Three Ring Circus

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When I was younger my Dad would leave for work at the crack of dawn and arrive home way after I was asleep. My Mother was home with all three of us, all the time. My brothers and I, were 'perfect little children' so I really was perplexed every time we were out in public why my Mother always looked frazzled.

When we would get in the car she would let us have it, and somewhere in those conversations she would always say

"Why do we have to be a three ring circus everywhere we go?"

I used to wonder in my child mind "What is this three ring circus this crazy woman is talking about?"

Someone upstairs is laughing and I finally get it. Now I am the frazzled crazy woman.

We went to the YMCA Sunday. We go there every day. That is my break. My sanctuary. I love to exercise (I am working on those blog posts too, but their is only so much time in the day and only so many posts I can type, and the gym keeps winning).  Sunday, we told the kids we would go play in the pool there. We don't do this often, it requires traveling to the gym with a ton of bags, changing everyone in the locker room etc. It is just easier to swim at home.

Rock and I had an awesome workout, we successfully changed everyone in the locker room,  and we had an awesome time in the pool, and just after I had thought "we should really make more of an effort to take the kids to the pool here", the three ring circus showed up.

I was packing up to leave and go back to the locker room to change when Tadpole decided to come running full force out of the pool. He slipped, slid across the cement, and smacked his head, at the same time Rock was telling him "slow down, no running!!!" Tadpole immediately started screaming and his head was bleeding. Now all eyes are on us.  I picked him up dried him off and assessed his injuries. "Rock go ask the lifeguard for ice please."

After 10 minutes and no ice, we decided instead of going back through the locker room and through the lobby, Rock would go get the car, pull it up to the pool, and we would exit that way. He left to get the car. I dried off Tadpole, and changed him while he was in my lap, not the easiest task with a 40 pound 3 year old with a head injury. Tadpole was whining about being cold, so his towel and mine are covering him.

While I started to change Bean underneath his towel, the lifeguard finally arrived with the ice.
I wrapped the towel around Bean, tried to cover myself up, but Tadpole wasn't sharing any of the towels.


When the lifeguard was close enough he said "I'm so sorry it took so long, we could not find the guy with the key for the ice machine." I must have looked perplexed but I simply said "No worries, thank you so much."

Since when were ice machines locked? Do people steal ice? Is the Y afraid of their ice being poisoned? Is this some sort of health code I am not aware of?

I applied the ice to Tadpoles head, and the lifeguard stool there while I sat comforted my child and felt extremely uncomfortable sitting in my bikini, which was all disheveled from taking care of a screaming 3 year old. This lifeguard, who could not have been more than 16 started to explain what to look for with a head injury. I know I should have let him finish, smiled and said thank you, but I just wanted him to go, and I just wanted out of that place so I kindly interjected, "No worries, I graduated nursing school." Now that probably sounds snooty but it is illegal for me to say I am a nurse, because I have not taken my boards yet.  He looked at me and said
"We are here to help."

Now I felt like an ass.  He did walk away though and I was thankful because I wanted out of there. Bean and Tadpole were getting squirmy and just as I thought we were all clear to go...

Another lifeguard walked up with an incident report to fill out. I had to stand up in my disheveled bikini  fill out the form with one kid hurt, hungry, and tired and the other cold, squirmy, and hungry and both asked me a million questions and whined at me while I filled out the form. I filled it out as fast as I could and handed it to the lifeguard. Now I thought, we could finally leave. Just as  the lifeguard turned to walk away...

 Bean dropped his towel and flashed everyone!

The lifeguards face said it all, but he was smart enough to walk away and not comment. Then the frazzled crazy woman in me emerged.

"Bean you can't just drop your towel and be naked in front of people."

"It was an accident, my towel slipped."

Now I felt like a bigger ass, because I know he is right; but why must we always draw so much attention to ourselves as if we each hand picked our own circus act, only the audience never applauds when the performance is over?



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Christmas in July-Stocking Holder

Every year when Christmas rolls around, I am lost as what to do with my stockings in my S. FL home. This past Christmas, I solved my problem and made a stocking holder. I am super happy with how it turned out and love how it is useful the whole year round. 

I bought a piece of decorative molding from home depot and cut it down to the size I wanted.

I then painted it white to match the  white woodwork  in my home.

I then drilled holes and used glass dresser knobs that I screwed in. Luckily I decided on 5 even though we are a family of 4 because last year we had an exchange student living with us, and you just never know... Of course, you can make yours as long as you want and with as many knobs as you want. I nailed the molding where I wanted it on the wall in my hallway, using finishing nails. I painted over the nails, and the project was complete!

Now my beach cottage home has a place for stockings at Christmas time. 

The rest of the year, I hang diaper bags, and book bags off the hooks. I think I might make a board and paint it with chalkboard paint and use it for chore lists for the boys.

What do you think about my project? I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. Please stay a while and follow my blog. Thank you for all of your support! 

 

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Happy 3rd Birthday

Yesterday was Tadpole's 3rd Birthday. I picked my Mom and Bean up from the airport and we had a family party for him. Here are some pictures from his birthday.

 Green balloons for the turtle party Tadpole insisted on

Homemade Turtle paper 

Made a sign for the balloon wreath. See balloon wreath post

Took a short little birthday trip to the zoo. 

Played games together. 

A Happy Birthday Boy

I want a "big chocolate cake"

Brotherly love

So I had this great idea to buy a pinata and let the boys have a blast. I really thought Tadpole would get a huge kick out of this. Was I wrong! He flipped out crying "Don't do it!" "Don't doooo it!" "Please don't hit it Mommy!" I made the birthday boy cry! Bean was so upset there wasn't going to be a pinata at the party!

Happy Birthday Hulk boy!

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Too Busy for Blogging

Two weeks just flew by and I realized every post I almost sat down to write, didn't happen. I think I must have adult ADD. I don't remember being this bad when I was younger. I have been so busy working on belly casts, stuff for my business, working out, mommy duties, and preparing Bean for his first plane trip for his week vacation at my parents' house that blogging didn't happen. This is what the mornings have looked like and why I really think I have ADD or is this just what happens when you are the mother of two young boys and you stop every 30 seconds in the middle of what you are doing because.... 

"Give me juice" 

"MOMMMYYYYYY HE IS GOING TO HIT ME"  

The phone rings

"Mommy (fill in the blank  is not sharing the (fill in the blank with anything the other one might have)"

The doorbell

Diaper change

Deciding to respond to the running and screaming occurring in the other room

"Mommy I am hungry"

"MOMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY  MAKE HM STOP"

So this is what it has looked like around here while Rock worked over 126 hours in two weeks. 

The blog I started to write 

The dishes I halfway finished

The ironing I started 

The bedt I began making 

The pile of donation and giveaway items I started collecting 

So I apologize for the hiatus but I am back! 

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Fourth of July Festivities

Can you believe I didn't eat this? I got this recipe from Christy over at The Girl Who Ate Everything  Patriotic Trifle Dish. It is really easy to make, tastes delicious, and the red, white, and blue require no food coloring!


We spent the evening at Rock's parents' house, and the boys played out back waiting for Daddy to get off shift. First year he has made it home for fireworks!

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Unicorns

Recently I created a facebook page for my blog and posted this picture, and maybe because the majority of my following are friends, no one even bothered to ask about the unicorn hat. Not sure what that says about me or my friends. So the story behind the unicorns...

Bean  really likes the movie Despicable Me (see the youtube video below) and so we have listened to the Despicable Me theme song in the car so many times that we all know the words. At the end of the song the little girl is singing "Unicorns I love them, unicorns I love them..." I told Bean that was my favorite part of the song.  

 Fast forward to my birthday and what else do I get, but my awesome unicorn hat and this awesome pink unicorn. 

So when Mother's Day came around, they made sweet little cards in school about their Moms. 

So in case you were ever wondering, I spend my days sitting around playing the flower game on PS3 for my daily sport, hugging my unicorn, and eating all the food I got from my favorite store! The ego in me was like "Wait I never watch TV ever, which is true, and I workout 6 times a week!" More lessons on letting go. I will however be wearing that awesome hat this winter and I most definitely will be saving it to pick him up from middle school 6 years from now! 

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Two Parties for Two Part 1

Tadpole's third birthday is in 18 days and I am seriously contemplating no party this year.  I am thinking  a family trip is what we all need more than planning, hosting, and entertaining.

Last year, when Tadpole turned 2, I had just completed the last 20 credits of my nursing program and graduated.  I guess I was so happy to be home that I just became consumed with party planning. On his actual birthday we had a little Winnie the Pooh themed family day. We went to see Winnie the Pooh (2011), (his first trip to the movies). Then we had a big Dr. Seuss themed birthday party for everyone (eventually I will post about this).

I wanted to make a beehive cake for the Pooh theme and came across one by Zoe Francois over at Zoebakes.com beehive cake (brown-butter banana cake and honey buttercream). I must say I set myself up for  a challenge with this one. Read the directions and you will see what I mean, browned butter, the real deal buttercream with the egg whites and everything, then make it into a beehive shape and create little bees to adorn it.  I have made cakes before, but I had no previous experience with cakes like this. I know I have some friends who would probably laugh at this, but they have 'cake training'.  It took me a long time to create this, but I was happy with the end result.

A little lopsided but I 'saved' it.

Wish I had learned about a crumb coating a LONG time ago. What a difference. 

Love these kids!

I purchased Winnie The Pooh cutouts in the scrapbook section of Michael's and added them around the beehive. 

I also made my own Tigger wrapping paper with orange paper and black tissue paper.


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Sleepless nights...the other half of the badge

 Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Rock has been working a lot the past two weeks, and with overtime comes working different hours around the clock and lots of overnight shifts. On normal shift days, he goes to work in his civilian clothes, and I never realized what a difference this made for me until last night when he came out for work dressed in his uniform.

I noticed something about his uniform looked different and I wasn't sure what it was. When I remembered he was issued a new vest, I realized that, was what was making him look different; it's bigger than his old one.

 As sexy as a man in uniform is, wrapping my arms around his larger than usual chest filled me with the overwhelming sense of how fragile life is. How this big strong man that makes me feel safer when he is sleeping next to me, is still mortal. As we embrace, he is talking about how his new vest covers more of his body, and all I am thinking about is all the places it doesn't and then I worry about all the people I love and the anxiety flows through me. I realize that life is just one big movement of change and I am still having trouble accepting this. This is our life though, and sometimes as a law enforcement officer's wife, you have to push that into the back of your mind, or it can consume you. Naturally I look at him and make light of it, "If I was a police officer, I'd want a helmet." Rock looks at me and says "Yeah, I could see you, full on riot gear, 'let's go guys.'"

As I tuck my two boys into bed, I know it is another restless night for me. I always sleep better when my personal police officer is home because I feel safer and I know he is as well. Some nights I let my mind wander  around two scenarios I hope I am never faced with;being home alone one night and having to be the sole protector of my children against the unmentionable evils that exist in this world, and the other horrifying thought "what if that doorbell ever did ring one night and the person on the other side of the door was someone I never want showing up to my house unexpected with news I never want to hear" Would I be brave enough to remember a hero is never simply mortal?



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