Have I turned into THAT mom?!

Well...it has been months since I last updated apparently. June to be exact. Summer ended and our lives got incredibly busy very fast! I guess I will start with August and Bella. She started 1st grade in a public school this year for the first time! This is a big deal to our family because I've home schooled for the past two years and she hasn't had much "real life" experience. Growing up at camp can sometimes be seclusive and sheltered so we weren't sure how she would do.  She begged us to let her go and the school district closest to us opened up to transfer students so we decided to give it a shot and she.....LOVES IT!! I can't believe how well she has adjusted. I think she appreciates it more since she's never experienced anything like it. She absolutely loves the cafeteria food (especially the chocolate milk)and has developed a MAJOR crush on a boy. I realize this is typical for a girl her age but she is border line obsessive! The first few weeks she would just watch him, very closely and his mother! She learned his mothers name by listening to a conversation she was having with another parent during pick up time. She knows what he eats everyday and what his backpack is AND how he wears it! She has developed this smile that she does when she sees him or gets embarrassed. Basically she just sucks her cheeks in really tight and does this fast paced walk down the hall. She almost looks like the speed walkers in the mall. It's so crazy to watch! Her Dad doesn't  like all the boy talk :) 
Since she started school in August I feel like we have been SO busy! We drive over 60 miles a day to take and pick her up and then  between AWANAS and other church and school things, it can be overwhelming at times. I feel like THAT mom that I never envied. I used to complain about all the free, boring time that we had when I home schooled. Now the free time is seldom and missed. If she didn't enjoy going so much I would seriously consider pulling her out but for now, we'll stick it out.  Just a funny side note...since Halloween is around the corner I have candy in jars on the kitchen counter. The other day we were walking out of the house and I had given them all a piece for the road. Bella was eating a mini Reese's peanut butter cup. This is what she said to me, no lie! "Thanks Mom! I love Reese's penis!" I almost fell down the steps and had to hide my smile before correcting her several times! Bless her heart! We don't need her saying this at school...

Beau has become quite the big sister and has really stepped it up ( all on her own) since Bella has been in school. She's always been a helper, too much sometimes, but now she's taken on more a motherly role with Jude. I didn't realize how much I depended on Bella to help me with the girls until she left! At different times through out each week I will find Beau trying to put a bib around Judes neck...an infant bib. She now tries to pick her up and bounce her on her hip!! Jude does NOT enjoy this at all and will just yell till Beau drops her! There's no such thing as gently placing Jude down with Beau. She's just not the gentle type of girl but that's what makes her Beau! She's rough and tough and she doesn't care. She also enjoys doing Judes hair and putting shoes on her. For the most part, Jude is pretty tolerant but she has a limit. They've definitely grown a lot closer since Bella is gone and I love that. Neither one of them are T.V. kids so they keep each other pretty busy and me as well!

Jude has also grown up in the past few months and is EVERYWHERE people! I find myself always calling out her name and looking in everyone's room only to find her sitting in an empty bath tub or hiding under her crib. She has discovered the ladder on the girls bunk bed and has almost climbed to the very top!! She loves to sit on top of the couch and wave to the passing cars but often gets too excited and falls off, hitting her head on the wall on her way down. She just realized she can jump up and down and that she can bend all the way over and put her head between her legs. Her most favorite thing to do would have to be spinning around in a circle until she falls over. Just watching her do this makes me dizzy! She is smart and sneaky. I found her yesterday trying to carry a stool to the counter so she could get a better look at what I was doing. Before you know it, she's standing on the kitchen table with a Sharpie in hand, trying to color on Bellas homework! She's quick and fast. She is going through that stage of pulling her rubber band out and will NOT leave her hair up. Leaving it down limits her vision but she doesn't seem to mind one bit. I will spend way too  much time doing her hair and the second she walks away, she's pulled out her bow along with a handful of blonde hair! I would love to trim it and get it out of her eyes but her dad is not a huge fan of my haircuts...enough said.This is what she usually looks like. 


So over all it's been crazy, busy, new, too much but it's been exciting and interesting! Until next time...!

My last littles

A year ago this week I had Jude. She was born 4 weeks early. It was a rough pregnancy and I had complications the entire time. I had been having contractions for weeks and had been in and out of the hospital. My doctor was certain that I wouldn't make it to full term. That week the girls and I were outside and I was filling up their baby pool with water. The grass was longer than usual and as I walking I looked down and almost stepped on a huge snake! I screamed (I'm terrified of snakes) and jumped over it. My stomach immediately started contracting and was getting worse. This continued for hours and the next day I was very uncomfortable and I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I was 35 weeks pregnant. The next morning I had a c-section and Jude was born on June 4th at 9am. She was so tiny, to me, and had a hard time breathing in the beginning. She stayed in the NICU for a very LONG week. We were so thrilled when she was able to come home and meet her sisters.

I

I guess I'm feeling pretty sad that my little June Bug is turning one this week. Honestly, I was overwhelmed and a bit depressed when I found out I was pregnant with our third child. This came as huge surprise to us both and it took me a little while to come around. The thought of three children terrified me and I didn't know how I was going to do it all. I'm not the most pleasant pregnant person to say the least. Looking back, I was selfish and should of felt so thankful to be given another child. Now we have three little girls and I wouldn't change it for anything! I would love a fourth daughter! Lets not get crazy though!

The life of a camp wife.

Earlier today I was talking on the phone with a good friend and fellow camp wife. We were laughing and just catching up and started talking about the life that we have as "camp wives".  For those of you that are wondering what in the world I am talking about, let me explain. My husband works for a baptist camp out in south Texas. In the summer we have churches and different groups that bring their kids out here for summer camp. It's not like the "Parent Trap" camp, that always comes to mind for me. It's different because kids/children are not dropped off here and then picked up a week later. Sponsors and adults from whatever group it is will come with the kids and stay. Summer is a crazy, hectic time for the camp and our busiest time of year. In the off season, September through May, we are a retreat type of camp. People come here for the weekends for different events or activities. I'm sure someone else could of explained this a lot better but you get the idea, hopefully :)

So, they're a few families that live at the the camp year round. Everyone else comes to work for the summer and then they sometimes come back throughout the year to work on weekends. So we live where we work. Now, with this comes many pros and cons. We live in a camp home, we eat MANY meals at camp, we get to see our husbands at every meal if we choose to and so many other wonderful things. It really feels like you're living in a different world sometimes. It's hard to explain or understand unless you're in or have lived it. It's been an incredible experience for my little girls to live here. They will be playing in the backyard and see their dad ride by on a gator. They get to see him ALL the time. Their backyard is the whole camp! They can swim in the lake, the pond, go to the pool. In the summer we can go to worship in the evenings, hang out the snack shack and have snow cones. The camp has an amazing fire works show on the 4th of July every summer and we have front row seats! I hardly have to cook in the summer since we eat almost every meal at the camp. We have the opportunity to have great friendships with so many different people each summer as new and old staff come to work. It really is a good life.

This afternoon though, my friend and I were laughing about the OTHER side to living at a camp. The part that people don't see or realize. Usually when I tell people about the camp and how it works they say how lucky we are and that we have it made! Don't get me wrong, we do in many ways and I'm extremely grateful to live here. There is another side to this life though. During the summer you can pretty much "predict" what will be served that day depending on the day of the week. If you leave your house for the day, everyone knows it because your car is gone. We all share a mailbox so you better not have any dirty mail :) During the summer we "get" to share our husbands AND our home with hundreds of people. The husbands are so busy during those 3 summer months that sometimes it feels like you're a single parent! It can be hard but we get to see him throughout the day around the camp. Today we were on a walk and an irritated woman holding a birthday cake waved me down hoping to get into the cafeteria. I always feel so helpless when people ask me where this or that is or why can't we do this or go in there? I don't work for the camp so I can't help them. I just try to point them in the direction of the office or someone that does. Sometimes I won't leave camp for a few days for whatever reason and I feel like I've missed out on so much! I tend to forget that world keeps going outside the camp. I think for the men it's hard to get away from work. Most men leave their jobs and go home and don't have to look or mess with work related stuff till the next day. Here, you never really leave work behind. It's right out our back door. We live towards the back of camp sort of out of the way so people really don't come up to our front door or bother us. Some of the other homes have had visitors from time to time looking for the office...that's always fun :)

This will be our 4th summer here at camp and I'm not going to lie, those first couple years were difficult for me. I was either pregnant or just had a baby and it was a difficult transition for me. Moving from a busy city to a secluded, country SMALL town was hard at first. It's taken me some time and a lot of growing and patience but I really do love this place. I have had my girls here and this is our home. It may be different and have its good and bad sides but this has been such a special time in our lives and I wouldn't trade it!

You pay for what you get.

B.J. always gives me a hard time because I tend to spend less on certain things hoping to save money but really end up buying cheap junk! A couple weeks ago my glasses broke and I haven't been able to replace them yet. They were a "cheap" purchase. I went for a simple frame that I was never in love with so I could save a little money. Well...that was a great idea! Now I wake up to blurry little bodies running around demanding food. It's too early sometimes to put my contacts on and by the end of the day my eyes ares too tired and all I want to do is take my contacts out. I miss having glasses. My next pair will be top of the line! I have learned that cheaper is not always better, especially when it comes to food. I try to buy generic brands if I can but some generic brands are awful!! And I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying generic diapers. I won't even go there...

So, for some reason I stopped writing in my blog. Lately I find less and less time to sit down and write, uninterrupted anyway. I want to make more of an effort to keep blogging though. It seems to help me appreciate the little things that drive me crazy through out the day. I suppose I will just pick up where I left off...

Today I realized how sneaky and smart Beau really is. Today felt like an extra LONG day. I heard Beaus raspy little voice on the baby monitor at 6 a.m. yelling Bellas name. "Bewwa! Bewwwwwwaaaaaaa!!!!" Bella of course did not answer since she was still asleep, as we all were! Beau never went back to sleep and managed to wake both her sisters up by 6:15. I was thrilled as you can imagine. So, our morning began. I decided today was going to be a day FULL of cleaning and organizing and started washing all the sheets. By lunch I had done way too many loads of laundry, swept, vacuumed and mopped the entire house. I made the girls lunch while they jumped on the trampoline in their suits while spraying each other with the hose.  I made thier favorite buttered "white" noodles with cheese, as Bella calls them. I split a fruit cup between them and told them both to eat ALL their fruit. I left them at the table eating while I quickly put clean sheets on the bunk beds, my least favorite thing to do. When I walked back into the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised to see that Beau had eaten all her fruit so I told her I was so proud of her and she gave me a big grin and was very pleased with herself. Bella then told me that Beau did NOT eat her fruit but dumped all of it on Judes high chair tray as soon as I walked away. Sure enough Judes tray, face and hair is full of peaches, pears and pineapple. I should of known. It was at that moment that I had a quick glimpse of what Beaus next few years may be like. Sneaky little thing! Beau is notorious for trying to slip one by you. At some point this morning she discovered my diaper bag and decided to rummage through it. She came across some gum and told me she "needed" it. I of course said no so she walked off and I thought had moved on. About 15 minutes later I walked in her room to put clothes away and found her hiding in a corner opening each piece of gum. That was fun for everyone...

My littles are not so little anymore. Jude will be one in three weeks. I know people always say this but it really has gone by too fast. She's so close to walking and changing everyday it seems. She now dances and has rhythm! When does that happen?! She can crawl faster than any of the other girls at this age. She is quick! If she seems something she wants then shes going to get it, sometimes with the help of her older sisters. They're always a little too eager to pick her up and walk her around. I found Beau rocking her the other day and Bella trying to carry her on her hip!! Jude loves it of course. She will do whatever she can for a laugh, much like her parents I suppose.

Bella will be 6 in July and reminds me daily! She is a couple weeks away from completing kindergarten. That has also flown by as well. Bella is still a song writer and expert card maker. Today she asked her dad what his most favorite thing in the whole wide world would be. He said something but I guess it was the wrong answer because she said, "Is it getting a special card?" She then pulled a card out from behind her back and said, "Today is your lucky day Dad!" She takes it pretty seriously.

Last night I attended my very first women's conference. I have a bad habit of avoiding things like this even though I know I need to get out there and be more involved. I guess I'm just a home body and am comfortable just hanging out with BJ and my family. I've never been in a play group or an type of women's club or group. I was invited to go to this particular conference with a small group of women that I'm comfortable with and love so I decided to give it a try. I made the decision to take Jude with me because she is still nursing and I would be gone for at least four hours. The church where the conference was held is an hour away from our home. I was well aware that there would be no childcare and I was totally fine with that. I knew that I would just feed Jude at some point and then she would fall asleep. When we arrived at the church we were greeted by women checking to see we had our bracelets on so we could enter. The second I walked in a woman stopped me and asked me to wait on the side while she radioed for someone to come talk to me. I asked if there was a problem and she said just to wait right there. I looked around and didn't see any other babies and realized that JUDE was the problem. I felt like I was in trouble and I immediately felt like crying. Another woman approached me with another very annoying radio and leaned down, very condescendingly, as she spoke to me. "Okay, Hi. You do realize this is a WOMENS conference and that there is no childcare?" I say yes of course and she cuts me off to say,"Well since this is just for women we ask that you take your baby out of the conference if she makes any noise or cries since this is for women." REALLY??? I was mortified to say the least. If I had driven there myself I would have walked right out and gone home, that's how UNWELCOME they made me feel. Please let me say that I am not that "mom" that will just let their baby cry and yell or talk during ANY kind of service. I try to be sensitive to the people around me and I never want my littles to annoy or inconvenience anyone else. I was pretty upset that THAT was the way this church and the people involved in this conference decided to start off the night. It ruined it for me. I sat down and was trying so hard to move on and to not let that rude welcome ruin the rest of this experience but it did. I really felt like there could of been another way to handle a situation like that. For example, they could of told me that IF I had been sitting in the conference and was letting Jude cry or make noise. Then would of been an appropriate time to ask me to please take her to the lobby but not RIGHT when you walk in. At some point during the worship I got up and walked out to the lobby where I found a couch. We spent the rest of the night there, me, Jude and a sweet, sweet friend that was upset for/with me. The lobby was apparently where the men were hanging out so it was an awkward place to nurse a baby, in the WOMENS conference, but that's where we stayed. They had the conference on televisions in the lobby but you couldn't really hear it unless you went and stood right under it. It was disappointing but I was really over it by this point. I'm not sure what the lesson to be learned was but I did learn about how insensitive some people can be and how NOT to treat people. Some people lose sight of what's important and they may not even realize it. I don't want to be like that.

Over the weekend we had made an appointment to have our very large and stinky chocolate lab bathed at Petsmart. We have been trying to do this once a month because that boy smells!! He swims in the pond any opportunity he gets and is just a drooling mess. So, we loaded ALL the family in the car and headed to town, an hour away. We had forgotten his shot records but had done that in the past and they let us slide. I was pretty confident they would take him. We also forgot his leash, it was a little hectic getting everyone ready and out the door. So we pull up to Petsmart and poor BJ had to walk Titan in by the collar, leaning over so much he was practically on his knees. This was very amusing to watch. I was relieved to see buddy go get his bath since our car was beginning to smell like him. About five minutes later I see BJ come out of the store doing that uncomfortable walk, Titan by his side. I guess he was a little past dew for his rabies shot, my fault, and they stood their ground. No shot, no bath! Great! We had scheduled his appointment at noon knowing we had to run tons of errands the rest of the day and would be back 3 to 4 hours later to pick him up. So, Titan got to spend the REST of the afternoon with us just stinking up our car. It was a cool day and he had plenty of room in the back to sprawl out so we weren't worried about him. Each time we got out of the car to go do something we returned to find him sitting in the drivers seat, drool and all! So gross to say the least,not to mention all the hair that comes along with him! It was a crazy day. Glad to say he DID get the shots he needed on Monday and will be bathed this weekend!

Yesterday was such a pretty day so the girls and I went on a walk so Bella could pick flowers. I had the two little girls in the double stroller buckled in, so i thought. We were walking on the road heading back home when the stroller got stuck and wouldn't move any further. I felt like I had run over something. All of a sudden I hear Beau say ,"Me shrell! Stop!" I guess she had decided she didn't want to ride in the stroller and wanted to walk so she was trying to sneak out under the bar. The stroller had run over her leg and she was stuck, just laying in the road. I hadn't even noticed because both sides of the stroller had the shades pulled over so I couldn't really see what Beau was doing in her seat. Most children probably would of been screaming crying but Beau just looked at her bloody knee and said," Need my band-aid at my home." She got up and kept walking. Earlier this morning she was in a really grumpy mood and was being mean to everyone in her path so I told her she was being very mean. She just looked up at me and said, "Me not mean. Me Beau Thomas." Sorry, my mistake.