When Things Get In The Way

Sometimes life gets to be overwhelming.  And lately that's how I've felt.  But then the stupidest things happen and make you just laugh at yourself and your worries that don't (technically) matter.  Like tonight for instance...

I was crying in the car on the way home from work because I was frustrated about a lot of things that have been happening.  Or not happening.  So I was frustrated from that.  Things that need to be done have been overwhelming and I feel like we are living in a pigsty.  I try to stay up at night but can't quite muster the energy after Jacoby still isn't sleeping through the night.  I made it home and all my boys were waiting for me. 

So first thing I do is give a quick hug to Leo.  I sit down with him to read some of the things on his DS.  After that I get Jacoby some green beans.  Then the hubby is wondering what's for dinner.  I have no idea because I was hoping to go out for a celebratory dinner but didn't get the news I've been waiting for.  On the plus side I didn't get bad news...just no news.  So we decide on McDonalds.  Jacoby is fussing in his chair after he's been in it for a bit so I go to pick him up.  And find myself covered in poop.  And so I just have to start laughing.  Because this is what it's all about.  My job doesn't matter.  My house being clean doesn't matter.  It's spending time with my family.  So after a bath for Jacoby and a quick rinse for me it's finally dinner.  And I'm thankful for my McDonalds! :)

Spin Cycle: Car trips

Car trips is our mission this week for the weekly spin cycle and Gretchen has told us it will be one heckuva ride (you see what I did there?!).  (Boo by the way!)  Anyways...I HATE car trips.  I would rather fly anywhere.  I have no fear of flying, only of flying birds.  So even if we are just going to Dodge City to see the in-laws or visit Kansas City, each only 3 hours away, I would prefer to fly.  Of course that doesn't happen and I am stuck in the car for the drive.  So with saying that I don't really have enjoyable car trips stories I can regale you with.  But, because I like you guys, I will give you the one that I probably remember the most. 

It was the summer before my freshman year of college and I was a frequent babysitter for a family at our church.  And they had 3 children all under the age of 4 or 5.  So when it came time for them to plan a family vacation they invited me along and said that if they paid for my trip and also paid me, I think $75 or $100 then would that be ok?  I didn't have anything better to do and my parents agreed so off we went.  We live in small town Kansas and our destination was Galveston, Texas.  A whopping 12 hour drive.  With 3 children under 5.  Let me just say it was a loooong drive.  It started off on whatever day we left and they stopped at the church to get holy water to bless their van.  I kid you not.  From there we hit the highway and traveled at a snails pace from Kansas to Texas.  It probably wasn't that slow but this was pre-DVDs in the car.  I'm pretty sure we had some sort of video player because I remember watching an obscene amount of Veggie Tales but how I'm not sure. 

The vacation part was pretty fun.  We stopped on the way to Galveston at Dallas/Ft. Worth and went to Six Flags and toured the Grass Knoll and saw the book depository Kennedy was (supposedly) shot from. And I'm assuming we stayed the night there and then continued our trek the next day.  (Sue me for not remembering the details...this was 14 years ago!)  When we made it to Galveston we hit up the beach, rode a ferry somewhere and then in the evenings they left me with the kids and they went around and did their own thing.  It was pretty nice.  We had a suite and I actually slept on a bunk-bed like bed that was attached to the wall, kind of like on a cruise ship.  What I remember about being in the hotel for hours at a time at night was that I read Gone With the Wind.  I was such a cool 14 year old!

And then coming home came the adventure.  By the end of the week I was more than ready to come home.  This was the longest I had been away from my parents and not been with other relatives so it was a whole other experience.  So I was tired, crabby and ready to go home.  Pretty much every day at work! :)  But on the way home, driving probably 70 miles an hour on the highway the van started having problems.  So we weren't driving very quickly.  Then all of a sudden one of the tires blew out.  So, thankfully, because we weren't going as fast we were able to make it to the side of the rode without having an accident.  So I guess that holy water came in handy!!  From there I just remember feeling like i was in a nightmare.  We had to stop at some random town and stay another night in a hotel with these people that I was ready to get away from.  And I just lost it.  I was bawling like the little 14 year old that I was.  And looking back I feel kind of bad but also I'm sure they understood.  We finally made it home and they asked me to babysit again so it was a success!

Thinking about vacations now that I have kids and talking about this trip recently with my brother and his wife we talked about how awesome this idea was.  Taking some high school kid with us on a trip to watch our kids at night so we could have some fun.  So now I just need to find the time to take a trip! 

Now go see what other spins you can take on the other car trip memories. (see I did it again!)

Random things seen and heard on my first day of vacation...

Today was my first day of vacation.  And I have needed it.  But I had to cram in stuff on my vacation because I don't always know when I'm going to have dyas off.  So this morning I had an eye appointment, annual checkup and then a meeting for Leo for Kindergarten enrollment.  Here are just a few of the things that I've seen and heard today that I've found strange...

• Some girl at the doctor's office (who wasn't even a patient) was trying to get a walk-in appointment because she had seen her doctor yesterday and he had given her a medicine and she was having a reaction.  A reaction that was making her freak the eff out.  She was all jittery and scratching at herself.  The doctor didn't have an opening apparently and she left all crazy-eyed.
• Another person at the doctor's office was into oversharing to the receptionist.  She said she wanted to see the doctor even though all she needed was lab work done becuase SHE HAD LOST 70 POUNDS and she wanted OFF THAT MEDICINE. (it's all in caps because she was yelling!).  It took everything I had not to turn around and look at who was talking. She ended up walking by me but what I really wanted to say was...uh, you lost 70 pounds?!  Can I get some of that medicine! :)
• At the Kindergarten meeting this evening there was a mother who started nursing her baby during the meeting.  I'm all for breast-feeding but I'm also all for doing it in the privacy of my home.  I'm not judging her for doing it there, even though it was only a 30 minute meeting, but I just think that you could at least sit in the back of the room instead of the front!  Also, I don't care that she did it but I just don't feel comfortable doing that.  And she was covered up so there's that too.
• Also at the Kindergarten meeting we were waiting to sign in when the principal started the meeting with a prayer.  So I didn't go ahead and sign in during prayer.  There was another person behind me whose daughter saw a friend who was ahead of me with her parent signing in.  So the little girl walked up to her friend and stood there during the prayer.  After the prayer was finished it was my turn to sign in but since the little girl had gone up to the table the mom cut in front of me and signed in. She at least turned around and was like, Oh I cut in front of you.  I'm sorry.  But all I could think was if that's how you act how is your kid going to act.  But that was just me being snarky!

So there you have it.  Some fun for your Friday!

Luck of the German

Are you ready for St. Patrick's Day?  I don't really do a lot for St. Patrick's day but I do have a little leprechaun-looking onesie for Jacoby to wear.  So all in all I guess I'm ready!  But to finish getting ready I needed to get my spin in to Gretchen about luck.  So here we go...

I am extremely lucky.  Not only do I have a really good life with my hubby and kiddos I have a really awesome relationship with my parents and brother and his family.  I also have excellent relationships with a lot of my cousins and some of my aunts and uncles.  So being cheesy I consider myself really lucky in that aspect.  But...I'm also very lucky in the things that happen to me...like things that I win.

When I was little my parents took me to a dogtrack (don't judge!).  They let me pick some of the dogs who I wanted to win.  And I think there was a streak where every dog I picked won.  And of course I chose the dogs with the best names.  From there my parents gave me some of the winnings and I went to the claw machine. And I cleaned up!  I think that is where my luck came from.  The track!

Since then I've been very lucky in just really random things.  I won a radio contest where I won a first generation Iphone (when they had just been released), autographed items from artists and a Calvin Klein purse.  I've also just randomly called into radio stations and won little things here and there.  I won a competition at work where you had to have certain referrals to get into the contest.  I did and I won the choice of either an Ipad or $500.  I chose the money because I was pregnant with Jaocby and knew the money would be a better investment.  I entered into a drawing for a sports package for Leo and won.  We recently attended a church function and I won a raffle basket for him.  It always seems like I win at scratch off lottery tickets.  And there for a while I had a streak that any time I played Turkey Bingo at church I would win a turkey.  Unfortunately my luck has changed in that aspect because I haven't won a turkey in years!

Of course my hubby thinks that I need to play for bigger prizes.  Like the Powerball.  Or hit the casinos.  But I think my luck comes when I need it.  If I need a little pick-me-up something good will happen.  I just think it's good luck!

RTT: Drinks at 9a, Gorgeous Weather and March Madness

Stacy is still leading our tribe on our quest for random.  So make sure you hit her up.  But before you do here is what is going on over here...

Do you ever have those mornings where you are ready for a drink at 9?  In the morning?  I had that morning on Monday.  I snoozed too long and pushed my luck.  I had everyone ready to get out the door on time but then the unexpected (but not really) happened.  Jacoby threw up all over the floor.  Thankfully we have wood floors so it's an easy clean but of course he hit his pants too.  So off to change the pants.  Whilst changing was happening my hand brushed the back of his onesie.  It hit wetness.  Which turned out to be poop.  All up his back. Awesome!  So a complete outfit change was in store.  Then by the time we got to daycare one of his socks had been lost.  And holy crap it was only 9.  Instead of going to work I was ready to hit the liq!

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Leo has hit the whiny but also bossy/back-talking stage.  I'm over it. 

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I have seen a lot of my family lately and I have enjoyed it immensely.  Now if only I could talk my aunt who has kids around Leo's age to move here I would be set!

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The weather this week is supposed to be upper 70s.  Hallelujah!  We never really had a horrible winter (snow only once) but I love 70s.  I will take that all year round.  In this case I would definitely be suited for southern California.  Ok...in a lot of ways I would be suited for southern California but don't tell my husband.  He would be job searching immediately!

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Yeah, I'm obsessed with Draw Something.  But I suck at drawing.  So if we're playing together...I'm sorry! 

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March Madness starts Thursday!  And like usual I'm off starting Thursday!  I love this time of year.  For the past few years I've taken the first weekend off so I can watch non-stop basketball.  This year the hubby is joining me.  I really don't have any plans other than the first day when I have an eye appointment and a doctor's appointment scheduled in the morning.  But the boys are going to school on Thursday and Friday and I'm sure I'll clean and cook but no other plans.  SO excited!  Also, the Jayhawks seem to have gotten a really good draw for their bracket so I'm hoping they do well!  Rock Chalk!

And that's all she wrote!  Happy Tuesday!

Leo's birthday extravaganza

Five years old! Wow! I can’t believe the time has gone this quickly! But a few weeks ago Leo had his 5th birthday. We opted out of a friends party (although he got spoiled because the next weekend we had a little get-together with one of my friends and her son at Chuck-E-Cheeses) and decided to do a family dinner on Friday and then on Saturday do a fun day with just Leo and let Jacoby spend the day at grandma’s. We didn’t have any real plans and let Leo decide the day. Of course Friday it started out super early (5am!).

So early! (1st picture as a 5 year old!!)

After taking him to McDonalds for breakfast he had to go to daycare for the day. That evening we hit up the local Village Inn. His choice!

Birthday hugs!



Emma enjoying cupcakes!



Cousins!

Saturday morning we went to Leo’s bowling league. He did pretty good. We then let Jacoby go to grandma’s while we decided where to go for lunch. Leo chose Wendy’s. And we were off!

Enjoying a yummy frosty

After Wendy’s the one thing Leo really wanted to do was go to the zoo. Luckily Mother Nature obliged and gave us pretty nice weather. It was a little cool so we did all have coats on. But it wasn’t too hot or too cold so the animals were very active. So that was awesome. We even got a show from the chimpanzees who were going crazy! Running around their big glass case, jumping, swinging, banging on the windows. It was nuts!

We also had talked about going to the cheap movie theater that showed second-run movies and see Alvin and the Chipmunks Chipwrecked. Well we stayed just a little bit too long at the zoo and so we needed a filler. Leo knew just what to do. We hit up the local go-cart/arcade/mini-golf place. So we hit them up for a little bit and let Leo play arcade games for about an hour. While we were standing in line waiting to cash in our tickets a guy walked by and gave us a free ticket to ride the go-carts. So we headed outside to do the go-carts. I’d never driven a go-cart and Leo wasn’t big enough to do it himself so we both had our first time in a go-cart. And Leo was a little disappointed because I wasn’t as fast as some of the other drivers and we didn’t “win.” But wow…those people were driving like maniacs. And I felt like we were going to tip over. So probably not something I’ll do again!

Getting tickets!

After that we had just enough time to get to the movies. And it was pretty cute. Pretty much the same as the other Chipmunk movies. Leo thought it was pretty hilarious though and cracked up throughout the movie.

For the grand finale of the night we headed to a local hotel. I had a free night stay and Leo loves hotels (I mean honestly…who doesn’t?!) but this hotel was AWESOME! It was a Homewood Suites which is part of Hilton. We got up to our room and it had a giant king size bed, a couch and a recliner. It also had a desk and a kitchen. With free popcorn! We were exhausted after our day though so we just had gotten a quick dinner and ate in the room. We watched the NBA all-star slam dunk competition and then it was bedtime! The next morning we got up (earlier than I would have liked!) and Leo and I headed down to check out their breakfast buffet. And let me tell you…it was awesome! They had scrambled eggs, sausage, French toast, waffles, fruit and then Danishes and cereal. It was definitely a full spread! Then it was time to go. We checked out of the hotel around 9 and went to pick up Jacoby. The rest of the day was spent playing with new toys, napping and playing outside.

Look how big that bed is!

All in all it was a pretty fantastic weekend! And Leo was so spoiled he’s going to have to get back in the swing of normal weekends where we just hang out!

Face sleeper

Jacoby has decided he wants to be like his mama and sleep on his face. I'll be glad when he has mastered the art of making sure his face is not smushed down into his bed as it will make for better nights of sleep for both of us.

It's funny to me how much one can forget about the little things of parenting. It's been 5 years since Leo was a baby and the hubby and I were trying to figure out this crazy thing called parenthood.  Since then I've felt like I've mastered it but there are also times I feel like I've failed at it.  Which from everything I see on Facebook, Twitter and blogs that is completely normal.  And now here we are 5 years later trying to do it all over again.  This time it's even harder though because I have to worry about another person on top of the baby!  Slowly but surely we are getting our lives back in order and adjusting being a family of 4.  And hopefully I will be able to get back into the swing of blogging on a regular basis.  One thing that I have learned and am using this skill every day is the skill of bedtime.  It's not mastered by any means but bedtime is pretty set in our house.  Even on the weekends unless something is going on.  And that is in bed by 8.  So it's almost bedtime so I better go so we can get books read and teeth brushed!

RTT: Lots-o-rando

Hey-O!  Another Tuesday so let's get random!

I watched GCB last night (taped from Sunday) and it was pretty hilarious.  I watched Football Wives Dallas and GCB depicted the ladies a lot like the wives of the Dallas Cowboys.  I wouldn't have even believed people are like that in real life but after seeing it I believe it!

I made appetizers for dinner tonight.  Delicious.  We had a spread of cheese dip, mixed veggies and dip, buffalo wings and little smokies.  Not anything healthy but we all loved it! 

We started a new health initiative at work on Sunday.  The point is to eat 3 servings of green fruits an veggies 5 days a week and get 1 hour of exercise 5 days a week.  I have the exercise done 2 days already this week and the veggies done once.  And today at the store I bought some good stuff to help me get my 3 servings every day.  Also, please disregard what I wrote about what we had for dinner because I'm pretty sure it voided all the exercise I've done the past two days.  A thing that's nice about this challenge is the fact that we have partners.  So if I don't do it I'm not just letting myeslf down I'm letting my partner down.  So I have accountability.  So we'll see how I do.

It's Girl Scout cookie time.  Unfortunately I gave up sweets for Lent so the cookies I've bought have gone in the freezer.  And speaking of Lent, I have been on Pinterest and looking through cookbooks and have seen so many desserts.  And then I read a blogpost about stress eating and desserts.  Check it out.  And this is really strange but I feel like I'm being tempted big time.  And so diggint out my old Catholic teachings it really is like the devil is vying for me and is trying to tempt me into eating sweets.  Well so far so good.  And now I am getting off my church box!

We finally got a crib for Jacoby!  He has been sleeping in the pack and play because our crib that we had for Leo was recalled due to the drop-rail side.  So I finally just broke down and got one.  And I got the model I wanted but they didn't have the color I wanted.  I was so bummed.  But for the price it was I wasn't going to wait.

We decided to send Leo to the Catholic school here in town.  It's the church we (Leo and I) go to and the hubby went to a Catholic school when he was a kid and really liked it so we decided on that.  That's also where Leo did his shadow day so I'm kind of hoping he gets that teacher because he seemed to like her and keeps talking about her.  It would just be nice for him to see a familiar face when he starts in the fall.

I emailed my partner from the V-day swap I talked about here to see if she at least received my package I sent (that's what he said! ).  And I didn't hear anything back.  I also never received anything.  I saw on the host's twitter page a picture of something she got in the exchange so I know that things have been sent out.  Soooo that will probably be the last swap I do for a while.  Such a bummer!

And that's the random for the day.  Make sure to visit Stacy and keep the rebel randoming alive!



Karma

I know I haven't been in the bloggy world a lot lately but things have been pretty hectic in the Fernandez household.  Between Leo's birthday a week ago and then my niece's birthday on Sunday plus having family come into town this past weekend I am spent.  But I know some very awesome people in my real life read this blog.  And I just wanted to say thank you to them because even as crazy as my life has been they have done some really awesome things for me.  So to my mom and aunt Davi (and godmother!) thank you so much for helping me through what has not been the easiest past 4-5 months!  Even if I don't seem super appreciative when the awesome things are happening I really do appreciate it!  Sometimes I don't feel like I'm worthy to have such amazing, strong women in my life!  You've definitely been good role models of how good people live their lives and who I aspire to be when I grow up! :)

Spin Cycle: Duck and Cover

This week’s spin cycle is phobias.  Hmmm…what am I afraid of?  I really couldn’t think of anything that I was terrified of that I wouldn’t be able to handle it.  But then I started reading other people’s posts and it got me thinking.  And as strange as it is I am afraid of birds.  I think that it all started after I saw Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.  Any kind of bird.  My cousin had a parrot.  Not a fan.  It also was mean so that didn’t really help.  I have also tried to conquer my fear.  We have a wildlife zoo where you can interact with some of the animals.  My mom and I took Leo and there was an area where you could pay a few dollars and get some bird food (what a rip-off huh?!) and take it into the little area and have the birds fly up and eat from you.  Oh. My. Gosh.  It was horrible.  I just was terrified.  So now when we’ve gone back I just have to let my mom take Leo in there and I wait on the bench outside the area.  The only thing about my fear is that I’m not afraid of looking at birds.  Only when they come up to me.  And I’m not afraid of the peacocks or geese that walk freely at the regular zoo.  Although I do not like geese because those things are just plain mean and will try to bite you.  But that’s neither here nor there!  So there you have it.  A little insight to my crazy brain!  Go see Gretchen and all the other spinners to see what they’re afraid of!