Weekly Chuckle...

How true this is... which only adds to my making-phone-calls-anxiety-disorder (a total medical diagnosis. I'm a nurse, remember?). For any sort-of phone call other than my family and closest friends, I end up locking myself in the storage room in the basement... which gets awkward when one of the girls inevitably starts banging on the door screaming for me or crying over something, which distracts me even more than I am naturally (which is significant), which then requires me to frantically run upstairs and do the silent glare/manic hand signals/SHUT YOUR MOUTH routine, which usually is not effective and results in a sobbing child in my arms, which is not conducive to ANY type of phone conversation, stranger or not. It gets awkward when you have to shriek, "YOU MAY NOT GO OUTSIDE NAKED!!!" in the middle of asking how someone's weekend was. 

The comedian Jim Gaffigan nailed it with his talk about the stress of ordering food... You call up, they answer so fast that it doesn't even sound like English, you totally freeze and are like, "Umm. Do you have food there?" The absolute only place I will call to order is the Thai restaurant near our house. I realize that may sound contradictory, but I just have my order down pat so they can't trip me up with all of their trick questions. Online ordering = Amazeballs. Since I have probably convinced most of you that I am a total wackadoodle, I'll sign off now... 

Happy Tuesday!! 

A Case of the Mondays...

The following is a description of this past Monday. It was long. It was rough. It was a doozy. It really started on Sunday evening... we got home from the annual Simmons Family Rose Haven Weekend which will be covered on a later date. I will say that it includes an excessive amount of Orange Crushes, several of which were imbibed on Sunday (did I even use imbibe properly?). So after we got home, I decided to sign Summer up for a Lacrosse camp all week. It is a decision I don't regret, but to say that it added some chaos to the week is an understatement. 

Let me begin.

3:03am- Summer comes bursting in our door just to say, "It's okay, don't worry. It was only Emmie coming in our door." She then promptly shuts the door and goes back to her room. My confusion of the matter only aids in waking me up more. Insomnia is a B. 

4:49am- The last time I remember looking at the clock before I actually fall asleep again. 

5:53am- Wake up again when Summer actually comes in bed (I don't understand, she has been doing fabulous for MONTHS). 

6:47am- Alarm goes off. Press snooze despite the fact that I am already sort-of awake and drift in and out. 

6:58am- Olivia starts yelling for me. "Maaaaaaaa. Moooooooooooom. Moooooooommy!! I neeeeeeeed youuuuuuuuu!!!!!" 

7:23am- Finally get out of bed to respond to Livi. Wake up Summer, go downstairs, chug coffee, throw some frozen waffles in the toaster. Layla shows up. Feed all of them, chug more coffee, eat the last bite of Layla's syrup-soaked waffle, and throw the plates in the sink. Washing them is not even a thought. 

7:41am- Get everyone's sticky hands washed, herd them upstairs to brush their teeth. Try to find some sports-activity-appropriate clothes Summer could wear (a task in itself). 

7:48am- Go into my room, find some not-dirty-ish clothes from my still-packed suitcase. Wash my face and slap on some tinted moisturizer. Have heart palpitations when I don't immediately find my eyelash curler, thinking I left it in Rose Haven. Take deep breaths and calm myself when I find it. Curl my lashes, put on mascara and chapstick (I will never leave the house without these items on). Go downstairs to finish getting the girls ready.  

8:19am- Start shrieking because Summer's tennis shoes are MIA. And NO ONE is getting in the car. Finally find her shoes in the guest room. Get out of the house. 

8:49am- Arrive at the field, suddenly uncertain that it is the right one. Look on my phone and see that it is indeed NOT the right one. Frantically search through my phone for the right field. The girls are asking 12309843 questions until I just scream, "STOP TALKING!!!!" Silence occurs. 

9:03am- Arrive at the RIGHT field (thankfully it was just a mile or two away from where we were). Get the girls out as fast as I can. Apologize to the camp coordinator while wiping the sweat off my brow. Explain that we don't have eye protection yet since I signed her up in the heat of the (Orange Crush) moment the night before. She is very nice and says it is fine. Ramble on to the friend who told me about the camp (and who I called the wrong name for two months... but that is a different story). Gather the younger two back up and in the car. Olivia screams bloody murder. Everyone stares. 

9:17am- Miss a critical turn driving home. Blood pressure rises.

9:31am- Arrive at TJ Maxx to get a present for the birthday party we are attending that morning. Layla and Livi go nuts in the toy section. Livi shrieks, "MINNIE!!! "MINNNNNIEEEEEEE" over and over again.

9:38am- Layla does the potty dance (aka grabs her crotch and flits around). The bathroom in TJ Maxx is in the basement, so we put our merchandise in a location I hope it won't be taken and take the trek down. Shockingly they take amazing turns pressing the elevator button. Olivia decides (because it is the perfect moment) that she wants to go potty. She is denied. 

9:44am- Go back upstairs with more amazing elevator-button-turn-taking and our merchandise is still there. Do a happy dance in my head. Go to checkout and leave without additional incidents. 

9:59am- Arrive home. Leave the girls in the car with a Dora Christmas movie on to run inside and wrap the gift for the party and grab bathing suits, towels, etc for the possible sprinkler action. Leave for the party. 

10:37am- Arrive at the party. Break up a few fights but have a great time chatting with friends and watching the kids run around. 

11:29am- Apologize that I have to leave the party so soon. They offer to keep both kids there while I go pick up Summer. Wisely decide to take Olivia with me. Smell poop, but she claims, "I not done yet!!" Strap her in her carseat because I refuse to pull the trigger too soon and change multiple nastiness. 

11:57am- Arrive to pick up Summer. She lost her pink hair band, but she goes to look for it as I change Olivia's nastiness in the back of the car. Head back to the party. 

12:39pm- Get back to the party. Summer stuffs her face with a hot dog. I steal every pink or red Starburst I see AND have a piece of Bumblebee cake. 

1:01pm- Apologize that I have only been back for 20 minutes and now we need to go again. Corral the girls and get in the car, not realizing the oh-so-precious "Pink Minnie" has been left behind. 

1:19pm- Arrive at home, sprint inside to find swim lesson-appropriate bathing suits, goggles, towels, change everyone, find my checkbook, etc. 

1:40pm- Get back in the car. All the girls agree that our timing was, "Mission Accomplished." Leave for the swim lesson. 

1:56pm- Arrive at the pool, get the girls set, collapse with Olivia at the baby pool. Instigate a fight with Olivia and another little girl because I didn't realize the floating kickboard was the little girl's and not just the property of the pool. Feel incredibly guilty that this little girl is in time out because I told Olivia to go get the freaking kickboard. 

2:33pm- Leave the swim lesson, actually holding Olivia over my shoulder to drag her out of there. 

2:47pm- Get home, put Olivia in bed (not without crisis since "Pink Minnie" is MIA, then start the task of finishing summer reading with Summer. 


What's funny is I don't even really remember what we did for dinner, or what happened the rest of the day... I'm pretty sure Matt came home and took over because I was borderline non-functional. 

The next day, Olivia was reunited with her true love (thankfully my friend found it at the birthday party and dropped her off in our mailbox):

And Matt was able to go buy Summer some lax goggles, that obvi must match her stick: 

In other news, I have discovered a newfound love for jelly-filled munchkins from Dunkin' Donuts. I would also probably be bankrupt and weigh 400lbs if I lived too close to a drive-thru. There is one on the way home from Summer's lacrosse camp, which I may or may not have stopped by every day this week... And purchased a large hazelnut iced latte, as well as an assortment of munchkins. Day 1- an 8 cup. That is child's play. Hah. Day 2- A mixture of 25... which is when I discovered my new love. Growing up I remember eating jelly donuts-- mehh, no big deal. I'm honestly not a major donut person in general. But... on my way home, I stuck my hand in the box and came out with the deliciousness. And then I kept reaching. Feeling for the sugary coating. And eating. We got home and I opened up the box for the girls... "Yum, I want a jelly one." Summer said. Crap. "Moooom, where are the jelly ones?? It is the weirdest thing, there is jelly everywhere but no jelly donuts?!?!?" My response? "Huh, that is so weird. I wonder what happened to them."

Oops. 


Happy Thursday!!! 

Four Minutes of Alone Time...

I feel like I have a trend with my posting. I go from "woohoo, fun, busy times"... To "kumbaya, all is well in the world, my kids are growing up too fast"... To "arrrrrgh I want to hide in a cave." Then back to "woohoo, fun, busy times." Don't expect that to change. It is clearly the cycle of my life. 

So it is officially the last few weeks of summer. And I am officially exhausted. I'll say it... Ready? WHEN DOES SCHOOL START?!?! I AM LOSING MY MIND!!!!!

As I am writing this (on Wednesday afternoon), I am currently hiding in my bedroom with Tardy for the Party on in the background, while trying to block out Olivia's dreadful high pitched screams because she doesn't want to go to sleep for her nap. This is just several minutes past the major crisis of the day (so far)... I won't touch on Tuesday morning when I woke up looking like Quasimodo from an unknown eye situation. 

Let me begin. 

I woke up early for the sole purpose of having some time to myself. Matt had a softball tournament last weekend, so it kind of feels like I haven't had a nanosecond without the girls in WAY too many days in a row. Just 10 minutes after I woke up and went downstairs, after sitting down at the computer with my coffee ready to have a minute, I heard the first one... which means all the rest follow momentarily. With that plan foiled (and already being tired), I set out on the day attempting to have some fun despite the yucky weather. We had failed cupcakes (I didn't fill them up enough to actually create the flowers):

Along with some fun vacuuming in winter pajamas: 

(That's not all we did, but my phone is at its storage capacity, so it has limited my picture taking. I need to sit down and delete the schmillions of pictures of the floor or Emmie that Olivia takes). After lunch, we hadn't had the TV on at all (glorious) so the time was right: All I wanted to do was have a few minutes to myself for a quick shower. I set them up with a tv show... that gives me about 12 minute of uninterruptedness (the show is 24 minutes long, at least one of them only lasts for half). I could handle that... 12 minutes is a solid start to a shower and changing. I hop in, and what felt like seconds later... the doorbell rings. The dog starts freaking out, and I freeze, knowing full well that two out of the three of my children don't have clothes on (There is no in between... it is either winter footie pajamas or nakedness). I frantically scramble out of the shower to at least attempt to stop them from running to the door (there are windows on both sides of the door... SO not helpful when trying to hide the fact that you are home). During warm months there are lots of door-to-door people which I never deal with, but no such luck this time. It is our pest control guy (also a friend of Matt's from softball). I come to a screeching halt upstairs with my towel barely around me-- soaking wet with soap still in my hair-- and whisper loudly for the girls to back away from the door and I will deal with it later. They obey (I am happy and somewhat shocked), but the dog continues to have a conniption while I attempt to at least get the shampoo out of my hair. So long story short, the 12 minutes I was HOPING to have to myself just jumping in the shower was cut short by eight minutes. So basically I got four minutes that included heating up the shower. And stress on top of that from pretending that we weren't here even though he saw at least one of my children, AND Emmie sounding like she wouldl bust through the windows and eat the "predator" outside. 

So if you are shocked and horrified by my school statement above, let me explain. I am up early as it is. I am running around as it is. I am constantly making lunches as it is. What I have mentioned before is that Olivia will be going to school TWO DAYS A WEEK!!! That is two days that I can do something by myself. I repeat, by myself. I mean, go to the grocery store, by myself. Go run errands, by myself. Make any appointment I want without worry because I don't need a sitter and can just go, by myself. 

This summer we have been to the pool, done the sprinkler, been to the library, rode the train/carousel, the park, done nails, made cookies, created fashion shows and makeovers, read books, played games, been to the park, made cupcakes, played with shaving cream, gone on picnics, and so much more... umpteen times. 

I.Am.Tired. I didn't realize these last few weeks of summer were a thing. I am so conflicted because I feel like I want them to have a super fun summer and I didn't accomplish a lot of what I set out to, so I am still at least trying to go strong. Matt was talking to my mother-in-law and he mentioned I was getting a little tired lately and she knew right what it was... These last few weeks. That just made me feel sane. Like okay, I realize I will be regretting this just a few weeks into school-- only I kind of don't think so. Most people don't know how suffocating it feels to not be able to just up and go somewhere anytime. Everything is a production with not one, not two, but three children and their current personalities and mood which can make or break any moment in time. And after almost two months of daily said-production, I repeat. I.Am.Tired. 

So to attempt to make myself slightly feel better, I may or may not have done some online shopping and bought new shoes and a few fall items (Matt if you are reading this-- Love you!! Heehee). Seriously, sometimes that is all a gal needs. Oh and an actual shower. And maybe some prosecco.

Enjoy the following pics from the last week or two: 

Some serious cupcake commitment...

A pathetic excuse of a Minnie Mouse Pizza... 

As previously captioned, "That moment when Layla realizes she doesn't like her ice cream..." 

Mini-Monsters Meet! 

Fun on the train (post-Olivia meltdown)... 

Happy Thursday!!!

Weekly Chuckle...

And sweeping under your coaches is a downright terrifying event. Today's finds? They include but are not limited to: socks, bowls, earrings, blocks, doll clothes, cookies, money, underwear, puzzle pieces, post-it notes, pencils, books, game pieces. Oh and dirt. So much dirt. 

Happy Monday! 

A Surprise 90th and a Not-So-Quiet Library Trip...

So if you were at the Olney Library this past Monday around 11:30am... I'm sorry. I was the one hightailing it out of there with a screaming, flailing, melting-down child. It was not awesome, needless to say. I am sorry... if only I could promise it wouldn't happen again. 

It all started when I attempted to have some mind enrichment for the girls instead of the daily pool/messing around drill... It was high time for Summer and Layla to get their own library cards. Our local library had been closed for renovations for several years, so anytime we went to a library I would truck over to one in a neighboring county. (At least if a meltdown occurred, it wasn't around people I would possibly see again). So our library finally opened this past spring but we hadn't had a chance to get over there. We went, dealt with the whole rigamarole of signing up for cards (I brought my Amex bill with our current address since I haven't changed my license since we moved. They are no joke at the library). This is when the guy told me about my 70 cent fine I have on my account. I really couldn't remember the last time I had step foot in a library in this county, so I asked incredulously... "When??? And for what???" It was for a book we had read in a book club (aka wine club) from 2008. Ahhh yes. Now I remember. I was pleasantly shocked that it was only 70 cents. 

Anyways, the girls did some puzzles and browsed the books. I'm pretty sure Olivia's voice was amplified by the ceiling height and I spent most of my time "Shhh"-ing her. Summer chose a quite questionable title... 

But they were thrilled with their new "credit cards." 

Here's hoping the next time around is a bit more peaceful... 

So please accept my deepest apologies for not posting at all last week. I failed one of my goals for 2014 but I choose sanity and a quality blog over posting just to post. I was up to my eyeballs with the planning of my grandmother's SURPRISE 90th birthday party. Before you think we are terrible people for trying to surprise a 90 year old, I will tell you I did clear it with her doctor who said, "There wouldn't be many 90 year olds that I would surprise, but she is definitely one who can handle it." We had it at our country club, which ended up making me the sort-of point person for all planning. Whenever I got overwhelmed or frustrated, I just kept saying to myself... "It's okay. Ooma is going to be thrilled." My sister, my mom, my Aunt Despi, cousin-in-laws Sammie, Tiffany and Elise helped with decor and first part of the party Big Band Era background music. We had requested a dance floor (extra $$), so my major concern the week leading up to the party was with the music. I am not a music person, but I threw myself in full-on to create a playlist for the ages... no literally, for every age out there. The decades of songs that her life spanned was overwhelming. And it was incredible to listen how much music has changed. I put a list of the songs in a separate post you can find here --> Epic Playlist

Our theme for the party was based on her love of traveling. As I previously talked about <--past link, my grandma has been to all SEVEN continents. As in, she waded to shore in thigh-high boots to reach Antarctica. As in, she had to use a communal shower on her African Safari... like two years ago. So my aunt came up with basing it on the Dr. Seuss book, "Oh The Places You'll Go" (ya know, the one that everyone gets for graduation). We adjusted it to... "Oh The Places She's Been." Fortunately my sister is a ridiculous artist and whipped up a little recreation of the book cover: 

We had a sign-in book, pictures of her on her travels all around, hot air balloon centerpieces. We also attempted to pinpoint all of the countries she has actually been to....

Insane, right?!!?!?!?

So I was officially anxiety-ridden until the very nano-second she arrived. 

I figured even if she knew about the party, she would be shocked at who was there and how big it was (the final count was 65-70 people!). Several of her children flew in, friends from travels and all walks of life... they came for her. And she deserves it! 

Since my grandmother travels the world, makes friends all over AND a bunch of my family is not located in the area, I thought it would be good idea would be to have people who couldn't make it (or the kids of those who could) send video messages saying "happy birthday" or whatever. I was hoping to get them compiled and then play them for her at the party. In order to email her friends, I had to find out their email addresses... so I proceeded to hack into her email account and gather a list of people she most contacted. The response was great. I got some people from trips she has gone on, one woman from Germany, family members in Kentucky, old friends. I was so excited. Here is my video of the girls... 

Layla's honesty is amazeballs. I mean, 90 IS old. Cousin-in-law Sammie brought in 1920's props and we had a whole photo booth station for fun pics. My mom spent umpteen hours compiling pictures from her lifetime and we had a slideshow running throughout the party (between this and the video messages, I can't explain how amazing it is to have your childhood next-door neighbor work in this field and have no problem doing HUGE favors). The following pictures makes me realize that my life is indeed a cakewalk. 

Three kids (one of them being a devious two year old by the name of CJ) and THEN twins. I die. 

We danced and ate and drank and talked... and just had an overall great time. Sidenote: I wore a jumpsuit. Yes, a jumpsuit. I'm obsessed with it and need a reason to wear it again. Unfortunately it is quite a statement piece, so it can't be a regular.

I saw several times throughout the night that my grandma had happy tears, which was exactly why we worked so hard to give her a special night. She felt blessed. And I can't wait to plan the bash for 100! 

In other news, I decided to go completely insane and let my girls play with shaving cream inside... 

It was actually kind of amazeballs. 

Happy Thursday!!! 

The Epic Playlist...

Here is the list of songs that comprised the playlist for my grandma's 90th birthday party. I used the free Music DJ app by Liavante, LLC to crossfade/limit the song lengths... No one wants to dance to Michael Jackson for seven minutes. I could have added a SCHMILLION more... I mean, the decades that her life spanned were incredible. I didn't want anything too raunchy or crazy. Sooooo here it is! 

-Hello Mary Lou-- Ricky Nelson (My grandma's name is Mary Lou)
-You Shook Me All Night Long-- AC/DC
-Runaround Sue-- Dion
-You Should Be Dancing-- Bee Gees
-Wake Me Up-- Avicii
-Roar-- Katy Perry
-The Twist-- Chubby Checker
-December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)-- The Four Seasons
-My Boyfriend's Back-- The Angels
-1999-- Prince
-Pour Some Sugar On Me-- Def Leppard
-Summer-- Calvin Harris
-Moves Like Jagger-- Maroon 5
-Respect-- Aretha Franklin
-Proud Mary-- Creedence Clearwater Revival
-Livin' On a Prayer-- Bon Jovi
-Safe and Sound-- Capital Cities
-Brown Eyed Girl-- Van Morrison
-Do You Love Me-- The Contours
-Mony Mony-- Tommy James & The Shondells
-Ain't Too Proud to Bed-- The Temptations
-The Way You Look Tonight-- Frank Sinatra
-Timber (feat. Kesha)-- Pitbull
-I Wanna Dance With Somebody-- Whitney Houston
-Stayin' Alive-- Bee Gees
-Louie Louie-- The Kingsmen
-I'm a Believer-- The Monkees
-Hound Dog-- Elvis Presley
-Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris)-- Usher
-Clarity (feat. Foxes)-- Zedd
-Hot Stuff-- Donna Summer
-I Will Survive-- Gloria Gaynor
-Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy-- The Andrews Sisters
-You Can't Hurry Love-- The Supremes
-Billie Jean-- Michael Jackson
-Can't Help Falling In Love-- Elvis Presley
-I Cry-- Flo Rida
-We Are Family-- Sister Sledge
-Car Wash-- Rose Royce
-At the Hop-- Danny & The Juniors
-Sweet Caroline-- Neil Diamond
-Fire Burning-- Sean Kingston
-One the Floor (feat. Pitbull)-- Jennifer Lopez
-Don't Stop Believin'-- Journey
-I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)-- The Four Tops
-SexyBack (feat. Timbaland)-- Justin Timberlake
-Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton)-- Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
-Rock With You-- Michael Jackson
-Problem (feat. Iggy Azalea)-- Ariana Grande
-Don't Stop the Party (feat. TJR)-- Pitbull
-Ho Hey-- The Lumineers
-Dancing Queen-- ABBA
-Treasure-- Bruno Mars
-One More Time-- Daft Punk
-I Love It (feat. Charli XCX)-- Icona Pop
-Id Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)-- Meat Loaf
-Rude-- MAGIC!
-Dare (La La La)-- Shakira
-Somebody Loves You-- Betty Who

The 4th, Layla's 4th, and a Swim Meet...

So I ran out of deodorant again. I swear I bought two the last time I ran out. I couldn't find the other one anywhere, so for several days I used Matt's and walked around smelling like Old Spice Pure Sport. It is such a pleasant boy smell, but not one that I really want to exude. 

So we had a super busy, seemingly endless holiday/birthday/crazy week. I really thought it would never end. Seriously. So I will begin... but just a warning, this is a doozy. 

After staying up too late Thursday night sipping prosecco with some neighbors, Friday, the the actual Fourth of July, arrived. So be totally honest (I always am), I have just never liked the festivities that usually surround the Fourth. I think fireworks are silly and totally overrated... if you have seen them once, you have seen them all. I get eaten alive by bugs, there is just so much traffic everywhere, the pools are always insanely crowded and you get kicked in the face during the dive for coins. I love America and all, but my ideal day would be at home, grilling out, and enjoying a few adult bevs. The problem with that? I have kids. And I would do anything for my kids. So we decided to go to our country club pool. I agreed to check it out... but if it was too crowded, we were turning right around. We arrived and **shockingly** it didn't look too bad! We actually got primo seating right in front of the steps of the shallow end, just steps away from the orange crush bar that was set up on the pool deck! I repeat, there was an orange crush bar just steps from my lounge chair. 

They had a pie-eating contest, hula hoop contest: 

A Money Dive: 

An AWESOME belly flop contest. This little one passed out for almost two solid hours, despite being just a few feet from the DJ: 

Now this is a 4th I can hang with. It never got insanely crowded, and the fresh squeezed orange crushes were divine. All-in-all, a fantabulous day. 

Saturday morning we had my nephew Tyler's birthday party. My sister took on the daunting task of having it at her house. Trying to entertain 13 kids between the ages of 2-6? Not my idea of fun. But she is ridiculous and everything was great. I mean, she made the freaking Octopod for his birthday cake (from the show The Octonauts. Look it up if you want to be impressed). That afternoon, I managed to make all the cupcakes for Layla's birthday party that was the following day (despite three trips to the store made by Matt). We then got ready for our country club's major Fourth of July/Fireworks/Amazeballs bash. 

I had cautiously high expectations, because everyone I had talked to about it said that last year it was, "The BEST TIME EVER." I didn't really know what we were in for, but I did know that it was a sold out event with 1406 people attending (the actual number). 

The set-up was phenomenal. They had an entire parking lot of kids activities... bouncy things, temporary tattoos, rock climbing. Yes, rock climbing. And my girls just HAD to do it. It was mostly older kids, and a lot of them were having a tough time. Summer got hooked in and looked like a monkey, scaling that wall without breaking a sweat. Layla begged to try, and I was shocked they even allowed her. It took five solid minutes to even make the harness as small as she needed it. Then... she was too small to reach basically anything. And then she started pouting: 

There was a live band, a s'more bar, more of those fresh-squeezed orange crushes everywhere, and a just plain awesome atmosphere. Our table was on an area of the golf course, so the girls just ran wild. 

Then the fireworks began. As previously stated, I had zero anticipation for them. But I should have... they were phenomenal. SO beyond the best I have ever seen. I actually oohed and aahed. No pictures could ever do them justice... 

Olivia was not impressed. I didn't realize how loud and close they would be, so I didn't bring our earphones that they always wear to Redskins games. #momfail. My punishment was I had to seal her ears shut for the entirety of the booming. 

Yet another amazeballs part of the night?!? ZERO traffic while leaving. I'm telling you, it was such a wonderfully orchestrated event. There were no significant lines for things, I never felt claustrophobic. Those two days may have changed my opinion on the Fourth of July forever. And that is a serious statement. 

So Sunday morning my only goal was to decorate the cupcakes and get everyone out the door for Layla's birthday party. I went the easy way out for her party and did it at one of those bouncy places. I made the frosting, and then did an epically horrible job icing them and putting them in a flower-shape situation. The icing started melting, then all of a sudden Layla wanted one of them to be red. I gave up. But the birthday girl had an absolutely amazing time at her party. Her cousins and friends from school came, and she had a smile on her face the entire time. 

They went in this wind tunnel machine and I really couldn't pick just one picture because the sequence is that phenomenal. 

 

She ended up being happy with her cake and had a wonderful day. 

So Monday was dear Layla Mae's ACTUAL birthday... but after so many straight days of craziness, everyone (including myself) was exhausted. I was determined to somehow still make it a fun day, despite wanting to curl up in a ball and do nothing. 

We started out the day with chocolate chip pancakes on the special red plate. 

We made it to the pool for approximately 45 minutes (they were just done). 

I bought some Barbie Mermaid movie on demand for the afternoon while Livi slept. Then, the big surprise happened. Background... a few years ago, we took Summer to the American Girl doll store for her to pick out whatever doll she wanted. Summer came to me a few months ago with her wallet, and very seriously sat me down to have a discussion. She said to me, "Mom. I know what I want to get Layla for her birthday but I'm not sure I have enough money. I really want to get her an American Girl doll. Do you think you could help me out?" What am I going to say... no?!? So we made the plan and Summer actually kept a secret for the first time in her life (although she asked 123098543089 times throughout the day if we could tell her where we were going). We drove out to Tysons with minimal traffic. (Miracle) No puking occurred. (Another miracle) I watched Layla's face as we started walking towards the store and I could tell the moment she knew where we were going. She lit up. She was in glorious amazement. She decided on Bitty Baby twins and was in heaven. 

Tuesday evening we had a very exciting event-- Summer's very first swim meet. She had been on the Mini Monsters team but the coach wanted to pull her up to the big leagues. Her goal? Swim all the way across the pool. I knew she could do it. Her coaches knew she could do it. Summer? She was nervous. Very nervous. I was nervous for her. She put on a swim cap for the first time. She warmed up with the other 8 & unders (I was concerned she would expend all of her energy just during warm-ups). She got a little pep talk from daddy: 

The heat before her, one little girl broke down. The meet was delayed as coaches encouraged the sobbing swimmer. The clouds were darker and closer than ever. All I wanted in the world was for Summer to get her swim in. The nerves, build-up... we just needed to get this done. Finally they made the decision and the poor little girl didn't swim. That heat finished, and then Summer was up. She went up to the edge of the pool. They ordered, "Take your marks." The buzzer went off.

She dove (more like jumped in the forward motion) in! Without hesitation! And she swam her little heart out. 

I was so proud of her.Not only did she make it, she beat several people in her heat! She was so excited. Then... the monsoon began, and the herds of wet swimmers and parents were directed into the ballroom (which is sort of hilarious, considering they usually don't allow t-shirts in the clubhouse). 

***Sidenote... Bonuses I have already discovered from Country Club swimming versus County... no meets on the weekend, AND a full bar for the parents pleasure.*** 

We finally left the crowded ballroom, tried to order dinner online to pick up on the way home, found out they didn't have power, went home to no power, went back out to try to eat at a restaurant, didn't want to deal with a wait, left the restaurant, went back to the same restaurant to order carry-out, then walked around the grocery store while we waited for our food. This was a major bonus because I finally bought deodorant. Woohoo! The power came back on at 11pm... in no way compared to the NINE days we were out of power one time at my mom's... but kind of annoying considering our power lines are supposed to be underground.

Wednesday morning arrived and everyone was moving slowly. I got us out the door to swim practice, and Layla had a very exciting first. My little peanut, the brand new four year old, went off the diving board. This warms my heart/freaks me out because in all honestly, I don't want my kids to dive. I know what I went through. I know the injuries I accrued, the dangers I put myself through. Why would I want that for my babies?!?

I would never hold my kids back from anything of course... so off the board she went. 

No fear. No nothing. She just went. 

The next part of our Wednesday was phase 2 of my broken tooth saga at the dentist. Now this may sound ridiculous, but I get serious anxiety going to the dentist, at all times. The last time I went I was in such constant pain that I would have walked there. This time? I actually had to sit in the car for a minute to calm myself down. It isn't even the pain that bothers me... it is the noise, the scraping, the tastes, the smells. It all just kills me. I sat in my chair pretending my heart wasn't pounding out of my chest, gripped the armrests so hard my knuckles were white. I also have discovered another fun fact about myself. I apparently squeeze my left butt cheek when I am tense. Not the right, not both, just the left. So after, not only is my mouth throbbing in pain, but my left butt cheek is as well. I have one more phase to go with this awful broken tooth. I have 2 1/2 weeks to anxiously await the next appointment... and anxious I will be. Blame it on my awful childhood dentist who pulled not even loose teeth WITHOUT novocaine to "make room." That is the stuff nightmares are made of. 

So phew. The novel is done. As I have said before, a major reason I even do this blog is to record everything... remember the crazy. Because I really don't ever want to forget these moments. 

Happy Friday!!