Best Friends Forever

You always think of that as being something kids say, but in my case it's still true of a certain group of ladies. We've been friends since we were all kids, and I'm glad to say those friendships are still going strong some 20+ years later. We've all grown up and gotten married, some of us have kids, some of us have moved completely across the country, but we are all still in constant contact (thank you mostly to Facebook messenger!) with each other nearly every day though one crazy long group message. 

We decided to take a trip to the beach together (it would be the first time some of us had seen each other in YEARS despite talking all the time) back in 2012. It was such a great time that we planned to do it again in a few years. This was the year...and we went back to the same beach again. (Charleston, SC) It was amazing to all be in the same place at the same time...with no jobs or kids to worry about...just catching up on lives and sleep and sunshine. 

We are all so responsible all the time, with families and jobs and so many things going on, that it was nice to kind of be "kids" last week. We talked till way past our bedtimes, watched funny movies, had dance parties in the kitchen, ate dessert before our dinner, took selfies, laughed till we cried, and didn't clean up after ourselves. It...was...awesome. Having these ladies in my life is one of the things that keeps me sane so much of the time when life is anything but sane.

I was so sad to see the week end...since I know it'll probably be a good 2-3 years before I see some of these girls again. We all missed husbands and babies, but saying goodbye is never easy for us. Maybe one of these days we will all be closer together, but for now we will keep Facebook messages in business and start planning our next trip. ;) So thankful for friendships like these...it's a blessing that I don't take for granted for a second. Can't wait till next time!

From our blog:
http://bunchofbarrons.blogspot.com/

Fancy (Walking) Pants

When I left for my beach trip last week Amaryllis had just started taking her first few steps. They were just a few here and there, and she mostly would resort to crawling since it was faster. I figured there would be some major improvements while I was gone, and this is one stubborn girl who just goes after it.

I wasn't wrong. When I got home I realized she isn't crawling at ALL anymore. She is walking everywhere, even chasing after her siblings. She will stand up in the middle of the floor and take off. She still falls a lot, but even I can't believe how fast she picked it up. She has even gotten better at it in the two days since I've been back home. I'm so proud of this busy baby. She is a go-getter, and I just love how feisty she is.
 I've even caught her walking up behind her siblings and trying to tackle them. These older three better watch their backs. Fancy Pants means business.

Asking for It

As a mom, I'm always needing a break. I am at people's beck and call 24/7...so it gets overwhelming at times, even as much as I love it. I really feel like there are days when I think if I deal with one more whiner, one more tattler, one more mess-maker, one more pouter, one more awake in the middle of the nighter...I'm just gonna lose it. Some days I do lose it. But everyday I wouldn't trade it for anything. That said, I'm kinda tired. Like I say with working out: "it's a good hurt". Being a mom is "a good tired", but tired nonetheless.

That break I'm always asking for is actually happening this week. I'm headed to the beach for a week with some long time best pals of mine. We did this three years ago, and have since added several more babies/job changes/moves to that "we need a break". We have all been looking forward to this, and counting down the days, for a long time now. But now that it's here...I, of course, find myself missing the kids within seconds of pulling out of the driveway. I know, I've been asking for it...but it's never easy to be away from them even though I know it's needed for my sake and theirs.

When you find your life's calling, it's not something that is always puppies and butterflies and 1950's sitcoms. Raising a family is hard, messy, chaotic work. With any job you still feel the weight of that responsibility even when you're not in the office. I know that I'll be thinking of the kids the entire time I'm away, hoping they are safe and happy and behaving themselves. I'll be so ready to get back to them, but not the piles of laundry and messes that come with them, by the end of the week. But I hope to come back to the "office" refreshed and ready to hustle. These guys deserve my best, and I'm so blessed to be able to do the work that I love. But for now, mama is outta here. Catch you guys next week! ;)

I do what I want.

Amaryllis is a fairly stubborn individual. By "fairly", I mean...she will fight you to the death. She is strong physically as well, so when she decides she doesn't want you to hold her, or that she wants something a sibling has, or that she has somewhere she wants to go...well good luck stopping her. I have started lifting weights recently, but I'm not sure it's necessary as I could just wrestle with Amaryllis a bit and accomplish the same thing.

She has recently started climbing up the stairs. She got all the way to the top once before I realized where she was. This was before I realized she even knew HOW to climb stairs. I've since started making the kids close the door at ALL times, because while I usually advocate for letting my kids climb and use their muscles that way...these steps are steep and wooden and have no padding for if she were to fall. No bueno. Our last house was carpeted stairs, and while many a hooligan rolled down they were never hurt. These wouldn't have the same outcome. Sorry, Fancy Pants. You'll have to climb something else.

I was watching her in the living room the other day, and she kept looking over her shoulder at me like, "you gonna stop me? you better be fast, mama." I let her climb up a step or two, but that really just made her more eager to keep climbing. (I'm not sure where these monkeys I have for children came from. All of them but Jericho love to climb, and I think he just doesn't climb because he's so heavy. I've found Amaryllis up on the top of the TV stand before as well. She is such a busy body.) She was so mad at me when I kept getting her back down from the stairs. She would smack at me and screech, which is where the stubborn starts showing.

Billy and I always joke, when talking about her stubbornness, and say "I do what I want." She does, for sure. She is the second strong-willed baby girl in my life, as her sister before her is probably just as headstrong. I'm not complaining, though. While it makes for many a battle of wills over wooden stairs, I can't wait to see the determined, strong women they grow into. If I manage to survive their teen years, that is.

Babies in the Summer

There are a few things that I love quite as much as the summertime. I love everything about it: the sun, the warm temperatures, not having to do school, spending time outside with my kiddos, and going to the beach.

That said, there really is nothing quite like taking a one-year-old baby to the pool. In a lot of cases, they can't really walk yet. The pool is not a good place to crawl. They can't swim. So what's a baby to do? Well, if your Amaryllis, you will spend most of your time at the pool trying to crawl away across the concrete, trying to crawl into the pool, or trying to get away from your mama while she holds you in the pool because you're so independent and must do everything by yourself.

When that doesn't work you can always try a little bit of gymnastics while your mommy tries to feed you a snack. So yeah, I love summer, but I cannot wait until miss independent is independent enough to walk so that my lap gets a little break here and there.