A Date at Home

The husband was able to come home for the weekend!

After two weeks apart the girls were excited to see him, and so was I. It true what they say that, "absence makes the heart grow fonder." I definitely appreciate my man more when I don't get to be with him every day. 

He drove in  late on Friday night, and I was just barely able to stay awake to greet him. Magpie went to bed making me promise that her daddy would check on her, and if course he obliged. 

They were so glad to find him home when they woke the next morning. After an easy morning at home we headed out to run some errands and play at the mall playground. 

I had a special date planned and couldn't wait to put the kids to bed. All the materials needed were: 

1. Inflatable pool

2. Pillows and blankets

3. Hot Chocolate for 2 ( or beverage of your choice) 

4. Twinkle lights (optional)

I was able to get a large pool at Walmart for only $5 due to the off season. I thought long and hard about how I could see it up with out being seen, but a little home and a large inflatable pool didn't mix well. So I spent twenty minutes during the girls nap inflating the pool with our air mattess pump. 

They were so excited to see it waiting downstairs when they woke and played for a long time in and out of it with their Daddy. 

After dinner, baths and bedtime I sent my husband on an important errand. To retrieve a peppermint hot chocolate. 

It's pretty unusual for the homebody in a to leave the house in the evening, especially after the girls are in bed, but he acquiesced and I quickly got to work. 

I set up our new pool on the back patio and filled it with pillows and blankets (be sure to add extra padding to sit on...concrete can be very unforgiving to the back side.) I strung twinkle lights across our drill that was behind our head in attempt for romantic ambience. 

My plan was perfect in my head, but reality is never quite interested in my plans. El Bell decided to fight sleep for over an hour with tears and fits. Then, I got the call that the hot chocolate machine was down! Horrors! 

I quickly threw together some warm Ovaltine in a plan B effort (gag). Unawares to me, my hubby stopped one more place and brought home some instant hot cocoa. Sweet man. 

When we finally got the kiddo to bed, we snuggled in our pool looking at the stars and day dreaming about our life and the decisions that will be in front of us before long. 

We don't have it all figured out yet, but those couple hours of solitude, just my love and I, seemed to recharge the marital battery that drains so quickly when faced with separation. 

Date Total Cost: $8

Time with my husband: ( you know what I'm going to say...)PRICELESS ;) 

Single Mom for a Season

It has been a week. 

My prince moved to Kentucky to start his incredible new job, leaving behind the girls and I until our house can be sold. 

I'm understanding the method of "praying without ceasing." My petition is on my lips all day, requesting that His timing for my house to sell be as close as possible to my time, which is of course yesterday. I keep thinking though, there is a reason we are still here and not together as a family, and if there are things I need to be doing or changing, lessons I need to be learning I'm doing my best to figure it out. 

While we wait, and I try my hand at being a single mom. Obviously, my hat is off to the real single mothers out to there. Seems like the days are longer than I remembered, especially the hours from dinner to bedtime. 

We have been keepng busy with daily trips to the gym, the mall, or the outdoor shopping area. 

Thankful for my girls and this time together, but continuing to pray that this season will be short. 

Stranded...

Every Monday I have big plans. 

I'm going to do better with my diet.

I'm going to keep up with my laundry.

I'm going to watch less Hulu and spend more time with the girls.

I'm going to the gym EVERYDAY!

Yesterday was no different. I had told Scott the afternoon before my workout plans for the week. Zumba followed by a mile on the track. I had been running 5ks before finding out I was pregnant with Levi and I really want to get back to that. So, my plan is to start slow and work my way back up there, hoping that it doesn't take the two months it took to get me there. Then I happily sent him on his way to pick up dinner and a cupcake. It was after all only Sunday and the diet thing always starts on Monday, duh!

On the way home, our van experienced some electrical issues that it had been having trouble with, so my hubby pulled into a gas station with the girls in tow to restart the van and work out the electrical kinks. However, when he attempted to start it again, the dear van decided it wasn't going to start. At all. 

So, after hours of work by my incredible father-in-law, who dropped everything and drove the hour to get to us to help, our van was towed to a dealership and my Monday plans flew out the window. (Along with lots of money to fix the dumb thing!)

Because my plans for exercise were gone, I'd decided to make the best of the rest of the plans and started the morning with a bowl of Multi-grain Cheerios. Check! Eat healthier, done.

With laundry in progress I decided to take my girls out for a walk. Something we never do, because, well, because I just don't like to. My girls however, love outside so this was me spending time with them. I worried about cars coming and the girls stopping or coming back to me when I directed them to, but this was all for naught. They did incredibly! 

We saw so much nature. Including a dead log and rock that Maggie told me, "Mom, these are just like toys! I want to stay and play here forever, and ever, and ever." We saw fire hydrants and spelled out "water" and "STOP" several times. (Practicing the old ABC's, you know.) We heard dogs that sound like wolves, birds that sound like geese, and Jeeps that sound like Semitrucks. 

The rest of the day the girls played so well together. They usually wake up from their nap asking for the other, and always greet each other with a kiss and hug. It's terribly sweet. We had a great time playing puzzles, cleaning the house, making lunch, playing princesses. It was a great day. 

Then we got the mail. The hospital had sent its bill for my recent stay. Our co pay for labor and delivery stays is only $100. So it wasn't the bill itself, but rather the reminder of the fact I had a baby a month ago, and didn't get to bring him home. 

Most days I do pretty well. I can see God's grace on my life, despite hardships and trouble that ensue. Then unexpected things happen and I'm sad all over again. I let myself be for a bit, and I think that's okay. 

Then I counted my blessings. Among them being these two beauties.

I'm taking the challenge set out by Ashley Ann from Under the Sycamore to #embracethecamera. Instead of worrying about my hair, double chin or outfit, I choose to be present with my girls and document the memories we make. Today's challenge was Smiles. Obviously, smiles are tough to elicit at the same time from these two, but I love the moments we made while sitting in the kitchen sink watching for Daddy to come home.

A Day at the Zoo

After our stay in the hospital the girls and I travelled to my parents house in Kentucky. We had planned the visit months in advance for the following week, but decided getting away from home for an extra week of resting would be good. While we were there we were able to spend time with the whole family save my brother. He's busy serving his country in the corn state of Nebraska. We also got to celebrate the upcoming birthday of my sweet little niece, Charlotte. The day found us headed to the zoo.

Mommy and her girls...with LOTS of pumpkins

We woke with a 60% chance of rain and the debate of cancelling or following through. We decided to forge ahead and made the drive. We got there with cloudy skies, but thankfully no rain fall.


We could tell when Magpie saw the giraffes for the first time when we heard the elated squeal. We were given the chance to feed the giraffe by paying a dollar. We were given a little cup and the giraffe eats it. My terrified of all things with fur little girl actually held the cup longer than I thought. Regardless of how long it lasted and how much of the poor giraffes food landed on the floor, it can be said that she has fed a giraffe.

 

Mag Pie feeding her Giraffe   

We saw wart hogs rooting, rhinos cuddling, elephants eating, lions mating (and boy did she pass out when it was finished) hippos swimming, bears pacing, and tiger sitting. As we left the African Safari section the bottom fell out and the rains began.

 Watching the Baby Hippo swim

The girls were not to keen on the goats

Sweet Sissies riding an elephant statue

El Bell loved picking up leaves, and sharing them with birds.

Checking out the giraffes.

 Looking at the cuddling Rhino.

Safari Cousins 

Poppy & GirlsCharlotte Poo and mommy

                               Maggie Riding the Rhino

We rushed to our car, but not without a quick stop at the gift shop, and a photo op with Poppy and the grand kids. It was a fun day, though quicker and wetter than we would have liked.