Indy Trip

Back in June- yep June- Chad headed on a week long mission trip with some students from our church. My mom and I decided that this would be a great time to wrangle the boys and take a trip up to Indiana to visit my grandparents and brothers and even give my mom a chance to check on their house that is still for sell their.

It was a really fun trip, because although Chad was gone, I had my mom's help and instead of feeling like a single parent, it was actually like we were playing man on man, with two moms and two boys. It was great. It kinda made me wondering why God didn't intend families to include two mothers because that would just be awesome, but I digress.....

On our trip, we had a basic agenda- meaning we knew where we were staying and for how many days, but otherwise, it was go with the flow. We could drive as quick or as slow as needed, the boys could nap when tired, we could go as we pleased, and it was just plain fun and almost relaxing... if traveling with a 2 year old and a 1 year old can be relaxing.

We started north and stopped 2 hours up the road at the Chattanooga children's museum-- we have a pass to the Atlanta Children's Museum which means you get into reciprocal museums for free and Chattnooga fit that bill. It was a great stop and stretch and play point. We stayed through lunch.

Once we got to Indy, we went to the dairy farm with my grandparents-- I love this dairy-- I wish I would've had more time to sit and watch everything like the birthing process and such, but the bus ride and the cows and the ice cream was a huge hit with Max and I learned a lot more, even though I had already been through before.

We also got to spend a lot of time with my brother, Uncle Sam, including a trip to his house and some game time at Chuck E. Cheese. Sam loves my boys, and really enjoys Max's age right now, and he just kisses and hugs on them and spoils them rotten. It's pretty cute!

We also got to see my cousin and her kids who are really close in age to my kids, and enjoyed a nice morning out on my grandparents property. And we wore them out!!

Now that my parents have moved back south, my trips up north have become less, naturally, so anytime we do make it up there, we just have to soak in all our people as fast and as much as possible!

IRS Update

I know you’ve been on the edge of your seat about our IRS debacle. Do you remember what I’m talking about?

Recap: http://parentingbuildscharacter.blogspot.com/2012/02/when-life-makes-you-cuss.html

Well as I ended my post, I knew it was going to work out, but I just didn’t know how it was going to work out. Which has turned out to be very true.

It started with lots of phone calls and letters to the IRS. Then some research and speaking with an attorney. And what is boiled down to was that our accountant was at fault, there is nothing we could do about it, and so we did indeed owe the IRS a million dollars. Ok, so really it was like $11,000 but it felt like a million dollars! Our accountant did write a letter on our behalf, explaining how it was his fault, and asking them to remove certain fees and penalties so it ended up that we “only” owed $8,993.91. Only.

Believe it or not, by this point, I think mostly because of the long, drawn out process, I was totally ok with it by this point. I knew I had explored every possibility and I now understood, although not fair, that we did indeed owe that money even though we did indeed qualify for the housing credit, fair and square. Honestly, I think it was just another one of the Lord’s works in my heart—by the time it was time, I was ready to sign the papers and accept the bill.

Chad on the other hand, not so much. His blood never boiled during the first many rounds of back and forth with the IRS- he never got mad at their answers, or felt the need for any deep research. So by the time I had reached the point of a “ok, whatever is Caeser’s, I will give to Caesar” attitude, Chad changed places with me- all of a sudden, it seemed to hit him that this wasn’t going away, and it was an outrage, causing him to throw the temper tantrum and go into denial and scream and shout like I did back when this all started.

And then one day, he came home while I was in the midst of getting the boys into pj’s and he nonchalantly said “I’ve got good news.”

You’re guessing that he conquered the IRS, right? Wrong! Instead, out of nowhere, for no reason except kindness and love and generosity, with no strings attached, Chad’s parents called him while he was working and offered to foot the bill for us.

Seriously.

Did you read that? They just sent us a cashier’s check for the total!

So we signed the form and sent it back to the IRS and waited for a bill. We got it, paid it, and it’s behind us now.

NOT!!!!! Because nothing with the IRS works like that. Instead, while we waited for the bill from them, we managed to accrue a beaucoup of interest and more penalties. Seriously. And after another several rounds of calls and letters, I have no idea if we’ve even gotten anywhere and I just get transferred from department to department. And I think that the IRS are some of Satan’s pawns just trying to cause me to lose my religion and go all crazy and mangle people. I honestly don’t know where we are at this point- I’ve sent the $8993.91 and they’ve cashed it. And I’ve sent several strongly worded letters after speaking to every department possible over the course of 746433 hours on the phone with them. But as far as I’m concerned it’s over. And really, it was just a good process for my heart to walk through—getting a big unexpected bill, grasping as our money like it was ours, God moving my heart and opening my hands and releasing control and money, and then to be overwhelmed by the unexpected generosity of Chad’s parents.

Needless to say, we are so grateful and we have learned so much. But if anything like this every happens again, I may run for the boarder and never look back ☺ Kidding… kinda… mainly because they don’t have Chick-fil-A over the boarder!

Maddie, "my" dog

This post is mostly for laughs and to remind me of the truth when my boys try to suck me in… but before we go there, let’s start from the top.

When my brother was in elementary school, him and his good friend Cadie found puppies and rescued them… this included bringing them into our home and eventually they each adopted one. My brother named his Maddie and she has been apart of our family ever since. But from the beginning we have had a love/ hate relationship—I’ve hated her smell, fur, and licking, and so she had loved to rub on me, lick me, and drop her hair all over my life.

So fast forward a bit… Maddie grows up and lives in our home as our family pet but I manage to sneak off to college before long. Then my parents move to Virginia and back and then to Indiana and Maddie moves too… but after life in the condo in the city gets old, my Dad sends her to college with Eli. Maddie loved college, as did Eli, but you can only stretch a 4 year degree for so long, so they eventually made Eli and Maddie graduate and move away from Athens. This included moving into my house. That’s right, Maddie, the dog that has taunted me for years became part of my home. BUT get this… Eli moved out- into Atlanta with my parents so he can start law school- BUT that dog stayed here.

You read the right.

Maddie is now our dog. This is because their apartment doesn’t welcome dogs of her size, and my hubs loves dogs and couldn’t turn her away, and offered to take her in. Or that’s how it started… but for the last several months, I’ve been the one in charge of feeding her, getting her water, letting her in and out all day long on her every whim, and now as she gets old and has health problems, I have scrubbed her diarrhea and given her meds 3 times a day for 2 weeks which includes me buying donuts just for her to reward her for taking her pills like a good girl. So let me re-phrase that-- Maddie is now my dog. 

Seriously?

She has also woven her way into my heart enough that she spends a good part of her day inside my house on my rugs, usually at my feet, while I fold laundry or work on my computer.

I still hate dog hair-especially her kind, and I still hate licks, and yet this is all a true, on-going story. I’m beginning to feel duped….

But as she gets older, I keep hearing things said like “Pretty soon, we’ll need another dog…” and “Jack needs a dog” and “Dogs are great protection” and “all boys need to grow up with puppies” and “Kids who grow up around dogs are actually healthier” among other crazy statements. So let me say it here before I get duped again:

Lauren, your children and your husband are very cute and will do a great job convincing you of their need for a dog BUT don’t do it. Don’t give in. It will become your dog. They will not take care of it, because “mom will do it.” It will be like another child, there will be hair and licking and chores, and it’s just not a responsibility you want to take on. Don’t you dare fall for it Lauren. No dogs. NO DOGS! Sincerely, Lauren

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Now while we’re on the subject of Jack’s first birthday, let’s discuss his one year pictures. If you remember (I’m sure you don’t!) I had Max’s pictures taken on his first birthday wearing this adorable blue cupcake jonjon and the infamous blue birthday hat that my Dad loves to hate. There were some of just him, and some with him eating a cupcake—his first. They were absolutely gorgeous and I bought tons, including this storyboard of him and the cupcake scenario, which includes several of him ripping the hat from his hat. Priceless!

So of course, I sealed up the outfit and the hat in case we ever had baby boy #2, so that we could have a repeat. Well lucky for us, we got ourselves a baby J, and upon his birth (literally within a week!) I booked a session with the most famous, most wonderful, so very gifted Brandelynlee photography for Jack’s first birthday as well.

WELL poor Brandy has been suffering from horrible back pain and issues for months, to the point that she couldn’t drive, sit up, sit to eat, etc… for MONTHS. Can you imagine? Well after exhausting everything, they had to do this blah back surgery, but God is good and it seems to have her fixed right up, and she is finally able to work again… as well as play with her family and eat dinner with them and be an awesome mom and wife. (But seriously, months of just laying in bed all day in pain?!?!?!?) AND so that means we got our pictures back of our Jack…. And they were well worth the wait!

Here is a little video she put together for us to see them images and decide which ones we want—you’ll melt, absolutely melt, for a couple of reasons—1) Brandy is so good 2) Jack is the most adorable thing, ever! (Just ask me!)

VIDEO LINK: http://video214.com/play/0xgyg46wo9H5MyaLmJDSPw/s/dark

But the song that Brandy picked for the background music just killed me—it says everything I think and feel about these boys, in words that I can never manage to come up with—The song is by JJ Heller and it’s called “When I’m With You”—it’s worth the download, for sure!

When I hold you

In my arms, love

Somethin' changes

It's the strangest feeling

The things that

Use to matter

They don't matter

To me

When I see you

And you're smilin'

How my heart aches

So full it is about to break

You make me believe in love

I could never count all the ways

That you change me, baby

Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue

When I'm with you

When I hear you

And you're cryin'

It resonates, dear

In a place I didn't know was there

You make me believe in love

I could never count all the ways

That you change me, baby

Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue

When I'm with you

Beautiful, baby

You're sweeter than strawberry pie

Just like the morning

Your smile brings the sun that shines

I could never count all the ways

That you change me, baby

Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue

When I'm with you

I could never count all the ways

That you change me, baby

Every day the sky is a deeper shade of blue

When I'm with you

Oh it just makes me all weepy… but let’s be honest, when it comes to these kids and my momness, it doesn’t take much!  Oh how I love being a mom—and not in a “oh I love ice cream” kind of love—I mean like every fiber of my being, I can’t thank God enough for this gift, kind of love. Oh, my hands are full, but my heart is more so!

And also, you must check out Brandy’s stuff…. Especially if you are marrying someone really beautiful or handsome, or if you are raising cute little people:

Brandy’s website: http://brandelynlee.com/

Brandy’s blog: http://brandelynlee.com/theblog/

Jack's 1st Birthday Party

Since it's now mid-August, I thought it would be a good time to blog about Jack's first birthday party... you know, the one from MAY! To say that we've really enjoyed our summer would be putting it lightly, and to mention that I put my blog on the back burner would be redundant- but I'm back. At least for now. And before I lose focus or run off on another adventure, this birthday party must hit the press.

Jack turned 1, I dreaded it, like I do every milestone my kids hit because I just want to freeze them in time and slow this whole process down. Unfortunately, he went on ahead and did it despite my protests, but at least we got a good party out of it! We had Jack's birthday at a wonderful park just up the road from our house. We rented the pavilion and turned the kids loose on the playgrounds, and it was great. The only downside was the Georgia May 2012 looked more like past Augusts and it was a scorcher. BUT we did have shade under the pavilion and we all lived to tell about it, so that was great.

I can't even find the words to describe how blessed we are in the friends department-- and almost everyone was able to make it to Jack's shindig. There were kiddies everywhere and it was baby city... talk about causing some baby fever for me, sheesh! Jack's party was a frog theme, mostly because he became "Jumpin Jack" in his bouncy jumperoo during the months leading up to his first birthday, so naturally the led me right to the frog theme. It was really fun to plan!

We served BBQ from Bubba-q-- a family favorite because that's what you should eat at the end of May. And of course sweet tea and lemonade because that's what you should drink at the end of May :)

We had a special frog craft... look at these Dads, up for Dad of the year!

We of course served frog cupcakes because what would a frog party be without frog cupcakes? I found these on Pinterest and then my mom and I put them together. They were super cute but the heat got to them before the day was over! Poor froggies needed a pond to soak in or something.

These were our thank you cookies, made special by our very best Annie! My  mom is the best sugar cookie maker, so I just had her put them on sticks and then I tied a thank you tag around them and made them into a flower arrangement. And they were yummy!

Here is the birthday boy in action-- he was a trooper despite the heat and the naps that he missed... I think he was born to party!

And look at these cuties... seriously, they are real! God just made them this precious from the get-go. The only way this picture could be better is if we had a couple more :)

And by the end of the party, this is what Jack was up to....

Hey, it's rough to be the center of attention! But meanwhile, Max made sure there were no chocolate leftovers....

Happy Birthday to my little man! You will always be my baby, though! Thank you everyone for celebrating with us- from near and far! Our boy is great, that is for sure.

My Wild Child

The only time Jack holds still all day is when he is strapped in his high chair and eating and I guess that isn't even technically still seeing as though his arms and hands and mouth are all moving. Even when he's sound asleep in his bed, he's moving non-stop like a little wiggle worm. It's really cute to watch on the monitor but when I think about my next 18 years or so, I just laugh. And yawn! This boy is going to keep me on my toes in a way that Max never did, has or will. I never understood why moms always talked about their house in shambles... until this boy! And I'm not the only one that noticed... Jack spent the night with my Mom earlier this week- it was his first night away from me, not at our house, and there was no reason for it-- just because my mom called and offered. Well when I went to pick him up the next day, I noticed that none of my mom's stuff and knick knacks were anywhere to be seen. Then she told me that she actually had to baby proof-- something her nor I had to do with Max.

So let me just give you some photo proof... this is what my living room looks like anytime Jack is awake and about.

And this is where he spends most of his time...

...locked at the top of our stairs in baby jail because all he wants to do is this...

Climb and up down the stairs... here, at the pool, at Annie's, or anywhere there is any sort of ledge he can mount and then dismount. And he prefers to do it while holding stuff.

It makes my heart leap out of my chest every time he starts to wobble a bit-- mainly because concrete and slate tiles are often involved at the bottom. But that doesn't stop him! He get more bumps and bruises on his head in a week than Max has had his whole life! I've recently added those foam square mats at the bottom of the stairs, but it doesn't calm my heart in my chest! And I've tried to relax and not pick up quite so often... but even when it's nap time and I get all the rooms put back together, I know I'm just biding time until my lil tornado reappears :) At least he's cute! And hopefully that gets me through the ER visits that are in my future as well.... the Lord knew what He was doing when He gave me a wild thing, now I'll just spend the next 50 or so years of my life praying for Jack's safety and my blood pressure!

(And if you're wondering about Jack's pained face when he's behind bars, that's his "cheese face"-- when he fake smiles and says cheese... apparently he learned that from Max-- it's a mix between anguish and constipation, and best part is that he thinks he's being precious!)

Rationally Irrational

I rarely shower in the mornings anymore for two reasons-- 1) I don't go to work and 2) I do go to the gym at some point in the day, which when combined, moves my shower time to the evening hours. Naturally this leads to me donning one of Chad's softer, non-form fitting t-shirts and some pj pants as soon as I'm clean, which then always results in him saying "why are you wearing my shirt?" and Max saying, "why are you wearing Daddy's shirt?" To which I want to reply because that is why I got married-- to inherit a whole other drawer of t-shirts which are bigger than my own and feel way better on and since I would never pay money for shirts like this of my own, this is the only rational way to get one. It's one of the "perks" if you will, and it goes a long way.

Now my guess is that Chad isn't super impressed by the pj choice, but considering our number of kids to years of marriage ratio, I'd also say it isn't really causing a problem. Which leads to my next (and main) point.

When women marry men, they inherit bigger, more comfy clothes. These serve them well for pj's, frumpy and sick days, and any other time that we say so. And most importantly, pregnancy. Well unless you're me and your husband weighs about what you weigh when you workout everyday... And he's 6 inches taller. I'd like to point out that it isn't like he doesn't have muscle- he does, but it's like his bones are filled with air and mine are filled with lead. Now let's add a baby to the oven... And the pounds that come with it. It isn't right. It isn't fair. It's down right cruel!

Now I understand that some people gain like no weight-- that is NOT me-- when I do pregnant, I do PREGgg-Nannnt! I get about half way in and Chad's "big" "loose" "comfy" t-shirts no longer make it over my head-- I swear even my head grows when I'm with child. They even squeeze my arms. I've recently discussed this with a girl at the gym and my newly un-pregnant friend, Danielle, both of whom also suffer from this same plight, and we feel like we're being cheated. The point of marriage is to have some back up clothes that swallow you and make you feel so tiny and dainty, especially when you're pregnant. Their t-shirts and their pj pants are supposed to serve as a safe place, but if you can just picture someone trying to squeeze 10lbs of pooh into a 5lb bag, then you've just pictured me trying to "wear" Chad's lounging pants when I'm about 30 weeks along. By 37 weeks, I'm ripping seams.

But I've got it-- I've finally figured it out. Before I get pregnant again, I must buy some new shirts for "Chad"... A size (or 2) bigger than normal and put them in his drawer. That way, when the time comes, I'll fish around in there and magically pull out a shirt that slips over my entire being, baby "bump" (aka mountain) and all. And I'll feel just as wonderful and comfortable and happy as I do now, in one of my favorite go-to tee's from his drawer. Well "comfortable" in the beached whale, I've for to pee every 5 seconds, my hips ache, will you get a forklift to help me roll over kind of way. See, I'm being completely rational about this!