Sentence a Day: April 2021

Thursday, April 1 - Drew was so excited today was April Fools - her enthusiasm for the day was contagious.

Friday, April 2 - So many people took today off at work it made for a really quiet day which I desperately needed.

Saturday, April 3 - We had an amazing day with family we hadn't seen since before quarantine, I might have teared up!

Sunday, April 4 - Happy Easter!

Monday, April 5 - The kids didn't have school today and Trent and Paige spent the night with my in-laws; Drew enjoyed being the only child.

Tuesday, April 6 - I taught my new 5:30 am Body Pump class solo for the first time, and it went GREAT!

Wednesday, April 7 - No clue what happened this day apparently, oops.

Thursday, April 8 - I went on a run today and got a the best bluebonnet picture of the season.

Friday, April 9 - Book Club was at my house and we got together live for the first time in over a year, yay!

Saturday, April 10 - Today was the start of Trent's spring flag football league and he got a pick 6!

Sunday, April 11 - We went live to church today for the first time since quarantine, it was a big weekend for firsts apparently.

Monday, April 12 - We found out Sunday Trent was in quarantine due to another student in his class testing positive for Covid and got notified today that Drew is too {from the same family as Trent's positive case, ha}.

Tuesday, April 13 - The kids played outside {because I forced them to} and found an insane amount of caterpillars - we get them this time of year but they are out of control this year!

Look at these things!

Wednesday, April 14 - I took the big kids to get a Covid test today because their time since had reached 6 days, but they had no symptoms.

Thursday, April 15 - Negative!!

Friday, April 16 - I decided to keep Paige home from school for fun, and that was a mistake for my work day.

Saturday, April 17 - We went to see Kristen today and finally exchange Christmas presents with our kids {as a reminder I am Kristen's kids' godmother and she is my kids'}.

Besties

Sunday, April 18 - We missed church - we've just been back ONE WEEK and already missing - but the kids were all still sleeping when we needed to be getting ready, and I didn't want to mess with a good thing!

Monday, April 19 - We took the big kids to get tested AGAIN because they were both complaining of headaches and stomachaches.

Tuesday, April 20 - NEGATIVE AGAIN!!

Wednesday, April 21 - My in-laws had us over for a dinner of chicken fried steaks, it was delicious!

Thursday, April 22 - I had a really good laugh over a work meme with my team.

Friday, April 23 - Harry Potter trivia event through work, and I got 3rd place!

Saturday, April 24 - We visited with Susie's friends who came in from out of town with a pizza dinner and lots of playing.

Sunday, April 25 - Church again, yay to be getting back in the routine, and a full day of cleaning house, yuck.

Monday, April 26 - Brent and I started a new 'diet' to help give us a big push before summer.

Tuesday, April 27 - Body pump in the morning and tennis in the evening makes for one tired Allena.

Wednesday, April 28 - My favorite day of the month is when our cleaning lady comes and that day is today!

Thursday, April 29 - Drew had her piano lesson today, and it is just the cutest thing in the world to watch.

Friday, April 30 - We had all our custom cabinetry delivered/installed today, and I love everything and can't wait to show it to y'all.

Kidisms

One of my favorite aspects of blogging is preserving memories I know I would otherwise forget. One of our neighbors was telling us some funny things her 4-year-old son had said recently, and I basically begged her to write them down. I know there are more I've forgotten over time, but these are some really funny ones from the last few months. These are also very Paige-heavy, but I think that's just because of the age she is compared to Drew and Trent.

Paige was in the bathtub and I was working near her. She had a little toy in the tub she was pretending was a cup. She kept trying to get me to drink from the cup, and I kept refusing She finally asked 'Do you want to try my vodka?' That child knows what I like!

We are working on Paige staying in her bed all night. So far it's been very unsuccessful, ha, but one night she told me 'I'm going to sleep in my bed tonight. Well help me pick a night. Vote in the comments below.' Too much YouTube perhaps?

My mom gave Drew a sign for her room that says 'No boys allowed.' On the way home, Drew announced the boys she WOULD allow in her room. It was every single boy she knew!

A few weeks ago, I got irrationally angry about Brent getting fast food. Brent encouraged me to take a breather and I drove around for a little while chilling out. A few nights later, Paige and I were talking about me 'leaving' when Paige was snuggling in our bed [see the story above about us being unsuccessful in our attempts to keep her in her bed] and Brent got up to watch tv in the living room and Paige whispered 'Now Daddy left'. 

Paige was in the bathtub another time with one Barbie talking to another: What is that on your face? Oh, a booger.

One of the first days of school when Paige was crying on the way to school, Trent told her 'Look, I don't want to go to school either, but we have to.' That cracked me up because Trent has NEVER wanted to go to school ha!

Paige at pickup after her first day at school: 'Oh hi sackie! I'm home from work.' [Sackie can't go to school with her and waits patiently in the car all day.]

After about a week of school, Paige told me at pick-up 'I FINALLY had a good day!'

We had our friends over for a lazy Sunday and were eating pizza and Paige was telling a story about her boyfriend calling her. She told us 'I had to breakup with him because he kept saying hate and shut up.' So funny! But then she topped it all off by having a 'conversation' with this boyfriend and she lowered her voice to have him say 'shut up hate' and she hung-up on him! That girl is something else! We all DIED laughing. 

I love these 3 goobers!

One Word a Day: July 2020

July 1: I hit a move burn high of almost 900 calories today!

July 2: Today was the start of a 4-day weekend which was SO needed.

July 3: We enjoyed the pool today with neighbors because it turned into full-blown 100 degree summer here overnight.

July 4: Happy birthday, America!

July 5: I got to swim with Susie and Karin in Karin's pool, and I haven't been able to spend much time with her since baby Emmett was born in May, and it was MUCH needed girl time.

July 6: I really wish I had taken today off because I did NOT want to be back at work.

July 7: We had a random, unexpected rainstorm today which made the temperature fall into the 80s, and we spent a lot of time outside.

July 8: Today reminded me of early quarantine days where the kids were insane and I was so busy with work - it wasn't a fun day!

July 9: The kids had an impromptu sleepover with Brent's parents, and I sat on the couch for over 3 hours reading, it was glorious.

July 10: The girls and I got hair trims today, it was so nice and much needed!

July 11: It was SO hot today, we swam with friends and had dinner together.

July 12: After both girls falling off their bikes during a ride, another mom in the neighbor brought her pet turtle outside to distract my crying girls, #ittakesavillage

July 13: Brent was gone today working at his family's deer lease, and I worked and solo parented.

July 14: Our canvas prints arrived, and I love them so much.

July 15: My newest Target bathing suit came, and I swear this was a highlight of the whole summer.

July 16: Madison was here this week and the kids swam every day!

July 17: We went to see Brent's cousin and stay the weekend, they have the most amazing pool and backyard.

July 18: Lots of swimming and playing today - I think I spent 8 hours in the water today.

July 19: We drove home from Brent's cousin's today and were all tired.

July 20: I went for a run with Kelly today, and we ran 3.5 miles!

July 21: Today was insanely busy at work, ugh.

July 22: We went to see my parents today, and we hadn't seen them in several weeks.

July 23: Trent's bestie came over today for a 2-night sleepover, and the girls spent the night with Brent's parents.

July 24: Another busy day at work, sigh.

July 25: I took the kids to my parents and took them plus my sister's kids to the park for a fun adventure and traded Miles for the girls for the night.

July 26: It was a nice Sunday - traded kids with my sister, and I love when we can be together plus it was nice to relax after such a stressful work week!

July 27: I ran 3.75 miles today, this was a high for my running since COVID, and I started running again.

July 28: Today was the girls' recital AND book club - lots of fun!

July 29: Kelly and I ran again today - first time I've run twice in a week in forever, it felt great even though it was super tough.

July 30: We left on our coronacation today!

July 31: On our vacation today - we took a guided nature hike, spent a lot of time in the lake, made s'mores and watched The Little Rascals.

Blackout

The last few weeks have been very heavy on my heart and in my head. I'm sure it's been the same way for most of you. I've spent a lot of time immersed in Instagram looking at Black activist's pages and soaking in a lot of information and being silent. 

I feel cautiously optimistic that maybe we are really on the cusp of something huge for our society that will impact generations to come. I so hope we are! 

I've had a goal the last 2 years to read books specifically about anti-racism and books written by POC {people of color}. But past reading and talking with friends and having discussions with Trent, I hadn't really DONE anything {although working with our children is something all parents need to be doing, so I am not discounting that}. I don't intend to use my blog as a way to pat myself on my back for the work I do but as a way to keep myself accountable and also {hopefully} exchange ideas with you guys of things you're doing. 

I have 2 main reasons I didn't do any actual work the past few years - 1) I was confused about what to actually DO and 2) I was scared I would mess up - say the wrong thing, speak when I shouldn't, etc. Over the past couple of weeks I've realized I don't have to {and can't} solve all the problems in 1 day or do it alone, so getting started and taking my first steps is doing something, and I've realized I AM going to mess up - it's going to happen and what I need to do is remain humble and it'll be a good chance to practice apologizing the right way ha.

Later this week or maybe next week, I plan to post about the things I have done to-date and things I plan to do in the future. I hope you will leave some comments with suggestions so that we can all learn and grow together! I also have some other thoughts I'm figuring out how to put into words...not quite there yet but hopefully soon!

I really hope we can grow as people, as a society, as a global village to make our world a better place, and I'm committed to doing my part!

Acknowledging Racism

Well guys. I went and did it. I perpetuated racism and didn't realize it, and I am writing this to acknowledge it, apologize for it, and work to do better.

Gone With the Wind is a racist book, and I had no clue. 

I did a post a few months back sharing my top 10 favorite books of all time, and Gone With the Wind has held the top spot on my list since I was 16. Erika commented on that post and said {in portion} 'Now that more time has passed and I'm a little more aware of the problematic depictions and tropes in the book, I question whether I would still enjoy it as much if I read it.' I had NEVER once thought about that, and honestly, at the time didn't give it much thought. Erika and I emailed a little about it, and I didn't change my mind about the book and went about my merry way.

Then another black man was murdered for being black {Ahmaud Arbery}. And I saw a very thought-provoking post on IG by @blackcoffeewithwhitefriends. I'm going to type it here because it was that impactful. 

The New York Times ran a piece called 'What We Know About the Shooting Death of Ahmaud Arbery'. But here is what I know:

1) He's dead because our country has never made amends for millions of black lives snuffed out by chattel slavery, lynchings, the criminal justice system, vigilante injustice, stop n frisk, war on drugs.

2) He's dead because Becky and Karen's fragile feelings matter more than justice.

3) He's dead because Thomas Jefferson and George Washington can still be someone's favorite president, and...

4) Gone With the Wind can still be someone's favorite movie.

5) He's dead because Confederate soldiers were pardoned and honored with holidays, monuments, and parks in the 1880s and 1980s.

6) He's dead because Abraham Lincoln and LBJ are seen as liberators not complicated white men who happened to be politicians.

7) He's dead because Birth of a Nation was screened at the White House and praised by President Wilson.

8) He's dead because 'Make America Great Again' isn't a slogan but a weapon.

9) He's dead because George Zimmerman is free.

10) He's dead because 'I don't see color' is a valid reason to chant 'All Lives Matter', and 'Blue Lives Matter', and 'White Lives Matter'.

11) He's dead because, 'There were very fine people on both sides.'

12) He's dead because the Confederate flag can be a hat, a bumper sticker, a t-shirt, a blanket.

13) He's dead because plantations are wedding venues.

14) He's dead because thousands can cheer, 'Send her back!!!!!'

15) He's dead because the white church says nothing and will not say his name, or Trayvon's, Sandra's, or Freddie's, like it never said Emmett's, Addie Mae's, Cynthia's, Carole's, or Carol Denise's.

16) He's dead because we had a black president and we're even, so let's not talk about race anymore.

...there was a little more, but you can see that this is a lot to think about and process. As I read it and saw #4, my heart stopped. WHAT? In my head I did a lot of sputtering 'No, GWTW isn't racist.' 'Okay, this said the movie, but surely that doesn't mean the book.' 'Let me google...ooooh this doesn't look good.' I tried to make excuses in my head, I felt really embarrassed, and I basically behaved like the entitled white woman that I am. The small upside is all of this happened in my own head.

Then I put on my big girl pants and thought about this critically trying to use things I learned in White Fragility - and I did a few things. I asked a {white} friend her opinion {it isn't a POC's job to teach me}, I thought about what I read about the stereotypes {the 'happy' slave} in the book and what it does for the anti-racist narrative {nothing}. And it dawned on me in utter embarrassment - this book is racist. 

How am I a 39-year-old woman who reads multiple books a year about anti-racism and claims to be raising her children to do better...and my favorite book is racist?

And not that this acknowledgement is much in the scheme of things - I don't have a big blog following so I love you guys but a million people won't see this - but every little thing I do adds up. And I need to take ownership for my behavior.

I am sorry for my racism. I have removed Gone With the Wind from my favorite book list. I apologized to a friend I recently recommended the book to. I will do better.

Sentence A Day: April 2020

April 1: I was definitely struggling today with the mental load and guilt with not being an effective parent, teacher, and worker.

April 2: My local jazzercise started doing live classes with our instructors and the music we're used to, and it was so great for my soul!

April 3: Today would have been my granny's 107th birthday, spent some time remembering her.

April 4: Our new tradition of a weekly girls' happy hour {social distancing in full effect} is so good for my soul.

April 5: We cleaned and cleaned and cleaned today!

April 6: Brent's parents came by parade-style and the kids lost their minds!

April 7: We had a busy day with making flowerbed borders with rock and blowing up the new bounce house/pool for the kids.

April 8: I had a great jazzercise workout and got super sweaty!

April 9: We went on a Pokemon walk before the rain came, and the girls watched Frozen 2 AGAIN.

April 10: Paige napped, and it took me until 10:30 to get her to sleep at bedtime, sigh.

April 11: Another wonderful girls neighborhood happy hour, and we were able to celebrate Kelly's birthday.

April 12: Our cups {and bellies} were full after a wonderful Easter.

April 13: A late season 'cool' front kept us indoors today, and the kids were nuts!

April 14: Today was my DiTL day - always fun but a lot of work to document the whole day!

April 15: Brent and I worked on a puzzle, I know, I don't know who he is either!

April 16: It was so wonderful visiting with my parents for FOUR hours - of course we stayed outside and stayed away {as much as possible with a 3-year-old} from each other.

April 17: I ran 3.5 miles today, hoping to be at 5 miles by the end of quarantine.

April 18: We ordered food again from our favorite restaurant and finished our first puzzle - 99 Beers on the Wall!

April 19: A FaceTime date with my BFF was a nice end to the day.

April 20: Today the big kids got a new learning platform for distance learning, and everyone {except Brent} in the Gurley household was struggling.

April 21: I finally started working on a photo book tonight for 2019 {which was one of my 2020 goals}, and I think I'm going to try and get 3 or 4 old books made this year and do that for a few years to get all the years of our marriage made into books, yay!

April 22: I had insomnia this night and was awake until 3:30 in the morning, ugh.

April 23: A zoom HH with some of my team included viewing my co-workers Hermes and Chanel bags, ha.

April 24: I keep getting error messages when trying to move videos from my phone to my laptop, so I spent hours trying to do this tonight, so frustrating.

April 25: I cut Trent's hair after watching a YouTube tutorial and didn't do so bad.

April 26: We spent a lot of time outside today, and I even got a little bit of a sunburn.

April 27: I was super excited to get my engagement ring back on comfortably which hasn't happened in a LONG time!

April 28: We made banana muffins this morning.

April 29: There was some drama at bedtime over Drew's SUPER wiggly tooth because it needs to come out and she won't pull it and won't let anyone else either.

April 30: Drew finally pulled out her loose tooth because she got head butted {on accident} by Paige!

You Win Some, You Lose Some

Sometimes you're doing good and sometimes...not so much. I feel like the last few weeks have been 1 step ahead, 1 step back, 1 step sideways, all over the place. But we've had a few things to celebrate...but also a few things to lament!

Some of the good...
- I've lost 2 pounds so far this month! Slowly working my way toward my goal, yay!
Some of the bad...
- I ate my weight in lasagna last night, oops!

Some of the good...
- We've managed to keep the kids' diets pretty decent. [minus some extra snacks we ordered from Amazon]
Some of the bad...
- I think the kids are only brushing their teeth once a day. At least they are brushing them? And they are definitely not showering consistently!

Some of the good...
- We are spending a lot more time outside.
Some of the bad...
- But the kids are definitely getting extra screen time. It isn't INSANE, but I am trying to relieve my Mom Guilt over screen time right now...

Some of the good...
- I have started drinking my coffee with NO sweetener! I don't love it, but it's manageable!
Some of the bad...
- I REALLY want a Chai...and might be making that happen today! Sugar, I just can't completely quit you!

Some of the good...
- I have been so impressed at how quickly Drew picked up bike riding once we finally tackled it. Now we need to tackle shoe tying. Coronavirus is slowing us down enough to tackle all these things a 7-year-old should already know, ha.
Some of the bad...
- We can't go very far because her bike is too small, and it is super hard pedaling a bike that is too small. I think we're going to go get an old one my parents have though!

Some of the good...
- I love all the extra family time - I feel like we are making a lot of new habits that I hope stick and making good memories. Drew and Trent have been so much better with each other, and we're all doing a lot more together.
Some of the bad...
- With all this togetherness, there is definitely a lot more fighting, ha!

What are some of the good and bad things happening for you!?!?

Coronavirus

I'm on the fence if I'm reacting appropriately to Coronavirus. 

So far, in our county, there have been 0 cases of the virus. 

Yet everything is starting to close nationally. My company suspended international travel a few weeks ago and domestic travel yesterday. NCAA is canceling or suspending seasons, NBA, PGA, plays, school events are all being canceled.

We've had Trent and Drew home now for over 2 weeks, and I pulled Paige out of school yesterday because of several cases of {regular} flu in her classroom. So now we have spring break and hopefully no more time away from school. But I've already seen other schools deciding on 2 week spring breaks. I would love to have my kids home for 5 weeks!
I had 8 emails before 11:00 AM yesterday about Coronavirus and a 1-hour conference call. I got a little freaked out and almost lost it for a minute.

The one thing we've done to 'prepare' is buy extra groceries. No extra toilet paper, but yes, some cases of water and lots of frozen foods {pizza, lasagna, Trent's turkey burgers and chicken patties plus some fruits and veggies} and canned goods. Stocked up on spaghetti sauce and noodles, rice, dry beans. Plus we also have A LOT of deer hamburger and sausage meat and deer tamales - we could probably survive a few weeks on just our deer meat ha!

Yes, we are washing our hands a lot more - this is definitely a good thing to get in a better habit about. Yes, I'm running my essential oil diffuser more. Yes, we're taking more Vitamin D and colloidal silver and fish oil.

Am I reacting normally? Overreacting? Underreacting? I DON'T KNOW.... I think I'm going to go put another grocery order together. {grin}

A Sentence a Day: February 2020

Natasha posted this for January, and I thought it was a fun idea. Just a sentence for each day of the month. I don't think I'll do it every month, but it was fun, and I can see myself doing it periodically.

Saturday, February 1: We did a lot of driving today, from Clifton to home and then to Temple for a birthday party.

Sunday, February 2: I ate all the carbs for the Superbowl.

Monday, February 3: It was hard getting back to Jazzercise after 2 accidental weeks off, but I'm so glad I went.

Tuesday, February 4: All the soreness!

Wednesday, February 5: It is too cold to go outside today for this thin-blooded Mama.

Thursday, February 6: We woke up to snow!!!

Friday, February 7: Tap lessons and basketball practice at the same time make for a busy evening.

Saturday, February 8: Trent scored for the first time this season, and he was SO excited!

Sunday, February 9: It's the Oscars!!!!

Monday, February 10: Rain, rain, go away.

Tuesday, February 11: Today was a really, really bad day.

Wednesday, February 12: I had dinner with the bestie!!!

Thursday, February 13: I met a new co-worker at Starbucks to work and train her today!

Friday, February 14: I fell asleep reading in the living room, so we had a super romantic Valentine's Day.

Saturday, February 15: We went to a wedding celebration for our friends who recently got married and had so much fun.

Sunday, February 16: Drew had a horseback riding lesson and we had our neighborhood friends over for dinner - a wonderful Sunday.

Monday, February 17: A beautiful day outside, I can feel spring is near.

Tuesday, February 18: I spoke too soon yesterday because today was cold and rainy and dreary.

Wednesday, February 19: I always love a library trip with the kids.

Thursday, February 20: I went to see Come From Away today and LOVED it!

Friday, February 21: I am volunteering at a 3-day Workshop working as a mentor, and I had to go into the office - the upside was I was able to get a new phone after breaking mine.

Saturday, February 22: We had a fun day with a birthday party for our neighbor, Grant, and a basketball game for Trent.

Sunday, February 23: We picked out new paint for Drew's room, and I'm really excited to get it finished off soon.

Monday, February 24: Brent put together Trent's new bed, and all the kids were really excited.

Tuesday, February 25: I worked at Starbucks and went on a walk with neighbors, and it was a nice day.

Wednesday, February 26: The big kids were home from school [long story, post coming soon], so it was a hectic day with therapy, work, Ash Wednesday service, and a meeting at school.

Thursday, February 27: I started covering for someone at work who is having surgery and will be out for 5 weeks, so I am a little overwhelmed doing 2 jobs.

Friday, February 28: I got my tank top for the Jazzercise heartbeat challenge!

Saturday, February 29: I spent way too much money at Target, being a girl mom can be tough when the clothes are so cute.

The Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Yesterday was a doozy of a day. It started off badly, and I told myself, 'Surely today will have to go up from here.' Nope.

It started off with getting into an argument with Trent over a piece of gum. It wasn't really about a piece of gum, it was about him not listening and constantly being defiant with me. I have been holding in a lot of upset feelings at his disrespect [therapy appointment is next week ha], and my reaction was disproportionate to his behavior...but I am human and I had hit my limit. I sent him to school with bad words still floating in the air around us. And I hated myself for it.

Yesterday was a gloomy, rainy, cold, gray day. That never helps my mood.

A partner at work suggested something that was utterly ridiculous and my response might not have had my usual filtering in place.

I did get a workout in, but after I got home I found out that our beloved preschool teacher lost her son in a car accident on Monday. I don't think I know a kinder woman. She loved on Trent when he was at his most unlovable, and I am broken-hearted for her. Add to that my guilt over the fight with Trent, and I was a mess for a good chunk of the day.

Brent and I also were grumpy with each other for a little part of the morning - before we learned of this death. I don't like when we're out of sorts. Luckily, we are much more mature as adults than we were as teens and were able to talk through our miscommunication.

The kids picked on each other a lot after school.

I just felt really sad and out of sorts all day. Luckily, for me, tomorrow is another day. A good friend of mine, who is also a trauma therapist, and I were talking about this loss as her kids also went to this school. And she told me Parenting is a unique form of vulnerability. And that really struck a chord with me - if that isn't the simplest sentence conveying the most complex emotions then I don't know what is!

I have no point to this post except I was hoping getting these thoughts out of my head might help me feel a little less yucky. I don't need to move to Australia, and I am fortunate that my good days immeasurably outnumber my bad. But man I don't want to repeat yesterday ever again.

The Great Sheet Debate

Y'all.

I have a serious question for y'all. 

This is a constant debate in my marriage that is bleeding over into my family.

DO YOU USE A FLAT SHEET?

Brent HATES the flat sheet and refuses to sleep under it. For years, he pushed it to the bottom of the bed, but now he has taken to sleeping on top of it while I sleep under it.

That's weird, right?

BUT...if that wasn't bad enough - now my children refuse to sleep with a flat sheet. Trent pulls his quilt completely untucked and makes a little nest for himself, and Drew won't even sleep under her quilt anymore - she sleeps under a little blanket.

Is this hereditary? Am I the oddball here? I need some support that flat sheets aren't nuts!

Also, thoughts on me cutting my king-sized sheet in half to make Brent and me both happy? {grin}

Dermatology Woes

For the second time in six months, I've had to have skin removed after abnormal biopsies on moles. Ugh. Right now I'm sporting some awesome stitches covering a 2-inch incision on my back.

Last summer, I was at my parents' house, and my sister noticed a mole on my shoulder that she thought looked suspicious. I hadn't been to the dermatologist since before I was pregnant with Drew, which is shameful given my mom has had skin cancer 4 times including melanoma when I was in elementary school.

I found a dermatologist about 5 minutes from us and went in August. I was expecting that if they found something they wanted to remove, I'd have to come back, but nope, the doctor found 5 moles he wanted to take off and off they came. I got a little numbing shot in each mole, and GROSS ALERT, he scraped them off with a razor blade. The moles then got sent to the lab for testing.

I got a call a couple 2 weeks later that 1 was 'moderately abnormal' and they wanted me to come in to see a plastic surgeon to have more skin taken off. That procedure was also very fast, but given the location of the spot {it was the one my sister found on my shoulder}, I could kind of see what the surgeon was doing out of the corner of my eye, and that was probably the closest I have ever come to passing out, ha.

I went back in February for a 6-month check - it would have been a year if everything came back normal - and the doctor found 5 more moles to take off. This time one was 'abnormal' and one was 'severely abnormal'. For the abnormal one, I go back soon for a re-shave, so I'm guessing they just take more with the razor blade, gag. But for the severely abnormal one, it was the same plastic surgeon and the same procedure, just a bigger section removed. The first one was about 1 inch, and the second one is about 2 inches. The plastic surgeon told me that it was called severely abnormal based on how much of it acts like a cancerous mole and that if left alone it would likely turn into cancer. Interesting...

This one has hurt worse because of the location - it's right under my shoulder blade so picking anything up seems to stretch it - so you can imagine how that feels every time I pick up Paige. The instructions said not to lift anything for 2 weeks - not possible! It's feeling a lot better though 1-week later - my only remaining complaint is I think I might be a little allergic to the surgical tape - I itch SO MUCH! Brent is sick of hearing me complain about the itching or asking him to itch my back, ha.

There's no point to this post, except to tell y'all to get your moles checked if you don't on a regular basis! Here's to hoping the doctor doesn't find 5 moles every 6 months to take off! {grin}

Kidisms

I've been collecting a ton of funny stories from the kids. Most of these are from Drew, but to be honest 4 year-olds seem to have more silly expressions than 8 year-olds.

We were asking the kids if they wanted to see The Emoji Movie, and Drew said [when talking about the preview she'd seen]: 'The 2 chocolates were saying we're number 2!' DYING!

I was helping her get undressed and she said 'Don't pull my dress outside inside.'

When talking about the Texas Longhorns, Drew says 'Honk the horns!' instead of 'Hook em Horns!' This Aggie isn't going to correct that!

She says 'Finders keepers, losers weezers'

Candy cans = candy canes

I have to dissect song titles:
Roll your own babies = Biscuits by Kacey Musgraves {The lines in the song say: Hoe your own row and raise your own babies}
It's all her fault = She Is by Ne-Yo and Tim McGraw
I play so many games = Hypixel mini games {a Minecraft parody song}

Trent and I were watching Jurassic World and he asked me if 'abyss' was a bad word. I said no and explained what an abyss was. Then later he proceeded to exclaim 'son of a biss'. Instead of 'son of a b*tch' he thought they said 'biss' and I told him it wasn't a bad word, oops!

Drew got the pirate cake pop at Starbucks one time and asked me 'Why does this pirate have a smile and not an arggggggh?'

One time when I was leaving she told me 'Don't get in a car wreck or break any bones.' Yes ma'am!

She told me 'When I am 9 years old and you are still my mom and I am going into high school into kindergarten I am still going to hold Paige. And I will be older than Bubba.' 

Another time she told me 'When I am a mom I will name my baby Buttercup Noelle Hello Kitty.' Ummmmm

We went to a birthday party for a neighbor/friend last weekend, and Trent was playing with 2 brothers who were 8 and 13. They walked to the park to play Pokemon Go and later he told me 'The playground equipment was for 5-12 but Aldo is 13. Don't tell anyone.' Your secret is safe with me, kiddo!

Love these silly kids!

Kid Speak

I am trying to make a better effort at documenting the cute stuff the kids say - I hate when I am trying to remember something a day or 2 later that one of the kids said and can't remember it.

• I absolutely love when out of nowhere Drew says 'I love you, Mom.' That melts me into a giant puddle. She also told me the other day 'I love kisses' and then gave me 20. #dead
• Drew still mispronounces a few things. Our vitamin C tablets she calls 'purple vita-ins'. We call our baby food pouches 'squirty fruits'. She calls them 'squirty fruiters'.
• Trent told me a great story about how you can call your penis 2 things: a weiner and nuts. We had a conversation about how those weren't the same thing, and he proceeded to tell me 'Well, Manolo pushed Dane, so Dane kicked Manolo in the nuts.' Gotta love 1st and 2nd grade boys!
• Drew has great manners and always says 'Yes sir.' Even when talking to women. I don't correct her because it's too cute!

• Drew loves to say 'Because I did' when you ask her why she did something. She got frustrated because she took her pants off and then when trying to put them back on got both legs stuck in the same hole. I asked her 'Why did you take your pants off?' Her response? 'Because I did.' Duh, Mom.
• Trent is in love with Nerf guns right now. The other day he told me 'I hope to be on the Nerf channel when I grow up. You know? On YouTube.' Glad we are setting high career goals, son!
• I have a picture of both kids on my nightstand when they were babies. Brent only has a picture of Trent on his nightstand {because it's from when he had an office at the state agency he used to work for}. Drew was questioning me on who the babies were and asked me 'Where is Drew on Daddy's nightstand?' Busted, Dad!
• Trent: I am the oldest, so I get to go first. Drew: I am the 2-est. Can't get much cuter than that!

Don't think I could love these nuggets anymore if I tried!

10 *WEIRD* Things About Me

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a fun idea. I think I've shared a lot about myself over the years, but here are 10 things about me that are pretty WEIRD!

1. I have to have the space in between my front 2 teeth clean and wiggle my lips back and forth to achieve that. I've been told I look like a rabbit or Samantha from Bewitched when I do it. I don't even notice I'm doing it half the time. So if you ever see my mouth wiggling side-to-side, now you know why!

2. My feelings towards tomatoes and eggs are definitely weird - the disgust I feel for those 2 basic foods is pretty epic. I can't even think about tomatoes or eggs without feeling a little queasy.

3. I don't like dye-ing my hair {or doing highlights} because of the upkeep with hair as dark as mine, but I am getting gray hairs and freak out about them. I study my hair way too much in the mirror hunting for, and pulling out, the gray ones I find.

4. I am beyond indecisive. If I have too many choices for something, I am almost incapable of making a decision.

5. I have a scar on my tongue from where I fell in the bath tub as a kid.

6. I am the worst person in the world to try and sleep in the same room with. If you don't believe me - ask Brent. I am a very light sleeper, so every noise or little bit of light drives me crazy. I have 2 fans going... even in winter - one for circulation and one for noise. In our old house, our cable box had this teeny little blue light on it that I had to cover with a sock every night because the light kept me from falling asleep. If Brent breathes too loud, I wake up. I hate sleeping in other places because I have our bedroom just the way I need it, so it's terrible sleeping anywhere else. I told you - I am just the WORST.

7. Toenails that are the littlest bit long gross me out. When I see other people with long toenails, I want to just die. SO nasty.

8. I hate to decorate. This kind of goes along with #4 - I think my indecisiveness makes it hard for me to make decisions, and I am always second guessing what I've done, so it's hard to enjoy it.

9. I easily get obsessed with things - a TV show {hello Sons of Anarchy} or a book {have I ever told you about Outlander?} or author or online shopping for the perfect xyz or baby names...luckily it's usually short lived and I can go on about my life until the next obsession comes along.

10. I count in my head all day - my steps when walking, number of times I chew my food, I will count to keep myself entertained/pass the time {like waiting at the gas pump or something}. BIZARRE!

So what's weird about you?!

You'd Be Surprised How Hard It Can Be to Get Your Mail in the 'Burbs

This is one of those stories that is ridiculous. For the past 2 months, I have looked around me and wondered how this level of stupidity was possible...and yet more stupidity kept happening. So while this is a topic that you will probably find a little silly to be blogging about, you might also agree with me that it's pretty ludicrous.

The night we closed on our house, the agent at the title company told us to take our title paperwork to the post office, and they would be able to give us keys to our box based on those documents. I'd already forwarded our mail, so this SEEMED easy. Today...yes, today...almost 2 months after we moved in, we got keys.

The day we moved in, I went to the post office after I got the kids from school. After waiting in line for 20 minutes and being passed around a couple of times, I was told there wasn't currently a box or keys for us because the city was growing too fast for the postal service to keep up. They also couldn't tell me when they'd have keys for me, so I needed to put a hold on our mail and keep coming back to the post office to check for keys and to collect our mail. That sounded super fun after watching my children run around playing chase for the last 20 minutes of our visit.

Over the next month, no one could tell me anything about our keys. When should we get them? I don't know. What should I do? Keep coming back. But then we stopped getting mail at the post office. So over an especially enjoyable 75 minutes at the post office 2 weeks ago, 40 of which was spent standing with a manager while she flipped through books of addresses, disappeared to the back, came back to flip through more books, I learned that our mail was being delivered somewhere but she couldn't say where because she couldn't find our address in any of her books. We put another hold on our mail {because the first one had been so effective} to get our mail back to the post office, and she was going to take to the 'growth coordinator' and find out where our mail was. She promised to call me with information. I'm still waiting for that call.

Last week, however, I was driving home and a mail carrier was delivering mail to where I figured our box would be. I pulled over, hopped out of the car, told him our story, and asked if he could see if our address was in the boxes he was filling. And what do you know - IT WAS!!!!!!!!!!! I was able to take 6 weeks' worth of mail home with me, and I also took pictures of the box with our name and address clearly displayed as evidence to show the post office.

Today at the post office when Brent got our keys, the manager he talked to {a different one than I 'worked' with} told him our keys had been there all along, and he didn't know why no one else could find them.

It probably shouldn't be this exciting, but man, I'm ecstatic to have mail keys!