A Sinus Infected Thought

So I'm sick...again...SHEESH!!!!  This has been a very difficult two months.  From my strep throat to Lillys and now mine trying to make a comeback.  It's very aggravating.  Instead of my throat feeling like a meat grinder this time; my head feels like two washcloths have been shoved up my nostrils.  Ok...enough with the descriptions...I feel like poop.  That sums it up.

So, as I was lying awake ALL night last night I had a lot of time to think.  I don't think many of my thoughts were normal because I was laughing at them this morning.

Especially this one:

I really think wedding vows should be elaborated upon.  I know that people write their own vows and elaborate on them some...
But I think it should be taken even farther!
You know how amazing weddings can be.  The bride is stunning.  The groom is in awe half the night at his glowing wife.  The cake is awesome...etc...
But when it gets to the part where the preacher says, "For better, for worse.  In sickness and in health..."  That is where an exaggeration should come into play.
For example: 
When Tim and I got married if my preacher had said, "Tim...do you realize that you will have to pick tics off of unflattering body parts, and she will run out of toilet paper and holler for you to bring her a roll.  You do realize those are some of the 'for worse' parts right?" 
"And Tim, you do realize she looks like a hag when she is sick?  And you will have to hold her hair when she is puking because she's a wimp.  That's what the 'in sickness' part means Tim...are you sure?"

I have to wonder if he would've run screaming down the aisle to get away from me. 
I think I would.

Maybe not as many divorces would happen if the preacher elaborated on the vows.

And that is what I thought about last night. 

I'm so glad Tim has stuck with me during some of my worst moments. 

Markers, Slugs, and a Loose Tooth...OH MY!!!

Today was one of those days for the record books...or blog.
It was a great day...just crazy, funny and exciting all at once!

--It started off with a green marker.-- 
Graham has learned to sneak up the stairs without me knowing it.  I know I should have a baby gate at the bottom, but it's not that big of a deal.  He is almost two and has pretty much mastered the art of climbing.  So as I was completing the dishes this morning I heard a very faint, "mommy" off in the distance.  I knew that meant he was in his room with the door closed...uh oh.
I quickly dashed up the stairs and into his room to find him standing there with a green marker...opened!!!  As I looked around the room I saw his art work everywhere.  He drew on the walls, his toys, and of course himself.  Now I have never actually said, "Do not color on the walls"  So I didn't feel the need to discipline only to show him what he was allowed to draw on.  I took him to the other room and got out a piece of paper and colored on it and said, "See buddy, this is what you color on" to which he looked incredibly disappointed.  I understood, I mean I think coloring on a wall is more fun than paper, but what can I say...those are the rules.  We then proceeded to scrub his arms and face to get the marker off and then we both got a wet cloth and wiped down his room.  Thankfully it was washable (big props to the folks who invented that!).  So that started off my morning with a good cleaning and a big smile.
Then something else happened...

--It looked like a slug.--
As the morning moved on I proceeded with my routine of cleaning and playing.  During one of my laundry runs I walked by the kitchen counter and noticed a slug on the counter.  It was a big, gigantic black slug!!!  I stood there in horror.  What was I to do?  All of a sudden the slug jumped.  I had no idea slugs could jump.  But this one jumped!  And when it jumped I noticed this slug had fins.  Hmmm...that's not right.  As I examined it more closely I realized it was our family fish Rapunzel!!!  She had leapt out of her bowl and was laying lifeless on the counter. 
Now was the proper time to panic! 
After a quick MacGyver move, including a washcloth and a sippy-cup, I succeeded in transporting her back into the bowl.  This was accompanied with lots of screams and jumps...I don't like squishy things! 
To wrap it all up...

--It's Loose!!!!--
Lilly had a dentist appointment this afternoon.  When her cleaning was over she came running into the waiting room screaming, "I have a loose tooth!!!"  I cannot believe it!  My little girl is big enough to lose a tooth!  I guess the toothfairy will be paying a visit to the Holland house in the next few weeks or months.  SO EXCITING!!!! 

Now that the day is coming to a close I'm flat out exhausted.  It was one of those days that I look back on and think I'm so glad I'm a mommy and that I get to experience all of the crazy things that go on in my house.

Brother/Sister Lingo

Graham is reaching the age where he understands absolutely everything we say, but cannot quite communicate what he wants to say back.  However, he and his sister can enjoy some very interesting conversations.

For example:
The other day in the car Lilly was thirsty.  Graham had a sippy cup of juice and Lilly asked him for a sip to which he adamantly said "NO! MINE!"  She did not give up so easily.  She asked several times before I finally intervened.  I said, "Graham why don't you let Lilly have a sip.  She is very thirsty.  It would be so nice to share."  To which he responded, "NO!"  This made Lilly very unhappy.  So she said to Graham, "GRAHAM!!!  IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME!!!!   IT'S ABOUT ME ALL THE TIME TOO!!!!"  We almost drove off the road laughing...but this made since to Graham...and he proceeded to hand the cup over to his sister.

Then tonight after dinner another funny brother/sister conversation occurred.
A game of roll-the-duct-tape-across-the-floor was underway.  (Who needs toys when you have duct tape!)  They were having a great time but then the 2-year old nature took over.  Graham decided he no longer wanted to roll the tape.  It was more fun to hold onto and say "MINE!"  (Gotta love that word!)  Lilly tried several times to start the game back up, but it was much more fun for him to say "MINE!"  So Lilly tried the rejected approach.  She walked away very sad and slumped over.  This immediately got his attention and he ran to her rescue with duct-tape outstretched. 
Lilly perked up immediately and said "Graham, are you going to share?"
Graham said "Ya"
Lilly said "Do you promise to share?"
Graham said, "Ya"
Lilly said, "Are you positive?"
Graham said, "Ya!"
Lilly said, "Are you negative?"
Graham said, "Ya!"
Lilly ran hollering at me, "Graham said he's negative!!!!  He won't share!!!"
To which he was very confused.

I absolutely love these conversations they are beginning to have.  It makes my day so interesting.

A Halloween Remembrance

To say that Halloween was a complete bust this year is an understatement...it royally stunk.  The whole week leading up to Halloween I had the worst case of strep throat I have had since childhood.  This caused me to miss all of Lilly's festivities.  Then on the actual Halloween Lilly came down with strep and had to stay in and pass out candy to all of her friends.  She had the best attitude about it, but it was still so sad.

So...in an effort to not feel so bad about the whole thing...here are some awesome pictures of Halloween in years' past.

Lilly's First Halloween---8 weeks old

           Oh yes we did dress her up as a lobster!                      And this is how she felt about it!

Lilly's Second Halloween---14 months old

She was some sort of pink cat....I think?

Lilly's Third Halloween---2 years old

My happy little flower.

Not a fan of pumpkin guts.

Lilly's Fourth Halloween----3 Years old

A lovely version of Cinderella...her favorite princess.


And Introducing...BABY GRAHAM!!!
His first Halloween-9 months and Lilly's 5th--4 years

Picking out the perfect pumpkin at 9 months old.

Yea...pretty sure he tasted the pumpkin guts.

And ended up naked because he covered himself in them...lots of fun!!!

 My little monkey man!

Lilly was very quick to correct anyone who thought she was a pretty bumble bee.  She would say, "I am a PRINCESS BUMBLEBEE thank you."  

Lilly's sixth Halloween and Graham's second.

5 and 21 months

 Even though we were not able to Trick or Treat the kids still dressed up for Lilly's Fall Festival at school. They were so cute. 

My two super hero's!!!

Pro-Kid Leash

It's a running joke with me and my sister that God knew what He was doing when He gave her the twins because I couldn't handle them.
And that was proven this past weekend.

Lilly and I had a girls night planned with my sister, Aunt KK as Lilly calls her.  We were going to go to the high school football game and play with the boys and then spend the night.  We were super pumped!

We got to the school and ate dinner together on the football field (a perk of having a high school football coach for a brother-in-law).  Lilly loved watching the cheerleaders practice.  And I loved watching how my sister manages to feed the twins and still take a bite or two of food. 
After dinner we had to make the trek up the stands to the top of the grandstands for a potty break.  Cassie had one twin on her hip, a 31 large utility tote on the other shoulder (courtesy of me!) and a large sweet tea in the other hand.  I had one twin on my hip and Lilly holding my other hand.  We all started the march up the mountain as on-lookers stared open-mouthed at us...like we were crazy ladies.  As we reached the summit of Mt. Pickens County High we were gasping for breath.  I even had to bend over for air...that's sad.  But what can I say...I'm not in super-duper shape. 
Now being the all-mighty older sister I said, "Cas, I'll watch the boys while you take Lilly to the bathroom."  To which she gave me the "you're crazy" look.  I said, "What!!!  I can handle them!" 
So she shrugged and gave me her large utility tote, and sweet tea.  At that moment we set both boys down at the same time...BIG MISTAKE!
They both took off running in opposite directions!!! 
One boy ran towards the street, while the other ran toward the edge of the stands. 
What did the all-knowing, wiser older sister do at this point? 
I FROZE!!!
I could not believe what I was seeing.
Both boys sprinting towards their deaths!!
Cassie quickly snatched the one running into oncoming traffic while screaming at me to grab the other one.
In my frozen stupor of panic I watched as an old guardian angel grabbed the other one and turned to set him down.  He only moved the baby back about two feet but it was enough for me to snap out of it and do something.
Now the smart thing to do would be to drop the 31 bag and sweet tea to save my nephew.  But I was still coming out of my coma so all I knew to do was to stick out one leg in front of him so he couldn't go any farther while hopping on the other leg and managing to save every drop of that precious sweet tea. 
Quickly Cassie came to my rescue and snatched up the baby with a snarl on her face.  All she could say was, "NO!  You do not get to keep both kids!  I'm taking one with me!!!"  And she stomped off to the bathroom.
I could not believe what just happened.
I grabbed Kiptyn and headed to the bathroom trying to find the right words to say when she came out.  As I made the walk to the bathroom I kept hearing the verse, "He will not give you more than you can handle" going through my mind.  I couldn't help but smile because it is so true!  God knew I couldn't handle twins...and I'm ok with that. 
When Cassie came out of the bathroom we made eye contact and burst out laughing.  She said, "now do you know why I am getting them a kid leash!!"  And yes, I am now an advocate for the kid leash.
As we talked about it during the game we couldn't get over the fact that I never dropped the tea or the bag.  And to be honest I didn't even know I was holding them at that time.  I was just in so much shock.
Thankfully we made it through the evening with no one dying and no sweet tea spills.
My sister is amazing.  I am so proud of her and those precious little men. 
And I'm so thankful that my kids are 3 1/2 years apart.

The Ultimate Interview

The other morning as I was drying my hair I started reflecting. 
That's a good time for a mommy to reflect. 
You can close the door because Heaven forbid you disturb the sacred cartoon time.  And while the door is closed you can't hear them fight over the blanket or who is eating the most dry cereal. 
It is quiet.
And so I began to reflect.
I started thinking about my other life.  (No I don't have 3 kids with another dude in Montana)
I was thinking about my job before the kids were born.
Before the days of cooking, cleaning and playing all day I was a Project Coordinator for the Facilities Management Department at Chick-fil-A Corporate.  It was a fantastic job for an amazing company.  Thousands of people apply to work at the corporate office and they only hire between 50 and 100 people a year.  The way that I got in the door was through my Aunt who worked at a temp agency.  For about a year and a half I worked in the department as a temp, and then they hired me on full time for the next year and a half.
I guess what I was reflecting on the other day was the interview process.
In order for me to be hired as a temp I went through three very intense interviews.  They followed this up by drilling my references for 45min to an hour each over the phone.  My references each called me afterward and said I owed them.  It was that intense.  But I made it through!  They hired me!!!  After a year and a half they decided they liked me and asked if I wanted to be hired on full time through them.  I thought it would be simple, but they said I would have to interview against other candidates for my own job!!!  I was surprised but proceeded with the process.  After four very intense interviews I was hired...to do the job I had already been doing.  I find it comical now, but I know they were just trying to give everyone a shot.

So as I was reflecting on this interview process the other day I thought to myself, "what if I had to interview for my job now as a mommy?  What if I had to do an interview with God in order to prove that I could parent?  Would He hire me?  Would I pass?"  I started thinking about what kind of questions He would ask me.  Would He say, "are you ready to be up all night sometimes?  Do you fully understand the car seat manual?  Do you know how to tell if your kid swallowed a penny?"
Or would it be more like,
"In what ways are you going to teach My children about Me?"
"How are you going to show them My light?"
I know that my interview with CFA was intense, but I get the feeling that my interview to be a mommy would be so much greater. 
That got me thinking,
"Am I doing everything in my day to show them God's love?" 
"Does my light shine?  Can they even see it?"
"What can I do better to teach them and lead them to God?"
I feel like the objective of my job is to lead them to the Lord and pray that they accept Him.  It is the scariest task I have ever had. 
But I am up for the challenge.
He didn't lead me to this task unequipped.  I have His word and a sense of humor so I think I have all the tools I can have in order to do this job to the best of my abilities.

Laughter=Patience

Graham has taught me so much during his first 21 months of life.  Among the many things this first-time-mommy-to-a-boy has learned is patience.  Well...I can't say I have learned but am learning patience.  There is a big difference.
One way I know that I am improving in this area is by the way my actions proved themselves the other day.

Graham and I are spending lots of time together these days...just the two of us.  With Lilly in 5-day preschool we have 5 mornings with just us. 
I am absolutely loving it!!!!
We have fun chasing balls, playing with cars and pretending to be dinosaurs.  He is also in the phase where he likes to help me do chores.
The other morning I was sweeping/swiffering the downstairs.  Graham had the broom and I had the swiffer.  Then we would swap.  All the while I had a load of laundry running. 
After finishing the living room I walked into the kitchen to put the broom away.  I quickly noticed water creeping its way out of the laundry room and entering the kitchen. 
I screamed!
I ran into the laundry room to find the hose had worked its way loose from the back of the washer.
No big deal right?...WRONG!!!
My laundry room is only big enough for a washer and dryer.  So I had to figure out a way to pull the washer out all the while wading in ankle deep water.
I was able to move it to the side just enough to start squeezing behind.  As I was squeezing I felt my pelvis say..."No Way!!"  and then I knew it...I was stuck.
At that exact moment Graham deciding to come running to his Mommy's rescue.  I heard the pounding of his little feet in the other room.
I was in the middle of saying "Don't Run!!!!"  When he came dashing into the flooded room and slipped.  It was a slip that reminded me of a ball player sliding into home. 
Of course he was mad because he was soaked!  But what could I do...I WAS STUCK!!! 
Then I heard in the distance the sound of Beans running.  I guess she thought she could help.  But all she could do was run into the room and slip and fall as well.
Did I mention I had just given her a bath?  Now she was wading in dirty washing machine water with a screaming little boy on his bottom and a stuck mama.
What could I do?
All I could do....LAUGH!!!
We all looked hysterical! 
As Graham watched his mama pressed up against a wall and a washing machine he began to see the humor in the situation as well...and he began to laugh...which led to splashing.
I knew that I couldn't stay there all day so I started wiggling.  Eventually my pelvis gave in and I was able to get un-stuck.  But it wasn't without a fight...and I was sore for a day or so after that. 
When it was all said and done I fixed the washer and mopped up all the dirty water and then re-mopped with clean water.  I had the cleanest laundry room/bathroom floor on the street!!!
And then I had time to reflect.
Needless to say I was pretty proud of myself. 
The pre-Graham Brittney would've been incredibly put-out by the situation.  I would have been in a bad mood for a while and then I probably would've griped about it to everyone I came into contact with.  But I didn't do that!!!
I laughed!!!!
I am learning how things don't always work out the way they are supposed to...and that's ok. 
I'm learning that it doesn't always have to be easy...and that makes it more fun sometimes.
I'm learning that God is using so many things about my day to teach me patience. 
I have so desperately needed to learn this.
I give a lot of the credit to my little man because he gives me a run for my money sometimes. 
But I am so thankful that I am getting better and maybe someday I will say I've accomplished it...I'm Patient!!!