Feed the Beasts

Hey, remember when I said I was eating Avocados hand over fist the other day? (yeah, I capitalized Avocados. They're that important to me.) I logged in to People.com the very. next. day. and saw this article: Right Here. Can you believe it? I have absolutely no clue who Harley Pasternak is... but he has got to be important. Bam.

I'm sitting here, watching Chamblee "write" thank you notes, and thinking about the meal plan for the week. I know what I'm going to make, I've made the list and I can't find my keys. She just picked up the brown marker and said "We shouldn't use this one, it's the color of poo-poo." I can never find my keys. It's why I'm always late. "Look, I'm drawing poo-poo." I am trying my best to stick to the paleo wagon as close as I can. I totally bombed this weekend, but you know. Gotta have wiggle room, right?

Last week I made paleo spaghetti and it is my favorite meal, forever and ever. I made homemade spaghetti sauce and used zuchinni noodles and oh. my. word. I'm so hungry all of the sudden. Here is the recipe for the spaghetti and the sauce: From Pinterest, of course. 

We are having a party tonight. Chamblee is on day 2 of all-day-potty-visits and we are thrilled. (I'm talking in Trader Joe's, Publix, at the park...all. day!) K offered to throw her a party. A potty party. We got her a cupcake and she got to pick out a balloon at the store. Guess which one she picked. This one:

The biggest spiderman you have ever seen in your life, of course. 

Speaking of birthday parties...Someone has a BIG birthday coming up... Can't believe my sweet boy will be 1 in a few weeks. It feels like he's still my snuggly little newborn. I mean, not really, he's like 30 pounds. But I treat him like it. Last night he fell asleep on my stomach and we just laid here and all the sudden I started to cry... K saw me and just looked at me like, "I know". And since I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, K said "It makes me wanna go snuggle with Cham." So he did. Of course all that backfired and we ended up with crying children and a kicking toddler in our bed all night... but it was worth it for a little while. Man. They grow up too fast. Wait and see. 

Today we went to the Y, went to Publix, went to the park and I finished a lot of things I needed to do around these parts. There's dinner in the crock pot and my dogs are barkin'. No, literally. They're hungry. Time to feed the beasts. 

Until Next Time, 

The Guff

What do you DO all day?

Ever wonder what a stay at home mom does? All day long? I can't speak for all of us, or for every day, but here's how this day went for me:

We woke up early and started the kids on breakfast. We've been trying to be intentional about getting them dressed when we wake them up. It's a new thing, this no-pajamas-all-day business. Around 9:00 I struggled to get jackets, socks and shoes on, pack the bag and remember all the darn lovies we have in this crew. I managed to remember to grab myself a water and we headed out the door to the YMCA. Toddlercize is today. I usually run before... but today the play center was at capacity. Not taking any more kids? What. Am I supposed to do with them?  We found a chair, got some snacks and some new friends (who also go to our church! score!) and sat. The kids played in the hallway. Mommies chatted. Time passed. After toddlercize I ran. hard. It was a good run. I gathered the littles and learned that Jakey "slipped on his socks" and busted his lip. It's slit and it's blue. Chamblee told me that someone pushed him. I kind of believe her. We stopped in the lobby to peruse the farmer's market they have set up every Thursday... saw that they were out of kale and headed on our way. Straight home. By now it was almost noon and naptimes were needed.

While the kids napped for 1.5 hours I made lunch for myself, unloaded the dishwasher, washed the dishes in the sink, put laundry away, cleaned up all of the toys, re-packed the diaper bag and went to the bathroom. Alone.

Once the kids were awake it was lunchtime, diaper changes and prepping for our afternoon adventure. Costco. We are providing breakfast for a Training this weekend and Costco was where I needed to go. So I struggled to put on socks and shoes and jackets and gather lovies again... and set out.

Costco was an adventure. There was a sweet man who picked up the 30 puffs when chamblee dropped the container. Samples on every aisle. Not long in, Chamblee announced that she had to go to the bathroom, so we rushed all the way up front to the bathrooms, found the one toilet in the joint that wasn't a complete. disgusting. disaster, wiped it down x100, and let her do her business. Her business being less liquid than a tear. She was so proud of herself. I praised her and told her what a wonderful job she did. How proud I was of her for holding it and going in the potty. I truly was. Really. But I probably could've handled her going in the diaper, though. In exchange for not having to wipe nasties off a toilet in a 3x3 space while carrying jake in the ergo and holding my breath because the smell. oh. the smell. But she was so proud of herself, and man. You can't take that joy away from a baby.

We sat in traffic all the way home and Jacob screamed. The sun was in his eyes and over his I'm super mad screams, Chamblee was raising her voice, trying for him to hear her. "What's wrong? The sun is in your eyes, bud? I know, I know, I'm sorry buddy. Once mommy turns the van it will be gone, I promise. I love you, bud. I'm so sorry, It's gonna be alright. Wait just a minute, bud. Let's practice patience." And in that moment, I thought, Is she imitating me? Do I talk so kindly to my children? And then I thought, No. I don't. Where did she learn this? I am learning from my 2 year old. And then I want to cry for so many reasons.

Once we get home, everybody eats. Except for me of course. Kraig is out tonight on a business dinner and so it goes. Chamblee asks for macaroni and cheese and Jacob gets winter squash and a bottle. We dance party and I feed the dogs. They play in the tupperware cabinet while I put away more dishes and check my facebook and instagram. Jacob poops and the only reason I know is because of the smell. Oh. the smell. All of the diapers are upstairs and I have him legs up in the air, hog tied, and no diaper. I grab one out of the diaper bag which renders it empty. I'll have to replace that. I make a mental note. I know I'll forget and get super creative tomorrow when we are out in public and have no diapers. That's how these blogs usually get started.

He looks sleepy so I take him up, change him into jammies. It's only 7:40. 20 minutes early for bedtime. He skipped a nap today, so I justify it and lay him down. He doesn't make a sound.

Chamblee is across the hall in the playroom and I go in to offer to build her a brand new train track. I think, "I'm tired". She stops me at the door. "DON'T COME IN HERE!" Ah. She pooped in her diaper. "Chamblee..." "NO. I'M FINE." Ok. She screams and I try to talk sweetly and explain that I have to change her. blah blah blah. She cries the whole way down the stairs. Her diapers are in Jake's room. I grab her last diaper from the diaper bag (repeat). She points over and says, "Bailey made a mess. He threw up." Yes, yes he did. I clean the carpet. She asks for a cartoon. I think, "I'm tired" and say yes.

We watch Road Rally together and when it's over we head upstairs. We do jammies and brush teeth, we pray, we snuggle a little and I head back downstairs. The final clean. All the toys, the tupperware, the table, etc. Then I make myself dinner. It's delicious.

I think about wine, but decide on ice cream. Plop myself on the couch with a one-more-notch-under-my-belt sigh and decide on something to watch. I hear the dryer go off, and ignore it. "Gotta have something to do tomorrow, right?" Justified.

And that's what I did today. Some days are slower, some days a busier- exchanging Costco for Publix or Doctor appointments or lunch dates or fort-making or play-doh cooking or train bashing or all of that at once. I love my job. It's never the same, and it always is. I get to love my children all. day. every. day. And yes, of course, I get paid. In hugs and smoochies and the big bright eyes of a lesson learned or a moment of wonder. It's priceless.

I'm off to put diapers in the diaper bag.

Until Next Time,
The Guff

Parental Cruelty

So, I was almost ready to call myself a runner. I mean, I have gone pretty much every day for 2 weeks and it's been amazing. That means I'm a runner. Right? Here's the thing. I always see these runners in there who are running at like 10MPH and at a 7 incline. And I think, "Oh Come On. What are you possibly training for? And why do you have a sweat towel? A little dramatic, don't you think?" So, I guess they are runners. Not me. Even though I did need a towel today, and I felt like a total loser. I tried to fight it until my everything was sweating and I gave in.

The Y is treating us right. There's a "Toddlercize" class every Thursday and Cham asks me, on point, every.single.day. when we are going to Toddlercize again. It's so great to see her playing with other kiddos and getting her fitness on. Y'all remember those parachutes?

Notice how she kicks the foam... then fixes it. Perfectionist.

Don't notice how I trip and pull the tape off the mats. 

I'm clumsy like that. And a little slow, if I'm being honest. As I was walking though the grocery store today I heard a laugh, then got a not-so-subtle tap on the shoulder. A sweet lady with one very well behaved toddler (it was disturbing how quiet he was) was there when I turned around and said, "Um, excuse me, but... um... giggle... you have stickers all over your back...giggle giggle" Of course I do. She helped me pluck them all off and was on her way. I'm betting her toddler had never done anything of the sort. In fact, I'm not sure he was a real boy. Silent, I tell you. Have you Publix shoppers ever tried to grocery shop for the week with 2 kiddos while using the race car? Uhhh...

It's almost like child cruelty. But in reality, it's more like parental cruelty. 

I kid. -ish. 

My kiddos are not quiet, and I like it that way, most of the time. They love one another to the max and there's no one who makes them laugh harder than each other. It's THE BEST.

Here she is. Teaching him how to walk. 

It's really sweet until he falls and she drags him. 

Why are my kids growing up? This, and I am being serious, is parental cruelty:

Sitting at the table for snacks. A table. Both of them. 

Too big, too soon. Makes my eggs jump for a little teensy newbie again. swoon. 
(I said swoon, not soon. Get it straight!) 

Until Next Time,
The Guff

A Wet Week

I kind of hate the rain. I get it, we need it, blah blah blah. And on days when I was single or newlywed or anything other than a stay at home mom- I could totally appreciate the weather. The cozy big sweaters, galoshes, a warm fire, something warm and soupy to eat, a cozy couch with re-runs and cat naps... but not these days. These rainy days = days spent inside. And when those days spent inside are 5 consecutive- I go completely crazy banana buckets. (I make up phrases). And so do my children (the crazy, not the phrases). We have stayed inside all week. We've created games, we've cleaned, we've attempted snuggling. Yeah right. The one thing that has made it interesting- we've potty trained. Again.

She did great the first couple of days. So great, I decided to move on over to big girl panties on day 3. And at the end of that day I cleaned up pee from the carpet, the hallway, the leather chairs, the leather ottoman, the bathroom floor and the tiny little legs of my baby girl. Like 100 times. I finally took them upstairs to get a bath and as soon as I dried my little man off and let his little booty air dry for a minute, well, he peed all over the floor upstairs and thought that it was his own personal water park. I turned around to see him splashing and laughing. In his own urine.

When K got home there was an island of towels in the upstairs hallway, 2 pairs of wet baby pants on the downstairs bathroom floor, big girl panties in the bathroom sink and a stack of urine soaked towels stacked on the laundry room floor. I smelled like straight up pee and most definitely had the look. You ladies know what I'm talkin' about. We've all got one. My look happened to say, "don't even say anything. start with the towels upstairs and work your way down because i'm not cleaning another thing with pee on it today". And because my husband knows me so well, he kissed me, and the children, and cleaned up the pee. I love him.

How we potty train around here

So, tomorrow is another day to potty train. We will win this war, even though right now the battles are messy and at times discouraging. I am confident that she will not be going to college in diapers. And that is good news.

Until Next Time,
The Guff

You know, a recap.

Well, the holidays came and went... and we have just kept on rolling. I feel like you've missed out on a lot. And I feel like you care.

Recap: 

Chamblee had her first date.

We had family pictures taken.

Cham met Santa. Had a serious case of stranger danger.

We made a gingerbread house.

We went to DD & Nona's and celebrated Christmas.

We ate. A lot.

My little big bro came in town with his gorgeous baby mama wife.

We served as Doorholders at Passion 2013.

And now life is starting to settle back in to normal. "Normal". Really. What is normal? I think I'm safe to say it's not us.There's a lot of crying going on around here. Cham is 2 1/2 so that's that. Jake is getting 4 upper teeth in, so that's a delight at 1, 3, 5 and, oh wait, 7am. And me, well. If you didn't know me you'd probably think I was pregnant (I'm not), Or nursing (I'm not), Or maybe I'm just crazy (.....). Anyway.

I don't do New Year's resolutions, ever. Never have. This year I decided to get on the train. Call it the crazy train, that's fine. We joined the YMCA and I started a new diet- Paleo. The new fad. It's not that big of a change, seeing as I've been cooking paleo meals for almost a year and a half for my husband. I have also been eating chocolate and carbs like it's my job. And I've been getting promoted. Pound over pound. So, I did the opposite of what I always do. Instead of waiting until I eat all the bad food to start- I threw out all of the bad food. I started. Please, no one tell me the bad thing about avocados. They are keeping me alive. I eat avocados, pickles and lots of chicken. lots and lots of chicken. I've kind of hated chicken ever since I was pregnant with Cham... so this is wonderful. But really. I am loving the Y. I can get my workout in, some quiet time in- all while the kiddos are making new friends and being cared for by sweet, sweet women upstairs. That is until they call my name on the overhead speaker in the middle of my pilates class because J man won't stop crying. And the best part of THAT is how they pronounced my name. "Natalie Goofey, please come to the playcenter. Immediately. Natalie. Goofey." So I untangled myself from the pretzel position (which I am sure I was doing incorrectly, anyway) and tried to sneak out. Dear, observant, woman across the room. "Oh! Is that you? Your kid? Hm." Guilty. Natalie Goofey, in the flesh.

Until Next Time,
The Guff

#enditmovement

New Year's Day. 7am. K and I boarded the Marta train and headed south to the Georgia Dome. We packed for 4 days. We left our kids and my visiting family asleep in our house. We traded our bed for a shared hotel room with 3 other girls. We didn't sleep much. We ate trail mix for dinner. We walked close to 30 miles. We froze. 

We went to the Passion 2013 Conference. 

It. Was. Insane. Way back in the olden days, K and I attended Passion cough2005cough in Nashville. As college students. Well, we aged out. This year, we went as doorholders. 

"Better is one day in your courts

    than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of the wicked." -Psalm 84:10

 

There really is nothing like it. You know, I'm not a hand-raising, fall on my knees to pray kind of girl. But night one, in the dome, 60,000 students singing and praying and worshipping together, and all of the sudden there they were. My hands. They were up. In the air. Night two, the entire dome prayed out loud, individually, for different areas of Africa that the Passion conference had been hosted in last year- and the strangest thing. When I was done praying for Uganda, I realized that I was on my knees. It's like the Holy Spirit just took over my body and freed me somehow. I don't know what else to say about that. But it was ah. maze. 

K worked on the Meals team and I worked on the Worship & Justice team. He got to feed 60,000 students and I got to take donations from 60,000 students. I think I got the better job ;) For the sole reason that I got to actually talk to the students and hear what was on their hearts throughout the week. 

If you didn't know already, Passion 2013 partnered with 23 organizations and all donations were given to these organizations and towards the End It Movement. HELLO. Have you not seen all my twitters and facebooks? There are 27 million slaves in the world. Today. Like, right now. I'm just not OK with that. That's more than any other time in history. Ever. Not making this up, folks. You can go to www.enditmovement.com and PLEDGE to end it. Do it! Really, it takes 4 seconds. Also, you should Like it on Facebook. Here. Seriously. If you can like Mountain Dew and #2 pencils on Facebook- you can certainly like this movement to end modern day slavery. Right? Thanks boo. 

Anyway, my team was awesome. I made some really sweet forever friends. We had a really good time. And we will definitely do it again. If you are 18-25 (do I know anyone who is 18-25?) I highly, highly more than anything else in the world recommend that you go. If you aren't, you should have to volunteer. It's. In. Credible. Life changing. Powerful. Refreshing. Fun. Exhausting. Worth it. 

Just workin' my station like a boss

60K students with candles

Shining a light on slavery

Twinsies

My pod! 

Sweet, sweet friend

0-60

thousand.

Students & Volunteers donated over 36,000 towels 

and 214,000 pairs of socks for homeless shelters in ATL and 

all of the southeast.

Doorholdin' Guffeys

So that's my peace. If you didn't do it earlier. like I said to do it... do it now. (Yeah, I'm bossy about slavery, what?)

Pledge: www.enditmovement.com

Like on Facebook: Right Here

Hope to be back soon, but we all know how that goes... 

Until Next Time, 

The Guff