Sweaty Blessings with Absence

Last week was interesting to say the least. My hubby left on Saturday to go on a missions trip.  This is the first time I have had all 3 of my lovelies all by myself for more than a full day. I do not envy single parents with multiple children. I have a ton of respect for those raising their children on their own. Whether it is for life or for just a time. I was beat. When I put the kiddies to bed, I put myself to bed too. I have never hit the coffee pot more frequently.
So trying to get places on time have been so hard. My eldest just does not see the urgency. Starting with Sunday. It was my first full day of just me and the kids. And wow, I don't think I have ever been so stressed out. I didn't think that Sunday's are supposed to be stressful. Trying to get out the door with all three kids on time, to the church, in the door, drop off each kiddo to their class, and get through the door on time proved to be stressful and exhausting!  By the time I sat down I was sweating. Ew. Sweating in church. Blah. When I got home, I decided I wanted to call my hubby and tell him to get his tail back home ASAP. That's what I wanted to do. Instead what I really did was fix lunch and make everyone lay down for a long nap, including myself. I am pretty sure my kids were tired of watching me run around like a crazy lady. Because we all went to sleep pretty quick.
Monday I locked us all up inside the house and decided not to move. Plus there was a heat advisory out there that I, in no way, wanted to participate in.  But oh no...I forgot that I have to somehow get my son to his 2nd ever Tae Kwon Do class ON TIME with twin girls in tow by myself.  Hmmm...  I love Master Yoo's Tae Kwon Do School and the instructors, BUT the space is super tight and limited to those watching their children learn to punch, kick and say HI YA.

 So just imagine me trying to get my son in the door, get his shoes off, pick up his attendance card, all while arm wrestling two car seats with not-so-light-anymore girls.  Sweating...again.  And we were late to class.  sigh.
Tuesday I was a little more on-top of things.  I knew that later in the week my dad wanted my son to go spend some time with him and to attend his church's VBS program.  HALLELUJAH!!!  So I had to get my boy to another class with Master Yoo.  In the middle of my preparations for the day, I got a phone call from my pastors wifey.  She said she wanted to come and watch my kids for me.  WHAT?  Watch MY kids for ME?  She said her week was pretty busy, but she really wanted to help me out.  So we planned for Thursday morning, so that I could go grocery shopping and maybe hit up Starbucks by.my.self.  (who has RARELY heard of doing things by.my.self in the last 4 years).  After being all hopped up on excitement for my by.my.self. Thursday morning, I got everyone in our ride and over to Master Yoo's ON TIME!  whooo hooo mark one up for momma!  I still ended up sweating by the time I sat down with the girls to watch my son get another strip of tape on his little white belt. but darn it, I made it on time.  This was good sweat.  When I went to bed that night I checked my messages and found one from my cousin who lives up north of us.  She offered to watch the girls so that I could take my son to the zoo where they live!  WHAT? Really?  Yes, please!  
Wednesday was AWESOME!  We took our little road trip up north and my son and I had a blast at the zoo.  I am pretty sure the girls loved spending time with their cousins, because they got loads of attention and lovin's.  Sure my son and I were super sweaty after walking around in the hot sun all day, but it was worth it!

Thursday couldn't have been any sweeter.  My pastor's wife and their youngest daughter came and took over the house for me.  I ran out of the house with my breakfast in hand and scarfed it down on the way to Costco.  Unfortunately, I wanted to get so much done in a short amount of time that I once again found myself getting sweaty

Friday I just hung out with my girls until it was time for me to go to work.  My mother in-law graciously agreed to coming and staying with the girls after she got off of work.  

Saturday I got up early and went to work again with my mother in-law watching the girls.  The rest of the day was spent cleaning and relaxing.  
Sunday was a big day.  I had to get up to my dad's church to watch my son's VBS performance.  And I had to pack everything I would need for the girls for the entire day.  So I got up early again and got everything in the car, got myself ready, the girls ready, breakfast down the hatches, and on the road.  ON TIME!  Whew.  I thought, for an easily distracted 4 year old, my son did a great job with his songs and the motions to the VBS songs.  

Afterwards there was a carry-in lunch that was fantastic.  We rested a bit at my dad's and then went up to snap a few pictures of my grandmother's RV that she wants to sell.  Then we headed to my brother's for dinner.  While waiting to eat, we all took turns riding or driving the go-kart they have.  I think I swallowed a bug.  Before I knew it, it was way past time to get home.  I knew that I would be super busy on Monday, preparing the house for dadda's arrival.  

Monday was the day that dadda was coming home and we were all excited!  We were going to pick him up at 4 pm.  I got the message that he just landed and then shortly after that, I got a phone call that the airline had lost their whole groups luggage!  Grrrr.  You would think after paying so much stinkin' money to fly that they could at the very least not lose your luggage.  I mean, what is up with paying for your luggage, if they are just going to lose it?  So the 4 pm arrival time turned into more close to 5 pm.  But nevertheless we were still just as excited to have the absence of the head of the house once more filled.  I have never been so happy to see my hubby with the exception of on our wedding day.  I loved watching our son jump into his arms and get a huge hug and kisses.  


I could have been bitter that my hubby was leaving me and our 3 kids for a little over a week.  But I didn't have time.  What with getting sweaty taking care of three kids and being showered with blessing from friends and family.  I really think that absence makes the heart (and my headaches) grow fonder. 

Artsy Fartsy: Flower Bands

I have been wanting to make these little (or big, however you look at it) headbands for my girls for some time now.  I finally got my butt in gear and made some.  This one was super easy so I thought I would show how I made it.  Here are my artsy fartsy flower bands:

The finished product

How I did it...

 The supplies:  Scissors, a flower, ribbon, hot glue gun, pliers, Fray Check, alligator hair clip, and a stretchy head band (not shown, see it in the picture above)

Cut the ribbon to size so it fits all the way around the clip.  Apply the Fray Check to the ribbon so the ends do not fray. 

 Start by hot gluing the ribbon to the inside of the clip

 Wrap the ribbon all the way around the clip. (this helps not pull the hair on your little one's head)

 While the clip is setting up from the glue, cut the stem off of  your flower.  

 I opted to take the base off of the flower too so that I could glue the flower as close to the clip as possible.

 Use the inside part of your pliers to cut the rest of the stem off right next to the petals.

 Hot glue the petal layers together and then hot glue it to the clip.

 Clip the flower to your stretchy band.  

 Pretty girls!

 hmm, what is that on sissy's head?  I think I will pull on it.

 I suppose it could be a neck flower too.

One of my many craft projects down!  Next time I think I will add some sparkle.
Do you have any fun artsy fartsy things going on in your house?

~ Selena

Time is flying

I remember when I had my first baby and people would tell me that I needed to cherish the time that they are babies.  I thought, 1st of all why are you telling me what to do?  You aren't my mom.  And second of all, why do I need to do that?  Then after my first born was walking and talking I thought to myself,  ohhhh.  Now I see what they meant.  The baby phase does not last long at all.  In fact, it flies by.

With M (my first born), we pushed him to roll over, crawl, walk, talk.  We pushed him to do it all.  With my girls (yes, I have two of them), I really haven't been trying to push them to do much.  I am trying to absorb their baby phase.  And I am realizing without pushing them, they are doing just fine.  And I can't stop them from growing up in front of my eyes.

I am blessed to have two beautiful baby girls, who each now have two beautiful baby teeth.  Teething with two really hasn't been that bad.  They both seem to be very easy going with a few hiccups along the way.

S & A

They are precious girls and I can't imagine life without them.  Teething and all.

~ Selena

Treasures

This weekend I did a lot of garage sale rummaging and a bit of selling myself.  My sister in law's neighborhood was having a neighborhood sale so I took a few things over to her place to see if I could get rid of them.  Unfortunately I spent more on things I found at other people's houses than I made at our own.  I just had a lot of fun being able to get out and walk around.  There is something exciting about finding a great surprise, that you may or may not have needed, for a killer deal!  I am sure my hubby is so excited that I taught my four year old that we were going to hunt for some treasure.  We hit several houses and at each one my son told the people there that we were searching for treasure.  We got a lot of giggles and smiles.  And of course I can't go anywhere without people wanting to see the twins.  In my head I am thinking, ew I need to go to that sale right over there.  So I scanned other sales at a distance while smiling and nodding to the cute lady ogling over my girls.

Something I caught myself doing while rummaging, was saying, thank you. as the owner was watching me leave without taking any of their 'treasures'.  I am sure they were thinking, "grrrrr, buy something, pllllleeeeeease".  All the while I am thinking to myself, why do I say thank you?  Thank you for what?  For not having the one thing I am looking for?  I guess it is out of feeling awkward leaving a house and deciding their crap wasn't good enough to become my crap.  And I suppose the polite thing to say instead of, "sorry, I don't like any of your stuff."


All in all I came home with some fun treasures:
books, DVDs, unopened Topsy Turvy Tomato Planters, picture frame, etc.

Have you found any treasures lately?


~Selena

Friday Finds: Teeth and Gold

Today I have two Friday Finds.  I know, can you believe it!  I just happened upon these...

TEETH -

Oh holy Moses.  The season for teething babies is here.  Slobber, runny noses, nasty diapers, chew, chew, chew times two!  The teeth are coming, watch out.  We can see 2 teeth making their way up in Sophia's mouth.  I told a friend in a previous post that we have a chorus of crying babies instead of a solo. How true that is at our house right now.


GOLD -

There's gold up there in them hills.  Okay so maybe not exactly gold and I didn't exactly find it in the hills.  I found Coffee House Inspirations, Chai Latte.  Oh buddy.  It is soooo good.  I can not call myself a coffee connoisseur, but I do know what tastes good to me.  :-)  And this tastes yummy!  I go through spurts of drinking coffee.  I usually stick to the specialty coffee like carmel macchiatos.  But lately I have been dabbling in the simple, but effective coffee and creamer.  There are some days that I just need a pick me up.  It may have to do with the fact that I have 3 kids now.  And I think this Chai Latte is going help me in that effort of waking up.  Or at least I hope.

I looked up Coffee House Inspirations, Chai Latte on line and found "Beau's International Delight Chai Latte."  He talks about "an easy way to be make a terrific tasting chai latte at home." It is a little more involved than I want, but I am sure it makes a fabulous chai latte!

What have you found lately?
Have a Fabulous Friday

If you are looking for more Friday Finds, check out my friend Kendra's blog, Wherever Life Leads


Every Friday is dedicated to what I find.  I tend to do a lot of research on most big-ticket items before purchasing them.   Anything from cameras, baby car seats, to vehicles.  I also just wanted a place to share what I have found in my life.  Welcome to Friday Finds.

Sweet Sunday: Toothless Grins

I think toothless grins are the sweetest!

The Girls

What do you think is sweet?

Out and About

People ask me all the time, "how do you do it?"  Or they say, "You are brave."  or "You've got your hands full."  I even get,  "I can't believe you are out."  And all I can think to do is to just smile and nod.  And what I really want to say is, "WHY NOT??"  "Am I supposed to be a hermit?"  9 times out of 10, people say this to me while I am out shopping.

You see, I have 4 month old twin girls and a 4-year-old son.  And I go shopping, just like any other person on this planet.  With the exception of my dad, who HATES shopping.  Yes HATES, in all capitols. Okay, I am sure there are other people who hate it too.  But I like to get out of the house.  So when I do, it is usually to go grocery shopping.

You have to know, when I go shopping, a normal shopping trip for you may take an hour in the grocery store.  For me, it takes 2 hours.  Not because I don't know what I am going get or because I am just that slow.  Oh no.  It is because every 2 feet I have someone stop me and say, "Twins!!"  Or "There are two of them."  And then I stand there politely smiling and answering a question or two.  Then we move on a little further down the aisle and it starts all over again.   It doesn't help that my son is a talker.  He can carry on a conversation like no body's business.  What kills me, is that it is the employees that stop me most of the time.  HA!  I think they get a kick out of me and my brood.  In fact, that happened to me just today.  A Kroger male employee came barreling down the aisle giggling at me.  I thought, oh boy, here we go. He was so funny.  He wanted to know who was the oldest and how I get all of my groceries in the cart.  He told me he would invent a cart that accommodate twins.  I said, "Yes please!"  On that note, that is the other thing that makes shopping take so long. I have to lift one car seat out of the cart almost every time.  So just imagine with me.  Imagine a shopping cart, with the child seat in front of the cart, where most put their child or their purse.  I pull that back, out-of-the-way and I put both girls (they are in their car seats) in the cart.  They face out to the side of the cart and the car seat sits on the top rail of the cart.  Now if I get something like trash bags, I have to move to the side of the car and lift one car seat out of the cart, place the trash bags in the cart, and then put the car seat back in the cart, and finally move on to the next thing on my list. Sigh.  Yes, I admit, it is a big production every time.  But a girl has got to get out of the house.  I do come home exhausted and sometimes rather frustrated that it takes so freaking long to go grocery shopping.  But all in all, I am glad that I can do it.

I was reminded, by my brother, about a time when I was younger and Nike just came out with their slogan "Just Do It". My mom wouldn't let me wear that t-shirt because she didn't think it was appropriate.   Yeah, maybe, not so much.  But now when I think about that slogan, I think yes.  I just have to do it.  So to answer the question, "How do you do it?"  I just do.  How do you get up out of bed every morning?  You just do.  How do you go to work everyday?  You just do.  So, I just happen to have been blessed to have 3 children and I have to do it or I might just go crazy.

From experience, I will not go shopping at Kohl's with the twins.  The carts are not big enough for two car seats and the aisles are over flowing with merchandise.  That drives me crazy.  I feel like I am going to knock everything over every time I am there.   I come away from that store more frazzled and exasperated than a hen in a hot-house.

BUT. You know what the biggest blessing is every time I go shopping with all of the kids?  The store that has a large cart and a seat attached to the back for my son to sit in.  Also, people who don't stop me, but take the time to tell me I have beautiful children.

Burning the Midnight Oil

Have you ever thought, "What the heck am I doing?" "What happened to me?" "Where did the person go that I thought I was?"

If I was asked this question, I would be bopping my head up and down thinking, "have you been reading my thoughts?"

I know where I have been, what I have done, and who I have spent time with.  But I have no idea where I am going, what I am going to do, or who I will end up spending time with while I am there.

These are the things that I do know:

1. I thought that I would be a career woman.  I am a stay at home mom.


2. I thought I would be single at least until my late twenties. I am a wife of a wonderful husband of 6 years.


3. I thought I would have children when I was around the age of 32.  I had my first child at the age of 26.


4. I thought 2 kids would be just enough.  I am a mother of a very smart and active 4 year old boy and uber cute (but very loud) twin 4 month old girls.


5. I never wanted to raise a family in Indiana.  My husband and I were married in Indiana, moved promptly to Colorado, then to Alaska, and now guess where we are...back in Indiana.


6. I thought I would have both of my parents until I was, at the very least, 60.  I buried my amazing mother this past January (I'm only 30).


7. I have every intention of going to bed at a decent hour.  I usually never get to bed before midnight. Hence Midnight Oil Momma.


8. I know that everything I have planned in my life never turns out the way I wanted...thanks be to God.

So this is the start of my blog.  Obviously I would like it to be successful. I would like to tell you what I want to get out of it and what I would like you to get out of it.  But as you can see, from the above list, where I end up will most likely not be where I thought.

My hope for this blog is to be able to come to a place where I can write out my thoughts, feelings, my parenting stories, cooking adventures, gardening experiences, travels, my disappointments and triumphs.  I also hope that you will find this blog encouraging, inspiring, a blessing and a place where you can respond to my adventures of being an untrained mom.

Thank you for reading.  Until next time.