A doozy of a headache

I got a headache this morning.

A doozy of a headache that started off as a small pain above my left eye.

I ignored it as we were on a walk and continued on our walk amidst the sounds of friends talking and small children noises.

Towards the end of the walk the pain was slightly worse, more persistent but not unbearable.

I decided to get a $0.99 Coke from Sonic and head to Toys r Us with Abby to look at a little shopping cart for her.

{that statement needs it's own blogpost. Seriously.}

I reach the checkout lane with my purchase and a now crying Abby who desperately wanted the Minnie Mouse one because it's not in a box and is put together.

The crushing pain hits me out of the blue.

Pain

Sweating

Nausea

More pain

Holy smokes, how did it get bad so quick?

I drank my Coke as I drove and had the a/c on full blast on my face.

It minimized the pain greatly.

But then I had to get out of the car and carry a sleeping Abby in the house.

Head. About. To. Explode.

Seriously.

I called K on the phone to forewarn him of impending puking and to expect to come home.

Finally I was able to pop a few ibuprofen and lay down on the couch while I waited for Lee's bus to come home.

She was a doll and was totally okay with watching a movie with me while I waited and prayed for the meds to kick in and the pain to minimize.

I was even able to doze for a few minutes here and there.

Sleep for me is the key to getting headaches to go away.

Now about 90% of the pain is gone, now replaced by drowsiness and fogginess.

I hate migraines.

Strong words, I know.

But seriously, they are awful.

While pregnant with Adison I got them almost daily during my second trimester.

They subsided and now I only get them maybe a dozen times a year.

We have a family history of them, I am praying our girls escape them.

Show me your eyes

I mentioned before Abby's look she gives.

The dropping of the chin to the chest and glaring at you though her eyebrows.

Also, the opening her eyes as wide as possible and staring at you from the corner of her eyes.

Both absolutely hysterical.

Friday, Abby and I went walking with my friend Jennifer and her youngest two kids.

While the kids were enjoying some time at the butterfly garden I asked Abby to show Jennifer her eyes.

This was the face that she made.

OH. MY. WORD.

This girl is a riot.

We asked her to make the face again so that Jennifer could snap a photo and she did it!

Wow, funny and performs, what are the odds?

{Kids NEVER perform a new trick when prompted, this was golden.}

I was laughing so hard and texted K the photo.

His response was this:

Lol. She looks possessed!!

Ha ha, she does {wait until you see the next picture, eek!}

Of course, I was asking Abby to "Show me your eyes" several times and about half the time she would agree.

Saturday we were at India Fest {a fun Indian Festival in our town} that I will write more about later, good food + good times =  woo hoo!

K and I were sitting with Abby while the older two were enjoying the bounce house.
Yay for some energy expending.

He asked Abby to show her eyes and this is the picture that he got.

Ha ha ha, oh my, my sides hurt from laughing so much.

She even performed at church later that evening for two of our friends and keeps at it.

Yesterday she got annoyed at me for telling her not to throw food on the floor {shocking!} and she kept giving me the look, I had the hardest time keeping a straight face and started laughing.

Mom fail.

I just couldn't help it.

This little one is just such a joy {most of the time, ha!}.

InstaFriday

Woo to the hoo y'all, it's Friday!!!

Adison was invited to a fun birthday party last weekend at the new Children's museum. 

I love this pic of her in the woodworking section.

She was so proud of her monster/robot.

Her teacher even let her bring it to school to show her friends!

This picture cracks me up. 

We were driving home from church last weekend when we saw a mama and baby dear. 

K pulled over so we could look at them and I could snap a picture. 

By the time my phone camera was ready this is all I got. 

As Lee likes to say, I got a picture of a baby deer's butt, ha ha! 

Of course she insisted that we send it to my dad.

Here is Abby showing us her eyes.

She is a riot.

 My friend Jennifer was able to capture this elusive photo.

Abby has many variations of how she does her eyes, I am going to have to get the rest of them as well.

This is Abby's beat friend Monkey.

 Monkey goes pretty much everywhere with us lately and Abby is just too cute with her. 

I love it!

How in the world is she old enough to ride the bus!?!

 Luckily it's only preschool so my heart isn't completely weeping yet.

However, my girl is growing up and doing amazing.

Not many pictures this week, we've been so busy that I just haven't taken much.

Have a marvelous weekend!

Five Question Friday

1. Did you make any fun purchases this week?

2. If you could go to any musical concert, what would it be?

3. What is your least fav/ most fav house chore?

4. Would you prefer new appliances or clothes?

5. Miracle Whip or Mayo?


1. Not one. Well, unless you count coffee creamer and gas as fun. Oh yeah, I also bought a planner for my oldest daughter.


2. Taylor Swift or Toby Mac or Third Day...I really like music.


3. Can I just say cleaning or is that too vague? Right now I could say laundry, there is always so much of it.


4. New appliances...unless you are talking about clothing for the girls. Yikes, they are growing fast! But seriously, appliances would be great! We are in need of a new stove.


5. Neither, bleh. How about avocado? I seem to eat that on practically everything, it's especially yummy on 

The Good, the Bad and the Funny

The Good: School is going amazing for the older two. Both are very happy with their classes and their teachers. 

Did I mention that one of my dear friends is a para is Ainsley's class? I went to pick her up on Tuesday and there is she. I was so surprised and happy. Lee loves having her in class. 

I now have almost 4 hours Tuesday thru Friday to hang out with Abby one on one. Loving it. 

K and I are going to have an at-home-date-night tonight. We rented a few movies, ready for some time with the hubs. 

My shoulder is doing better, still not 100% but I am seeing improvement.

The Bad The Annoying: Nothing really "bad." We are still having some busing issues and I don't know when they will they will get resolved. Oh well, she is beyond happy which makes me feel the same way. 

I have been struggling with blogging this past week. I wrote a post about grief and am having a hard time pushing publish, it annoys me. Well...actually...I did push publish then freaked out and pulled the post. Now I am just waiting for some courage to push that pesky button.

My mom has/had heat stroke and was feeling really sick for several days, she is still feeling unwell but not nearly as bad.

The Funny: Adison's favorite word this evening was "hilarious." Everything was hilarious and she was having a blast cracking up. 

Abby is still doing her silly lip-synching and crazy dancing. The girl is a riot, plain and simple.

Ainsley, well, practically everything she says is amusing. Earlier in the week, while driving around she was telling me which cars were boys and which were girls. Our van, according to her, is a girl.

I got super dizzy today while at the park while watching Ainsley spin around on the merry go round, it makes me feel old, which then cracked me up.

Yesterday for some reason, Abby had to have five hair clips in her hair and refused to wear her own clothes. She spent the better part of the day wearing one of Adison's shirts. I have no idea why, ha ha!

Ainsley has been singing a lot lately. The ABC's are a current favorite, she does really well but when it comes to the all too tricky L-M-N-O-P part it sounds like she is saying lemenono peeeeee, it makes me laugh each and every time.

That's pretty much our week in review, how has yours been?

How did she get to be old enough to ride the bus?

Ainsley has gone off to school.

Yes, I know that she started last week, but the whole school bus thing has made it different.

Bigger.

A much bigger deal in my mind.

Why?
Not sure, it just has.

Please just hug me and tell me that it will be alright, okay?

Thanks, you guys rock!

Last week, I would drop her off and pick her up.

It didn't feel that different.

Almost like taking her to her church class on Saturdays but for longer than normal.

The bus thing though.

Wow.

I almost cried yesterday, a few times.

Now for the pics, you know, the fun stuff.

Lee woke up SO SO SO excited.

The Bus.

THE BUS IS COMING!

She was so incredibly excited that she had to wait by the front window.

She couldn't have gotten to that bus quickly enough!

Please ignore our long grass, it will be cut this afternoon.

No fear or reservations.

Simply excitement.

I was beyond happy she was so excited.

It made letting her go that much easier.

If she would have cried my heart would have broken into a million pieces.

Normally we go for a walk in the morning with friends.

Yesterday was so beastly hot that we all stayed home.

That meant that yesterday was the first morning that Abby and I had been at home by ourselves.

Our house was so quiet.

It was odd.

It was also wonderful to be able to hang out with my baby for a couple of uninterrupted hours.

We played a lot.

We put lots of hair clips in her hair.

{Look at all that hair!}

We looked for things under the couch.

This is one of her favorite things to do.

We also called Elmo and Daddy.

We had a nice time and I loved it.

I was also really really really ready for Lee to come home.

When she came home she was SO excited about riding on the bus.

It was the best thing EVER!

Later in the afternoon we picked up Adison from school.

Ainsley could not wait to tell her all about her adventures.

This morning she was so funny.

The first thing that I heard from Lee this morning was:

Mama, I am ready to go to school.

Atta girl!

The creepy troll

My Dad has a troll like this that he would tease us with when my brother and I were growing up.

Well, his troll was much larger and much uglier.

Believe me when I tell you that it's possible.

I guess I should preface all of this with saying that my dad is a big joke-ster.

Stink bombs - check

Scary masks at Halloween - check

Jumping out and scaring the daylights out of me - check

I remember laughing A LOT as a child.

My parents would play tricks on each other as well.

Perhaps the best laughs EVER were the ones including the troll.

If my memory is correct {which these days is never a given} I  think that my dad was given the troll as a gift by my grandfather.

Why?
I have no idea, I will have to ask him about it.

Anyways...back to the tricks.

My dad used to hide it in various places to scare us.

One morning when I woke up to get ready for school  and as soon as my eyes popped open I was staring a very creepy troll right in the face.

I am not sure if I screamed or not, but knowing me and how easily I startle, it probably happened.

I can however, say with complete certainty that I laughed afterwards.

Another time my mom was the victim of the troll.

My dad stuck it in the freezer.

When she went to get something out there awaited the troll.

Now I am fairly certain that she did scream while the rest of us were rolling in laughter, ya know, because we are nice like that.

We would find him in all sorts of places.The closet or under your pillow.
In the bathroom.

The possibilities were limitless.

There would be a long enough time in between scares so you NEVER knew when to expect it either.

What made the troll equally funny though was that his hair had become unglued at some point so it looked like the poor thing had a toupee on that just wouldn't stay put.

Such fond memories :)

Simplifying

How do you choose what to get rid of?

I need to de-clutter and simplify our lives.

There are just so many toys and dolls and...well...everything.

I need, no, HAVE to declutter.

I am tired of having all these things.

This stuff.

My kids don't even seem to play with all of these things.

But when it actually comes time to get rid of them I can't commit.

My brain dialogue goes something like this:

What if someday someone wants to play ________ and we don' have it.

Aw, I so remember _________ playing with this toy. I am sure that __________ would love it too.

I am sure that someday all of these toys will get played with.

Simply because they are there.

But, I have a sneaking suspicion that if we had fewer toys that the kids would actually play with what we have more.

Plus, an added bonus would be that I am no longer picking up as many toys.

I really would like to know.

How do you choose what stays and what goes?

How do you know when it is time to give something the ax and something else gets a pass?

What to say, what to say

Life feels like it has been playing in fast forward.

So busy.

So

so 

busy.

We had small group last night.

I am reminded, once again, how blessed we are to be in a group with these individuals.

It makes me wonder why in the world we were so resistant for so long to join a small group.

Actually I do {think I} know.

We were meant to be in this group.

At this exact time.

To be able to experience and do life with these 12 individuals and their kiddos.

I am excited to see where this adventure takes us.

To discover the things that we are to learn.

To watch our children grow up with other children.

To grow up with this extended community.

To learn from them.

To have others help them grow in their walk with the Lord.

I can't even tell you how much I learned and laughed last night.

The kids came home happy and dirty from their play.

While K has plans to go out shooting with some of the guys this evening.

School has brought with it the craziness of life.

Summer was a nice break to slow down and unwind.

School year though, yikes.

This is the busiest I think I have ever been as a mom.

With the older two girls having their own school schedules and Abby still having her nap schedule, it feels as though there is very little time for a break.

Ainsley's busing starts tomorrow so that should help things to calm down a bit.

I am really trying to embrace this time of our lives.

The busyness, the papers, the drawings, the homework, the school clothes and finding pairs of socks.

I really need to get more organized, but getting organized takes time and it's just something that I have been putting on the back burner.

I have been *trying* to move it to a front burner, it's taking time.

Abby is currently throwing the most massive temper tantrums.

Yikes, that girls has a temper!

It seems pretty funny though because she is such a sweet little things that erupts into this volcano.

K and I are slightly concerned that she could become a hoarder.

She likes to collect all sorts of weird things in baskets and bags and carry/push them around the house.

Today I found a couple of dolls, socks that belonged to K a couple of shoes, some crackers and a bunch of other random things.

She then fiercely protects it like a mama bear protecting her cubs.

So funny.

A delightfully busy Saturday

We had the busiest day today.

It was full of fun, friends and worship.

Fun~ this evening we all watched "Rio" together. It was so funny and we all really enjoyed it. Hopefully we will get a chance to watch it again tomorrow. Adison was fascinated by the entire thing, Ainsley cuddled with K & I on the couch while Abby alternated between dancing and mothering everyone.

Friends~ one of Adison's friends had a birthday party today at our children's museum. It was a good time! The above pic is Adison in the carpentry shop, she made a monster/robot.

Worship~ we had an amazing church service this evening. It was about the responsibility of parenting. I was so inspired and convicted of things to work on and implement. I guess this could have gone under friends as well as we saw some friends at church.

I hope that you guys are having a lovely weekend!

Xoxo, me

Five Question Friday

1. Do you close the bathroom door when you are home alone?

2. You have to walk around with a word on your forehead. That word describes you. One word. What is it?

3. What store do you refuse to shop at and why?

4. If you participated in arranged marriages for your child(ren), who would you choose for your child(ren)?

5. If you could pick how and when you would die, would you? 

 

 1. I have three kids, I have gotten so used to having the bathroom door open that I don't even bother, ha!

 

2. LOVE, we had an amazing sermon last weekend about being called to love one another. It really struck a chord.

 

3. I can' think of any that I *refuse* to shop at, just some that I don't go to for one reason or another.

 

4. Ha ha, this question cracks me up. I have a couple of friends of mine who have boys around my younger girls' age and we are constantly arranging their marriages. In all honesty though, I will leave that one up to the Lord. 

 

5. I don't think so. I mean, I am a planner and all, but I don't think that is something that I would want to know. 

InstaFriday

It's Friday which means it is time to share those fun phone pics.

Head on over to Life.rearranged and link up!

This has been a *CRAZY* busy week, so please bear with all of my pictures.

M'kay, thanks :)

 The littles were thrilled when we went to the grocery store.

I had to snap this pic to share with K while he was out of town for work earlier in the week.

Look at that smile!

 This was Adison's first day of school.

She was psyched!

Great day, great fun, great school year!

 Miss Ainsley's first day of preschool.

Or as she insists on calling it "school!"

She is so ready to be a big girl and go to school like Adison.

She is also having a blast and enjoying the whole experience.

 As we were getting ready to pull out of the parking lot after my doctor's appointment yesterday I noticed a praying mantis hanging upside down on a branch.

I couldn't get a good picture, sorry friends.

 After we got back from my appointment Abby did this in less than 20 seconds.

I was shocked at how many toys we have.
Needless to say this resulted in a massive toy purging session.

Simplify.

 This was my snack last night.

Yes, it was delicious!

Asiago cheese bagel, yes please.

 We had a massive storm last night.

I have heard reports of 70 mph winds.

There have been massive power outages and some schools were closed today.

The hail was so loud that it woke up Adison and Abby.

I had to snap this shot, because only Abby would insist on having her shoes on AND riding on her zebra in the middle of the night during a storm.

As I have mentioned several times, when the weather is okay enough we go for walks in the morning after dropping off the older kids at school.

Ainsley had started her school yet so she came too!

Ainsley and my friend Jennifer's youngest daughter Kailyn are such good buddies.

They like to hold hands while we walk.

Isn't that sweet!?!

Okay y'all, I hope you have a marvelous weekend!
xoxo

The Good, the Bad and the Funny

The Good: The littles were absolutely worn out after our very long and busy day. K had gotten a Panera gift card so I headed over there to pick up some food for dinner. Adison waited very patiently and was piece of cake. The littles though were a piece of work.  I was worn out and my shoulder was hurting so the littles acting like wild animals in a restaurant was not my idea of a good time. I was trying to keep order but they were all over the place, sigh. Finally the food was ready and we were headed to the door when these two women stopped me and said, "You have such a beautiful family." I was taken aback and was honestly very touched. How sweet in my moment of almost tears and frustration that these women held out a sympathetic hand and gave me encouragement. It meant so much to me that all I could do was thank them.

Adison and Ainsley had great first days of school. I am so very proud of them and happy as well.

I am going to be able to have some special one on one time with Abby which makes me so happy.

The Bad: My shoulder, plain and simple. K picked up my prescription for me, I am praying this works.

The Funny: Ainsley has a treasure chest which is an old Fisher Price Barn from probably the '70s or '80s. I think I have mentioned it once before. Tonight she asked me to put her flashlight in it after I tucked her in for the nigh. When I looked inside I couldn't help but burst into laughter. It is full with all sorts of trinkets and treasures. I am planning on doing a post about it.

I know that we have had a lot more funnies this week, my brain is zapped though I can't remember, sadface.

How has your week gone?

A first day and a dr's appointment

Today was Ainsley's first day of preschool, or as she prefers to call it, school.

She was so excited this morning.

See:

 

When I finally convinced her to smile, I got this super cheesy grin:

She was so incredibly excited to head off to school.

She has been hearing of and seeing Adison go to school for the last three years and  was ready to experience it for herself.

We had a meet & greet at her school last night so she got to meet her teacher and check out her classroom.

 So she was really ready to experience school.

I managed to get her to sit still long enough to snap this one:

When I picked her up after school she was practically beaming.

Everything was her favorite.
According to her they did puzzles, had a cookie, worked on sheets and sang songs.

She couldn't have been any happier.

It made me very happy to see that she had such a wonderful time.

Even better was that neither one of us shed any tears this morning when I dropped her off!

I was fully expecting waterworks from one of us, but nothing.

She was ready!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On to the doctor's appointment.

I somehow hurt my shoulder a couple of weeks ago.

No big deal, it would only hurt when I moved it occasionally.

Then out of the blue the pain stopped.

Great!

Then last Thursday it started hurting again and got much worse within the last few days.

Today I decided that it was time to go see the doctor.

Turns out I have strained my rotator cuff as well have having tendinitis and bursitis.

The prescribed an anti-inflammatory and said that it should be feeling better within a week or two.

I hope you guys are having a great Thursday!

What I'm Diggin' Wednesday

What I'm Diggin' this week...

New life: one of my dear friends welcomed a baby girl into the world this morning. I have seen a picture and can't wait to meet and hold her. There is something so wonderful about holding a new baby!

New school year: Adison is on day two of the 3rd grade. So far it gets an A+, she is a happy girl! {Ainsley starts preschool tomorrow, not really diggin' that though, ha ha!}

Hubby being home: K was out of town for work earlier this week. Boy am I glad to have him home, I like hangin' with my honey. While it's nice to chat on the phone, I like having him here. The kids were all so excited to see him this morning!

Diaper Wipes: If you read my earlier post, you would understand. Whoever it was that invented disposable diaper wipes seriously deserves a high-5 in my book.

InstaGram: it's such a fun way to take pictures.

Funny faces: Abby has started making this hysterical new face. Well, I can't say "new" my brother did this when he was a youngin' but it's new to her. She puts her chin on her chest and then glares at you. It's really funny...kinda creepy...but mostly funny. My goal is to get a picture, I'll let you know how that goes.

Okay folks, there's a lot more that I am diggin' but I'll leave it at that.

Head on over to Staying Home and Staying Sane and link up with me!

This morning was rough

There's just no way around it.

This morning stunk.

Both literally and figuratively.

Stunk.

It all started when my insomnia that had been on leave decided to try a sneak appearance.

Which really, totally isn't nice.

At all.

{But, K is back home, he got home around midnight last night, woo hoo!}

Anyways.

I had just dragged my weary self out of bed when I hear Ainsley yelling for me.

MOOOOMMMMYYY!

MOMMYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Then a garbled sentence.

Mommmyyyy!

I finished getting every one's breakfast stuff ready then went to get/wake up children for the morning mad dash to get ready for school.

It never ceases to amaze me that no matter how early I get up, how much planning I do, the morning routine is chaotic.

Seriously chaotic.

After speaking with Ainsley I discover the reason behind her morning wake up call.

{She does this pretty much every morning, this morning there was an actual purpose behind it.}

According to Lee Abby had pooped all over her crib.

Sigh.

Poop, bleh.

I packed up the necessities to deal with this type of situation.

For once I actually remembered to bring the all important diaper wipes with me.

Usually I am trying to carry a messy child down the stairs with whatever else got messy.

This morning though, ha ha, I thought ahead.

Turns out not to be that big of a deal.

There was still poop on the crib sheet, but totally doable.

Then Adison was doing her now typical possum routine.

She likes to pretend to be asleep and then try to scare whomever is around.

Fun.

Okay...

Finally I get everyone downstairs, they have their respective morning stuff.

Milk.

Juice.

The beginnings of breakfast.

I sit down to tackle the atrocity on/in/outside of Abby's diaper.

It was bad.

Adison even commented on how it must be poisonous.

Then Lee starts in with her 3,000 questions in two minutes routine.

Then the whining starts in.

Then more questions.

Then whining, then not listening.

Wow, three almost four year olds are tough.

All while I am attempting to not gag/throw up/get the atrocity on me.

Finally.

Finally I got everything cleaned up, answered all 4,293,648 questions that an almost 4 year old can have in the time frame of approximately 10 minutes and then took Abby in to see her exhausted, sleeping Daddy.

She was thrilled to see him, he was thrilled to see her.

Then Lee came in and the excitement started all over again.

Then Adison and it was just a room filled with excitement and shared stories.

So, I guess that even though the morning was rough and I haven't had my coffee yet {gasp}, the girls got to see their dad for the first time in a couple of days and Adison got to school on time.

I am calling that a success for today.

I am praying that today ends up much more smoothly.

If not though, I will try to find the happiness of it...you know if the coffee can eventually get consumed.