A Day in the Life

A reminder of God's grace in my kitchen.

Hey y'all,

I have not been neglecting you for Netflix this time.

No, now your rival for attention is naps.

Because naps are life. Forget the "power hour" of house chores. Napssssssssssss.

But I am forgoing my usual 9:30 nap (well, I'll get some sleep after I get this off my chest) to tell you about the many events that happened during my trip to Walmart yesterday.

Firstly: One of the most positive was meeting a young mom in the baking aisle. She had a baby that was only a few months older than Mason. She looked frazzled and kept apologizing to everyone around her even though she was doing nothing wrong. I felt like I was watching myself. She asked me if I knew where the vanilla wafers were located. She said she was new to the area and was just trying to "get out" before the baby started getting upset -- an escape feeling I know all too well.So I rounded the neighboring aisle and brought her back some vanilla wafers. I gave her a hug (TOTALLY out of my comfort zone) and I just said, "Me too." I wish I would have given her my number. Or at least gotten her name. Especially since I was given another chance when I saw her loading her purchases just across from me later in the parking lot.
Just know you are not alone, whoever you are, reading this. We're all human. Cut yourself some slack.

(If you're visiting from my Facebook: yeah, I know -- I totally copy/pasted that bit from my earlier status update. #lazy #unoriginal #notime #napsssssss)

(If we're not friends on Facebook and you would like to get little "blog snippets" more often than I get on the actual blog, definitely look me up and shoot me a message about following along: Samantha Thomas. I'm the one holding the baby, obviously.)

One of the less positive things about this particular Walmart run was realizing I'm already raising a man of petty crime in my son.

Exhibit A:

A $2 ornament I found in his carseat after I had unloaded babies and groceries into the car after an almost unsuccessful shopping trip*.

He can't even reach his arms above his head, much less outside of the cart to start this kind of unacceptable behavior, people.

So we all know it must be the Mom Brain that's really to blame here.

*sigh* And alas, it is. After finding it, I realized that was the first item I tossed into the cart on a whim (noooooooo, Sam!! NEVER shop on whims!!) But I put it on top of his blanket cover on his carseat for "safe keeping" because I noticed it was so tiny and I knew I would lose it and forget to pay for it.

Which I did anyway. #majorfail

Include a speeding ticket in front of the babies, my car threatening to die while I was in the store, *and really dancing on the edge as far as being out during nap time goes and it was a pretty exciting hour out.

(Hubby, if you're reading this: I'm sorry about the speeding ticket.

And I'm sorry this is how you found out.)

*goes to change a poopy diaper and put the toddler back down for her nap -- AGAIN*

So not only is my son already taking things that don't belong to him (he'll be into grand theft before he's 10, you just wait and see), but I realized my oldest child is just a tad on the dark side with her humor. Something she may or may not come by naturally.

Notice her reaction to every terrible thing that happened on both Frozen and Veggie Tales Jonah: she laughed. Sometimes hysterically.

I literally have ONE job..... (that really is multiple jobs rolled into one, but eh, who considers that??)

My kids have also been doing their best to hibernate since it snowed.

Not one word about my appearance.
It's called "ain't no mommy got time fer dat".

Not sure how the snow managed to shut down their systems so effectively, but I wish I could harness such power and only use it at nap and bed times, amirite?

Bad Mommy -- she was so tired and DESPERATELY pleading for a nap that was not given, she dumped the laundry and got her dirty blanket to snuggle ON THE FLOOR.

Evidence that I'm failing at the mom thing.

(haha I'm kidding, of course. I no longer notice when they're screaming at the same time, so I'd call that winning.)

His latest mugshot. Watch out for this one, y'all. He'll be taking candy from his peers before I can turn around..

And this is me ending this blog post abruptly with a montage of baby cuteness because:

naaaaaappppssssssssss.

Snow Day

This was his "coming home" outfit from the hospital (you'll see sometime when I finally do a birth blog post). It definitely fits him a little better now; but my mom made it (for Micah) so it's special.

Ok, I'll admit it: I've been binge-watching a series on Netflix in my spare time instead of blogging.

But now they've taken advantage of my emotions and devastated me by killing off one of my favorite characters, so I can't even...
Which means:

Hey y'all,

Another confession: When my youngest brother heard that it was gonna snow two nights ago and said he was so excited to play in it the next day, I was a bubble buster and told him it would be flurries at best and not anything that would stick.
Mom asked me if we wanted to spend the night (I was currently trading out vehicles with them that evening as we now have the Volvo back!!!!!!!!) and I snorted and asked, "Spend the night? What for?"

Poor Lexi. I guess she's a bit older this time around.

 All of the above pictures were snapped in a flurry (haha get it?) as at 8:00 the next morning I was shuffling babies out the door to be taken to my parents' on Jacob's way to work -- it did snow, A LOT, and it did stick, and as a result our power was out the majority of the day.

I was on the start to a spectacular day: I got up and did my yoga (all about balance, but you won't find any here, people), swept and mopped all the hardwoods in my house, scrubbed my kitchen down (INCLUDING cabinets and spots on the walls), and started laundry.

I'm telling you, I was feeling like a boss. Proverbs 31 Woman of the Year. "She rises while it is yet night." "She does not eat the bread of idleness."

"When heavy snows (for her area) come, she laughs, for her family is clothed with --"

-- hardly the right kind of gear. Thus you will not see any pictures of my kids and I out enjoying the gorgeous white powder. Nevermind they are smallish and will probably be dragging me out in it next year. At least Katie will.

Random side note: I just realized that I will have two weeks every year where my kids are the same age.

That thought's just a little weird to me, not gonna lie.

Anyway, back to boss lady: yoga, floors cleaned, kitchen scrubbed, laundry begun, power out.

Hubby had been sleeping in (past his usual 5am) because he knew it would be slippery roads early and he hasn't had a good sleep in weeks.
Suddenly he his work phone rang, ending such bliss -- all the bliss, for both of us.
Just as he was slipping out the door (with the coffee in hand that I had made for him. Yup, I even made my husband coffee -- I'm telling you, I was on a roll.) the lights flashed several times in quick succession, and then the house was earily quiet -- no running heater. We both groaned as our good-bye conversation switched from how pretty the winter world was to what do we do now??

In the space of 10 minutes, the youngest started losing his mind over not being held, I rushed around grabbing what we needed to sustain us all day at my parents', and I went to the pink nursery to find a soaked crib and daughter (she's kind of a heavy wetter at night).
"I can't give you a bath right now!! This is all the last thing I needed this morning!"

No zen mommy. And after I was doing so well, too.

The power in the kitchen out.

"Hey, Mom... so it did stick, our power is out, we're on our way, and you told me so."

When we arrived at my parents' rather ungracefully, I walked in to find the younger siblings excitedly fogging up the glass and talking about the snowman they were going to build.

"There's probably not enough on the ground to build a snowman; and it's probably going to melt as you try anyway."

What is wrong with me?? Killing children's dreams -- and two weeks before Christmas, too. This is magical December snow in Mississippi, after all. Geez.

So of course they proved me wrong and built a very handsome snowman that lasted the entire day. 

My brown candycane baby. He's so stinking cute. But this face lies about how demanding and fussy he kind of really is.

...I type as he wakes up grumpy beside me on the couch...

These pictures are today, Day 2, when I finally had time to be that person and take some. I ran outside really quick to "be right back to feed the dog" while Katie was watching some Clifford to wind down for the nap I'm about to go wake her up from. 

I was able to snap a couple before she realized I was doing something fun outside without her and she started to try and climb off the couch (which is a skill we're working on, but don't have down quite yet).

Magical snow in Mississippi in December. Who knows what else could happen by the end of the year? (Like I may actually finish out Christmas cards and get them mailed -- now that would be a miracle.)

Welcome to My Home Winter -- Part 1

Hey y'all,

Ok first order of business is to brag about the fact that both my kids are sleeping through the night -- one is a year old and the other is three weeks old today.
(To be fair, Katie has been sleeping through the night for the last ten months.
Because we're awesome and amazing parents like that.)

(Totally just kidding. Don't come to me expecting a cut and dried formula for inducing babies because I don't honestly know how this is happening.)


Next up on the agenda: You guys want to come visit my home and take a peek inside my door? Don't worry, you don't have to drive miles to do so. I got to thinking: A lot of you (that I know personally) have mentioned wanting to come for a visit, but either live too far or find yourselves incredibly busy -- especially now that we have entered into the holiday season.
Thus I thought I could give a virtual tour within a series of blogposts.

(Since it is the Christmas season, I should make a note here that the decor you will see is not up year-round, and we also moved some furniture around to make said decor work.)
Hopefully I will [remember and] find the time to come back each season with a fresh tour just to stay current.


Without further adieu:

Entering through the front door from our front porch you will find yourself standing in our living room.

Sorry, the dog rushed in thinking I was opening the door to invite her. *rolls eyes*

This is the view you will have from the front door.

Obviously I really don't care about the mess. (So those of you who are coming for a visit and you tell me "don't worry about cleaning up" -- no worries. I have two babies now and one is a toddler at last; I don't possess the patience it requires to clean up toys that are just going to be drug out behind my back as I go along. Just keeping it real.)

I'm also going to use these "welcome to our home" posts to brag about wonderful furnishing finds -- because 98% of everything you will see is used.

In the above picture:

The piano was given free to us. A wonderful church friend of my mom's who has watched me go through some growing seasons of my life gave it to us when she inherited her family's heirloom piano. She knew I loved to play, but did not have access to an instrument. With all of its years of "love marks", it will always be a treasure in our home.

The far chair you see by the Christmas tree is made of bamboo. My dad's parents have kept it in storage for years and were cleaning out late this summer. They asked me if I wanted it and of course I said yes!! Got a visit from beloved family that lives in Ohio, and a unique chair that reclines and has served many years of comfort to my family.

Here is what you will see from that opposite doorway (that actually has some gloriously original french doors that separate the living from the dining room).

In this picture I want to brag about:

The rug we got used from a local older lady. We gave her $85 for it and it had never seen a stain or an animal in its life. It didn't even smell, guys.

The couch we actually just acquired this last week. It is exactly what I have been holding out for for the last six months. Had come to terms with the fact we were going to have to majorly splurge on this item (couches, even small ones, are $$$).

My mother in law texted me out of the blue with a link to this used couch on Facebook for $180, located roughly two hours from here. Again: older couple who had it sitting in a sun room. It looks (and smells) as good as new. The only day we were allowed to pick up happened to be Katie's birthday, and just roughly a week after I had given birth. My wonderful mother in law drove the two hours to inspect and pick it up for us early that morning and still made it in time for the birthday party. What a wonderful gift to us. *heart*

The coffee table is actually a fun story:

My mom ordered it off of Wayfair.com for her living room. It arrived and there was only the top of the table, the legs were nowhere to be found. Thus she contacted customer service, and without further questioning, they sent her another of the same coffee table. (5***** customer service.)

The duplicate table arrived -- exactly the same way: no legs.

Mom was about to contact customer service again when one of my younger brothers suddenly discovered a zipper compartment in the bottom of the table where the legs were stored. 

Thus Jacob and I ended up with a free upholstered coffee table -- perfect for toddling children.

Also note: I got that extending floor lamp for $5. SHOP LOCALLY USED, PEOPLE.

This is your view if you were that $5 floor lamp. 

The only thing I will note here is that today was Mason's first intentional tummy time. He surprised me by holding his head up just fine and even turning it from side to side to look around.

(He can also be seen sleeping in that swing over there.)

And of course I had to get a picture of the mantel. 

Obviously we are still on the hunt for the perfect stocking for little Mason.

Probably one of the things I am most proud of in my living room is how we figured out our tv cables and cords situation: a tiered filing rack mounted to the wall to hold both cable box and PlayStation (which we use to watch Netflix, etc). 

Jacob strategically hid all of the cords behind the mounted television. I love that man.

Also: *squee!* for a real fireplace and mantel this year!! 

In our old house we only had a cast iron wood-burning stove placed on a massive brick hearth in an open-concept floor plan -- open concept as in the whole house was basically one room. Really neat, but creatively challenging. 

So concludes the tour of my living room. I hop you like it as much as I do.

If I had to pick three favorite things about this room (because I abhor choosing just one):

1. The real fireplace (what can I say? I'm in love.)
2. Our new (to us) couch and the fact that our whole (tiny) family can snuggle on it at the same time while watching a movie or reading a bedtime story.
3. It's the first room you enter into. I want my guests -- any guests -- to feel welcome and homey, even if they're just standing in my front doorway for a chat. Having the living room right at the front door helps with that, I think.

Excuse me, a certain missy has thrown her pacifier as an excuse to not take a morning nap.... (as a mommy, your hearing becomes exquisite at detecting such things over a monitor). 

The Last 24 Hours in the Form of Multiple Lists

Productive Things Accomplished:

1.  Clothes laundry is caught up. (In full disclosure: that says nothing for sheets, towels, etc. It also doesn't necessarily mean I've folded and put away that last load in the dryer -- because I haven't.)
2. Mason is eating every 4 hours vs every 2.5-3. Can I get a what?? what?? from all the mommies out there!
3. A bunch of random things have been tidied around my house -- such as the walker and play pen (both are now in Mason's nursery as we don't use either anymore) (though I'm sure we'll be revisiting the play pen very soon), all of the hospital bags have finally been unpacked (the last one may be currently dumped all over my bed, but the bag itself is empty nevertheless), and the desk with the last two months' worth of finances and receipts and mail is *cleaned up (*all shoved into drawers and cabinets; but hey -- at least we can see the desk top now).
4. Also I want to add the fact that there is a roast in the crockpot on time this evening for dinner. High fives all around.
5. Oh! Also I wrote 1,000 words in a document for a story idea! I finally see a little of myself peeking out from behind this exhausted mom-form with the dark circles and spit-up-covered sweater.

Disappointments Experienced:

1. Waking up. (ha ha -- no but seriously, waking up multiple times a night for nearly an hour each time: you can pretty much chalk up any sleep you did get as hardly counting toward your deficit in this area).
2. My mac and cheese was expired and I really wanted mac and cheese. *crying*
3. My brother and sister are home from college for the holiday weekend; we went to my in laws' for the holiday, and I've been consoling myself/holding onto my sanity this week with the promise that I would spend the Iron Bowl (football) at my parents' with them on Saturday while hubby was at work -- BUT MY MOM TEXTED ME TODAY THAT MY BROTHER IS SICK AND I HAVE BABIES TO THINK OF. *now majorly crying*

Things that Melted my Heart:

1. Watching my little girl's eyes flutter closed as she fell asleep during morning nap. (Although she is now screaming, refusing to go down for afternoon nap. She probably threw her pacifier and all the wipes and diapers on the floor, too. Fun Fun.)
2. My son's blue-like-his-grandpa's eyes. They. Are. Gorgeous. And so is he. Totally biased, I know.
3. The fact my husband actually texted me when he was leaving work on time today! (kidding but not really)

Things I Need Right This Second:

1. Chocolate. Always chocolate.
2. Socks on my cold bare feet.
3. About 10 straight hours of sleep and less coffee. (Sure, that oughta do it.)

Things I've realized:

1. It's time to put a lid on our trashcan as we've now gone from eating food off the floor to eating food out of the garbage can. (And when I say "we" I mean the toddler.)
2. Holy goodness -- Thanksgiving is over and it's officially the Christmas season once again!!
3. I am totally kicking butt at this whole "mom to two babies" thing -- and I'm not afraid to pat myself on the back for that. (Really, I'm just constantly breathing a relieved prayer of thanks because I totally know it is not because I am all here with all patience -- because anybody will tell you that is not me. Babies are totally not my thing.) (Stop saying "totally", Sam -- you're 22, not 14.)

The End of My Maternity Leave From Blogging (Maybe)

Hey y'all,

Update time!

Yeah, I know it's been a while; but I promise you for good reason:

On November 7th I became a mommy of two.

World, meet Mason Tyler.

We also celebrated my oldest child's first birthday just days later (ok, on the 19th).

I would like to note here that my neighbor has a cake business and makes THE BEST cakes.
Also, her birthday is the same as Katie's; and she made the cupcakes at my last minute request.
Ms. Linda, you're dabomb.com.

I've also figured out how to make mocha's at home (the only coffee I really like) therefore unlimited energy and power is all mine (in theory anyway) -- mwahaha. (Like, that's how bad the energy level was being depleted now that I have TWO babies: I actually googled how to make a mocha. It sounds more pathetic than it probably is.)

And after last year's disastrous attempt at postpartum recovery (I hit up three Thanksgivings after being home from the hospital with my first baby for less than 24 hours), my mom and my hubby have me on strict house and couch arrest.
Therefore I feel super accomplished at just getting the bottles off of the counter

(which should have been done weeks ago) and keeping my kitchen clean on an almost-daily basis and my laundry semi-consistently running.

One baby is taking a nap in her room and the other is napping in my arms as I type this -- and I'm supposed to be napping anywhere at all.

Perhaps we'll cover birth story another time.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sam and the Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (and pictures that don't match)

"Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses."

- Psalm 25:16-17

Hey y'all.

Yesterday was hard.

Very, very hard.

To keep it short and sweet (lol):
I went to bed in a foul mood, and thus did not sleep, and thus woke much the same. (Poor, Jacob.)
Because Husband was off from work, our regular routine was thrown off kilter. I don't do well with having 0 control.
A long sob-story short: we need a family vehicle asap (38 weeks of pregnancy, people) and we thought we at last found the answer after searching out wisdom and waiting on the Lord; but we were frustrated in our attempts.
So there was mood-tipper #204 of my morning.

Consequently, we drove to the location of another lead on a minivan (kind of out of the way); but it was nowhere to be seen and the shop was closed.
Whatever.
So we decided to keep trucking on into town for lunch at one of my husband's favorite burger joints
where Katie proceeded to give us an introductory course on why you don't skip morning nap and then bring your toddler out in public.
In a word: what a nightmare. 
The food finally arrived and, in an attempt to get her to stop. complaining. I immediately spooned some of my mashed potatoes into her mouth.

I'm pretty sure our kid is never going to be able to taste any food ever again and it's all my fault.

Not even water could calm her down; so I rushed her out the door and eventually across the street to an antiques mall while Jacob (I thought) was finishing his meal.
We came back shortly only to leave again as Katie was turning into quite the basket case about wanting to eat while she was eating. Kid logic, anybody?
I thrust her into the car and we drove down the road a bit while Jacob packed up the mostly uneaten food and paid the check.
She was asleep within seconds.

I'm not sure why, but this Chinese fan is her favorite toy on the porch at her grandmother's house.

Lesson #25 of the day: Don't skip morning nap.

The rest of the day proceeded to go about as well as the morning, and by the end of it we were all starting to fall apart.

(The evening proceeded with one false alarm of the smoke detector, one phone call from work, and much restlessness from my parents' dog -- we're house sitting for them again this weekend.)

Needless to say, none of the pictures are from yesterday; and I certainly did not feel like getting up and communing with the Lord this morning when I finally decided I wasn't going to get anymore sleep.
I mean, I lost my temper sooooooo many times yesterday, I was sulky and hardly spoke a word that wasn't harsh all day, I burned the mess out of my kid's esophagus, I wasted soooo much gas driving around trying to come up with some form of sanity, and I constantly was looking for someone else to blame for my ill-temper (pregnancy takes too long).

But I did. I got up and made tea and had pumpkin bread and opened my Bible to my daily Psalm, which was Psalm 25 and possibly my new favorite.

It spoke to every part of me, everything that was all wrong.

Can one psalm do that?

In this one psalm, there are words about waiting on the Lord for wisdom and direction, words expressing how alone and "worried about many things" I feel, words reminding me the Lord is gracious and compassionate and merciful, as well as words to help me talk about my sin with God.

I would have so many quotes in this blog post from this one psalm; so you really just need to read it for yourself.

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul." (v1)

My weary, troubled, lonely, discouraged, sorry, imperfect soul -- I lift it up to You, God. 

Because I don't know where else to find rest.

A Day in the Kitchen and Katie's First Fall Festival

So my Wednesday was pretty much spent in the kitchen -- but isn't that where women belong anyway?

Ha.

More accurately: I had just put Katie down for a successful morning nap. I was literally putting my feet up, sighing in contentment, and debating between reading my current novel or taking a muchly-needed nap myself, when I suddenly realized I quite honestly had no idea what Katie was supposed to eat for lunch. 

And lunch was merely an hour away at best when said munster awoke from her slumber (if, in fact, that was what she was doing. I'm honestly not sure what my kid does when I leave her room. Sometimes I return to find her stuffed animals having little meetings and she's sitting on the outside of their circle, nodding, and humming agreement on the debate at hand).

So homemade mac n cheese it twas.

Pumpkin bread was also developed,

in spite of my apparently pumpkin-hating husband.

Alas, I failed to remember my recipe yields two loaves, which, just like the pie, Katie and I should not attempt to eat alone. (If only there were a third person in our household who would help us to eat all the pumpkin yummy-goodness...)
So we proceeded to wrap up the second loaf and bring it to my parents' farm the following afternoon to take with them on their weekend spent out of town at a Reformation Conference. (We are house sitting for them again.)

Literally the best pumpkin bread I've ever had -- moist and sweet and practically perfect in every way when butter is applied and warmed. 

*Note: Instead of using all the individual spices, I simply threw in some pumpkin spice.

But don't ask me how much I used.

It was a perfect autumn day for throwing wide the doors
and letting in some fresh air in a warm kitchen full of
fall baking.

Katie has been feeling under the weather with the change of the seasons the last couple of days (thanks for passing it on, kid). 

She's peculiar in that when she is most unwell, she is a perfect angel, not asking for much at all, with little cherub smiles to share with all. 

The following days of feeling better are when the devil horns start poking through (probably why her hair has been naturally stuck out in two tufts on the sides of her head...)

We were on Day 3 of such recovery with my constant prayer literally, "God, You are my strength -- BEEEEEEE my strength!" When my new friend-from-church Morgan texted me and invited us to our church's fall festival Wednesday evening.
We have not been able to attend church in a few weeks for numerous reasons, so I was unaware of the festival; nevertheless, I immediately confirmed Katie and I would be there, out of the house, socializing, and not murdering each other. (Jacob was scheduled to work 6am-11pm that day -- for the second day in a row.)

As soon as we stepped out of the car, Katie was utterly fascinated seeing all the kids in costumes. (There was one lobster that had her utterly transfixed.) 

Immediately upon entering the gymnasium, she tried to convince me she was big enough to go play in the bouncy castle. 

Sorry, darlin. Maybe next year, when I can bring your dad and sentence him for the evening. 

Morgan had the fantastic idea of distracting her with the game of "picking up ducks".

So cute.

Speaking of cute: Katie's friend Bailey (Morgan's precious 5 month old daughter) made the cutest Wonder Woman there.