Where were you?

9/11....

I always remember 9/11 with sadness, and I'm still in shock that this happened to our country. For me, it's a bit surreal because I wasn't actually IN the U.S. when it happened. I was in London on a study abroad semester in my junior year of college. I still remember like it was yesterday.

I had just left the Museum of London after a really nice morning just walking around and learning about the the fascinating new city I was now living in. I remember sitting quietly in the courtyard of the museum just enjoying my surroundings and not having a care in the world. I was alone, and I wasn't afraid at all. 

I left the museum after picking up a few presents for people back home and started walking toward the tube. Looking back, it seems like people were in a little more of a tizzy than normal for the streets of London, but I didn't seem to notice at the time. I got on the tube (or subway if you will) and began my short ride back to our flat. I remember looking across the seat from myself at a man reading the paper, and I remember seeing the twin towers on the front page. It looked like they were on fire, but I dismissed it as one of those Enquirer "end of the world" scenarios that trashy magazines use to scare people.

As I exited the stairs leading out of the tube I was stopped by an older woman in casual business clothes. She asked, "Are you American?". I was taught to answer this question hesitantly because people in foreign countries (even England) don't always take kindly to Americans. She looked fairly harmless, so I said, "Yes, I am." She quickly asked me if I knew about what had happened in the States and I said that I didn't. I quickly found the nearest newspaper stand (which is never far away on London streets) and read it for myself...two hijacked planes had flown into the World Trade Centers.

I learned later that there were two other planes, one that crashed into the Pentagon and one that crashed into a field because the passengers fought back.

There is no place like home when tragedy strikes, but I was so thankful to  be in the UK if I could not be in the U.S. when 9/11 happened. It felt, and still feels like a piece of home to me.

Bad blogger...bad

So it's been um....FOREVER since my last blog. Here's what you missed:

I have a new nephew! My brother and his wife just had their first little boy, Logan John, who is (apart from my own) the CUTEST little baby in the world. He has a full head of thick black hair! He is such a little peanut and I miss him terribly. 

Cody started preschool yesterday! As I suspected, I struggled with this transition wayyy more than he did. I was telling a friend that I had chest pains driving out of the parking lot...literally. I think I was having a panic attack. Most people tell me I'll be fine and that it'll be good to have some time alone with Tyler, my youngest. That's how it goes in my own head too. But my heart! Everything inside me was screaming! I've never left him alone ANYWHERE other than at my house with a babysitter! He has two teachers to a class of about 12 kids, but still, 4 eyes can only watch so much at one time! :) No, Miss Sara and Miss Katherine seem lovely and judging by the grin on his face at the end of his time there, he was a VERY happy little boy. It would've been nice if he'd cried...just a little...to let me know he would miss me. Oh well...can't have your cake and eat it too.

Tyler is a big bully. I swear. My youngest child is a little devil! I felt so bad for Cody (who pound for pound could do some serious damage to his little brother) the other day. Cody had just built a beautiful train track in his play area and was playing contentedly (and quietly!) when his little brother came in and proceeded to tear up the entire track! I could hear him saying, "NO, TY, NOOOO!" from the kitchen. Cody has been warned that if he ever lays a FINGER on Tyler other than for a hug he will be in big trouble, so "NO, TY, NOOOO!" has been his battle cry whenever little brother gets too close for comfort. I came in to find Cody almost in tears and Tyler looking MORE than satisfied with himself. Tyler got put in his pack and play in the other room while I helped salvage what was left of Cody's track. I explained to Cody that his brother doesn't understand that he worked hard to make his track, even though I wasn't entirely convinced of that myself. :)

 

xoxo

Split Personalities

I have split personalities...I discovered it tonight at Parent Night for Cody's new preschool.

Personality A: Talk about anxiety. I am waaaay too reluctant to be doing this! When did my baby grow up? I can't believe he's going to be going somewhere WITHOUT ME! If I could have my way he'd live with me until he's 40...although that probably wouldn't bode well for him in the wife seeking department. I was seriously almost in tears as his sweet new teacher was talking about the carpool line. Just the fact that I drop him off and don't walk him in every time is stressing me out! Sure, I'll drop my heart off at the curb and drive away! :( At least I still have little Tyler to keep me occupied so I'm not sitting at home weeping for my firstborn!

Personality B: Woo hoo! When can the other one go??? :)

xoxo

When plans go awry

My fun trip to Florida to visit my new baby nephew in the midst of Tropical Storm Fay....

The Plan: 

- Get up at 6:00, shower, dress, finish packing toiletries, diaper bag, fun bag for the plane, food for the plane, juice for the plane, nanny for the plane (haha, IF ONLY!), try to leave no later than 7:00

- Get boys out of bed, dressed, hair brushed, fed, teeth brushed, shoes on, clean diapers, juice cups full

- Let dog out to pee before leaving for the day

- Keep an eye on airline website to be sure flight isn't cancelled at the last minute, because airline is not entirely reliable (go Spirit!)

- Try to get myself psyched up to go through the airport (check-in, security, the train, etc.) by myself with both kids and sit on a plane for 2 hours with a baby who has been trying to give up his morning nap!

What happened:

- Woke up at 6:30 sending myself into panic mode trying to get all of the above done

- Forgot to let poor dog out to go to the bathroom after being in her crate all night (she would've had to stay in the crate all day until Mike got home from work this afternoon!)

- Rushed out the door at 7:15am only to get to the highway and realize I wasn't going to make it to the airport due to HORRIBLE Atlanta traffic. It took us 45 minutes to to 4 miles! (Funny side note: Mike turned on the radio to hear the traffic report and the guy on the radio says, "I'm up here in the chopper and this is by far the worst day of traffic I've seen in some time....it's a real mess out there!") Not only did I take the chance that my flight would be cancelled because of the storm and I'd possibly be stuck at the airport waiting for the next one, now I was running the possibility of losing my reservation altogether because I wouldn't make it in time!

God is good...

- Called Spirit en route to the airport in crawling traffic with my heart in my throat. I have had MANY bad experiences flying Spirit...but I still fly with them because I can't beat their prices! You get what you pay for, most of the time. An airline that does not, or should I say, should not, pride themselves on customer service really surprised me! I actually got through to a representative and she was very helpful and accommodating. I was able to change my flight to the same time tomorrow!

- Dropped Mike off at work and came home to a very grateful dog :)

Now I get to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again! At least I'm already packed....

xoxo

Why I love/hate McDonald's

One reason: THE COKE

Hi, my name is Beth and I'm a Coke addict. Seriously, I have a disease. How is it that just one sip of a McDonald's coke can bring my world back into harmony? For some people it's drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, coffee, whatever...but for me it is that gloriously carbonated, crazy caffeinated, high fructose corn syrup filled, lovely, icy beverage from McDonald's. Theirs just tastes the best to me.

You know what my version of hell is? Diet Coke. I HATE when I order a REGULAR coke, and they give me DIET. And not only that, but I'm halfway out the drive thru with both kids in the car before I taste it...and it's freakin' diet. Then I have to decide...do I park the car and haul both kids into the place to get it right? Do I go back through long line at the drive thru? Do I have time to actually do this and still make it wherever I'm trying to go? A rational person would just keep driving and not drink it. I, however, have a mini panic attack trying to figure out how to right this MAJOR wrong. They do it ALL the time at my McDonald's...and that is why this is a love/hate relationship.

In all relationships you learn something...

My lesson learned? Drink the coke BEFORE you pull away and make sure it's right.

xoxo

(This post is dedicated to my good friend Christy...who knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about)

I'm so tired...I can't sleep

By all accounts I should be in bed by now. My kids are sleeping, my husband is sleeping (and snoring, I might add), my dog is sleeping...and here I am. BLOGGING. Is it possible to be so tired you can't sleep? I think my problem is that once everything is actually quiet in my house, my brain gets loud. I start thinking about all the stuff I would probably think about if I had a moment to myself during the day. I used to do this thinking in the shower, but...(see previous post).

So, for the sake of getting it out of my head so maybe I can get some sleep, here are my LOUD thoughts right now:

- Tomorrow I have to make/deliver a meal, buy a birthday present for a party we're attending in the afternoon, get Cody's haircut so I don't look like I neglect my child to all the other parents that I won't know at this party, track a tropical storm that is now threatening my vacation to Florida on Tuesday, and wrap my mind around packing for said vacation that could possibly be cancelled...or at least delayed.

That should do it for now...

xoxo

My First Blog!

If you're like me, (a sleep deprived mom who does virtually the same things every day) sometimes you just need a distraction from the insanity.

Welcome to  my distraction :)

Some time ago I saw a woman on Oprah who had written a book entitled, Eat, Pray, Love. She had travelled to all these exotic places on a journey of self discovery. It struck me as a huge reminder:

Eat - I usually am so caught up in feeding my own kids that I forget to feed myself (you would think I'd be a lot thinner by now, but HAHA I'm not).

Pray - Let's be honest, we ALL could find more time in our day to do this

Love - The love I have for my family is unconditional, but I want to be more intentional about loving other people the same way. 

I'd have to add one more thing if I were writing this book myself. My book would be entitled, Eat, Pray, Love, and Don't Forget to Shower.

I'm not one of those moms who has ever mastered "crying it out". I'm always worried that my child might be crying because he's sick, or scared, or dangling by a limb from his crib. I'm a big worrier. I will usually only last 10 minutes before going in to check on him. Therefore, my children have never mastered sleeping. They wake up at ungodly hours...2am...5am...you get my drift. This makes it difficult for me to a) have a decent night's sleep and b) get up early enough to take a shower. I usually end up showering at night after my kids have (FINALLY) gone to sleep. However, lately I've been so exhausted that I often forget to even shower. I just go to bed! I know, judge me if you will...I'm disgusting, but I dare say it does happen.

So to all you mommies out there: EAT, PRAY, LOVE.....AND DON'T FORGET TO SHOWER!

xoxo