Good Thing I Put On My Pants

The kids and I had a wonderfully, surprising day today.  Nothing crazy and completely unheard of, just one of those types of days where when you woke up the only obligation you had was to make sure you were wearing pants when the yard guy came at 10 to talk about the squishy spot by the mailbox.  Yes, we have a squishy spot by our mailbox that is also sparce on grass.  It’s high on Brandon’s priority list right now, and thankfully I think Patrick (the yard man) and I have it all straightened out.  Anyway, as I was saying, we weren’t expecting much for today.

I put on some pants and we headed out with some granola bars, the kids bathing suits (you never know where an empty day might take you), a bag full of Cheerios and about 5 dollars in change.  Again, when you don’t know where you’re headed you don’t know what you might need.

Our first stop was Goodwill and boy did we find some treasures.  Some kinda weird treasures that I can totally see being someone else’s trash, but to us – we felt extremely lucky to have fallen upon them.  Many of these treasures seemed to have come from the same place….I’m guessing someone with parents about the same age as mine who just now felt it was time to let go of the daughters childhood belongings.  There were so many little dresses that looked exactly like a few dazzlers I’ve seen on Brady Bunch re-runs.  With the little appliqués of ducks made from a completely contrasting fabric and usually on a poly-blend.  This sort of thing appeals to me in a way I can’t quite explain.

And along with the dresses, the parents of the 70’s also gave away their child’s old school Fisher Price Little People house.  Does anyone else remember this?  It’s the exact same one that I had as a little girl and I was absolutely thrilled to the gills to see it sitting there.  And even better, it had tons of the little pieces.

I had this same one!!!!!

Mattie is in love with her new Dorothy-Hamill-if-Dorothy-Hamill-was-Russian-Ice-Dancer Dress – it’s polyester and has birds and such embroidered on it.  I think she would wear it for the first day of school if it weren’t for that whole uniform dress code thing.

I love it!

A close up of the embroidery

We also brought this home:

Lila’s new ride, Mattie taking it for a spin while sister is sleepin’

Something Radio Flyer usually comes to my children when they turn 2, so this little “Big Wheel” was right on time.  Also, we don’t have this particular ride-on toy and we definitely needed it to join our fleet.  I’m sure my husband would agree, whole-heartedly.

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After making our purchases, we were at a crossroads. We were also almost out of gas.  We could eat the granola bars and then head back home for a real lunch, gas at our regular station and then naps followed by a late afternoon trip to the pool………like we do all the time.  Or we eat our granola bars, get gas here at the questionable station and keep heading west until we ran out of Tennessee (hoping there was a lunch stop before we hit the river).

We all felt like an adventure.

I pulled into the gas station and since it was a little questionable, I had my strapping young son get out and help me pump the gas.  Actually, it was a very safe and friendly Kroger station, but Reese did help me pump my gas because I feel like with him starting kindergarten, its time that I teach him some real skills.  Like tying his shoes and pumping gas…..

We then continued on with a plan to check out the new Beale Street Landing.  Before you get any ideas, the Beale Street Landing has no similarities to the Famous Beale Street of Memphis.  It is simply a  riverfront park with a cute grill, gift shop and fantastic splash pad – with a GIGANTIC climbable catfish.

We first ordered some french fries and fried pickles for lunch – because its summertime and we’re southern people and it just sounded good to us.

First stop, lunch…..in their bathing suits…they were very uncomfortable with this idea…but too hungry to fuss.

And then we played

My own minions

Mattie and her minions, dozens of kid strangers playing tag

Don’t they look like they’re in Suess land?

And played

Captain Ahab ain’t got nothin on this boy and his fish

Being Jonah

That fish has a schnaggle tooth

And played……….

If I didn’t tell you, I bet you’d think these legs were Mattie’s…..nope, they’re Birdie’s

Little Loo Who

Funnest statue ever!

I couldn’t have done a better job if I had planned it for weeks.  And now we have two new awesome toys that have kept the kiddos busy for over an hour this evening.  Who knew the kids would have so much fun playing with a retro Fisher Price doll house?  And even though I laid out a favorite t-shirt and shorts for Mattie to wear tomorrow, I’ve pretty sure she will be wearing her skating dress.

Still playing after an hour

Thank you Goodwill and Big John the Catfish – this day will be tucked away forever.

Show to Go With The Tell

So for these past few posts, I have been doing my best to paint a vivid picture of our camp meeting adventure with only words.  The camera and computer are finally reunited so without further ado, let me present to you

Campmeeting

( A week in the life)

First here is a photo of the kids and I

Totally kidding….kind of

This looks rather inviting huh? Like one of those open air, private island villa resorts. I am being sarcastic

Tent City

Nice and airy, huh?

Another, closer look into our home

Me in my own little convection oven

Sweaty, sweaty baby

The public showers didn’t go over well with the bird so we had to resort to other things

My best friend

Our Port o Potties right next to my car

The sidewalk where I stood watching the skunks

My son has never spent so much time playing with cinderblocks, dirt, and Legos

Trying to leave and waiting for the horses

Maybe if you lay here with Mums, you’ll get sleepy…..maybe not

Finally, FINALLY taking a nap

Our herd of children who were awesome!

I think the towel hanging and bright red refrigerator really add to this picture.

Reese being eaten by our inflatable bed

Lila’s night-time fortress against mosquitoes

Aunt Evie did Olivia’s hair and then braided Tonya’s hair. Without missing a beat, Lila hopped up at the table and said, “Me Me Me”

Playing Legos

We didn’t get bored, but we did find odd ways to keep ourselves entertained

Camping/ heat/ and mule riding make for an exhausted boy

Enjoying meal time

This looks very shanty town, huh?

Rainy day reading

Wrapping the tent in whatever plastic we could find before the rain

Campers Log

Campers Log Day 6: The rains came down and in. We had been hearing about this “flash flood” business. It rained off and on during the day Wednesday, but we were prepared. Cousin Tonya had spent the better part of the day digging trenches around our tents – which on a side note, with the astro turf carpeting that ran through our tents acting as a rug all pulled back and her digging away, it really looked like she was digging a grave.

After her digging, she and mom covered every open surface with plastic and tied flaps and tarps to more flaps and tarps to where not even we could get in or out. And then, while it was still calm and we could enjoy the unseasonably chilly weather, our little group sat around enjoying a cup of watered down cocoa together.

And then it started and within moments we knew that all their efforts, all the knots, and even the world’s largest blue tarp could not save us. We hustled around quickly, squeezing everything in to the very center of the tent and even lifting a pack n play with a sleeping Lila about 3 ft. It was tight, but we were cozy and dry.

Rain can be very calming and relaxing as background noise while sleeping. This is not the case, however, when you can see the roof of your tent home sagging in on you. Mom and I took turns probing the sagging gullies with the broom in an attempt to drain them. The children slept, though we did not. And in the morning when we saw the river flowing in and under Reese and I’s bed, we knew we were on borrowed time. As a side note though, Tonya’s trenches worked beautifully. She really has a talent there to be proud of.

The forecast for the rest of the day was 100% rain and then on through the night. The kids only had 3 hours of meetings for the whole day and with no chance of going horse back ( mule back in Reese’s case), well we just had no reason to be there a minute longer.

I sent the kids up to their last meeting and moved at a remarkable speed, packing up our things. I’m not gonna lie, when it comes to packing the car effectively and efficiently, that is more in my husband’s wheel house. But I worked like a Tetras champion.

And for something that I will admit, I had been dreading. A week I had kind of hoped Mumsey would call my bluff on because I was scared to take my toddler and 2 older, bickering, moody children, not to mention my frazzled self to church family camp in the blazing heated woods. I was now feeling very sad, almost panicky because I really wasn’t quite ready to leave.  The same way I used to feel as a little girl, when I would walk back to my tent after the final meeting on the last Saturday night. Mom would have it almost all packed up and it would once again look like an old army tent as opposed to the home it had become.

I felt for my kiddos who weren’t quite ready to leave. Who felt like they’d been robbed of one last swim or one last ride and wanted to sing their new songs just one more time. My heart hurt as theirs broke just a little as we drove over those hills. But I had to smile a little, too. Point for Mumsey, she was right.

They had loved it.

The iPad sat on the back seat the entire week, untouched and forgotten.  They had fallen in love with camp, same as me….even using the port-o-potties like it was nothing.

We  were a little sad, a little tired……who am I kidding, I drove home like a zombie completely exhausted…..rather dirty, but happy.

When we stopped at a gas station and I happened to look down at my feet, it truly looked like we were refugees, escaping from something and fleeing eastward.

And when we finally arrived home, he didn’t say it but I’m pretty sure Husband was thinking to himself how he had never seen me look so rough, dirty and completely unkept, yet still wearing a dress. Putting on clean clothes and a smear of deodorant was all I had bothered with after we decided to leave.

Dirt can wash off and hair can be fixed, but the happy in our hearts is still hangin’ around. This little adventure/ experiment may not be for everyone….but it was one of our best chapters yet.

Mama tried, mama got smelly, sweaty and needs a pedicure, but mama’s cup runneth over.

Flocks of Cats

One thing that time may have erased from my memory of camp meeting was all the walking. The benefits of a camp with rolling hills and acres for days is that there is plenty if room to run and play….people and wildlife.  This camp has free range horses that come and go as they please thanks to the ingenuity of cattle guards. This also means that my journey to town the other day took an extra 15 minutes because the horses did not see any reason for moving in order to let my car drive by.

Walking is not a problem.  Fact is, if I do say so myself, I am pretty fantastic at it.  But walking up these hills every time you have to use the bathroom…it’s wearing me out! I suppose I could use the port-o-potties right next to us, but I draw the line somewhere.

Call me high maintenance if you want, but I’m the one blogging from a tent without walls and just two paragraphs ago, picked up a grasshopper the size of a hamster from the pillow where I will be sleeping tonight.  I draw the line somewhere and port-o-potties are a pretty good spot.

A Goliath of a hill lies right outside our tent. It is the sidewalk for walking to and from the bathrooms and all of our meetings.  It is also the scene where my skunk story begins.

Reese and I were walking back from his evening shower. I was walking and he was running as fast as he could, seemingly in an attempt to take off. I had just let out an audible sigh of relief that he hadn’t fallen and was now safely inside, when out of the corner of my eye I saw shat appeared to be a flock of cats.

I’ve never really seen a flock of cats before so this immediately got my attention. My common sense soon kicked in, of course there’s no such thing as a flock of cats and we are in the wilderness at night, they’re raccoons! It took about 2 seconds after that for it to register with my brain that raccoons do not have big fluffy tails that wave in the air…..they are also not typically back with white stripes down their backs.

I stood there on the sidewalk watching in terrorized fascination as this mama of 7 little skunklets took her family out for a nocturnal excursion to the water spickit. I knew I couldn’t move from my spot on the side walk, but I needed desperately to warn my own family of the danger they were directly in the spray path of.

And about that time, the skunk family was discovered by the kids.  There they stood, frozen, with eyes as big as saucers, completely in awe and silent panic at what was happening.

The skunks had entered our home.

There was nothing they could do except hope and pray that the skunks calmly just walked through the tent and back into the woods without being somehow offended by the humans frozen in fear standing like statues around the tent. I have never seen my kids so quiet and so still……(I need to see about investing in scent-free skunks). And all I could was stand there. It was like watching a car wreck. You knew it would be too good to be true for a family of skunks to come to our camping casa and leave without any issues. That kind of luck does not befall on me and my people.

I stood there, bracing for the screams that I knew were going to come at any minute. I was plotting in my head what our escape plan would be after our belongings had be inevitably sprayed.  I had just decided that we would ditch every last thing and drive back to memphis naked (except me, I still had clothes…which was good because our drive here proved that we couldn’t make it back home on one tank of gas – that’s a whole other story.)

And as I was in the middle of trying to remember if my purse was in the tent or the car, the whole scenario took a terrible turn. If I thought I was watching a car wreck before, this was like watching the Titanic. Just as the little skunks had turned around and appeared to be walking out of the tent, a car came driving by. My family, silently, waved their arms and jumped around desperately trying to warn the driver that there was a bit of a roadblock.

Unfortunately, I think he just thought they were very enthusiastic campers welcoming him to our tent city. The terror turned to horror as I watched the car keep driving and the little skunk family scatter.

And then came the screams.

Screams from seeing the little skunk body lying lifeless in the street and fear of how mama was going to retaliate.

Thankfully, she took the flight option rather than fight.  Our tent home was not sprayed directly with skunk exhaust, but should you be curious, running over one still produces a pretty effective smell.

Thankfully, Uncle David was still here and took care of the “crime scene” quickly before the kids really saw anything.  But the event had already been burned into their memories.

The next morning over his bowel of Trix cereal, as I removed a small toad from our dining area, Reese remarked that we sure had seen a lot of nature since being here at camp meeting.

Yes, Reese. We have seen a whole lot of nature and it’s only Wednesday.

Mama Tried Something New

When I was a little girl, one of our summertime family traditions was to go to camp meeting. For those of you who are drawing a complete blank at this term, it’s pretty self explanatory. My family and I would load up everything, except the kitchen sink…..but only because we would be using paper plates…….and head to Wewoka, Oklahoma where we would live in a tent in the woods for a week and go to meetings about Jesus. It was like sleep away camp family-style.  There was swimming and horseback riding, crafts and boys.  The kids have described it as church mixed with vacation bible school and dirt and bugs.

As a child, I loved it. I looked forward to camp meeting all year long. I had a dear friend, Carrie, who I only saw once a year.  We would keep in touch via snail mail and for that one week on July….the world was ours.  At least the world secluded to Wewoka Woods Adventist Camp. We were free to roam…free range children.  Checking in at our tents only at meal times and when we needed to touch up our hair or had a blown flip flop.

So when my mom suggested to me last summer that wouldn’t it be fun to take my kids to camp meeting, I heartily agreed. My children definitely needed the same experience and if mom was offering, we were going to take her up on it.

I may have romanticized camp meeting a little now looking back.

The husband helped me load up the car Thursday night. And with every obscure item he put in the trunk, I think he became that much more concerned about where exactly I was taking his children. I think he thought our camping would be done in a hotel room type situation…….not an old army tent.

And truth be told, 3 days in, their have been a few moments when I have questioned my own judgement in bringing us here. For example, my daughters are both covered in insect bites of some sort, Lila sliced her finger yesterday and we had a close up encounter with a skunk family last night before bed that didn’t end well for anyone……more on that tomorrow.

But despite the 100+ weather the past few days and the welps all over their bodies. My children seem to be in heaven. They have yet to complain about anything, though Mattie wasn’t pleased when a small toad entered our tent last night.

Who knew that a week spent like refugees, strongly resembling the early Oklahoman children of the Dust Bowl circa The Grapes of Wrath would be their bliss? Again, I have no idea how to add pictures from my phone but I am taking plenty to share when we return.

Mama tried something alittle different and it seems to have worked.

* Join me tomorrow and I’ll share our skunk

365 times 6

So just for fun, I though I would share a little picture of this day a year ago.  Unfortunately, the picture I wanted to share is actually a year ago yesterday…so just bear with me.

Turning the whole hand – “I’m a whole hand now, mama!”

And then here is a picture from….you know what, lets just pretend it’s yesterday because that’s really when I meant to write this post but a few things came up….So this is a picture from my life 2 years ago *today*

Birthday number 4

May as well keep going – 3 years ago *today*

Cheesin’ at 3

Four years ago

Two

Five years ago

One

Do you notice a trend yet?

Six years ago….

Happy First Birthday Precious boy

The cliché’ of time flying gets thrown out all the time.  It seems like such a simple expression, but yet it’s about the only way to explain how we get from one point in time to another.  I can barely remember a time when I did not know this little boy.  And even when I am quite sure he didn’t even exist yet, (like those high school years for example) – it still feels like I was waiting for him.  I didn’t know him or even of him, but I was waiting, in the deep corners of my heart for this little person.

He is my most favorite man.  I am sorry if that stings a little, Daddy….Brandon, even wonderful big brother Matt. But what makes him my favorite is that he is all of my special men rolled into one – he shares traits with all of them, even those he never got the chance to meet.  He is the best of all of you, and a little of the worst.

And he is mine…at least for now.

But this year he turned 6.  That means it now takes a whole other hand to show how old he is.  Old Navy doesn’t make “I am 6” shirts….they stop at 5.  It really hurt to pick that little “I am 5” shirt up off the floor, putting it in the dirty clothes basket Monday night knowing that this particular body would never be wearing it again.  This year for his birthday he got his very first lunch box, because he will be starting school in just a few weeks.  It’s just Kindergarten, not exactly like he’s heading off to college or anything, but still.  I know that it will be lovely only being down to 1 kid and I am excited about having a little more time to do some projects, bond with Lila and just feel a little lighter because I will be down one…….but on the other hand….I am grieving just a little…..okay, quite a whole lot.

First day of 5 – wearing the shirt

Last day of 5

He is only about 10 pounds behind his sister and they are almost in the same shoe size.  I purchased him a pair of Baby Gap pajamas the other night, not necessarily because he needed them so much or even because they were on sale – which by the way, crazy sales at Baby Gap and Gap Kids!!!!!! – but because for this minute he still wears a size 5T in the baby section of the store and I know that my time in that little corner is now limited to just purchasing baby gifts.

His speech is almost that of a normal person, the lisp barely even audible anymore.  The doctor warned me that this would happen the older he got….I guess she didn’t so much warn me as much as encourage me, but I have always loved his little speech impediments.  Thankfully those letter R sounds still aren’t quite there, but I know we are living on borrowed time.  He still walks along on his tip toes, like a little one, but instead of making him seems younger it just makes his gangly legs seem even longer.

We went to Target yesterday to spend a birthday gift card sent by his thoughtful Great Uncle and Aunt, as well as some money very thoughtfully hidden in a Batman set of nesting dolls by his Nana and Grandad.  While standing in the Lego aisle, with boxes laid out all over the floor trying to show him which combinations of sets he could purchase with his bounty – rather than feeling frustrated at his inability to make a decision, or the fact that Lila was rubbing a pretzel through her hair leaving a salty, slimy trail – I felt like we had all the time in the world.

Take your time Little One, take as much time as you need, and little do you know that if it would keep you 6 years and 5 five hours old for just a little bit longer – I would buy you ever set of Legos in this store.  You might not get to eat ever again because those puppies are pricey, but I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Yesterday morning, far before the day was ready to start, the boy crawled into my bed and woke me up by tapping my nose with his own.

“I just thought you would probably want to give me a birthday hug and kiss very first thing, and very first of everyone on my birthday” he said. 

I jokingly told him that it wasn’t his birthday yet, that was still about 5 hours away, but he was more than welcome to come and stay for a good cuddle while we waited.

Reese Christian Baughman – with all of my heart, I will always, ALWAYS, want to give you your birthday hug very first thing and very first of everyone on your birthday.  Happiest of birthdays little man.  I hope your day was all that you wished it would be and that you know how happy you make those of us who love you.

And as much as it pains your mother, I am so proud of you and I do delight in watching you grow up.

Just maybe slow it down a bit.

*today* – actually means yesterday July 8th

Home Again and Pictures

We are back home.  I’m sure you have all been anxiously checking your computers to see if I had blogged again, I know, that whole internet situation at our resort was a bummer.  Not really…it was kind of wonderful and to be honest, I think maybe they did it on purpose.  I’m on to you Legacy Resort, with your Fantasy Island-esque lagoons and walking bridges. I see how you are forcing family togetherness there, limiting the access to internet and functioning cell phones.  You with your gorgeous pool and on-site miniature golf, ping pong, pool table and even amazing climbing tree.  Why, even the tv in my room never quite turned on properly forcing me to read to my kiddos every night – well, not really but I did it anyway and I think we all rather enjoyed it.

Anyway, I rather enjoyed my break from the internet and even my phone (and for those of you who may be interested, we have switched back from T-Moble to AT&T, and we are acting like our straying never even happened.  But I figure that the one or two readers who weren’t actually on my trip with the kids and I, might enjoy seeing a few of our pictures.  So rather than write a long catch-up post, I will just post pictures….hopefully in order…..and let you see what we did.

Driving to Florida – Hour number 1 – He was so excited and planned to wear his protective ear wear the whole way

Doing a little light reading

Showing off her giant flower and pine needles…that girl loved those silly needles

Reese loves the beach, just not particularly the water

And Mattie just wanted to catch something….anything

Stopping to pose for her mother

Wishing I would quite bothering him

Getting Poppy in on her game

Climbing in our giant tree

I don’t think he intentionally posed like I bird, he just happened to be like this

This random little boy was fascinated with Lila and wanted to be near her constantly. He even stole a few kisses. This is after he asked me to please take their picture together.

Visiting the World’s Most Famous Beach

Too bad it doesn’t fit little friend

Posing for a nightly picture for daddy

Why it’s the Mountain Dew car in a random Winn Dixie parking lot.

I suppose in Daytona you come across things like this

Peering in at the 48 car….pre Reese dropping ketchup all over his pants and me having to rinse them off in the sink…and then it happening again and I had to rinse the shorts and shirt out in the bathroom sink meaning he spent a good 45 minutes wearing completely soaked clothing

Inspection men

We tried to subliminaly send messages for the people inside the hauler to come out and say hello – but they never did

The closest thing we got to actually meeting her

Making do with Jimmie’s picture on his merchandise truck

Almost life-like

Posing on the walk of Daytona Winners – #48 of course

And thank you for the hearty welcome….

Too bad our show got rained out

Surprisingly, this girl rather enjoyed herself!

4th of July Poolside

He might be wearing floaties, but hey Dad, he’s in 6ft!

Silly girls

Sweet Happy 4th picture

Crazy, hour before things went completely out of control, mama almost stole the van and drove home nuts. Happy 4th!

The whole gang…and wonder tree

Kids in the tree

“Come on kids, sit here on the beach and let me take one, just one picture of you all to remember this day forever.”

I love this little swim suit….and the little girl wearing it!

Brown little bodies

Lila needed a pre-beach rest

Strolling for shells with Poppy

Spirits are getting a bit better

A rare photo of me and a child

squinting cutie

Spirits are way better now

We met this little guy

Back from shelling

De-Sanding the Lila

Checking up on her Facebook in the only place with WiFi

Traveling home again

Before the Alabama vomit fun. Every time this girl enters Alabama, without fail, there is vomit

Last few days to wear the “I am 5” shirt

Okay, now we are just bored and playing games like “How man sosas can you fit in your mouth”

Day Two Na, get it, like Daytona!

Dear Blog,

Today was a beach day. We loaded up the mini van and headed to the sea with hopeful hearts, that it would be as warm and salty and wonderful as it was the last time we visited. First things first though, we had Poppy make a quick stop for some sand toys.  Pool toys, we have tons of those, but it takes a little something different for playing at the ocean.  The biggest of those different things….a shovel. So with a small net, 2 buckets, 2 shovels and a random mix of other things that were on a white basket labeled “ultimate sand play”….we felt prepared.

There was crying at first, by Lila, and quite a bit of trepidation on Reese’s part….but that was soon left on the shore and the kids had the time of their lives.

And today, with Brandon not being here with us, I did something that I hate to admit, I have really done in a while. We have seperated the parental duties and somewhere along the line he got the job of ocean-wave-player-inner. This has worked out nicely because I often feel that the water in the waves is too cold.  But when Mattie got tired of fishing with her tiny net and headed towards the pre tropical storm surf, I knew I had to step up.

And I loved it.

I hate that I have no pictures of me and the big girl playing. But if you are capable of taking a selfie during such an activity, I don’t think you’re really doing it right.

Reslly though, I would love to share some pictures of our fun today, but I am writing this on my phone and haven’t been able to figure out how to put pictures on here via my phone…..especially when they were taken with my camera