Strawberries and the mattress pad update...

First things first: THE MATTRESS PAD WAS FOUND!! I can take no credit for finding it. Matt found it tucked under Olivia's crib. I don't feel quite so crazy anymore!! I still have absolutely no idea how it got there and it was there for a solid month. YAY!!! 

So I had a bit of a debacle on Monday... shocking, I know! My sister called me Sunday night at 9pm (Sidenote: I was already lying in bed. Don't judge). We usually *attempt* to do fun things with the kids on Mondays. She has the bright idea to go pick strawberries and make our homemade jam the next day. I was exhausted at the time (another shocker) and there had been a torrential downpour that day so I was less than enthused to go out in a soggy field with five kids, ages ranging from almost 18 months to 5 years. I said we will see how the weather turned out in the morning. Fast-forward to the next morning, it was overcast and slightly drizzly... I was still less than enthused (it perhaps also had to do with the literal mountains of laundry that were staring at me), but my sister was still extremely determined. We go back and forth for a bit, and finally decide that if the 70% chance of rain at 9am passed, we would make the effort to go. Well, it passed. And we went. Butler's Orchard may have the most random and bizarre back roads to get to it and you really aren't quite sure that you are actually going to end up at a location... but then it springs up out of the windy roads and woods, and we follow the very specific signs to the strawberry patch to begin our adventure. We had already decided that the kids would pick whatever amount of strawberries they wanted, and we would buy the rest down at the market/store/whatever it is called. They started off excited, digging in (sidenote: don't judge the outfits. I didn't want to care if they got destroyed): 

Then they focused more on eating: 

Then Layla decided to whip Tyler with a dead strawberry bush and refused to say sorry, so she had to sit alone and not pick strawberries: 

Let's zoom in for effect: 

She finally apologized to Tyler and was back to happy in 0.273 seconds: 

So, what felt like HOURS later (but was actually barely 30 minutes), we called it a day and went down to purchase the strawberries we actually did manage to pick (and not eat) which did not seem like many: 

The market/store/whatever only had two teeny baskets of strawberries left, which were like $6 each... so our jam-making was in serious jeopardy. We had an oh-so-lovely drive home with one child (who will remain nameless, but happens to belong to my sister) screaming bloody murder the entire ride home (I forgive her. It is SO not like her), which distracted me so much I missed my turn, which then caused it to be a much LONGER horrific ride home. She was crying so hard that we thought she was going to vomit strawberries all over my car... but she didn't. (It could have been good payback for last Friday when Layla peed Tyler's bed and Olivia took off her poopy diaper in my sister's pack n' play. It was bad. I offered to send Summer over to puke but she didn't take me up on it). 

We got home, fed them lunch, and may or may not have had some champagne with strawberries (again, don't judge). We tried to watch one of our stupid/trashy shows (which will remain nameless because I'm pretty sure I've had enough judgement for one post) while cutting out the strawberry tops, but every four seconds a child would pop in and we would have to pause it and try to redirect them. Olivia refused to nap and we actually watched her on the video monitor jumping on her bed like a lunatic. We attempted to make the jam... but didn't buy enough of the pectin boxes, so we both ended up with two and some jars each: 

Which to be honest, is so not worth the hassle that it all was... but what WAS worth it was the kids' happiness while we were there (minus the Layla/Tyler/whipping situation), the excitement when we found a robin's nest with eggs in it in the strawberry bushes, smashing the strawberries. Sometimes it is so hard to just go ahead and DO things when I know how it usually turns out. I end up thinking to myself "I don't know why I even try." But I do try. And I will keep trying. Because I want to keep making memories with my girls, and I want them to experience things despite our crazy and hectic life. 

These last two pics make me die laughing because here was my attempt at all three girls smiling together, but Livi is trying to swipe more strawberries and the sun is blinding Summer:  

Then Layla is clearly yelling, "NO MORE STRAWBERRIES WIVIA!!!" and poor Summer has her eyes closed: 

Until the next debacle... 

The AWOL Mattress Pad, a Chocolate Monkey and Graduation...

So I lost a mattress pad. Actually, physically lost it. As in cannot-find-it-ripped-the-entire-house-apart-kind of lost a mattress pad. I can understand losing a sock, your keys, a shoe (which happens about 18277 times a day in my house and is on my top ten most hated wastes of time). But a mattress pad. I repeat, A.Mattress.Pad.Is.Gone. 

So a few Wednesdays ago I worked a double so it was my usual get up at 4am, at work by 5:30, work for 17 hours, leave at 10:30, get home by 11:30. When I got in bed that night, I was obviously exhausted but just not able to fall asleep (per usual). Matt woke up, and he couldn't go back to sleep either. So, we hung out and chatted until all hours of night (like 3:30am). Around 4:15am Layla started sobbing which only means one thing: she peed through her pull-up. I am so tired at this point that I literally strip the child, clean her up with some wipes, wrap her in a towel and bring her in our bed. Deal with the sheets later, right? 

So the next day (exhausted, obvi) I stripped her sheets and mattress pad, included blankie in the bunch (this is a serious crisis because blankie needs to be available at all moments of the day for Layla to hold). I put everything in the laundry and continue the chaos of the day. I do remember that instead of putting everything in the dryer at once, I took Blankie out to dry first. After Blankie was dry (about 12 sobbing meltdowns in front of the dryer later), I put the rest of the sheets into the dryer and put yet another load in the washer (laundry and dishes are evil because you are NEVER truly done). When the dryer sang to me (my new fab dryer doesn't do the evil beep. It plays a little tune. It makes laundry just a smidge better because I at least feel like it is not screaming at me when it is done. Only a smidge better, nothing more. My ovens sing to me too. Love that.) I went to get the rest of the sheets to put them back on Layla's bed. Or so I thought. 

Welp. This is when I made my discovery. Now you may be thinking, "Okay it obviously has to be somewhere." That is what I thought too... But I have actually put off writing this post because I keep thinking it will turn up... But it hasn't... And it is making me feel even more psycho than usual. The other day I was looking for my blood pressure cuff and I still can't find it. This drives me insane, but I can understand why something like that could be misplaced. It is a smaller item in a little black case that could easily be put in a random drawer, get mixed in with the toys, etc. A MATTRESS PAD. COME ON. So, several weeks have passed, house cleanings have occurred, and it is STILL GONE. GRRRRRRRR. 

Now what makes me able to move past stupid missing mattress pads is the fact that my oldest little girl has graduated preschool. The next lunch I pack will be for a kindergartener. This completely freaks me out because I do not feel mature enough in any way to have a child in elementary school. We had a special night out just the two of us this week for a haircut and shopping for a graduation dress. She had four inches cut off but her hair was so long you could barely tell. 

We went to dinner and she got a special beverage... a chocolate monkey (sidenote this brings me back to our amazeballs Jamaican honemoon but there was obvi some adultness to those).

Then we had a lovely day at graduation where she wore the dress she picked out, we curled her hair, and she put on 12 pounds of lip gloss. I can truly say my dad would have called her "greasy chicken lips" which is what he called all of us when we had any type of shimmery/glossy lip stuff on. We had to punch a new hole in the belt about six inches from any of the other ones because that little waist was too tiny for it. 

During the ceremony when passing out 'diplomas' the teachers read aloud what each child had said was their favorite thing about preschool, and what they wanted to be when they grew up. Summer "loved playing with the ponies and with her friends, and she wants to be a nurse just like her mommy." My heart melted. We also found out (and were beyond thrilled) that Layla is going to have Summer's teachers next year. I have already started explaining how utterly different two sisters can be... Miss Layla Mae is not the rule-follower that they have come to known and love about Summer... but she brings her own amazingness that no one can resist. 

On another exciting note, I ordered my new dining room furniture yesterday! I shouldn't say 'new' as opposed to 'old' since my dining room has been sitting completely empty since we moved (we eat in the breakfast area in the kitchen). I also got way too excited and stupidly motivated and started something last night... 

Let the transformation begin (somehow)... and yes, I do realize I am crazy. 

Happy Wednesday! 

DERBY TIME...

It feels like an actual eternity ago, but the Derby has come and gone. We had an absolutely amazing time. I actually feel like I have been so utterly spoiled by this experience that I don't know if I could go back. I would be the brat who thinks, "Well the private suite on the finish line was better..." Our journey began at the airport where we got food and drinks while waiting for our flight: 

We took the smallest plane ever for our quick flight, and arrived in Kentucky to music, bourbon balls being passed out by lovely ladies in hats, and roses everywhere. We got to our hotel where they were passing out Mint Julips and champagne in the lobby. That is where I tried my first (and last) Mint Julip. It was just gross... but I am not a bourbon fan. Matt liked them. You will see my drink of choice for the weekend a little later on. So we get up to our hotel room and we had presents! 

We took a super awkward pic of the two of us: 

Then we ended up going to the sports bar/restaurant across the street and found the Caps game. I wanted to be rested up for the craziness of the next few days. So the next morning we went down to an amazing breakfast... Bloody Mary's, Mimosas, Mint Julips, made-to-order omelets, essentially whatever we wanted before we set off for day 1: 

The Kentucky Oaks. 

So this is apparently a race that many more locals go to. It is called the "little sister" of the Derby and instead of the rose, the official flower is the Star-Gazer Lily (which just happens to be my favorite flower. I even had it in my wedding). 

It was an absolutely gorgeous day, I wore my hot pink dress, and we had a great time. 

We got to our AMAZEBALLS suite and I really could not believe it. It was on the infield right by the finish line. It was two levels (a bartender on each level), a huge buffet all day and our own private betting person. This is where I discovered my fav drink of the weekend: The Lily. It was Grey Goose, Triple Sec, sour mix and cranberry juice. Sort of cosmo-ish but not. DELISH.

We got to take these glasses home too. It was light, easy to drink, and pink. Perfection. 

So the lower level of our suite was completely enclosed but the upper level was open. Here are a few pics: 

Look how close we are to the finish line!! 

All of the food as amazing, and the dessert table was to die for... 

Some of the races were on the grass which was even closer to us. You could actually feel the thumping of their hooves as they ran. 

I had to bet on this horse purely because of my job: 

Matt won on a trifecta-box-score-place-exacta-show-win-whatever. It all got so confusing and I gave up quickly. My motto was "Go big or go home" so I always bet to win (except one time...). 

I bet on the following horse (for obvious reasons). 

I got up to the betting station, and last minute decided to bet to show. The horse, of course, won... and instead of winning around $200, I won $5. This showed me that I should never steer from my "go big or go home" theme EVER again. 

The winner of the Kentucky Oaks was Princess of Sylmar, and she got draped with lilies (obvi). 

So that night for dinner they took us downtown where we had a scrumptious meal at The Spire which is on top of the Hyatt. The restaurant actually spins around. One woman for real could not find her hat for like 20 minutes because she put it on the spinning part next to her table and it was all the way on the other side of the restaurant when she went looking. (The same woman asked me the next day if the Derby had already happened at 3pm because California was on a different time zone. After I tried to explain, she still didn't get it so I just had no words. Hilarious). 

On to Derby Day... 

We had another yummy breakfast, got ready, and trudged out into the rain. I swear watching the women trying to keep their hats dry was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. People get ridiculously decked out, and for some reason many went for the crazier the better. This woman spent $4000 on her hat, and this guy had his suit custom-made (I mean, I wouldn't expect that to be on the rack anywhere): 

I went for the big hat, Matt found and bought me my dress (yes, I was impressed too!) and Matt's tie was my fav (he had people trying to steal it from him all day... and sidenote, his suit is actually a tan seersucker. Awesome). 

 Mint Julip anyone?

I once again felt very spoiled for being able to be sheltered from the rain all day. 

Martina McBride sang in the winner's circle and then walked right in front of us: 

The horses raced... 

And the winner was Orb! We bet on him but barely made any money because he was a favorite. 

They warmed him down right in front of us: 

 They draped him with his roses: 

After the two minute race we waited two days for, we were chauffeured to the Maker's Mark restaurant in downtown Louisville. 

I never was more thankful that we weren't paying for a dime on this trip (except for betting). I snuck pics of the menu because I couldn't believe it. 

Every table had been ordered the Raw Bar ($70) and some other appetizers. When it came time for the main course...

In case you were wondering, this is what an $85 plate and a $100 plate looks like: 

                                    

And to think I have always thought the Capital Grille was expensive. But I actually went to buy a t-shirt but they even put that on the bill. I really would love to have seen the tip. 


All in all, we had an incredible time. I then returned to face harsh reality... Matt flew out a few hours after we got home on Sunday for work stuff until this past Friday. Going from being pampered and spoiled to a single mom for six days was rough, to say the least. As much as I wanted to get away with my amazing hubby, I really did miss the girls the nanosecond we left.