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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Fun with Family


We came to TN to pick up MC and to hang out with my nieces. Kerigan turned 7 and she had her birthday party at the movie theatre! Very cool party and got watch the Smurf movie. They had a party room, so we had DQ ice cream cake. Then everyone gets free refills of popcorn and drink! Doesn't get any better than that!!!

Yesterday we went to the Lost Sea Adventure. Also pretty cool (literally). They said it was 58 degrees underground! I'll take it. Its a 4 acre lake in a cave! Yep, underground lake. I don't suggest wearing Sketchers' ShapeUps Flipflops to trek over a downhill/uphill gravel mile. But it was a lot of fun! Mattox really likes to say cheese for the camera...and pass out sugar. I don't think anyone was more excited to see MC than him. He kissed her 3 times when he saw her. I didn't realize just how much he missed her. He is the sweetest thing!!!!!!! love mister mattox. So glad everyone is feeling better and ready to come home.

Say "cheeeeese"

Thursday, July 28, 2011

ps

...and no...i did not leave my sick child at home with a babysitter so i could go to the spa. lol. he was/is feeling much better! and he would probably prefer his "ra-dul" to me anyday. just for those of you questioning my parenting skills. ;)

July Ramblings

this month really needs to slow down. you can see from my lack of blogging that means i've been busy. we survived stomach bug #3 of the year. really. if we get another stomach bug after school, i might die. i caught somewhat of a break since MC was at my mom's the entire time. YES - I am a horrible mother. I shipped her off to her Gigi's SICK! She wanted her mommy she wanted to come home... and I was here with another sick child. Trust me, you don't have to comment on the guilt I feel. mattox is doing some serious teething on top of that. gotta love those molars and eye-teeth. He's been running fever for 1 week today = no sleep. this was supposed to be my "minus 1" week. MC was supposed to be enjoying her time with her cousins, and I was supposed to be enjoying only having 1 child to take care of and spending quality time with mattox playing with cars and trucks. It was anything but that. guess if you count quality lap time. he won't move. he won't stop fussing. he won't eat. he won't sleep.

then yesterday was my Rachel's last day. *sniff sniff* she has babysat for me since MC was born. 4 years. she left us for her real job. left 2 kids for 25 first graders. *sniff sniff* We wish you the best of luck this year! And if you get MC as a student in 2 years, you'll have to overlook her calling you "chachel" instead of Miss McFarland.

So I planned a spa day yesterday. my self-indulgence. I L.O.V.E. the spa. I feel clean, I feel refreshed, I escape. I get facial-ed, wrapped, massaged, waxed, pedicured, and blissed out. But yesterday was also anything but that. I decided to be brave at the facial and try a mini-peel. She said "its going to feel like ants crawling on your skin." And I pay for this??? Yes. I do. ok, it didn't burn that bad. then i get to the massage, and it was not relaxational. it was deep tissue and apparently i have ALOT of knots in my back. i think i even have a bruise today and am sore! it was a painful experience. worse than the bikini wax. nuff said. then my black toenail (remember earlier post in April) FINALLY fell off a few days ago, so i have this teeny-weeny paper-thin new toenail. the pedicurist ignored my comment about leaving that toe alone and decided to pedicure that nail as well. what nail? why don't you just clip that toe right off? there's nothing to paint really. then i absolutely froze during the body wrap. i had never done one of those before. interesting experience. i actually paid someone to give me a bath in this weird looking bed (visualize an egg shaped tanning bed that's actually a flat bathtub). very weird. and what's better - i paid someone to exfoliate my skin raw and then drown me in stinky green goop called seaweed. draped in these soaking wet towels and f.r.e.e.z.i.n.g. what's relaxational about that? do i have soft beautiful breath-taking skin afterwards? not so much. lol just plain ole dry psoriasis-stricken skin. who knew???

So we are going to torture ourselves even more and make the 8 hour drive to pick MC up. torture in the sense that mattox will most definitely scream the entire 8 hours. Can't wait to see my girl though! Happy 7th birthday to my niece, Kerigan!!

Monday, July 18, 2011

MC'isms


  • "Why did they only mail half my new big-girl bed? Would it not fit in the mailbox?"

  • "I didn't tuck them, mom..... i promise. I didn't ooze the scissors."

  • During our nightly bedtime ritual, I told her she could not have her milk until she went potty (she must also go potty so we don't have any accidents during the night). Several minutes passed and then I overheard, "C'mon tee-tee, come out! .....please, I want my milk.... c'mon tee-tee c'mon!"

  • (Also in reference to her new bed being delivered) MC gave me a quarter in the car. "Here's some money for my new bed... now you don't have to work anymore. Can you tell them its paid for and to send it to me now?"

  • Matt cleaned out the lake house hand-me-downs and brought home a trailer-full to take to the dump. The trailer has been parked in front of our house for a few days until he could get a day off work to take care of it (we're talkin ancient deep freezer, pots, rusted broken un-fixable furniture, busted ski equipment, stuff a junk store wouldn't even take, etc). Every morning, MC comments on this sight. "Mom, we sure are trashy."

Sometimes I wish I could see through their eyes and remember everything being so innocent and simple. Gotta love my girl.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

pARTy


Happy Birthday to my darling sweet 4 year old!!! That morning seems like 10 years ago, but I'm shocked its only been 4 years. Does anyone else remember the events leading up to your child's birth as vividly as I do? Matt, Miranda, and I all went to eat at Macaroni Grill on a Saturday night. I ordered the Penne Rustica...Matt wanted to go to the movies, and I kept telling him no - I was really really really tired. He got mad at me because he was trying to squeeze in one more 'date night' in before MC's arrival. We were living at his parents' house because ours was being built. We got home and I went straight to bed - although I never really fell asleep. Didn't feel anything - I just couldn't sleep. And then BAM! 1:00 am! Woke up having HARD contractions about 4 1/2 minutes apart. Called the on-call OB. He was mad at me (why are all these men mad at me when I'm the one in labor?) for waking him up in the middle of the night. I told him I didn't think I could wait an hour because I was hurting so bad. We packed up the car and drove to Flowood...and the rest is history! And an even longer story. But we welcomed our beautiful baby girl 3 hours later!

She is still shocking me and surprising me. She is not at all what I expected her to be. And I mean that in a good way. She surpasses all my expectations and assumptions every single day. She loves to draw, color, write, and paint!!! She is obsessed with paper (apple didn't fall too far from this tree). So, what other kind of party is there but an art party?

Before I post pics (warning, there are alot) I must give my mom and dad a BIG thank you! Couldn't have done any of this without them. Mom saved my video camcorder. Dad drilled holes in metal paint cans. They set up heavy tents for shade and helped watch my kids so I could get stuff done. I love you both! People ask me why I do these kind of parties. Because one day, I want her to know that I did everything I could to let her have a special party. That I put ALOT of effort into making it what she wanted. And one day, she won't want birthday parties - much less mom and dad in her presence. She will be embarrassed of us... she will want to spend it with her friends going out... she will want to spend it with her boyfriend. So I do it while I can. She woke up this morning and looked out the window at the balloons and set up. She said "oh mommy, its beautiful!" That was enough for me.


MC in her MeenyMinyMoe outfit...check her out on FB.


My homemade rigged easels. The wind just about destroyed them.


Rainbow Cupcakes!! And decorating their own! Yes, I made these myself.


She wanted candles in the Rainbow cake! Very pretty, and very worth the 1 hour drive to pick it up.


Craft project: painter's caps.


MC's final product. Again, not sure if anyone actually wore theirs, but they had fun making them nontheless.


Originally planned to use pallettes as their plate, but decided to use them as they were intended. Miss Riley's is by far the neatest.


Let's paint!!!!!!!!


My own princess Picasso!


I thought this turned out adorable! I found giant stamp pads to stamp their "signature"



Group shot: Allie, Brooke, Victoria, Kaytlin, MC, Kendall, Cooper, Sarah, Payton, Riley, and Kyla!


Hello Kitty big girl bike!


Cute party favors: Crayons, markers, chalk, play-dough, and mini paint pallette.
Then End.