started to crawl, the house was baby proofed and about as safe as it could have been. It was the new mommy/child safety syndrome. I was not going to have Anna into anything that could possibly cause any type of injury/pain/scratch/discomfort/pinch ... you get the picture. I've now realized that even though I didn't intentionally un-baby proof the house, it is no longer safe for a crawling baby. Of course 2 years and lots of "boo-boos" later I also realize that bumps/bruises/scratches/falls/bites...,you get the picture, HAPPEN. So if you are a new mom let me give you a tip because I have been there..GET OVER IT. Children are very resilient.

So my new task at hand is to put myself in Ansley's position and see what I need to move or remove to keep her safe.
This morning as I was cleaning up the b'fast mess Ansley was exploring the house and I had to bring her back from the bathroom and Adam's office. I then found her chewing on my belt buckle, and soon after was following a trail of "green" spit-up. Which I can only hope was from a lost apple jack. [fingers crossed] =)

All of my initial concerns of not being able to keep the house in order have come to fruition. As soon as the toys are cleaned up they are pulled back out before I can re-enter the room. So if you ever come by to visit please overlook the never ending trail of toys. I promise underneath the colossal mount of playthings the house is clean. =)

Adam's birthday is quickly approaching and for a gift I got him tickets to an Auburn game and some new Auburn apparel. So this Saturday we will be baking in the 99 degree sun at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Adam is ecstatic and I too am looking forward to that Auburn Tiger atmosphere. So I will leave you with this.
WAR EAGLE!

-KRiSTY