...IKEA or bust...

Oh.Wow. I mean. Just.Wow. LOL! This is going to be one of those stories where you REALLY shoulda been there...

So. I love me some IKEA. It's one of those stores that you can ALWAYS find something to buy! Which- isn't really good for the unemployed! HAHA! No, but really...I have many lovely items in my home from IKEA...and so when summer started for my teacher peeps- I pretty much demanded that we all trek out there at some point to do some retail damage!

Today was that day. And boy was it a day! :)

Bre and Leighton, Jaime and Zoe, Jude and Emme and I all piled into Jaime's minivan to drive the 30ish miles to the store. I'm totally ready for this day too...I remembered to pack LOTS of snacks for Jude...a bottle/solids for Emme...got my iPhone w/ all it's movies for Jude...I even packed teething drops for Em! Oh man! So. We're driving (I really don't think you can imagine how packed we are...Jaime and Bre in the front...me and Jude in the middle and Zoe, Emme, and Leighton squished in the back- we literally barely fit!) when some warning light comes on...Jaime blows it off b/c the "low tire" light comes on often- and I don't think anything of it b/c there are SO many of us in the car, I assume it's all our weight! Yep. So like 6 miles later...BOOOOOM! Oh.Em.Gee, Marge. Jaime totally blew a tire!!! Oh my word! Now...it's about 10:15am...you'd think there wasn't that much traffic...um...no- there was actually a LOT of cars! And we're in the middle lane!!! Oh.My.Word. My heart was beating so fast...all I keep thinking about is that my babies are in the car! And specifically- that Emme, Leighton, and Zoe are in the very back and that someone might rear end us! :( But...Jaime was like a freakin' rockstar! She seriously just maneuvered her way over through the clearest path to the side of the road. Unfortunately...it was the lefthand side- next to the HOV lane...buuuuut at least we weren't blocking traffic, right???

So. After I finished saying "Thank You, Jesus!" a few times (I really thought we were going to get hit!)...I got my phone and used my USAA app to call Roadside Assistance (Jaime has USAA too)...the lady tells me that it's going to be 35 mins before they can get someone out to us... ?!?!?! Um. "We have 4 kids in the car under 5 years old...and a pregnant lady...if you can expedite this- that would be fantastic..." So. The lady gets some dood from Mesa to come help us...b/c he's supposed to be able to get there before 35 mins (which- for the record...he showed up 32 mins later...) but the guy was a MORON and didn't know his way around...I mean...we were under the freakin' I-17 stack...in a silver van...w/ a million kids...how hard is it to find?!?! I digress. I called my BIL, Kevin to see if he was "on duty" to help us...but right afterwards a DPS Assistance truck came to help us- and by helping us...I mean calling DPS and getting them to stop traffic for us so we could cross to the righthand side of the road! Awww- but the lil old man was super cute...asking us if we needed water or anything! :) Anywho. So the waiting game continued. The kids were all really good...Jude especially blew me away w/ his patience! I was starting to get annoyed w/ the waiting...especially b/c Emme's feeding time was rapidly approaching...and normally Jude goes down for a nap at noon...and it's 11am and we haven't gotten to IKEA yet! I vowed that if the driver didn't show up at 11:02...I was going to change the tire myself!!!! (Which...the only reason I didn't in the first place is b/c we were on the wrong side of the road and I would have died!!!) He's lucky b/c he showed up at 11:01! Sucka! Thankfully- the changing of the tire happened quickly... and then we girls decided to proceed (driving 50 miles an hour MAX! mind you) to go on our shopping excursion! Oh.Man.

I found a Costco a mile away from IKEA (using the AroundMe app! It's great!)...we thought we might go eat at Costco while the tire is being fixed...but unfortunately it was going to take WAY too long...but are we ever glad we stopped...b/c the nice man checked the air in the spare...and it was WAAAAAYYYYYY low!!! Can you imagine if we had blown the spare?!?!?!?!? Anywho...after driving in circles trying to use the "shortcut" to IKEA...we finally made it to our destination...and had a grand ole' time shopping!

I do have to brag...that my children- Jude especially- were absolutely fabulous! (Not saying the other two weren't- they just were in the play area for most of the time!) But b/c he hadn't napped and it was already a long and crazy trip there...he sat in the cart perfectly...and minus a few "mini-tantrums"...he was just so chill!!! I was a super proud mama! And bought Jude a trainset thing at IKEA as a reward! :)

(I'm sure my story would have been alot more "fun" - and lengthy- if I weren't so dog tired...but this is the gist!)

My "neverforgets" of the day:
* Mocha Frappe ...well...what I got to drink of it!
* Edward Cullen cups...it really does make me happy! LOL
* Leapsters...
* Emme's teething- and crying- and Leighton not liking it so much! LOL
* The fact that Leighton is going to have a baby sister (or brother) REAL soon haha!
* 36week pregnant Bre picking up my 40lb son! What the heck, Bre!
* "I NEED EARPHONES!"
* Being a child mediator! It was comedy! I just started making stuff up!
* Peeing on the wall...
* Jaime "not having" a spare...oh wait...it's under the driver's seat! LOL
* The lady in the white dress (::whispers- um...your bra is showing!::)...
* How NOBODY stopped to help us...is it b/c we were on the freeway???? Hmmm...whatever.
* IKEA food...it was cheap- and that's what counts! Haha- actually- I really loved their kids menu selection!!!!
* Drawer dividers...
* Apple Cheerios (um...sorry, IKEA- clean up in the frame department! LOL)
* Spending a day w/ some of my favorite people!

Awww...ladies...we must do it again! We'll squeeze Baby Sinclair2.0 in there somewhere! ;)

...what i've learned...

I'm a little behind on my T5Tuesday. Oh well! Today's T5T is dedicated to the things I've learned in my short 30 years of life...

5. Life is short...enjoy it more...try to remember all you can...learn from those who have already lived...ask lots of questions...take lots of pictures...DO something...BE someone...
4. You've got to accentuate the positive...and eliminate the negative...latch on the the affirmative...and don't mess w/ Mr. Inbetween!
3. Laughter IS the best medicine...
2. People will disappoint you...even those in leadership...and especially those you are closest to...you can either 1. get bitter or 2. move forward...
1. There are not many more things that are more wonderful than loving others and being loved in return...whether it is by a friend...a lover...a child...a Savior- it is truly the best.thing.ever.

:) What are some things YOU'VE learned in life?

...half a year...

::sigh::

Time is literally flying by...and I can't for the life of me figure out how to bottle it up. :( Man if I could just freeze time I would! I'm loving life and loving that I get to raise these two beautiful and precious loves of mine! I get super emotional when I think how quickly this is going to fly by...how quickly they are going to grow up... ::sigh:: But. I'm enjoying this time as much as I can...trying to remind myself that the things that seem trying are temporary...and the things that are memorable will last forever!

So. Miss Em. Oh my word. Is she the cutest stinkin' think you've ever seen??? If I had a dollar for every time I just stopped and stared at her and marveled at her beauty! LOL. I know, right?! I mean...I know she's my kid...but dang do DLo and I make some pretty babies! Haha! :)

This month Emme has:
* started teething more...like bigtime! No teeth yet...but there's a'comin!
*started waving- more like...flapping her one arm!
* laughed more!
* developed a love for soccer...
* embraced the joys of bouncing in the bouncer! (And she's nutz!)
* started yelling at mom to voice her disdain for green beans! LOL!
* almost learned to sit up!

I love it when Emme:
* plays with my hair when she's eating her bottle...
* smiles when her brother is near...
* puts up with her brother yelling "Dance Baybe!" and flapping her arms...
* puts up with her brother grabbing her by the head to give her kisses...
* sleeps through the night!!!!
* laughs- it's really the cutest girliest thing ever!
* fake cries...it.is.comedy!
* smiles- it melts hearts...
* sees something she wants...I didn't think it was possible for her big eyes to get any bigger...!

Oy. I love it! I love every.single.bit of it! :)


Thank you Jesus for my life. You have blessed me with such a supportive husband...and such beautiful and perfect children. I pray, Lord that you will continue to give me the wisdom to parent these blessings. Help me to be a good example...of a woman...of a wife...of a friend...of a Christian...of an American...of a daughter... I pray that my children will know You at an early age...and that they will have a fire and passion for serving You. I pray that they will be unafraid of living their life boldly for You... Thank you, Jesus for my life...

::updates::

Updated two previous blogs...check em out:

"...security..."
"...just say no..."

...potty emergency!!!...

#37 Potty-train Jude

So. I don't think I'll be crossing this off quite yet...but I wanted to fill you in on our potty-training adventures...

Mr. Jude LOVES being in his undies. Every single time he sees them, he points and yells "BUUUUUHHHH!" He totally "gets" it too. "I pee on the toilet." He knows what it's for and what to do. He pees EVERY.single.time. I put him on the toilet. ...however... He's not consistent at telling me when he has to go! The only time he pees on the potty is when I take him- which is about every 30-60mins. Oy. I think he's told me all of three times in the past 3 weeks that he has to go "sheeshee" or "peepee" (he likes to mix it up to keep mom on her toes!). ::sigh:: I know he's pretty young to be potty-training...but 1. let's be real- homeslice's booty is getting too big for those diapers and 2. he WANTS to wear undies!

My biggest "EWWWWWW!" in this process...isn't so much having pee around the house- b/c he doesn't usually have accidents- maybe one a day and it's usually little and usually b/c he's pooped in his undies and a lil pee comes out! ...which leads me to the biggest "EWWWWW!" Poop in the undies. Jude has pooped on the potty a few times...but he doesn't want to sit there after a pee and try to push one out. Then- about 10 mins later...I notice a lil lump in his booty. Just.Nasty. The first week...Jude would forget about the diaper v. undies situation and carry on his merry way...which means...squished poop in undies- which is the ultimate nastiness. But now...he poops just a lil bit and then kinda stands there or waddles to me...it's an improvement...and usually only gets a lil on the underwear...but still makes me vomit!

I always tell Jude...before putting on undies...and after peeing...and anytime he's pooped himself- "Don't peepee or poopoo on Buzz!" And I quiz him...(which is UBER cute since he's been answering so many questions lately) "Do you poopoo on Buzz?" J-"No! (shakes head vehemently)" M- "What do you say if you have to go potty?" J- "Mama! I peepee!" M- "And where do you go peepee and poopoo?" - at which Jude will point to the toilet. M- "Yup- we go peepee in the toilet." ::sigh:: I know he's gunna "get it" soon...I can feel it in my bones! :D

**note: Do you see the ghetto-fabulousness of the truck in the background of the picture? The ducktaped towel over the truck's basket thing??? Yeah...Jude likes to have his "friends" go on rides w/ him...and they kept slipping out- so dad MacGyver'd that lil beauty! LOL**

...security...

#60 Get a security door
and
#61 Install screens on the house

I've been wanting to get a security door for our house for a long time...just to give me a piece of mind. I mean...I know someone could break in if they wanted...but it's just one more barrier...

Jude has been able to unlock the doors for a while now. He's usually good about not doing it unless we ask him to...but yesterday, Jude decided to go over to the neighbors house while his dad was feeding Emme and I was cleaning the room. Thankfully, he wasn't out there long...and we were able to find him...but it was enough for me to call and get the people out to give us another estimate on a door.

The guy came today...and we put down a deposit on the security door. While we were at it...we got screens on the front and one side of the house...b/c it gets SUPER hot in the playroom b/c there is no treatment on one small window...hoping to get the rest of the house done...but that can wait! :)

They are going to "rush" the install since Jude escaped...which I think is awesome of them! Pictures to come when it's done! :D

::UPDATE::
So...they TOTALLY rushed the order for us! The security door was installed on Wednesday...and the screens installed today (Friday)! How awesome is that?! I'd totally recommend First Impressions Security Doors to anyone!!! The screens are outrageous...they seriously make the playroom SO dark. Hmmm. Dunno how I'm going to do "shoots" in that room now!!! LOL. Oh well!

...just say no...

#78 No Facebook for a week

Yeah. I know. I'd love to say that my motivation for doing this is to reprioritize my life...which- is part of the reason I'm doing a FB boycott this week. But the main reason I'm doing this is...social media is starting to freak me out a lil (...yes- I just put that on my "blog" for the world to see- lol...Hmmmm)

I'm a totally curious person...I mean...who isn't...but like...I'm a bit overly curious. ::sigh- cue Usher's "Confessions":: I'm the type of person who looks in people's medicine cabinets (for the record- I don't...but I would LOVE to)...the type of person who likes to look through the call history on DLo's cellphone- not b/c I don't trust him...but b/c I'm curious as to who he gets calls from...b/c surely it's more interesting than who calls me! I always look at people walking as I drive...and I get curious as to what their "story" is...where are they going? who are they seeing? do they know Jesus? what's their occupation? See what I mean...? So. I like me some FB. I like to look to see what my peeps are doing...see their newest pictures...see what new games to play...and see who they're friends with- and connect the dots on who knows who and whatever. My problem is...I spend too much time looking at these things..."researching" ...or... "fbstalking" ...and...well...it gets really weird when you're at a restaurant and you "know" all about the person across the room when you've never actually met them before! (no.joke.)

So. I'm going on a hiatus. It's going to be a week long...and then we'll see where to go from there...it'll be interesting...and I'm sure I'll get alot of stuff done! :D

::UPDATE::
So. My week is over. And I'm back on FB. I've got to say. I enjoyed my time away...but...it might have been a little extreme. I love me some FB. And that can be good and bad. But if I just monitor how much time I'm on it (not that I'm on it so much during the day) and what I'm doing on it...I think I'll be fine!

I had deleted FB from my phone...and removed it from my "homepages"...I had a hard time NOT clicking on FB the first couple days...it was just a reactionary thing (b/c I still had it as a link on my favorites). I didn't look at it though- and quickly closed the window if I did accidentally click on FB. I did really good after that...although my brain DID wander to FB a few times- wondering what my peeps were up to! I DID go on FB one day- but only went to one page to retrieve a phone number for someone I was supposed to take pictures of...and I also used FB messaging to write a few "emails" to people who I usually only communicate that way (and one was to someone who was asking about pictures).

What did I do in my non-FBing time? Read books...played more...watched LOST more...and had many many many danceathons w/ Jude! :)