Holiday drama already?

So our family doesn't have the best record when it comes to holidays. Without fail, one (or both) sets of parents feels shortchanged, and Josh and I are run completely ragged. We go back and forth between J's parents and my mom's house so many times, we wear grooves in the pavement. Don't even get me started on trying to see my dad and step mom.

But that's Christmas. Thanksgiving is different. When I started working at The Salvation Army, I always had to work on Thanksgiving Day, so that meant Josh and I stayed here. My mom and little brother always come up, and once J's parents and sister even came. It worked for us. At least we got one holiday that we enjoyed. Well, Josh broke it to me last night that we're going to San Antonio for T-day this year. Did he ask me? No, he TOLD me. Yeah, I was not a happy wife. Here's our conversation:

Me: We should run the turkey trot on Thanksgiving

J:Yeah, I'm sure they have one in San Antonio

Me: What does that have to do with anything?

J: Oh, we're going down there this year.

Me: Huh?

J: Yeah, mom and dad sent an email saying that they're staying there, and anyone who wants to is welcome to come to them.

Me: Huh? Didn't you invite them up here?

J: Yeah, I guess they didn't want to come.

Me: Huh?

J: What?

Me: I gotta go running before I explode...see ya.

Seriously, I feel like my world is upside down. For those of you who don't know, I'm a planner. I like to have my calendar written out months in advance. I don't like surprises. Now, to be fair to Josh, he just wants to see his family for a holiday. We won't be with them for Xmas since we're going to a cabin in New Mexico (side note: we invited them to accompany us, but they declined). But seriously, why can't his parents come here? We invite them up here multiple times a year, and they probably come twice. It's not like he has several other siblings who would be left with no place to go if his parents came here. He has one sister, and we invited her too. Now I have to break it to my mom that we will not be spending Thanksgiving with her like we usually do. I hate breaking bad news to people (especially my mom). She really doesn't have any other family, so I don't know what she'll do for Thanksgiving now. Ugh.

Oh, and on top of that, I have to work until 9: 30 pm the Wed. night before T-day, so we'll either get to SA in the middle of the night, or have to leave Thanksgiving morning. I also have to work the Saturday after, so that leaves us fewer than 48 hours before we have to load the kids and dog back up and go home. Now that I think about it, maybe that's a good thing...

Kidless for a day

So my kidless weekend was AMAZING. We shopped, we ate, we shopped some more...then we ate some more. Unfortunately, my sleep wasn't much better than it is at home, thanks to a serious thunderstorm and a phone call at 7 am. That's okay though, who needs sleep anyway?

Josh ended up taking the girls to his parent's while I was gone. Wuss. I'm sure my in-laws were ecstatic that they got to see the kids while I wasn't around. I was a little worried about how Avery would do in a strange place without me, but apparently she didn't even notice I was gone. Nice.

I had such an amazing time, we've decided that we should have a weekend like this at least every 3 months. Surprisingly, Josh agrees. Yay!

Now we begin our crazy fall schedule...at last look, we have exactly 1 free weekend from now until Thanksgiving....yikes!

You do the math

My job is wearing me out.

"Job?" You say, "don't you just stay at home with your kids?"

Yes, I do. And let me assure you, that IS a job. It's not a sit on the couch and watch Oprah kind of job, either. Do you know how many times a day I get to sit down for more than 5 minutes at a time? I actually counted today, because I knew my readers would want to know. 4. That's right, FOUR. And, in case you were wondering, those 4 times were in the car. When I was in my house, I never sat down for more than 5 minutes. Not even at lunch. Oh, wait, I didn't eat lunch today.

Now that the kids are in bed, I'm actually sitting down, and I've had a little time to crunch a few numbers. My kids get up around 6:30 am. They go to bed at 7:30 p.m. That's 13 hours of awake time. For 11.5 hours, I am their sole caregiver. That's 57.5 hours/week that I'm by myself at my job. For the other 33.5 hours during the week that my kids are awake, I have assistance from Josh, but I'm still at work. Add it all up, and I'm at work for at least 91 hours a week. That doesn't include any nightwakings that might occur (which have been happening all too frequently lately!) No wonder I'm worn out!

Over the weekend, I realized that I need a break. I cannot be the mom and wife that I want to be unless I take care of myself and get some "me" time every now and then. I've been blaming Josh for not ever giving me time away from the kids, but really, a lot of it is my fault. I have this incredible guilt complex that attacks me whenever I even consider doing something for myself. Most of the time it stops me in my tracks and I just stay at home. Then when Josh takes time for himself, I completely resent him for it. Not good for anyone.

So...drumroll, please....I'm going away this weekend! Without my kids! Or my husband! I'm meeting my mom in Austin to shop and relax. I can't wait! Mom and I have been talking about a trip like this since Kate was a baby, and now we're finally going! And best of all, I'm not feeling guilty about. Okay, maybe a little, but I'm going anyway. Josh has NEVER been by himself with the girls for more than a few hours, so this will be an adventure for us all!

Little mommies

Us

My kids are great. They're cute, sweet, precocious, amazing...you get the idea. And that's why this blog is mainly about them. But today, I'm going to leave all the cute things the kids have done this week to your imagination and focus on my other love....my husband. Sometimes in the craziness of kids, work, house, friends, etc., I lose focus on how I got here in the first place.

Josh and I actually went to the same school starting in 6th grade, but we didn't meet until our senior year. We started dating 5 months before we graduated. At the time, he was planning on going to Texas Tech, and I already had a dorm and roommate secured at A&M. We were going to try to make the long-distance thing work, but I wasn't sure how. Then I decided to change my major...and it just so happened that Tech had a much better program than A&M, so a Red Raider I became! (On a side note, I dropped out of that program 2 semesters in!)

To make a long story short, we dated through college, and Josh proposed to me on the way home to SA for Thanksgiving about a month before we graduated. We got married 9 months later, moved to Fort Worth, bought a house, got a dog, had a kid, had another kid, and that brings us to today.

There it is...an abridged version of us. We have basically grown up together. We've gone from being 17-year-olds who knew nothing, to 30-year-olds who know a little bit, but still have a long way to go. I have learned a few things in the last 13 years though...being married to a kind, Godly man is what every girl deserves, and I'm so grateful that God brought Josh and me together.

Things I love about Josh:
-He loves God and is teaching our kids to love God.
-He is an AMAZING daddy.
-He doesn't care what other people think about him.
-When he sets his mind to something, he doesn't stop until it gets done.
-He's a great provider and works hard so I can stay at home with the girls.
-He loves coffee almost as much as I do.
-He doesn't care if I cook dinner every night.
-He tells me I look beautiful, even when my hair is frizzy and I have a big zit on my nose.
-He takes over with the girls in the evenings so I can go do things by myself.
-He occasionally watches chick flicks with me (don't tell him I told you!)
-He puts up with my HGTV obsession.

There. Now, if I ever complain about him on this blog, you'll have to remember that you read this and I really do love him.....even if he does drive me crazy on occasion!

This is from a couple of years ago, but it's the most recent picture I have of just the two of us...guess we should be better about picture-taking!

Happy Birthday, Avery!

A year and 2 days ago, we met this beautiful face:
Amazing how things change in a year!

I cannot believe that my sweet baby is already a year old. She's not a baby anymore--she walks all over the place, is starting to talk (her favorite word is "NO!") and is a girl who most definitely knows what she wants and isn't the least bit afraid to scream until she gets it!

This little girl is so full of life and personality--it's crazy to think that just 12 months ago all she did was eat, sleep and poop. I can't even remember what our lives were like without her, it's like she's always been here. It's such a joy to watch her learn and grow every day.

Fun facts about Avery:
-Started walking about a month ago, and hasn't looked back since!
-Has about 5 words (mama, dada, kate, dog, no)
-Still only has two teeth, but that doesn't stop her from eating everything in sight!
-NEVER sits still. We have kissed our days of eating out goodbye for now, it's not worth it to fight with Avery the whole time!)
-Is obsessed with dolls. Walks around holding them to her chest and "shushing" them. It's pretty much the cutest thing I've ever seen.
-Is pretty rough & tumble. She got a black eye the other day, and barely even flinched.
-LOVES her sister and wants to do everything Kate does. Kate is pretty tolerant of this, surprisingly.
-Still has pretty bad stranger anxiety. I haven't gotten to sit through a whole church service in months b/c the nursery has to call me to come get her after about 15 minutes of crying :(
-Is a complete mama's girl, and I love it!

We had her birthday party today, but I don't have the energy to write about it right now. Maybe tomorrow....

Ahem...

It has been called to my attention that my blog has been sorely neglected this summer. I don't know why, but sometimes I get in writing funks. The last time I blogged was right after K's bday. Here's a quick rundown on what has happened in my life since then:

• I turned 30 ( I was in denial that this would actually occur, but when I woke up on July 18th, my 20's had jumped ship)
• Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary. Crazy. We have a severe lack of babysitters, so we ordered Chinese takeout and drank wine after the girls went to bed.
• We took our first vacation as a family of 4. Stayed at Josh's aunt's AMAZING condo in Port Aransas. Seriously, this place was 10 times nicer than my house. And it's only used a handful of times a year! The vacation deserves a post of its own--stay tuned!
• And last, but not least....Kate started pre-school today!!

Look at her--she's practically a grown-up! I think I was more nervous than Kate about school starting. I mean, how would she survive without me for 5 hours? She needs me, right? Right? The kid practically jumped into the car this morning and barely looked up from her blocks when I left her at school. To say the first day was a success is an understatement. She LOVED it. It helps that one of my best friends is her teacher, so she felt pretty comfortable there.

People kept asking me if I cried when I dropped her off. I think I probably would have, if it weren't for Avery screaming the entire way home because she was mad that I didnt' leave her there with Kate. She provided a nice distraction from my sadness that my first baby is growing up. I do have to say though, it was nice having some 1:1 time with Avery. She never gets any mommy time, so I think this will be good for all of us!