Good, clean, fun last night

Here's Davis in his big boy high chair from Lawton. He makes this loud squawking sound when he is ready to eat. He sounds like a Pteradactyl (well, I think.) He does this between every single bite if I don't feed him fast enough. He is not crying, he's just signaling that he's ready for more. I didn't realize how loud it is until I fed him at Salsalito's yesterday.




Then it's bath time! Look - Little bro finally grew enough blonde fuzz to make a mohawk! Jack thought it was pretty funny.

More of the crazy hair after bathtime.

Jack enjoys playing steamroller, taking Davis with him. He laughs as Davis tries to bite his nose. (There is NO WAY I would have allowed anyone to do this with Jack when he was a baby.) Here is Davis' "Why can't I move once I get into this position?" look.

Clean boy all lotioned up in his striped jammies. He is even happy to be put into his bed. If I knew they'd be as calm and happy as Davis, I'd have lots more babies!

Fly to Jesus... and live!

My sweet Aunt Frances went to be with Jesus during the night... peacefully in her sleep. What an answered prayer.

She was my favorite. She was everyone's favorite.

She and Uncle Harold were a riot and I always enjoyed travelling to their home in Louisiana for another famous family fish fry.

It makes me smile to imagine her finally reunited with Uncle Harold again. Those two peas are back in the pod - with the God they served, every day of every week of every year of their lives.

"Someone's Praying, Lord..."

Well, I got so caught up in sorting all the pictures of the wedding, I still haven't had a chance to blog about it. Heck, I just unpacked the last suitcase this morning! And I am not kidding. I did so much laundry today and three prayers were answered: I found my lost debit card, the marker stains came out of Jack's Easter vest, and my skinny jeans still fit after being dried accidentally.

Anyway, in rummaging through photos tonight I found this video taken from the National Lampoons Griffin Family Road Trip. I had totally forgotten about it. It cracks me up because I can just imagine how Jeff is feeling in this moment.

Let me set the scene: Oh gosh, it is making me laugh out loud just thinking about how to word it. It was the "home stretch" of the longest road trip in our family's history and we had just cleared some horrible 5 o'clock Austin traffic. We had listened to all of the Books on Tape we had checked out from the library, TWICE. Both boys had woken up from their naps, and Jeff's nerves were pretty much shot. Davis started getting upset, but Jeff was determined not to stop to feed him until we had made it into San Antonio. We finally turned on the Bible Songs CD, which, up to this point, had worked like magic every time Davis got upset.

So, as you watch this video, remember that at this particular point in the evening, it was Road Trip Day Two, we had heard this same CD six times in its entirety (since Jack WILL NOT allow you to skip any song under any circumstance) and had been in that packed car for NINE hours. I don't think Jeff was the least bit entertained by me videotaping.

The song is just the perfect touch...

Jack had used this new snake from Cracker Barrel to form every possible letter and number the snake's body could form. For about 100 miles, he even used it as a shaker to dance to the beat of the music. Ahh, precious family memories. Jeff... what a guy. You gotta love him. He never questioned (aloud) our decision to leave the DVD player at home.

If you wish to truly experience the road trip, watch this video on a continuous loop about 850 more times... stopping it only to eat, potty, nurse a baby, or change a diaper. Enjoy!

** Additional note: Jeff is responsible for proof-reading each blog post before I post it. When he read this one, even his comments cracked me up. He said, "Dang, even that 48 second video is ANNOYING. If I never hear that CD again in my whole life, it will be way too soon."

Kum ba Yah, Jeff, Kum ba Yah.

Ahhh. Home Sweet Home...

Hope you enjoy the new digs!

Many of you have asked some "How To" questions about the blog, so I might as well give a quick lesson.

Q: How can I comment if I don't have (or want) a google account or gmail address?

A: Simply log in ONCE using your current e-mail address/password... it can be yahoo, hotmail, etc! Your comments will then display your name and picture. You do not have to have a google or gmail address.

Q: What does it mean to "Follow" the blog?

A: Once you are a "Follower," upon log in, you will be able to see updates from all of your favorite blogs... nice and neat and in one place. You can quickly review them all, and comment on each without having to remain anonymous or navigate to several blogs to see if they have posted anything new.

Q: But what if I just like to lurk around the blog and don't prefer to comment?

A: You are no fun.

Hope this helps. E-mail if there are any problems viewing the new site.

Thanks for following along, or stopping by every once in a while to catch up. This blog has been a fun new hobby, outlet, procrastination tool, and keepsake... It has really taken on a life of its own and makes me feel like I'm not so alone out here in the Momosphere.

I'm okay. And it's okay.

So, after what Julie termed "Melissa and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!!," I have received so many nice comments... and phone calls.... and e-mails... and text messages... and extra long hugs... and "you poor things"... and concerned looks of pity...

I'm FINE, people!

I do appreciate the extra lovin', but you can cancel the intervention. It's okay to stop worrying about my impending head-first plunge off the deep end. I am here to tell you... I am so already there!

We Moms sometimes think we are in a pit alone, not making the grade, wondering when we will finally figure this thing out. The truth is... if we could see up out of this pit, to the green grass where all the PERFECT Moms are... we would see that nobody is there. We would also see that we're not in a pit at all.

We are in this together and our Mom-to-Mom honesty is empowering. I figure we are deceiving ourselves and others if we mask the truth about our struggles. I won't beat myself up about how I reacted, but I won't pretend I don't have days like these, either. Like many of you have mentioned, God is good and His grace is abundant.

I smile because each day is new, my spirit is new, and now my dental policy info is also new.



P.S. Emily (a.k.a. Baby Sock Police)... here's one for ya. Check out the heel of Davis' high-quality sock in this video!

This is such a hard job.

So I lost it today. I am not proud, but I do feel the urge to record it so I will remember how hard some of these days can be. I hesitate to complain and usually don't publish posts about these types of experiences because I know my problems are nothing compared to what other Moms are going through. The truth is... this is my reality, and today, for me, it sucks. Yes, sucks. But this blog is supposed to be honest and not to paint a picture that I have it all together or that life in our household is full of cuteness, songs, positivity and daisies. It's far from that.

This morning was Jack's first visit to the dentist. Yes, he's four and a half and has never been to the dentist. I endure an hour of whining and complaining and "I am scared of the dentist..." talk leading up to the appointment and it is not even 9am and Jack is already on one of my last nerves. I knew we had about twenty minutes to leave the house and was rifling through a huge pile of crap on the kitchen counter for my new insurance cards. I was packing the diaper bag, negotiating which shoes were appropriate for him to wear, and tripped over Sadie who was licking spitup off our new carpet. My whole house disgusted me.

I had called Alli Jean so she could describe to him how much she LOVED going to the dentist and the awesome prizes she got, and the cool chair, and the cool sunglasses, etc... even the phone call grated on my nerves. Why won't he just talk into the phone? Why does he carry it away? I kept taking deep breaths, knowing the success of the visit hinged on my remaining calm and encouraging. I told him to find a toy animal in his room who has teeth and an open mouth and told him to bring him along so the dentist could show him everything on the animal before doing it on him. He liked that idea, but then asked me one million times... "Should I choose this one, or this one, mama? Can I take TWO lizards, Momma, can I, can I?" I snapped at him, sighing, "Yes, Jack, that's fine. WHERE ARE YOUR SHOES?!! I am NOT going to ask you again! Do you HEAR ME?"

Why didn't I arrange for someone to keep Davis? Why can't I get out of this house any earlier than 10:30 in the morning. What is WRONG with me? ... the unhealthy dialogue began. We got to the dentist's office and it was packed. Crap. Why in the WORLD would I have scheduled an appointment on a day SCHOOL is out? I was immediately irritated that the receptionist didn't mention this to me when I originally made the appointment. Before I could find a place for the infant carrier in the tiny waiting area, she says, "Ms. Griffin, Jack's appointment was at 9:20am. You missed it, but we can still fit you in as a walk-in if you want to wait." Fantastic. Why would I schedule an appointment at 9:20 when I know that is when I am nursing a baby? I was irritated that THEY must have made another scheduling mistake.

When a seat opened up on the couch, I decided we would just wait. After all, I had spent all that time convincing him he might actually enjoy it. I sat him on my lap and looked around. There was not a single book in the waiting area. None. Instead all the kids had their mouths gaping open watching Shrek, which I don't even allow Jack to watch. What is wrong with our society? Kids can't wait in an office without watching a movie? My nerves were shot. Two kids even had a handheld GameBoy thing in their hands, looking up every once in a while to see the movie. I just had to breath deeply. I HATE electronic devices and can't stand the thought of my children preferring them over books, conversation, make believe, or (gasp!) SILENCE.

"Mom of Jack!" the receptionist calls. Even that irritated me. She asks for my insurance card, and I have no wallet with me. Can this really be happening? After we had waited this long, we were not giving up. I put both kids in the car, ran back to the house, got the wallet, and ran back to the office.

After an entire hour of waiting, listening to about one dozen inappropriate phrases from Shrek, reminding me why we don't watch it... "Mom of Jack!" I unlatch Davis mid-feeding, which he HATES, and she proceeds to tell me that Jack is not listed on our dental plan. It was all that I could do not to slide my arm across the counter sweeping the business cards, plants, flyers covered in typos, and plastic tooth statue onto the ground. Instead I calmly asked if I can clear this up on the phone while we wait and just be seen by the doctor and billed later.

She explains that this will take 24 hours and says flippantly, "Well, I guess this just isn't your day to see the dentist!" I could have strangled her, but that might have interrupted the movie. So, I walked out, strapped a crying still-hungry baby into his carrier, and went back home. I tried not to cry and tried to put things into perspective. Emily reminded me that it's okay to admit that you are having a crappy day and a crappy attitude. Yes, others have it much worse and would love to be in our situations, but we have to be honest with ourselves and our feelings.

So, I decide to come inside, finish feeding Davis, and blog my frustrations out. I change Davis' poopy diaper during which Jack comes to me... "Mommy, can I have some milk? Please mommy? Get me some milk. I said please. I said please, mommy. That's good, right?" "YES, Jack, I asked you to WAIT! If you ask me again, you will go to bed with nothing to drink, do you hear me?" I wish he would just realize Mommy is on a short fuse right now... but he doesn't.

I apologize to him, explaining that when I am busy with something that he sometimes has to wait. I get him his milk, start a TV show for him... yeah, I know... and put Davis to bed. I decide to blog so that I can get it out of my system and turn my day around. "Mommy, did you forget something? You did. You forgot to give me a straw, Mommy. Mommy, can I have a straw... pleeeeeeese can you get me a straw?" I am sure my face looked like Sigourney Weaver on Ghostbusters. "Jack, you are a BIG BOY! Drink it like a big boy. I asked you to give Mommy a TIME OUT, and you didn't stay in the living room for ONE single MINUTE! I just need a break for ONE minute!"

He says, "You are not mad at me, Mommy. You are just sad and fwustrated, right Mommy, right? You aren't mad, right?" At that moment, when I don't feel like I can hear the word Mommy one more time, he spills his milk onto my keyboard and mouse. Yes, he did. I said, "Jack Everett. Get out of this room! Just get out of this ROOM!" I was not yelling, but talking very loudly and deliberately through clenched teeth.

With tears in my eyes, I cleaned it up and laid the keyboard and mouse out to dry. So much for blogging while the baby is sleeping. Oh well, I will have to find another way to cope. I made myself a Dr. Pepper. I went back in about thirty minutes... after starting a SECOND SHOW!... and the mouse would not work. You have GOT to be kidding. Where the hell is my husband and why does HE get to work outside the home? That is SO freaking unfair.

I laid face down on my unmade bed, on top of a pile of laundry. About fifteen minutes later, Jack came to me, sheepishly, and said, "Mommy, I am sorry I spilled my milk on your computer. And next time I will put my shoes on when you ask me to. I will do rest time without you having to ask me today." I felt terrible about how I showed him to handle frustration. I had yelled, I had huffed and puffed. I had pretty much thrown a fit. I gave him a quick hug, apologized for using my "mean voice," thanked him in advance for staying in his room to nap and right then, Davis started crying. Good grief. Is he awake already?! I started to cry again.

Today has not been my best day as a Mom, but it's not the first or last time I let the job get the best of me. This is BY FAR the hardest thing I have ever done and it has revealed things about myself... some I like, some I despise.

I got the baby out of his crib, changed his diaper, dug in the back of the closet for an old mouse with a cord, plugged it in, got Davis latched on, and finally sat down to blog...

Seven months! Little bro is not so little any more!

Davis turned 7 months old on "Valentimes" Day. (I hate to correct Jack when he says Valentimes, but I know adults who prounounce it that way who sound downright ridiculous.)

For the monthly report:

Davis is eating most vegetables with no problems, but has developed a skin reaction with every single fruit we have tried: Apples, pears, bananas, mango, peaches, and guava. Yes, Gerber makes guava. It smells like grapefruit.



He has learned to mimic me and smack his lips to make a kissing sound. This is so cute unless you are feeding him bright orange liquid carrots and these darling little smackies fling babyfood on your white shirt.



Our big boy ate in a high chair for the first time on our trip. He looked so cute propped in that chair. Looks like I need to start carrying my highchair cover again. He was pretty off-balance and we had to stuff his blanket and my jacket around him to stabilize him, but he loved it. Jack thought it was pretty funny to see his baby bro sitting up at the table with us.

Davis continues to be "Sleeping Champion, Jr." (Jack being the original Sleeping Champion, of course.) He slept through the night every night of the trip in different rooms, on pallets, and in borrowed pack n' plays... even with tons of commotion in the room. He is unbelievable. He has his little "woobie" as I call it, (thanks, Emily) which signals to him that it's sleep time. He sucks on the tabs to fall asleep. We have two of them. I may soon need more. And, I just had to throw in another picture in the Sleeperoo.



He is still not crawling, but is getting close. Daddy thought he might go for the remote, but not so much. He has the little bulldog stance down, but pushes himself backwards a little or rolls to the right. I am, quite frankly, not that anxious for him to crawl, but I do encourage the practice every day.

BUT, Big D did learn a really cool new trick this week!!



That's right - I sit up like a big boy! I love that grin and those chunky little wrists.



He continues to be an even-tempered, easy-going smiley guy but certain quirks are starting to emerge as his personality develops. He tries hard to flip himself off the changing table during diaper changes. He does not like to be held when he is tired. He wants to be laid down and he lets you know it. You know he is tired when he starts scratching his forehead. Literally, on our trip, his little forehead had seven or eight red scratches on it from his naps being repeatedly interrupted. Jeff and I felt terrible!

Boys in the Hood.

BIG BOY weighed 16.25 pounds on Friday. That bear is getting smaller and smaller.

It's amazing how much I have forgotten and how many things have changed since Jack was this age. I cannot remember anything - how much Tylenol they are allowed to have, how many ounces of milk he is supposed to have, when he "should" be doing certain things. I am just depending on the "fake it 'til you make it" technique, (and dozens of calls to Kim and Julie) and it's working just fine so far. I think I have just enjoyed his last month of immobility. Jack told me Friday on his way to Meemaw's house, "Momma, if he starts crawling, be sure to close my bedroom door!" Yep, life is about to change.

Between Loads of Laundry...

What a trip.

We are home and both boys are napping in their OWN beds. Hallelujah!

I have 256 pictures and seven videos to download, 14 bags to unpack, seven outfits with baby food stains to pre-treat, and many loads of laundry to sort, wash, dry, fold, and put away. In addition, I have about 11 voice mails to return and 50-something e-mails to review.

So, I will blog about our trip in stages, including our near run-in with the Oklahoma tornadoes on the way home.

The plan is to accomplish all of these things before I turn 30.

Heading home...

Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Griffin!

Tara and Kyle's wedding was absolutely amazing. I cannot wait to write about it, but won't waste any more precious time with family to blog. We head home tomorrow and (very much unlike us) we are just going to stop when we get tired and find a hotel. In what city? We don't know! We will drive until we give out, then drive the rest on Wednesday.

I have SO many awesome photos, and even better stories about one of the most special events we have experienced as a family. And for those of you on the edge of your seats... Jack the Wing Beawer was AWESOME. Jeff and I couldn't be more proud of him and the job he did. Yes, I got it all on video.

We aren't in Texas anymore, Toto.

We have arrived in Missouri!

We left Wednesday morning at 10:00 am (I know, Julie, that is not YOUR definition of "first thing" in the morning, but that's how we roll.) and arrived in Oklahoma at 9:00 pm. Jack did great, and Davis only required one wardrobe change. We knew we weren't in Texas anymore when we ordered tacos and they came with a side of Tater Tots. We stayed with our family friends Clare and Rhonda and had such a nice visit.

Yesterday, we got on the road at 11:00 am and arrived at the hotel at 7:00 pm. So, the drive here ended up being a total of 19 hours. Jack did great, and was kept busy by books, books on tape, his CD's, and some matchbox planes from Rhonda. We are glad we decided to leave the DVD player at home.

More to come...

Finalizing the preparations, matey!

I had so many things on the agenda today, in addition to packing, and I wondered last night (like I often do) how I managed to get to the day before we leave and I am still running around like a madwoman. I mean, I have known about this wedding for what, 10 months now?

Oh well. I knew I needed a plan. So, I sat in bed last night and made my list of things to accomplish in the morning with two kids in tow. It was a lot.

I have read in Parenting magazines ideas for making these errand-filled outings more enjoyable, but the suggestions have always seemed crazy, time-consuming, and unrealistic. After all, shouldn't Jack just behave out of respect for me and an inherent desire to be part of the team?

Yeah right. So this morning, Mommy got out the Sharpie and drew a treasure map. Oh, yes I did. I told Captain Jack he was a pirate, and we were going on an adventure to look for a treasure. I gave him the pink (it was all I could find) cardstock treasure map and explained that he could cross off each item as we completed it. If he behaved at each stop, he could get a surprise treasure at the end! He was all excited. I told him he had to be completely dressed before he could even see the map. Funny, he didn't need any help at all getting dressed, and he took a fraction of his usual prep time. Amazing.

He loved it and couldn't wait to leave. Wow, what a change of pace. While I finished getting ready, he colored the items. So, the stops included a haircut, "chewy gums" (his favorite snack), Mom's eyebrows and toenails, pick up pants from the tailor, lollipop, his choice of restaurant for lunch, library to get books for the car, pick up a prescription... and then... secret treasure! I wasn't sure what the treasure would be, but it would have to be something from CVS, since that was our last stop. He always wants something there. Besides, if he had not behaved, we could just use the drive-thru.

He was so excited with his map and crayon in hand, and was a champ about his haircut, until the guy snipped his neck. It happened just as I snapped a photo. As he screamed, I looked like a terrible mother standing there with my camera. Oh well. Won't be the last time.

He cried the rest of the haircut, and then yelled to everyone in the waiting area, "Everybody STOP LOOKING at ME!!!" Great way to start our adventure. Oh well, the "chewy gums" put the pirate back in the right mood and we pressed on.



The pants were a perfect fit, thank goodness. He resumed the incessant pirate noises through the curtain as he tried them on. I told him not to get them caught on his peg leg. I am sure the nice Vietnamese seamstress thought we were weird, but we were having fun.



You guessed it. Captain Jack scored a treasure. He picked this obnoxious Godzilla figure. We accomplished all of our errands and even squeezed in a stop at Payless in four short complaint-free hours!

I recommend this activity to anyone taking a toddler on a long day of errands. The keys to its success were - making the map in one draft. If you spend any more time on it (those who know me know this was hard) then it defeats the time-saving purpose. I also put a snack after each of the longer activities. This gave him more things to cross off and kept his interest. I also said he couldn't cross anything off until he was completely buckled in his carseat, which sped up the process even more. Other suggestions would include adding silly things like singing a song, drawing a picture, or counting to fifty or something... if there is too much time between activities.
I know this might sound crazy at first, but it took about five minutes to prepare and our day went so smoothly as a result!

ARRGgghh! It's 4:15 pm! Enough procrastinating... time to pack.

Road trippin'...

We are packing for Kyle's wedding in Missouri. We leave on Wednesday morning.

When I say "we" are packing, of course I mean "me." Jeff's stuff is Jeff's stuff. My stuff is everything else... for me, the boys, and the dog. Jeff will pack his clothes, hair gel, and deodorant in about ten minutes and then walk around the house pointing to all the bags I have been strategically packing for two days, saying, "Is this bag ready to go out? Is this bag ready? Are you sure we NEED all this stuff? Just keep in mind, Greg has a washing machine."

Don't get me wrong, he is great... willing and ready to help whenever needed. He is awesome. He will just never understand the difference between what a road trip entails for ME versus HIM. I mean, his clothes fit. All of them. All the time.

So last night, for some reason, I decided to carefully explain this to him part by part... in a whiny voice... to ensure that he grasped just how much harder family trip preparation is for the Mom. That's right. Not just me. I was speaking for ALL Moms. Oh, and yes, I know what you are thinking. This was during the Super Bowl.

So, at lightning speed (commercial breaks aren't that long,) I explained how all my clothes are for a warm climate, my pants don't fit, my shoes don't fit, my dresses aren't suitable for nursing, Jack doesn't want to wear his suit, he needs a haircut, the "Check Engine" light came on, there's a run in my control top pantyhose, there's no printer ink to print the MapQuest directions, there's no room for a pack-n-play, the dog needs dog-sitting, we need a copy of the house key, Davis needs black pants, I wish he had a tie that would match my blouse, and how important it is to pack healthy snacks so the clothes I borrowed will still fit when I get there. I then thoroughly went over the pros and cons of leaving the stroller at home.

Just when I reached the end of the list of all that I still have to do before we leave town in two days, I took a moment to look in the mirror.

I took a good, long look at myself and paused for a moment. I took a deep breath. You know what I realized? Looking at my own reflection in the middle of all this list-making, stressing, and carrying on?

My eyebrows are about to meet in the middle.

That put me over the edge and I started to cry.

Jeff turned to me and gave me a big hug. He reminded me that it will all work out, that I will look beautiful with or without the unibrow, that noone will notice that Davis doesn't have shoes on, and that the commercial break was almost over.

I hugged him back, laughed at myself, dried my tears, and thought, "What a lucky girl I am to have him. I can hardly believe he just loves me anyway." As I drove off to Wal*mart at 10:30pm for pantyhose, black socks, a green tie, and healthy snacks, I wondered what he was thinking about his crazy emotional wife.

I imagine he started by laughing about how cute I am when I get into one of the these charming little "moods." Then he most likely reflected on how deeply he appreciates all that I do to ensure smooth travel and happy children. I am sure he could hardly concentrate on the game because of his great anticipation of twenty hours of uninterrupted conversation with me in the car.

Bless his heart. I am sure that was exactly what he was thinking.