Fun Friday #1 - Movies

My boys were struggling with their morning drop off at Ms. Barbie's.  Blip is loving Ms. Barbie, but drop offs have been a little rough…so I needed to figure out a way to correct the daily roughness.  For all our sakes. 

I wanted to buy the Harkins summer movie tickets this summer so Mike or I could take Blip to a few of the movies they planned to show.  I tried to buy the tickets on-line, but you had to buy them in person at the theater.  I never made it happen, so I figured I could just take Blip to see the movies I thought he'd like and pay the $2 ticket fee.  One of the movies I knew I wanted to take him to was "Escape From Planet Earth".

It turned out that the week "Scorch" (^^^the escape movie) was playing was the same week I needed to come up with a plan to fix drop offs.  So on Thursday morning I waited for Blip to wake up, so I could talk to him about going to Ms. Barbie's.  He was surprised to see me…and happily ran to me.  I scooped him up and we sat down together.  I told him that he needed to be happy when Daddy took him to Ms. Barbie's…and if he was happy and didn't cry…we would go see Scorch at the movies.  That was that…I had to leave for work and Blip had to get ready for the day.

I wasn't sure if my bribery plan would actually work until I got a text from Mike.  It did work…and the next morning all three of us woke up early to go see Scorch on the big screen.  Blip was in popcorn heaven…and luckily we got the perfect seats (the ones with the bar in front instead of someone's seats…so he could be two without interfering with anyone else).  He downed nearly an entire large popcorn himself.

All in all it was great morning followed by a little exhausted boy taking a really good nap.  He's such a character…we absolutely love spending our time with him.

Ms. Barbie

Well…our beautiful baby boy has quickly grown into a handsome little guy.  He was no longer content to spend his days at home bored, so after waiting for more than a year (which I am so glad we did…without that year we wouldn't have our Nana G) a spot finally opened up at Ms. Barbie's.  And after waiting for so long…wouldn't you know it- I started second guessing our decision. 

I *knew* I wanted Blip to be with Ms. Barbie, but change is super hard for me…and once at Ms. Barbie's there were changes that would be made to our long term plans (like no Ms. Lori's preschool…which makes me so sad!!) just because it's how everything will work out.  Mike also struggled with this change. In fact, he is still struggling, but he is doing much better.  Money was another factor…our daycare costs nearly tripled.  It's worth it, though.

The weekend before Blip start with Ms. Barbie we spent time getting him all ready.  He already had a backpack he had been taking to daycare, so we got that cleaned out and ready.  Regina found Blip this super cute Hungry Caterpillar lunch box, so that was perfect timing.  I searched for ideas to make Blip lunches he will actually eat, but that is quite a bit harder than it sounds.  Blip's eating issues were one of my biggest fears about this new arrangement, but after a couple of weeks…I'm doing much better.  Some days he eats…other days he eats the snacks I pack *just in case*.

Ms. Barbie lives on about two acres of property and has several animals- four mini-horses, two donkeys, two rabbits, more than a dozen chickens, a dog named Kevin, a cat, and Penelope the pig…who thinks she's a dog.  The kids get to help collect all the eggs each day.

Kids start arriving at 6:30am, but Blip doesn't make his grand entrance until 9am.  And by "grand" I mean crying real tears, clinging to Daddy, and screaming "no!"   Once he's inside and with the other kids…and Mike is nowhere to be seen…he is perfectly content.  He gets a good report everyday…he loves playing with the other kiddos, eats his lunch (most days), takes a good nap, and is learning a ton.  Blip talks about Ms. Barbie all the time…and she is teaching him a variety of things.

On Blip's first day I asked Mike to get a picture of Blip with his lunch box and one with Ms. Barbie.  That's why I have some crazy lunch box pictures in the garage…I didn't post all of them.  Too funny.

Two of my co-workers/friends have kiddos there too.  It makes my life a thousand times better knowing they are there and love Blip.  Any questions I have- they can answer…and I already know how much their kids have thrived there.  The three of us at work had babies pretty close to each other. Blip, Avery, and Kinley are within six weeks of each other age wise.  And there is another little boy, Jake, who is about six month older.  Now that it's summer, there are a few bigger kids (mostly siblings to other little ones) that have returned while school is out.

I am still adjusting to all the changes, but feel much more at peace with where Blip is spending time.  I know the other daycare was not what he needed…after he moved up front he one year old classroom there was no real learning plan, the "teachers" seemed very transient, and after months of going into that classroom at least 8-10 hours a week they still had to put a piece of tape on the back of Blip's shirt with his name on it.  On the playground the teachers stood in a huddle and gossiped while my kid cried…and the other kids walked around aimlessly.  Why not stand near the swings and talk while you push a couple kiddos?  Getting paid to play with kids and not doing it…not my idea of okay.

We are pleased with Ms. Barbie and Blip seems happy about going there.  He is already learning so much and talks about his friends and Ms. Barbie constantly.

Splinters

Brandon and Christina came over with their two kiddos to borrow our quads.  While they were loading them up, Blip decided he wanted to be one of the big kids and run crazy on the trailer with the other kids.  Of course his crazy is a bit crazier then any older kid.  And of course his balance and ability to catch himself is still a work in progress, so he had a few spills.  Nothing major, but he was FILTHY by the time we went back inside.  I noticed his hands look dirty, but didn't think anything of it until bath time. 

I cleaned him up for dinner, but didn't go overboard knowing bath time was soon to follow.  When Blip's hands didn't come clean (should have taken a before picture) I looked a lil bit closer…the "dirt" wasn't dirt.  He had two hands FULL of splinters from the trailer.  Ugh.

We called Aunt Chelle and the boys on FaceTime so someone could help distract him from the needle in his hand digging out a couple dozen splinters.  Richelle and I reminisced about the time Ryan fell into Grandpa Red's (our next door neighbors before the Followwill's moved in) cactus garden…and all of the hurt it must have really been to both him and the parent who had to pull it all out of Ryan.  Yikes!

I didn't get any pictures of his hands with all the splinters, but I dug over a dozen out of his hands.  I did remember to take a picture of some of the actual splinters, but it hardly does it all justice.  Some were big and some were small, but they were all deep and literally had to be dug out.  He was brave.  He talked about hurting his hands for days after this all happened, but he kept telling people he fell on rocks.  The trailer is still sacred playing grounds, I guess.

Mother's Day

This year Mother's day fell on a weekend that Mike worked off duty Saturday night until 4am.  So there was no sleeping in for me, BUT since our rock star of a child sleeps in as often as possible…I can't come up with a valid complaint.  Plus…we woke up to this:

Mike's off duty job ends at 4am…and he's usually pretty dang tired by the time he finally walks in the door.  My sweet husband waited in the parking lot at LaMar's until 5:30am when they opened so he could surprise me (us) with our favorite donuts.  I know I was happy, but Blip was thrilled with his sprinkled surprise.

I hung out with Blip watching a movie and playing with his toys until it was time to wake up Daddy.

We spent the afternoon at the park enjoying the beautiful weather.  It was super windy, so Mike rode his bike home and grabbed our Minion kite.  We ran around, went down the slides, Blip wanted to swing…so we did that too.  And we finally got to fly our kite.

It was a laid back, very easy day.  It was nice.  Just the kind of day we long for around here.  I am blessed to be Blip's mom.  I have been blessed throughout my life to do and see many things.  But I have never known a happiness like this.  Being a mother is the greatest and most meaningful thing I have ever attempted.  I couldn't have been blessed with a better child…or a better husband/father to stand by my side and be my partner.

To add to my special day…

My most prized possession.  Isn't it beautiful..??

Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year seemed to sneak up on us.  The days go so fast…it's hard to keep up.

The weekend before Mother's Day my entire family was at our house for Jake's Baptism festivities, so we gave Carlys her gift while we were all together.  Regina took the lead on the gift this year, and it turned out awesome.  We got her an Origami Owl necklace with some really cool charms inside…a CTR shield, a mixer, gardening supplies…and something else, but now I can't remember.  I thought it was super cute, and Carlys seemed to love it too.  

I am so blessed to have Carlys fill void and be my mother during this time of my life.  She is wonderful to me (and Mike), and she is the best Nana I could ever imagine Blip having.  I love her so very much, and I am thankful for all she does for us.

Mike usually tries to plan something with his mom on Saturday, so we met Ken & Pat at Texas Roadhouse for lunch.  This seems to be becoming a regular holiday place for us.  The parking lot pictures afterwards are my favorite.

I sure do love my mother-in-law.  She has been very good to me…and is always kind to me.  And she loves my boy…both of them.  I know Mike loves his mama quite a bit.