Day at the Museum: Battle of the Besties

Last night, as I was putting Emma to bed, I told her that we were going to the Children's Museum tomorrow and would get to see all her little friends. To this she responded with her customary hand-clap and,"Yeeeaaayyy!!" I love it.

This morning I got her all decked out in her sweet butterfly-fairy costume and headed over to the museum. Not to brag buuut Emma is usually very good at playing with other kids. I mean, she's pretty even-tempered, and shares, well kind of, but generally, she does a good job. Of course, today (in honor of Halloween) when the museum is packed full of people, she chose to explore her, um, inner-devil-woman. Kids would brush against her and she would just scream at them. If they came even close to her toy, watch out. Then, on the slide, she was the terror-child cutting in front of all the other patient angels (and elmos...ahhaha) waiting their turn. So, I was that mom, intermittently disciplining and apologizing for my kid. Gotta love being on the other side of the my-child-that-you-don't-know is pushing your kid over fake, "That's okay..heh, " smile. Ehh. Oh well, such is life mothering an 18-month old.

She also had her first fight with her bestie. I mean, really, it wasn't her fault. She was just eating pizza with another boy at lunch. So, when D got up from his lunch to walk over to see her, little A got the glare that only jealous 2-year olds can give (who knew??). He proceeded to throw a tempter-tantrum or two, while Em played coy. Can't blame her though. I mean, a girl's gotta play hard to get once in a while. She was just reminding him what a catch she is.

Some pics?

Sure.

Pumpkin Patches and Palm Trees

Last week I got really excited when I heard a commercial for a fall festival complete with a pumpkin patch, corn-maze, and pony rides. Woo hoo-an opportunity to pretend that we actually have more than one season here in FL! We rounded up some friends and made the hour and a half trek to the farm by the beach.

The temperature was supposed to be in the mid to upper eighties, but I refused to wear anything but jeans. It just didn't seem right to be in a tank top and shorts. Good thing for me, I sweated so much that I didn't have to use the restroom all day because I think it would have been reminiscent of the Friends episode with Ross and the leather pants.

We pulled up and the first thing we saw was this:

Whoa- this ain't yo mama's punkin fest. This was complete with dirt bike jumpers and pumpkin tank launchers. Hey, I was just happy to see the tank flying an American flag instead of a the "Dixie Pride." In other words,

It. Was. Awesome.

I mean, I had to suspend my disbelief walking through the waist-high, green corn-maze, but other than that, it was fantastic. I mean, if you're into hillbilly bands, frog-jumping, and fire-juggling men on six-foot unicycles (which I am) than this is the place to be.

Actually, it can be quite scary being in a corn maze in FL. So scary, in fact, that it made moms go wild.

But thankfully our fearless leaders lead us out of the wilderness in time to catch

this rough and tumble group perform.

Emma danced her pretty little heart out and took time to share a laugh with her bff.

We saw some real dead-beats

and got spit at (we could have, at least).

After a long day, we rested in a pumpkin patch, which wasn't really a pumpkin patch but a tent with pumpkins placed under it.

Emma asked the nearest woman, "What the heck...doesn't a pumpkin patch imply that the pumpkins will be growing from the ground, waiting for me to pluck them from the vine?"

The woman kept her mouth shut and only blushed,

which sent Emma running back home to where the palm trees and pumpkins know their places.

The Main Events

Here's the thing. I haven't blogged in a couple weeks. It's not because we haven't had anything going on. Nope. Quite the opposite. We've been going and going and going and...well, you catch my drift. I've missed out on maaaany bloggy opportunities. Here's the problem- I'm so effing tired all the time! If I'm in the house, I feel like I'm going to drop dead unless I "just put my head down." So I've been "just putting my head down" a lot lately. Uggg. I feel so worthless. There's a million things that I have to do, I think, but I haven't really identified what they are. Um, is that a problem? Am I just going psycho? Could be. And my husband says I'm grouchy, which I can admit to here and there but really, I think he's extra touchy these days. Oh, and I want peanut M&M's like it's my job. I mean, I'm ravenous for them. In fact, as soon as Em wakes up, we're heading over to Publix to get some. I keep getting these weird craving for veggies too. I had an absurd amount of asparagus for lunch today. Yup, just asparagus. Who does that?? Oh, and to top it all off, I realized that I'm currently doing nothing to change the world. Awesome.

So, while I dwell on all my woes, here's some pictures of our last few weeks...

I spent a weekend with my three best friends of all time. We've been friends since 4th grade, (Colleen and I since we were 5) and I know it's the type of friendship that'll last till death do us part. Haha. But really. Even though we're so far apart, I know I could count on these girls to be there in an instant if I really needed them.

Two weeks later we headed out to the freezing state of Michigan for Matt's brother's wedding. We arrived at 11:00 PM and then drove two hours from Flint to Grand Rapids. Good thing I've molded Emma into such a good little traveler.

We put together many-a-programs and caught up on our reading.

And took time to check out the fall foliage on four-wheelers.

Emma practiced being a cute, well-dressed Finnish citizen with her studly daddy.


And took time to hang out with her funcle.



She was surprised to see Mickey and Minnie in Michigan!



And dreamed of being a beautiful bride...

while dancing the night away with her Prince Charming.

When the clock struck midnight she looked like this:

Ah hahaha...she's going to love this someday. :)

Sign Posts

From the time I was a little girl I've had this innate desire for something outside myself, a yearning that has made me realize that there's more to this life than just what I can see or touch. Sometimes it manifests itself through simple things like sunsets or being in a beautiful place. I think that's why I love traveling and nature so much. It reminds me of a greater story and makes me yearn to know the Author of this story. Literature, film, and music have always had this effect on me as well. Hence my reason for being an English teacher. All of these things are sign posts for me that point to the pursuing of a loving Creator.

Friday night we sat up in the nose-bleed section of a U2 concert, which was just an incredible event. Whether or not you like U2 I think it would be nearly impossible to attend their concert and not leave loving them. They just put on a fantastic show. I consider them a sign post band, and not only because of my love of all things Bono. Though I think his tinted-glasses and leather jacket are uber cool, I know his cool guy image can be annoying. I usually get annoyed by celebrities that use their status as a platform for whatever cause they choose to support because really, I don't care if their one-million-square-foot home is completely green and they own ten hybrid cars. It nauseates me. While I'm sure Bono is as big of a hypocrite as any other human, I do respect him for the work he has done on things such as the One campaign. From interviews I've read I think it's obvious where his passion for justice and unity come from. But, Bono is not why U2 is a sign post band for me. Yes, part of their sign post status does come from the plethora of biblical allusion and general themes of hope, redemption, and reconciliation that their lyrics offer. However, last night it wasn't about that. Sitting among thousands of people with music pounding throughout my body awakened that yearning for God and the reminder that He is working in our world. The reminder that He is a God that pursues us and sets us free. Maybe part of it was being in a stadium of over 70,000 people from all walks of life with all different stories, all singing "Amazing Grace." Did they all believe what they were singing? Nope. But someday. Someday, all will be made right. Someday there will be no injustice or hurt or pain or tears. Someday all knees will bow before my Jesus. Someday...

As I said, we were in the nose-bleed section of the stadium, so some of these pictures are taken by my friend, Rob Chestnut, who was lucky enough to be close enough to feel Bono's sweat drip from his leather jacket. Ridiculous.

Silver Bullets

Since I've never blogged about it before, I thought I'd share about getting pregnant with Emma (Don't worry, I'll spare you the details, haha). I ran out of birth control on a Saturday and wasn't supposed to get any refills without approval from the doctor's office, which unfortunately was closed on the weekend. So, Matt said, "Eh, why don't we just go off them." That was it. No big discussion. No anything because the next time my period came around, it didn't actually come.

Just. Like. That.

I mean, come on. Isn't it supposed to take a little effort at least? I had a dollar store pregnancy test that I had gotten from my bachelorette party two years previous that I decided to take. Imagine my surprise when there were two distinct lines. I remember freaking out a bit and calling my friend Nikki who was a new mother. I mean, what was I supposed to do?? Um, maybe call my husband. So, I called Matt at work and told him he should come home at lunch. I wanted to take a non-dollar store test, just to be sure. I bought a test and waited until Matt arrived home to take it. I did my business and promptly left the test on the bathroom counter. We were pretty sure it was going to be negative. I mean, a dollar store test gave me a positive, but there was no way we could actually be pregnant. Right? A couple minutes later I returned to check it out (Matt wouldn't). Sure enough, two distinct lines. That's when we had our "oh blankety blank" moment. We stared at each other for looong time. I seriously felt like a fifteen year old girl that had just found out that she was knocked up. I mean, I understood how it happened but just didn't really think it would happen. We were thrilled, eventually, but it took some time to get used to the idea. I mean, I had a little alien growing inside of me. At least that's how it initially felt. Of course, we can't imagine it any other way and were thrilled when Emma entered our lives.

Fast forward to now.

Matt and I had been toying with the idea of another kid. According to our timeline, it was prime-time. Was I ready? Nope. I love my life right now. I really have it made. I stay at home with Em and am surrounded by great friends that also stay home. We're literally always doing something fun. I'm finally at my pre-baby weight too. It feels so good to be back in shape and active. But, we knew we wanted a couple more kids, and a two year age difference seemed like a good idea. We decided to not-prevent. I knew what that meant, but at the same time I also knew that lots of people get pregnant right away the first time and then not so much the next time. Riiiiight. Two months ago we not-prevented (though I was out of town during the "window") and last month on the day of my period I counted out fourteen days. I told him during that ovulation window he'd get one try. Yup. One freaking try during ovulation.

This time I totally knew and started taking tests way too early, thinking that maybe I was off on when I was ovulating anyway. Nope. Saturday morning I was sitting around in D.C. with my girlfriends and took a test.

Two. Distinct. Lines.

Holy frickety-frick-frick. Once again, I was that fifteen year old girl, and again, I had to call my baby daddy to tell him I was preggo. Crraaazzzyy.

Yes, I realize that it is very early to announce this to the world, but that's okay with me. It's kind of one of those things that's our decision. So, as long as everything goes well, Baby #2 will make his/her grand entrance mid-June!!! Yeeaaayyy!