Watch out for the paparazzi and swimming with a cat

We recently went swimming at my mom's for an end of the summer hurrah.

I'd show you pics of me, mobbed by my children (seriously- they were in my arms AND hanging on my back) but I might blind you with my milky white skin shining in the sun. SERIOUSLY- a dark tinted shade of sunglasses in necessary when viewing those pics! Geesh- when did I get so white??

Anyway, this is not a post about my own personal fear of the sun... hehe... but rather one of my babes... the littles.

This was a first for them.

First dip in a big, deep end kind of pool.

First life jacket experience.

First splashes in the face by crazy siblings.

But- it was fun. For one of them anyway.

Bud LOVES the water. In fact, he goes face first in the bathtub nearly every time he bathes.
Daisy is his polar opposite. She will tolerate a bath as long as she is upright and can see what's happening. The minute you try to lay her back- she looses it.

The pool was much the same experience. She reminded me of a cat clinging to me or trying to crawl up the front of me to dry land. It was crazy! Finally, after much persistence on my part, she relaxed a bit and let me hug her tight on my hip, but the minute I would loosen my grip, the cat like tendencies would take over.

(now I know you have a mental image of me, milky white, blinding my children as they clamor all over me in a large pool, while my youngest, aka Kitty, claws her way up my chest. Sounds like fun doesn't it?)

Well, we finally put an end to the littles swimming and then the real fun started. Puddin went C to the R to the AZY in the water! That girl was FEARLESS!!! She'd shout, "here comes danger!" as she'd catapult herself down the slide. Normally, my first born is very mild mannered, shy and laid back... not that day!

The Monkey's had a great time and eventually got off the steps.

But, what I haven't shared is that one of my oldest besties came with her kiddos for the swim too. We had so much fun!!!

Here are a few "pre-swim" pics I can share of my littles. Try as I might, I could not get a picture of Daisy looking at me. She was in disguise I guesss... avoiding the paparrazi! She really is a little diva-esque at times.

Bud answering my phone, "It's for you!"

Daisy adjusting Bud's straps... safety first!


Are you sure about this??

Let's go for it!

I love these two! Just precious! Firsts are so fun!!

Camping- Flowers' Style Mississippi Bound

We decided to add a mini vacation to our summer fun. We really wanted to go see my Nanny who has recently moved back to Mississippi and I was missing her pretty bad. Not only is my Nanny in Mississippi but my dad, step mom, sister, lots of aunts, uncles and cousins too. In fact, nearly all of my family lives there. So we bit the bullet and decided to give it a whirl.

Now, I don't camp. I've only had 1 prior experience with camping and lets just say- it wasn't fun. So for me camping it equals the Comfort Inn Suites, and late one afternoon, I booked us a room. I did make sure it had 2 beds and this one came with a "sitting area". I also had to make sure it had a microwave and refrigerator because I had to feed my children. Last I checked, Nestle Goodstart Soy based formula did not come from room service.

Anyway, Next on the list... packing. Oh my!! What a job. Remember that little day trip I took to Pulaski?? Well, here's what my van looked like after a day of packing everything for this trip.

Because of my superior packing skills and the sheer fact that I have had TONS of practice, not only did I fit 5 children, 2 adults, a cooler for drinks, a bag of snack, a bag of toys for each child, clothing for 3-4 days, and diapers but I also included a bumbo seat, bathing suits, a travel swing, video camera, humidifier, portable cd player, sound machine, and a high chair as well as a table and 3 chairs, a laptop and a few other things. Ya'll, it.was.packed.

After we finished getting everything in the van and everyone finally out of the door to our home, we were only running an hour late. But- we were in need of an oil change and I insisted we do that before we hit the road. So after that we finally began our journey.

Surprisingly, we made really good time and the kids did fantastic driving down there. Hubby and I were pleasantly surprised! Once we made it to Mississippi we checked in our room and set up shop... unpacked. I'm sure we looked like were piling out of a clown car!!!

We let the babies stretch out

fed the kids lunch

put a few things away and explored our new environment

did a dance number or two and changed clothes,


and headed to see Nanny...

More on that tomorrow!

Over the river and through the woods to grandmother's Nana's house we go! Seriously!

Recently we added a trip to Nana and Papa's house as part of Staycation '09.

Unfortunately, Hubby had to work so it was just me and the crew for this trip.

While seeing family is always fun, anything over 45 minutes becomes, well, HARD.
30-40 minutes is great though! I get some peace and quiet and a relaxing drive, the kids chill and watch a movie. It's all good. Throw in an extra 10 minutes and- watch out!

If I have to drive farther than that, it becomes a day trip. Because it the land of many little ones, a 45 minute drive quickly becomes an hour drive, which quickly become an hour and a half and then 2 hours, etc... You get the picture.

Our last trip to Pulaski, which used to take 1 hour and 15 minutes, took 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Yes.it.did.

Now, that is not 2 hours and 10 minutes of joyous, happy, good times and fun....as my 3 "big kids" would say, "no way!"

That was a hard, hard 2 hours and 10 minutes that was topped off with car sickness, diaper blow outs and a screaming roll down a ravine due to fear of an overly spastic beast my parents lovingly refer to as "Molly" the dog.

Good times!
I know you soooo want to take a road trip with us!
So sorry, there are no available seats in our Odyssey!
After all of that- it looked like I may never try the trip again. Until Nana convinced me otherwise.

So, I put on a brave face, sucked it up and started packing- for a DAY trip! I had soooo much stuff to take!

the stuff

Once we got there I had another challenge. The swimming pool.
Ya'll, let me just say that large, small, whatever- any body of water around my children seriously scares me. Seriously!
I am waaayyy outnumbered and they are fearless.

They have this crazy ability to make each other BRAVER, so even if they were scared at first- they won't be as soon as one of them starts to show an ounce of bravery.

My mom was going to help in the pool but due to plumbing problems she had to play handy man for the day. It actually worked out pretty good for the babies. They got to hang out with Nana in the house and got a nap in too.

my sweet, sleepy babies

That left me and 3 crazy excited children with a large body of water.
What a workout! Puddin took swim lessons this summer and is fascinated by mermaids so she was feeling pretty confident. Well, that was all it took. That and the slide that was recently installed in the pool.

oh.my.word.

My nerves were shot.

Thankfully, I had purchased all 3 kiddos suits at the beginning of the summer with attached life vests. I felt a little guilty about it up until the 1st one hit the water.

Yes, hit the water. (after, of course, a little nose picking!)UGH!

Monkey See

Puddin

Monkey Do

They were just jumping in like nobody's business! I was scooping them out as soon as they'd hit the water cause another one was following quickly behind! I had a regular assembly line going. I kept saying, "WAIT! You can not swim!"

After a while they started to slow down(that's when I was able to take these pictures!). I guess being water logged will do that to you. Then Monkey See let out the loudest burp I have heard in all my life!! I guess it's from ingesting all that water and air. After they slowed down a bit I could enjoy it( the pool and fun with the kiddos- not the burp), a little, sort of.

Puddin realized her suit had floaties in it and wanted to practice her "mmmm's" like Mrs. Laura taught her in swim practice.

So she did.

Then she remembered she was supposed to kick her legs.

So she did.

Then, she realized she was "swimming" in the water by herself and she was ecstatic!

She was really doggie paddling and being held up by her life vest but she could go from one end of the pool to the other on her own! I sat on the steps with the Monkeys and watched her cross back and forth, back and forth. Once more milestone for my baby girl! I was feeling a little teary until Monkey See decided he could do it too, and just like that, he was off the steps following his big sister. I know the days ahead holds so many more of these moments- it's kind of bitter sweet.

Anyway, the Monkey's needed a lot more assistance than Puddin but they did pretty good for 2 boys that have never been in anything deeper than a bathtub. Seriously.

They would be treading water pretty good and then would get nervous and flip face down so I'd have to flip them back over. They certainly weren't scared. I guess that's a good and bad thing.

They will definitely be joining their sister next year in swim lessons though. That's a guarantee!






So after all the fun in the pool, we went in, got cleaned up, had lunch, played with cousin G for a while and then it was time to repack and head for home to see Hubby. Oh, how I missed him!

Now, I had to drive through torrential rain storms to get home. Seriously!

It took at least 2 hours to get home. Thankfully, my sweet hubby had stopped and picked up a pizza on his way home so we had a hot dinner waiting for us. We unloaded the van, ate dinner and sent 5 exhausted little ones off to bed. Ahhhhh! What a busy, fun filled, water logged day!

I had conquered my fears, so to speak, and made it through a day I just knew I would not enjoy. And I did have fun with my kids in a swimming pool. having fun wasn't ever really the issue. I really was truly scared of what could happen. I had to be very alert and ready for those kids at all times. Just watching their every move was exhausting, never mind the scooping! I made sure I had bathed them in prayer and then I had to do what I know I will have to do many times again- let go. That is soooo hard sometimes.

Puddin's final words before bedtime??...

"Momma, can we do dat ahgin??? Dat was fun!"

Sure Puddin, we sure can! Seriously!

Cripple Creek Farm

Seriously, who knew Llamas had teeth like that??? Say, "Cheese!"

This summer we have decided not to go on vacation-again. The idea of going to a beach with our little ones just does not sound appealing to me or hubby. So we opted for the "staycation" again. And, rather than "staycate" all at once, Hubby broke the time up over the summer. So I got out my old field trip folder and this past weekend was the start of Staycation'09.

We didn't do a lot. It seems like we did something on Friday. But-seriously, I can't remember what it was. VLS... remember?

Somehow, I can remember yesterday though so I'll share that with you. We went to Cripple Creek Farm. You can click on this link and see their web page and read all about the facilities. Or, I can just tell you it was, according to Puddin, "Fantastic!"

We had a ball! The best part is we had the whole place to ourselves! Puddin and the Monkeys fed miniature horses, a donkey, goats and sheep. They were able to pet chicks...not sure what kind. They saw Emu eggs being incubated (which I promptly saved when Monkey Do hollered, "Ball!") We saw Zebras, Llamas, Ostriches, Buffalo, Elk, Reindeer and the most favorite of all.... KITTENS!!!! They were beautiful, and as usual, for a split second I had the look in my eye. The look of "please can we take home this sweet adorable kitten that we will all love?? It would make the kids soooo happy?" BUT- when I saw the look of Hubby anticipating the request I quickly snapped out of it and thought..."good gracious! What was I thinking??????"

I was able to get some pics but our loyal, trusty camera pooped out on us halfway through. Sadly, the best photo ops were after the battery died.

There was also a big playground set and I'll just say it was hysterical to see them come shooting down the big giant slide. Those Monkey's o mine are not one bit afraid of that kind of thing! They even went down on their backs, head first! CRAZY!!

The animals were great, the owner was sooo nice, the freedom to play with our kids without the comments or stares (or Momma being paranoid someone would snatch one of them) was a relief. The best part though was watching them run through the grass. Sounds corny, I know, but I could see the joy on their faces and it was just wonderful.

It was so great to have Hubby be able to go with us on this trip (he usually has to miss this kind of thing because of work. I think he had as much fun as the kids did! We had to leave earlier than we would have liked but Puddin had recital practice for this weekends big performance. As we were loading the van she kept asking if we could come back to this farm again soon. Absolutely Puddin, absolutely!

BTW- babies were great for the outing too. They just slept, ate and poopied. Good babies!
ok- so here are some of the pics...

And my favorite...

Baby Bud... cheesing for the camera.... LOVE him!

Much love,