My 2 Year Old...the family drunk.

Let me preface this post by telling you that I'm a good parent.

I promise.

I am not the kind of parent that sits around playing games on the computer while my 2 year old runs wild all over the house.  If anything, I am OVER protective.  Just ask my husband.  You would get an over-exagerated "YES!" from him.

That being said, this morning I was in the bathroom and Greyson was right beside me.  He was getting into my hair products (which he always does when we are in the bathroom) and playing with them.  Next thing I knew he had my texturizing spray open and had taken a swig of it.

UGHHHHH!!!!!!!

I quickly took him out to the kitchen and started having him drink some water.  Even though he didn't drink much of the spray, I figured diluting whatever was in his stomach would help.  I waited a little bit and decided to call the Poison Control Center just to ease my own mind.

I was informed by the nice lady on the other end of the phone that the spray he drank is completely non-toxic, but that it does have alcohol in it.

The kind of alcohol that is in liquor.

So...basically I needed to watch my 2 year old for signs that he is drunk.

Faaaaaantastic.

Let's be realistic.  He's 2.  He already staggers when he walks, becomes agitated easily, and doesn't make sense half the time.  I think it's fair to say I already live with a tiny little drunk! 

I should also mention that about 30 minutes after this whole incident I was slathering my legs with coconut oil mixed with peppermint oil (my new favorite moisturizer).  

Greyson came up and licked my leg.  

I can NOT make this stuff up.  Who just randomly walks up and licks a leg???  Apparently a 2 year old.

His face was priceless (I'm sure it tasted disgusting), but I knew the peppermint oil was nooooo good for him.  I quickly wiped his mouth out.  I did not call Poison Control this time because I knew he got VERY little, it was mixed with coconut oil (which is not harmful), and I feared they may think I was running a 3 ring circus over here.

I should ALSO mention (yep...there's more)....that this came ONE WEEK after Greyson decided to see what wood cleaner tastes like.  Apparently it doesn't taste so good.  Extremely grateful I use all natural cleaning products that posed no threat to him.

Again, I promise I'm a good mom.  I do my best to keep him safe.  However, I've always said that when God created Greyson he giggled and said, "Let's add a little spunk to this one"!!!   Even though he occasionally makes me want to pull out my hair, I wouldn't trade my little energizer bunny for the world.

"You can learn many things from having a child....how much patience you have for instance"

--Franklin P. Jones

A Day to Remember...

Today was a day that was full of moments - little moments - that made me smile.  A day that I'd love to remember....but I know all too well that if it isn't documented here I may in time forget.  Sooooo.....here is a little rundown:

The morning started with me waking up late and getting irritated with myself because I needed to get my run in so I could help Matt get the kids ready for school.  I quickly got ready and rushed outside.  I got my run in and had my fastest mile ever!!  I guess running late helped me run!!  Haha!

I got Eva and Jaden to school, came home, and enjoyed a leisurely walk with my sweet husband and little Greyson.  While Greyson and I often take walks, it was a treat to have Matt along this morning.  One of those little moments during the day I just breathe deep and savor.

When we got home we were taking care of some things around the house when I noticed Greyson saying, "Color! Color!"  All of a sudden Matt put his hand over his mouth and his eyes got HUGE.

I was afraid to ask.

Yep, my littlest guy had got ahold of the BIG 1-inch wide Sharpie marker I use to make posters and colored me a very pretty picture all over my KITCHEN CABINETS!!!

I started to panic, but quickly googled how to remove Sharpie markers from wood.  The crises was averted when I happened to have some rubbing alcohol on hand that completely removed the marker.

PHEW!!!!!!

After that we were off to swimming lessons!  It's always fun to watch little Greyson swim!  As we were driving home Matt saw a transformer explode on a power line in front of us.  As we were driving past it I commented that it was smoking!!  Well....the darn thing must have caught fire because the next thing I knew I heard a bunch of sirens and over 2,000 people in our area - including us - were without power.

That ended up being more of an issue than one would think.

You see, our garage door needs electricity to work.  Normally I carry a house key on my keyring....but today I didn't have one.

Soooo....we were locked out.
With a 2 year old that was ready for a nap.
In 85 degree heat.
And I needed to potty.

Luckily my ingenious husband remembered a window we hadn't locked and we were able to - literally - break into our own home.  If you doubt what I am saying, I have the scrapes up and down my arm to prove it.  We literally broke through a window screen and climbed through.  I'm sure the neighbors were enjoying our creative means of entering our home.

That alone sounds like an eventful day, right?  Nope.  There's more.

Tonight Eva and Jaden BOTH had games.  Not just ANY games...both had AMAZING games.

Jaden hit like a pro, caught a ball and got a boy out, and his final time at bat he hit the ball all the way to the fence.  I was sooooo proud of him.

Eva has been asking for the last few games to pitch and her coach has brushed her off.  Tonight she finally got her chance.  After 4 pitchers had done mediocre jobs, her coach finally called her up to pitch.  She walked out to the mound with a HUGE (mouth open wide) smile on her face.  Her smile was SO big that the umpire behind home plate even said, "See that big smile??!!!  We need to see more of those out here!!!"

Not only did Eva get to pitch...she was throwing strikes!!  Her coach and teammates were pretty excited!!  At the end of the game, her coach announced that he wasn't giving the game ball away.  There was a triple play during the game and he didn't feel it was fair to give it to ONE person.  One of Eva's teammates spoke up and suggested the game ball go to Eva....even willing to take a vote:  The whole team gets slushies or Eva gets the game ball.  It was unanimous.  All the girls started yelling, "Eva gets the game ball!!!"

It is now 10:00 at night and I'm ready to crawl in bed.  My heart is full.  Today has been full of smiles, laughs, moments when I wanted to pull my hair out, and moments of pure pride.

I'm a happy girl.

Just Outside My Window...

"No matter how long the winter...spring is sure to follow"

--Proverb

Birthday MADNESS!!!!

April is a crazy busy birthday month for us.  Just in our immediate family we celebrate the birthdays of Matt, Jaden, and Greyson!  If we include extended family we also celebrate the birthday of my mom, my sister, and Matt's dad!  It keeps this Mama on her toes!!  The past 2 weeks I've been working hard to make sure my youngest 2 birthday boys feel important on their special days...here is how we celebrated...

On Greyson's real birthday (not his party) he requested pizza!!  He was pretty pumped when it arrived!

Afterwards, we sang happy birthday to him and he devoured TWO little donuts since he was TWO!!  Side note:  First time he's ever had donuts...fair to say he was a big fan!  Haha!

He then opened the gifts from Matt and I...with a little help from his brother and sister.

Jaden had a Minecraft birthday bash with his buddies for his special day!

As always, he chose coffee cake as his dessert of choice!  SEVEN candles....can you believe it?!

 Our family party was a double whammy!  We had a Mickey Mouse - Minecraft party!!!  Half the table was decorated for the birthday boy turning TWO....and half was decorated for the birthday boy turning SEVEN!!

Pure chaos....and I love every minute of it.

Greyson was soooo excited about his "Ma-Mouse" party!  He wore his ears for quite awhile and would take people by their hand when they got there to show them his side of the table decorations!

 I love this little crew....and crazy busy weeks like this give me memories I will forever store in my heart.

 "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to praise and celebrate!"

--Oprah Winfrey

Florida 2014

We recently enjoyed a relaxing vacation in the sand and surf with some dear friends of ours.  Here is a little snippet of what our week looked like....pure bliss...

We spent a ton of time enjoying the ocean!

The adults enjoyed a sunset cruise aboard a catamaran...part of Matt's 40th birthday gift!

Eva enjoying the amazing view from our condo...

My little beach bum...

Down on the boardwalk...

My loves...

"Those of you that believe 'you can't take it with you when you go' have never seen a mother pack for a vacation"

--Anonymous

My Littles....

"Each day of our lives we make deposits into the memory banks of our children"

--Charles Swindoll

He still makes my heart skip a beat...

"He's not perfect.  You aren't either, and the two of you will never be perfect.  But if he can make you laugh, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold on to him and give him the most you can.  He isn't going to quote poetry, he's not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break.  Don't hurt him, don't change him, and don't expect far more than he can give.  Don't analyze.  Smile when he makes you happy, let him know when he makes you mad, and miss him when he's not there.  Love hard when there is love to be had.  Because perfect guys don't exist....but there is always that one guy that is perfect for you"

--Bob Marley