Labor Day Weekend 2010

I greatly appreciate weekends with no plans. Especially 3 day weekends. The anticipation is my favorite part. 3 whole days with no work, no phone ringing, no work responsibility. This Labor Day weekend was the perfect "no plans" weekend - according to my standards.

Friday night I cleaned the house, did laundry, etc. while the girls played in their playroom and watched a movie. Sounds weird but my comfort level is at an all time high when my house is clean, laundry done and everything in order - known in our house as "party ready" (what your house looks like right before a party or gathering.) Love, love, love that feeling. Jamie got a "much deserved" night off from family duty to work in his garage. I sat out back after I put the girls to bed, sipping on some bubbly and admired my clean house through the windows. I hate that I enjoy that feeling so much (the clean, organized house ... not the bubbly).

Sat. morning I got up early and went to the gym. I have found so much comfort and joy in a good, hard workout.  It was the killer kind of work out that left me wondering if I could walk out to my car. Let alone go to the feed store and grocery shopping. Somehow I managed to get it all done and made it home by 11:30. The girls were just finishing up a big pancake breakfast with Daddy. We headed straight outside to enjoy to gorgeous day by piddling out in the yard, in the flower beds, cleaning porches and decks, draining the hot tub (oooooo I can't wait for hot tub weather). We got a lot of little things done that have been neglected lately .... well really for 4 years:) The great part about it was the girls were with us and able to play in the yard without us watching over their every move. Times are a changing!

The girls love riding with Jamie in Cliffy (AKA Clifford .... the big red farm truck). He drives them around the yard and neighborhood. Quinnie waves to everyone in the neighborhood like she is in a parade. Ruby got majorly jealous .... that is her truck and she usually rides with Daddy!

My deal with the girls is that they can dress themselves when we are at home or playing in the yard but I get to dress them when we leave the house. So far that arrangement is working well.

Draining the hot tub ... evidently it is very entertaining to a 4 year old to watch water drain. I try and take pics as often as possible with the phone to send to Maema. I can't imagine how much she misses them and hopefully seeing random pics of our daily activities helps her miss them a little less:)  

Sat. night Jamie's friend from IL was in town and staying down at the Peabody. It was one of those nights that we both just wanted to stay at home, throw some beef on the grill and chill out. But we only get to see his friend from college and his wife every few years so we headed downtown to meet them at the Rendezvous (again ...second time in 7 days. Truth be told, I could eat there every night). I was going to stay home with the girls but my mom graciously encouraged me to bring the girls over to her house for the evening. Reluctantly, I gave in and joined Jamie.  It was one of those nights that you could not possibly have planned. We had an awesome meal and headed to Alfred's on Beale St. Got a great table up on the patio and then near the dance floor once the band started. I think I danced for 4 hours straight. Does not happen often but when I get the dance bug ... look out. Jamie joined me off and on and we had such a good time. We laughed and danced and laughed and danced and laughed and danced. I think I fell in love with him just a little bit more.

Again ... parents of the year here rolled in around 2:30am. No late night is complete without stopping at Krystals for a sack full of Krystal burgers! Decided it was best to wait until the morning to get the girls even though we told them we would come pick them up before they went to sleep:( 

Sunday morning I rolled out of bed in pretty rough shape. I cooked brunch for a girlfriend (Rebecca Copeland) that was in town from St. Louis. As much as I battled through the preparation that morning, it was all worth it. We had an enjoyable time catching up, eating and letting the kids play. We walked around the yard and let the kids explore, jumped on the moon bounce, rode little Jeeps and played on the play ground.  She has a sweet, little 15 month old named Conner. I wanted to keep him but she would not let me:(

After our guests left I prepared some more grub and we headed over to the Hagel's for dinner and to say our goodbyes to Jasmine. It was a sad night but she was surrounded by love. I cried and cried but only when no one was looking (except Jamie ... he always sniffs me out). My mom made some fantastic ribs and we ate way too much as always.

Monday was rest day. Jamie got the entire day off from family duty to work in his garage. The girls and I read books, played pretend for about 10 hours (seemed like it anyway), slept, had a fashion show, watched movies and slept some more. I never take the time or make the time to spend that much quality time with them. It usually comes in short spurts of time, like after dinner or first thing in the morning. It was wonderful and I felt so "caught up" and "in tune" with them .... if that makes any sense.

I heart Labor Day Weekend 2010.

1st Concert - SUGARLAND

We live about 1 full city block away from a great park with an awesome outdoor amphitheater. At times we can hear concerts from our backyard. First of all, we are huge Sugarland fans. The girls know the words to almost every one of their songs. When Jamie heard they were coming to our little park, he HAD to get 4 tickets so that we could take the girls to their first concert. This was in April. The concert was in August.

So .... for 4 months we talked about the concert, watched the DVD of their concert (over and over and over), walked over to the amphitheater several times and played around on the stage and picked out our seats. Hassie Clare memorized Jennifer Nettles dance moves off the DVD and would imitate her at the right spot in the song even when we heard it on the radio.

So the big day finally rolls around and it was 103 degrees outside. The heat index was 114. Not sure what the humidity was but I'm sure it was at an all time high. Plus add 5,000 people in a small area and I'm sure that makes the temp raise a few degrees. No wind or air circulation.

Taking our kids to this concert, in these conditions, might have taken us out of the running for parents of the year.  It was dangerous for anyone to be outside in the heat, let alone two 4 year olds. BUT ... we had a blast. I packed a survival backpack with lots of water, juice, baggies of washcloths soaked in ice cubes, snacks, misting spray, etc. We opted to stay at the house until we thought it was time for the headliners to get on stage. Which worked out great cause we had a blast watching Sugarland DVD and dancing around the house in the air-conditioning! One of the bands we missed out on would have been great to see (Little Big Town). We arrived just in time to see their last few songs ... which happened to be my favorite two Little Big Town songs.

We bought snow cones before finding out seats - huge hit with the girls! After being outside for about 10 minutes we were all soaked from head to toe. I had planned on taking pictures with my phone but I was too wet and I was afraid I would ruin my phone. I took these photos when we first got to our seats - along with some cute video.

Hassie Clare was in heaven. She LOVED every bit of the night. Do you see that tiny dry spot underneath Jamie's arm on his maroon shirt? It was not there long.

Quinn dropped some of her snow cone so HC did what every good sister would do and scooped out some of hers with her nasty, sweaty hand and put it in her sister's cup.

Hassie Clare cutting a rug.

With about 3 songs left, the girls needed a potty break. We found a great open spot by the bathrooms where the girls could dance and run around. We could hear the music perfectly and even see a little bit of the stage. They rocked the end of the show with "Walking In Memphis" which was awesome!

Glad we did it. Don't regret it. Made great memories. But we vowed to not go to anymore outdoor concerts in August with the girls ... EVER:)  Unless, of course, we are somewhere north of the Mason Dixon line and we won't melt!

Randoms

** See previous post .... I just inserted pictures that I downloaded off my iphone.**

Speaking of my new iphone ... I love her. I say "her" because she multi-tasks like only a woman can. I haven't taken a real picture with a real camera since I brought her home. She takes pretty good videos and decent pics. She is always with me and rarely lets me down. But I need to get back in the habit of taking  pictures with a real camera ... if not, I will regret it someday.

This morning we lost a family member. Sure .... she had 4 legs and was furry all over. But she was just a part of our family as anyone. My brother and sister-in-law picked Jasmine out of a litter of puppies that our family dog "Sasha" had 16 years ago. I will miss her dearly.  I feel so sad for my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew and I pray they find comfort soon.  This is Hassie Clare and Quinn's first brush of death. Experiencing death through their eyes is such a beautiful thing. They are so innocent and believe everything we tell them, which is everything we hope happens but doubt. But when I see the belief in their eyes and through their expressions, I know it is real. 

  

How is it possible that they have the same fake smile?

BUTTERFLY'S

Sarah bought the girls .... well, I'm not sure what it is called. A butterfly farm maybe???? Reminded me of the old ant farms back in the day. She bought the net and they mailed the caterpillars in a cup of food. A week later they turned into cocoons and we hung them in the net. A week after that they turned into butterfly's. It was pretty dang cool to watch and the girls were totally into the whole process. I love to hear them tell the story of the cycle of life of a butterfly. Instead of cocoon they say "caaa coon" in the sweetest, most southern voice you can imagine. It was sweet, educational and thoughtful for Sarah to leave us with 3 more mouths to feed:)  I have great video but still can't figure out an easy way to upload videos to my blog. AND I still have no space on my picture/video/music hard drive... thus all the iphone pics.

3 out of 4 cocoons produced a butterfly. They named them Flower, Princess and Ariel.

We set Ariel, Flower and Princess free after Mom forgot to feed them a couple days in a row. We all agreed that it was time for them to go meet other butterflies to play with. Hassie Clare dressed up as Dorofee (shocker) and Quinn dressed up as poor Cinderella (shocker) for the occasion. The girls were so excited about setting them free ... which shocked the heck out of me. We look in the yard for them all the time. We always see a yellow butterfly and Quinn swears up and down that it is Flower's best friend.

Excuses, excuses, excuses

 Dear Blog,
Once again I've let you down. My posts have been few and far in between. I have several good excuses that I would like to share with you ... if you don't mind. We have been super busy around here. This is a list of my lame "top 10" excuses and a brief run down of the past few weeks in the Thurman household:

1. My picture and music hard drive is full and I haven't had time to make space for more pics. Which means I have no where to download pics. Which means I don't have new pics to post on my blog. And we all know everyone likes new pics when I post something. Hardly anyone reads what I write ... they are only interested in the pics! **pics added to post the following day**
2. New Nannies - 2 of them to be exact. Both part-time and both exceptionally lovely. Meredith and Ashley are nice additions to our family. We still miss Sarah. As Hassie Clare reminded me the other day, "I love Sayraa and Tay Tay the bestest forever." Compliments don't get much better then that!
3. Sugarland - details will require it's own post.
4. Tay Tay's visit. Short and sweet. We went swimming, ate Mexican and the girls went shopping to their favorite store ... Target. Taylor treated them to ice cream and a slumber party in her bed. I could not believe the girls slept with her in the guest bed all night long! She is a brave girl.

5.  Baby Madysen's baby shower (Angela and Starsky's baby). Dana's house warming party.

6.  Hosted Bunko at my house and all my rowdy friends came over:) Loads of fun but took me a few days to recover.

7.  Grandpa Hagel and Glenda came to town. Always nice spending time with them. We ate lots of BBQ all weekend and went to a Redbirds game. I can still taste the Rendezvous ribs we ate before heading over to the stadium.

8. Picked out shingles for a new roof - hard decision for us for some reason.  Usually we are both so decisive when it comes to things like that.  We stepped outside the box a little on this one (it doesn't match the roof of Jamie's detached garage.) Went with the 30 year architectural shingles made by Tamco in Black Walnut color (something tells me I'll need this info some day).

9.  Had dinner (kid-free) with a Missouri girlfriend that was in town working. Always nice to visit with a friend, over dinner and drinks without kids. It was 2 hours of peace and quiet and a whole plate of food to myself.

10.  Found out the under-belly of part of our house (under master bath) has been getting wet for 8 years and insurance isn't going to cover the cost of replacing the shower, 100 square feet of rotten wood and floors and a potentially dangerous mold problem. I'm not positive about the insurance but I'm waiting to hear back from the adjuster.  They already told me that rotten wood is not covered under homeowners insurance. Thank God we have not scheduled a Disney trip or beach trip for this fall, like we had hoped for.

I think that about wraps it up. So you see Blog, I've been slightly preoccupied. To complicate matters slightly, Jamie has been working a ton of overtime which makes me a single parent (not complaining cause we need it for excuse #9). As always, I'm ubber thankful to my Mom and Fred for saving my sanity. They watch the girls for me anytime I need help or when I need a break to go to the gym. Without them you would find me at our local mental health facility.

I promise to get better Blog. No more excuses. Because I truly want my daughters to have documentation of what their childhood was like through my eyes. Ohh how I love saying "my daughters." Ohh how I love being a Mommy.

Sincerely,
Hassie Clare and Quinnie Ray's Mom

Way Back When-esday: 11 months old

I can't do it. I can't pick just one. They all warm my heart and make me smile so big that it consumes my entire body. Ahhh ..... what I would give for one more day with them at this age. Just to kiss their bellies or smell there slobbery little necks. I want to hold them and rock them to sleep on more time when they were this age. Just one more time I swear:)

11 months old - May 2011

First time trying out sippy cups. Huge hit!

They still play on this Kangaroo Climber! Q on top, HC on the bottom.

Hassie Clare Bear loved the sound of her hands clapping. She still sits on her feet like this and it drives me crazy!

Man I love those chunky thighs! Jamie bolted 2 swings together so we could push them at the same time without them crashing into eachother.

Quinnie Ray teething on the Kangaroo Climber (FYI -best toddler contraption ever.)

Hassie Clare and Daddy taking a siesta.

Quinn

Hey Elvis .... uncross your eyes!

HC on left, Q on right

Quinnie in baby-jail .... or is she under a bar stool???

4th Birthday Party - The Little Gym

Last night the girls and I were looking at pics on my blog and one of them asked “where are our birthday party pictures?” Sure enough …. I forgot. 20 years from know when they are reading this they might not think they had a 4th birthday party. I can’t let that happen! So here ya go Quinnie Ray and Hassie Clare …. here are pictures from that day that Hassie Clare said “this is the best day I ever had.”

The Little Gym

Sat. 6/12/10 from 4:30 – 6pm

HC picked a Barbie cake and Quinn picked a Princess Tiana cake

Amanda & Quinnie (a good friend from Mother's Day Out and church)

The girls with Katie (a very sweet little girl in our neighborhood - AKA prime babysitter in a few years:)

HC and cousin Jo Jo with crazy teeth

Afterwards, a bunch of folks from the party headed down the street (literally less then a quarter mile away) to our house for a hoe down! I had pizza and all kinds of party food. Not to mention peach daiquiri’s and spiked lemonade for the grown-ups. The evening was full of laughter, stories and sweaty kids. During one fierce game of hide-n-go seek, I realized that I could not ask for a better way to celebrate their birthday. We have the best friends and family EVER. I don't have many pics from the festivites at our house cause Jamie got called out to work ..... so I was running the show solo. Besides that, it was a great day!!!!

Uncle Brent pushing Quinnie and Ella Grace

Fashion Show Diva's - Josie, Katie, Hassie Clare & Olivia (seeing that beaming smile on Hassie Clare just melts my heart.) They did a parade and fashion show with multiple wardrobe changes!

Kiddo Attendees: Josie, Jack, Corbin and friend, Kayden, Olivia, Isabella, Katie, Ella Grace, Amanda, Macy Kate, Munro, Maggie, Grant, Mary Ellen

First boat ride

#1st hurdle - getting Quinn in a life jacket.
#2nd hurdle - getting Quinn to swim in lake water.
#3rd hurdle - keeping Hassie Clare from jumping out of the boat.
#4th hurdle - convincing Hassie Clare that she can't swim by herself without a flotation device in the middle of the lake.

All minor hurdles that proved not to be challenging. Well, except the first hurdle. I worked on that one for about a week straight with Hassie Clare's help, several times a day. And I couldn't be more proud of her.

We drove about an hour south to Lake Enid to meet some friends (thank you Angela and Starsky) that invited us down for the day to swim, boat, tube, eat and hang out in an air-conditioned camper (or maybe it was a 5th wheel ... not sure). Despite a little rain, lots of clouds and 100 degree heat, it was a great day to be in the water. The girls had a blast. It convinced Jamie and I that we have 2 little outdoor girls after all and we might consider buying a little pop-up camper and a little boat (despite Jamie's begs and pleas for super nice boat with a sleeper cabin).

For obvious reasons we didn't take a camera but here are a few shots from Jamie's phone:

Quinnie with her nervous smile sitting in Daddy's lap.

 HC flying a Buzz Light Year kite (well worth the .25 cents even though he is swimming with the fishies now)

Something about floating on water makes Quinn instantly sleepy. Always has.

Jamie & HC tubein' (that's how we say it in these parts:) 

 Me & Quinnie tubein' - she shocked us all and asked to go first. We couldn't believe how brave she was being at the lake.)

We got home, I put everyone to bed, unpacked all our stuff from the day and I headed down the street to my neighbor / BFF / friend of 20+ years. Between kids, jobs, families, etc., we never get time to just hang out by ourselves and talk. Well .... we spent 4.5 hours just sitting and talking and drinking and laughing and crying. It was fabulous. We decided that professional counseling is overrated and that we both NEEDED this desperately. With good intentions, we made plans to do this once a month. But the next time we vowed to have a midnight cut-off instead of a 3am cutoff.

Adventures in Union, MO

Once again we packed up the extra large grocery getter and headed about an hour west of St. Louis to Union, MO. We arrived about 1:30am Sat morning. The last hour of the ride was spent with Quinn screaming from pure exhaustion and me with car sickness (I was turned around in my seat trying to comfort Quinn) from the curvy back roads Jamie decided to take. Thankfully this was the worst part of our weekend.

Hassie Clare felt 4 hours of sleep was plenty. As soon as the sun came up she whispered to me "It's a bright, bright sunny day Mommy." I'm not sure what I hollered politely said back to her but she went back to sleep for few minutes. This went on every 30 minutes until 8:30 when we finally agreed to let the girls get up. They absolutely love being at Maema's house. I'm not exaggerating when I say that she has just as many toys at her house then we do at our house. She had already told they girls about a few of the new toys (Buzz Light Year Costume, Annie wig, movies, all the characters of The Wizard of Oz) so their excitement was at an all time high. On top of all that they were super pumped to spend time with their Aunt Jodie.

Events of the weekend in order:

• swimming at Paige's mom's house with all the kids
• smelled Crystal Meth cooking for the first time (and hopefully the last time) - see story below
• 40th birthday party for Jamie's childhood friend Dale Gerding at the city park
• Maema's retirement party at Haggie's - see pics
• Dinner and drinks (adults only) with the Hammer's, Alsops, Worth's
• Water park with the Hammer's and Alsops (Chan and Cam)
• Ice Cream & Junk food with the Hammer's at Dairy Queen - see pic
• tour of Union High School where Jamie's Dad works

Story - We had a few hours to kill so I thought I would get some exercise in and take Ruby for a walk. It was high noon and we headed up a small country road near Maema's house. This road leads up to a church at the top of a big hill with a cemetery in the front. In route, I walked by a small, dilapidated trailer park. At first I thought to myself that someone was baking something. Then the smell hit me and I knew exactly what it was. It smelled like chemicals and someone getting a perm mixed together and being microwaved. Needless to say, Ruby and I picked up our pace and got the heck away from there:)

We didn't get home until 3am Tues morning. We squeezed a few too many things into 3 short days. But I don't think we would have done anything differently. It was a great weekend. My mother in law always makes our trips up there so easy. I've promised everyone that we will come back more often. Our next trip up there is already planned in October!

Qunnie AKA "Super Girl"

Buzz Light Year striking a pose

Maema with her little boy and granddaughters at her retirement party.

Hassie Clare playing with 3 turtles at the retirement party .... long story behind the turtles.

Maema opening up presents. This is thong panties holding adult diapers with money stashed in the panties. The funny thing about this story is the gift giver called after the party and asked for her panties back!

This picture cracks me up.

Best Friend's Forever - Morgan, Quinn, Jenna, Hassie Clare

The girls swimming in Maema's ginormous bathtub.

We made it! Another fun filled, family weekend with lots of new memories made.