Monday, December 1, 2008

Thanksgiving, Wal-Mart

So, Wednesday night at 12:30, I guess technically that is morning - the night before Thanksgiving, the day after my crazy Tuesday - and I go to Wal-Mart because my daughter is screaming. I'm not really sure why she was screaming, but she did not want to eat and she did not want to rock, so in my brain fog I thought I should go to Wal-Mart to get SOMETHING to make her stop. Mylicon, Tylenol, Benedryl, Vodka.... SOMETHING!!! Just kidding about the last two. I went in my pajamas, but they are black and I put on a sweatshirt, so you really couldn't tell they were pajamas, just so you know. My hair was crazy, half in a ponytail, half not. My eyes were red and barely open and the lights in Wal-Mart were so bright and offensive. There were boxes everywhere and lots and lots of people. What was everyone doing?!!! You could be asleep! So, on my way to the baby section I got caught behind these two girls that could not have been more than 16 or 17 years old. They saw the baby stuff and one of them says, "Aw, I want a baby. I need to have a baby." The other one replies, "Yeah, it woulda been cool if I'da been pregnant cause me and Salesha's baby woulda been born just one day apart." The other one says, "Awww!!" I stopped, I tried to open my bloodshot eyes a little further and I said, "Seriously. You want a baby." They turned around sort of slowly and I thought to myself, "Did I just say that out loud? Or are they turning around out of coincidence?" They were staring so I guessed that I had said it all out loud and in a moment, I decided to keep going. "You know you get really big when you're pregnant right? And then you actually have to physically push that baby out of your body and then you have to, you know, feed it and change its diaper and its clothes and it can't talk and it just cries and cries and cries right? I mean, I haven't slept in days and I haven't eaten in what seems like longer and I'm at freakin' Wal-Mart on Thanksgiving Eve to get WHATEVER it takes to help my baby girl out. Plus, I have a husband and I get to be a full-time mom, not a high school student. Look at me! Go home, go to bed!"

Wow. They were looking alright. They didn't laugh. I think they thought I was drunk and I am pretty sure the smaller one was looking around for a Wal-Mart worker or security or something. They quickly walked toward electronics and glanced back only once in my direction. I looked around and gathered a few things like diapers and pacifiers and socks, mylicon, tylenol, some organic baby food, I don't know, whatever, throw it in the basket.

I headed towards the checkout lines and tried to keep an eye out for those girls because I was embarrassed and didn't want to get stuck next to them or behind them in line. I chose one of the three lines that were open. Yep, just three. There were seriously hundreds of people shopping and only three open lines? How long had I been in this god forsaken place? Anyways, the lady in line in front of me had two baskets full of stuff, of course. She had a turkey and a pan to cook the turkey in and dressing that comes in a bag and lots and lots of rolls and a ham and a blow up snowman thing to put in the front yard and a couple of pie plates and lots of canned pumpkin and she just kept unloading her baskets on to the conveyor belt. I kept thinking, "Sheesh lady! You are barely going to get home in time to put all of this stuff in the oven before Thanksgiving is over!" The people in front of her finally got finished checking out and the crazy lady caught a glimpse of me out of the corner of her eye and she stopped. She walked over to me and grabbed my arm, she said sort of softly, "You go ahead hun. You look a little tired and this might take a while." I said, "No, that's ... really? Thanks! I'm sort of in a hurry." She winked and grabbed a coke out of the cooler by the checkout. I just laughed. I must have looked really bad and I obviously could not hide my amazement and disgust at the likes of Wal-Mart on the eve of a major holiday. The crazies think I'm crazy! But then again, I was at Wal-Mart at 1:00 in the morning and I looked scary and I just yelled at some poor high school girls and I was getting a little panicky in the checkout line. I had to take a look around on my way out, these were my people now.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Merry Freakin' Christmas Cards

I never sent out a birth announcement when Lucy was born mainly because time slipped away. So, I had a great idea to get our family pictures taken and order Christmas cards and all that good stuff. So, a few weeks ago we attempted a photo shoot with a very talented and fun photographer, Hannah Vickers, hannahvickersphotography.com. The kids got new clothes and we all dressed alike, sort of. She took us to this place at ACU that has these cool rocks with scripture etched into them and a little fountain, very cool. Anyways, it was a diaster! Miles was running a way from us and crying and trying to climb into the fountain and Lucy was very scared of Hannah's big camera and NOT happy about me not holding her. In our family's defense, the pictures were at 5:00 pm on a Thursday night and the kids were hungry and John had had a long day at work, yada, yada. So, Hannah emailed me the proofs and offered at least five times to take the pictures again. Yeah, they were that bad. So, I took her up on the offer and rescheduled. I mean c'mon, she has got a business to run and I'm sure she didn't want to put her name on those pictures. We went Saturday at 3:45 - we had nothing else to do that day, both kids napped, it was after nap time...
It was a disaster. It was the coldest day Abilene has had in a while and my kids were both a little sick (now a lot sicker - or is it more sick?). The wind was blowing, Miles was throwing one fit after another, Lucy didn't cry that much but she WOULD NOT smile either. She was very concerned about her surroundings. So, about 15 minutes into the shoot, John and I just started laughing. We decided to let her take a few pictures of us smiling holding two crying kids because that was more what life was like right now. Although they turned out cute and really funny, you can't very well send that out with Merry Christmas at the bottom! What a downer! :) John says, we ought to write "Merry Freakin' Christmas." I do think that is funny, but I'm not sure that is the message we want to send out this year. :) Oh well.

Here are some recent pictures I took of the kids!


Can you see what the future holds? Lucy is laughing now but in a few years...


Lucy and her boyfriend Simon are dressed up for Halloween. He is only 3 months old and he is as big as she is! Aren't they cute?


Lucy as a ladybug with her daddy


We carved a pumpkin and dug out all the seeds and roasted them. Miles had a great time and the roasted seeds were very tasty!


Miles in his Spiderman costume

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

My Tuesday

Tuesdays are my crazy days and I don't think I could get through them unless I laugh at how ridiculous they are. It is the day I teach a class early morning and the day my husband works late. Isn't that how it always works out? So, here is a run down:


The alarm goes off at 4:40 a.m. I push snooze until 4:50 and then make myself sit up in bed. First it's in to the kitchen to pump (I'm breastfeeding, sorry if this image is offensive). Get dressed in the dark, brush my teeth, grab my yoga mat and my mascara (it's never too early). Arrive at the health club at 5:30. Get the room set up for Body Flow class. Teach my class, there is good crowd, all goes well. Chit chat with a few members after class then head home. Walk in the door at 7:05 and both kids are up. Feed Lucy. Then fix Miles his favorite breakfast for the moment (he goes through phases) - yogurt, banana, and half a bagel. Lucy gets oatmeal cereal and pears and I get honey nut oatmeal. Clean up breakfast and its 7:44 which means I have six minutes to take a shower before my husband needs to leave for work or try to face the task alone with two kids. 6 minute shower it is! It actually took 8, but my husband was gracious. I let Miles watch a little PBS while I put Lucy down for a morning nap. I change her diaper, rock her and sing a little song, lay her in her bed to fall asleep. Finally have my first sip of COFFEE!! Get myself ready, with Miles's help. Iron clothes for myself and Miles and Lucy. Get dressed, get Miles dressed. Pack the diaper bag for both kids with diapers, wipes, toy for Lucy, book and trains for Miles, sippy cup of water and granola bar for Miles. Lucy wakes up. Get Lucy dressed, feed Lucy, burp her and get all three of us into the car. 9:49 and our doctor's appointment is at 10:00 - not bad. Wait an hour in the doctor's office waiting room. In the room, Miles falls backwards off of the doctor's stool that I told him not to climb up on. He is crying loudly. Lucy is crying loudly because she is naked and so offended. Lots of shots, two crying kids, and two hours later... why did I schedule their check-ups at the same time?? My husband, who works across the street from the doctor's office, came over to help me. He was my knight in shining armor today!
Grab lunch for Miles on the way home and let him eat in the car seat. Whatever!! Get home, distribute Tylenol to both kids, feed Lucy, and let Miles color. 1:00 is nap time so I put Lucy in the exer-saucer to play while I put Miles down. We change our diaper, read two books and sing one song. Hug and kiss Miles, hug and kiss puppy. 1:25 Lucy goes down for her nap. We read one book, sing one song, change diaper, lay in bed. 1:45 Miles is still not asleep, in fact, he is knocking on his door. I change his diaper (again!) and lay him back in bed. 2:15 Miles is not asleep but playing with his trains. He is not crying so I leave him alone. I fold and put away laundry, clean the toilet and the bathroom counter and sink, empty and reload the dishwasher all while listening to the ipod to prepare for my RPM class at 4:30p.m.
3:00 and Miles is still not asleep and now it is time for nap to be over. I get him completely dressed and reload the diaper bag for him and give two time outs. Shots + no nap = CRANKY. I change clothes for spin class and get my stuff together. Lucy gets up at 3:30. I feed her, burp her, get her dressed and diaper bag packed and get all three of us loaded into the car. I get to the gym at 4:18 and class starts at 4:30 - not good. Check both kids into the Kidz Zone, run to class, set up the room, get my water, start class - 4:33. Not bad. Great class, heart rate monitor says I burned 565 calories. I missed the ending on song 7, the big finale. O'Well, next time! Grab my stuff, fill out my time card, and run to the Kidz Zone to change Miles's dirty diaper (they don't change diapers, very annoying). Get both kids out of gym and loaded into car. Get home, hold Lucy because she is very fragile from having to go to the Kidz Zone. Cook Miles's dinner. Sit and feed Lucy oatmeal and sweet potatoes while Miles eats dinner. Clean up dinner and kids. Bathe Lucy. Then its diaper, lotion and pajamas. Lucy sits in bouncy while I bathe Miles and his trucks, he brings like 5 trucks in there with him. I know, I need to draw the line! :) Diaper, lotion, and pajamas for Miles. Then we sing the "clean up song" and pick up all the of the toys all over the house and put them back where they belong. I get milk for Miles and let him watch a little bit of "Cars" while I feed Lucy. I burp her, find her pacifier, read one book, say one prayer, sing one song and lay her in her bed. Miles and I say bye-bye to Cars, the light, the trees, the bathroom, the trucks, Lucy, the door, mommy and daddy's room, everything...
We read two books, say one prayer, sing two songs, hugs and kisses for Miles, hugs and kisses for puppy.
7:50 p.m. my husband walks in the door and I finally get to shower after my spin class! I load the dinner dishes into the dishwasher and start it, then I switch clothes from washer to dryer and start a new load in the washer. Then I eat dinner (a bagel with cream cheese, sadly) on the couch, check email, check facebook. Fall in bed to get some sleep.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Fall

Don't you love fall? I have already made pumpkin bread, an apple pie, candy corn snack mix, and indulged in a few pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. Plus, it has gotten down in to the 50s at night for almost a week here in Abilene and today the temp never climbed above 75. What more could a West Texas girl ask of October?

Life is marching on here at the Hunt house and I am barely able to keep rhythm lately. Miles is transitioning from baby to KID. He is so funny and impressionable and always up for having a good time. I love his personality and have been praying, make that begging God, that I would not hinder it in any way. Lucy is getting big quick. She started rice cereal and is not quite sure if she likes it. For the most part, she is very offended by the spoon but, she is no quitter either. She opens her mouth every time and then cries when the cereal gets in her mouth. She makes me laugh.

John is busy with BSM and school (he is in class now and taking 9 hours of grad work this semester). We feel like we barely see each other lately, but he only has one more trip until January - praise God! He and the BSMers are going to Houston for a little Hurricane Ike relief. He leaves next Thursday, Oct. 16 and will be back Sunday the 19th. So pray for him and the students. :)

I am busy with Pilates training. I have another 3 day training coming up this weekend. This will be my 6th training so far and I am feeling the burden of it all (not to mention the achy muscles). But, I'm in the home stretch and am thankful that I have enjoyed it thus far!

Overall, we are doing great and having fun being a family of four. John and I are enjoying watching our kids begin to interact with each other. Miles LOVES to make Lucy laugh! He gets so proud of himself and Lucy thinks every thing he does is so funny. We love it.

Here are some recent pics. Enjoy!

Here is Lucy before her rice cereal debut! Doesn't she look great in red?!


Lucy is very uneasy about that spoon getting any closer to her mouth.


Licking her fingers! She's gettin' the hang of it!

Miles was a great helper!

Miles, the creative genius. He built this all by himself out of items from our pantry. Who needs toys?



Miles is dancing in front of his creation. He is always up for a little booty shakin'!


Lucy loves doing Hebrew homework with Daddy!



John and Miles on the new truck!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

change

Well, I'm going to change this blog up a bit. I would like to keep writing funny stories from our lives, but where is the time!!! :)

Two kids is a total blast and train wreck all of the time. I love it(most days...).

This is a big month for the Hunt family. Miles turns 2 on September 13th and Lucy will be 4 months on the 5th. Miles is talking all the time and saying some of the funniest sentences. He loves to say, "Ow, that hurt!" Excuse me - make that yelling, "Ow, that hurt!" Especially in the grocery store check out line while the nice lady behind me is reaching for her phone to call CPS. :)

Lucy is rolling over and smiling and cooing and all that good baby stuff. She can even sit up on her own for about 5 seconds at a time. Such the athlete! :) I remember with Miles that 4 months is the golden age for babies. They can interact well, they are sleeping through the night, but are not mobile. I love this stage. She is sleeping a good 10 hours at night and sometimes longer. God love her!! She is sort of shy and a little scared of people. She is a sensitive soul and Miles gets one inch from her face and yells "Luce!!!" all day long. He already drives her crazy. :)

Here are some recent pictures. Enjoy!


Miles was sad about changing out of his pajamas so he tried to put them back on. He also stole Lucy's pacifier and he knows he is about to get in trouble.


Her new flower hat! I know it's ridiculous, but I couldn't resist.


Miles is playing in Lucy's room and looking very mischievous.


This kid makes Jello Pudding look good!


Lucy sitting up in her chair - such a big girl!

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Pregnancy the 2nd time

I am only 3 days from delivering my second child so I thought I would take time to reflect on the last nine months.

First Trimester
Early signs of miscarriage that unfortunately led to several vaginal sonograms. Yeah, they're bad. And awkward.

Nauseous all the time. Threw up before my exercise classes, during them, and after them. Drank a lot of ginger ale which now, of course, the very smell of makes me sick to my stomach.

Second Trimester
Lady in my RPM class yells out in front of the whole group, "Jou got a baby in there or just been eatin' alot? Your stomach's gettin' big but your arms are skinny, skinny!" At the gym, neither of those features are good.

Got a super bad cold and a stomach virus all at the same time. :) As I was hugging the toilet, my then 16 month old son blew raspberries on my arm and clapped every time I threw up. My husband was working late.

Found out it is a girl and immediately starting looking for the perfect pink paint! :)

Went to Body Attack, like I normally do, but this time did not realize my baby was bigger and my bladder was weaker. Yep, peed right in my pants after the first two songs, too much jumping. I promptly got my water bottle and "spilled" it on my pants. Then excused myself.

Third Trimester
At an appointment my doctor made a corny joke. I laughed courteously and said, "Ah, you're cute." My face immediately turned red, as did his, and I asked, "Did I just say that out loud?" AWKWARD!!!! We are still a little awkward with each other.

Thought I was having regular contractions at 29 weeks, went to see the dr. Turns out, it was just gas pains. Or braxton hicks - which aren't supposed to hurt. Totally embarrassing. But, like Rachel from Friends said, "no uterus, no opinion!"

Got a bad sinus infection and decided to get a steamer that you put your face down in to relieve some of the pressure. Totally burned my nose and had a big red mark on one nostril. Nice.

Had a freak out, crying moment in the dr. office because I had still been doing ab exercises, even though he told me not to, and I was freaking out that something was wrong with the baby. He sent me for a sonogram, everything was totally fine.

Doctor said I could be induced on Monday, May 5th. Cinco de Mayo!!! Nine days early from my original due date. Ole!!

Friday, March 14, 2008

just talking to myself

I decided to answer my own question, no you can't really start over. You always have baggage. More like luggage really. Your life experiences are often folded, ironed and tucked neatly away in your matching Eddie Bauer roller and carry on.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

starting over

I am going to try to start over. Can anyone really ever start over though?