October: Pumpkins, Parties and Plane Rides

Sweet Mercy. I can't believe we actually fit all we did into the month of October. It was fabulous though. Such a fun, jam-packed month, and it might be my favorite month of this year so far! 

At the beginning of the month, me and Lil G loaded on a jet plane (a very small one) and headed to MS for the BIG Taylor-Myers wedding!  

This was the 5th time I've flown with Mr. Tinypants, and ya'll, even though I feel like I've got it somewhat down to a science, it never gets any easier. Even though the flight itself is only a little over an hour, it's like trying to hold down a cat in a bathtub. I enter the plane with a full bag of tricks....a new toy for every 15 minutes of flight. Fortunately on this trip, G had his own seat, so at least I didn't have to try to hold him on my lap without scratching, grabbing, or licking the person next to me. 

We arrived at CC and Pop's who had a flashy new rocket for him to ride on. They don't spoil him at all. 

We immediately got to work on all things wedding, including painting road signs, packing lanterns, and loading the car. The next day, Mom and I dropped Lil G off with his other grandparents before we headed up to Starkville. When we arrived at their house, I opened the backdoor and saw this....

SADLY, as much as I love chocolate, that is not what this is. I FROZE. I didn't even know what to do or how to begin to redeem this situation. My mom was also gasping, but probably secretly saying to herself: "PAYBACK!!!!"  So I began executing a plan of wiping him down as best I could so I could at least touch him to get him out of the carseat. My mom ran into my inlaws house and got a trash bag which we laid in the driveway and put G on and striped him naked. Then we took him straight to the bathtub. After pressure washing the carseat for 15 minutes, we were finally on our way to Starkville to wedding prep! 

Greyson had a great time with his Nona and Papa

We spent the next 2.5 days setting up tables, chairs, hanging lanterns, decorating arbors, and hanging more lanterns. 

The happy couple!!!! What you might not know about these two is what they've already overcome before their wedding day. Two weeks after Adam proposed in February, he was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and went through chemo for the next 5 months. PRAISE THE LORD on July 30th he went into remission!!! So their JOY on the wedding day was just overwhelming and so sweet. They are completely perfect for each other! The wedding was absolutely gorgeous!

Isn't she lovely?

And the ring bearer was pretty darlin' too.....

And even though every part of my body ACHED from wedding exhaustion, we were so happy to take Greyson to campus for the first time the next morning! 

He looks like a happy Bulldog to me.

Reluctantly, we loaded our crew up and headed back to Texas. I spent the week recovering and returning clean drawers to our drawers, pardon the pun. (Let's face it.....I was gone a week, there was much laundry to be had.) 

THEN.....DUN DUN DUN.....I woke up Friday morning SICK. AS. A. DOG. Mama down. Jeremie is a VERY supportive husband, but on this particular morning had a VERY important meeting 9 a.m., so he was kinda giving me the "you're just gonna have to power through it speech". But he did say he'd change/feed/play with Greyson until his morning nap. As I literally CRAWLED into the kitchen to try to take over, I saw G completely throw up his entire breakfast. Baby down. At that point, Jeremie just called it a day and did his business over the phone. 

By Sunday, me and G were feeling better and NEEDED to get out of the house. And let's face it, it was already October 11th, so in my eyes we were already 11 days late to the pumpkin patch. So to the patch we went!  We hit up a darling place in McKinney called Storybook Ranch which had a great petting zoo, pumpkin patch and wagon ride to the 1800's replica village in the back of the property.  It was SO cute! G really enjoyed holding onto the pumpkins and walking around. (Which is his new obsession now.) 

And after our blissful first trip to the pumpkin patch.......the plague returned to our home and Jeremie was SICK. Daddy down.  I sent him to bed with a phenergan pill and Lysol(ed) every door knob, light switch, and remote in our home.

G was kind of pitiful throughout the week; it took him a while to get back to eating and drinking normally. Thank goodness he recovered just in time for our families to arrive on Thursday for his FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY! 

We did a Milk and Cookies theme and it turned out SO CUTE! I had SO much fun getting everything ready and decorating! 

Lil G's 12 months of photos was one of my favorite decorations!

About 2 hours before the party, Jeremie asked me "If I get my to-do list done, can I set up a tv outside?" It was SO sweet and hilarious! Clearly, he finished his list and set up his very own tailgate within a matter of minutes. I think all the male attendees were thankful.

Greyson didn't really know what to do with his cake. 

What a crew of mamas and babies! We were missing a few, but these girls have seriously helped me survive the past 12 months!

Post party shenanigans with Pop!

The next day, the whole crew loaded up and headed to the Dallas Arboretum which has the MOST AMAZING pumpkin patch! It's insane....like 75,000 pumpkins! Since there were so many of us, our parents just bought us a membership and called it a day!

My parents are in the back, me and J are between his parents and to the right is his sister, our sweet "La-la" (Lauren), and the one and only cousin Judah.

In other news, Greyson's obsession is the water hose. He likes to help his dad water the grass.

Soooo......as if we hadn't gone enough, that Monday, me and G loaded back on the jet plane and flew back to MS with my parents to visit some family for the week. That Friday was technically G's first birthday (October 23rd) and he was PROUD OF IT.

I'm ONE.

We were supposed to fly out the afternoon of his birthday, but dear ole Mother Nature had other plans. Storms were a-rollin' through Texas. My dad took us to the airport and after the news that we had a 3 hour delay, we escaped to Gander Mountain and Wendy's to eat. Fortunately this little buggy/car contraption at Gander Mountain bought me an hour. 

Unfortunately, as we were on our way back to the airport 3 hours later (which was now also G's BEDTIME) I got news that the flight had been cancelled. I was SOOOO disappointed, but based on the radar, I think they made a great call. ; )  The real deal breaker was when Dad and I were about 5 minutes from their house and he realized that we didn't go back to the airport and get my bag. I know it's not a HUGE DEAL (the airport is only 30 minutes from their house) but I was exhausted, G was exhausted, and that was it for me. (It's never the big stuff that finally sends us over the edge, is it?) I had myself a good ole breakdown and cried my eyes out.  I feel like men in general don't know what to do when girls cry, much more with dads when their daughters cry. But Dad did a great job comforting me and after he dropped me and my screaming baby off at the house, he and mom went BACK to the airport to retrieve my bag. Parents FO LIFE.

We finally got on a flight on Sunday morning and couldn't get enough hugs from Jeremie! 

The party continued on Monday as The Jones arrived in town since Hunter had work in Dallas. 

Monday we headed back to the arboretum to try to get *real* pumpkin patch pictures.  Sadly, G would have none of it.  

This was the best of the litter.

We sure love being mamas together!

And Greyson and Jaxon are BFF's too.

Tuesday, while G went to Mother's Day out, I was an extra set of hands for Meg at the consignment shop and Playstreet Museum, which is the most darling place to take your kids in Plano. Wednesday, we headed out to the Heard Natural Science Museum, which I've been reading about lately that has a full scale dinosaur exhibit. It was really neat, but honestly, will be more fun when the kids are like 5 and really running around on their own. Everything was pretty much out in fields and it was like driving a stroller through a gravel pit. We were both exhausted by the time we were done. But not too exhausted to swing into the Outlet Mall on our way home. ; ) #winnersneverquit

Aunt Meggie made the boys matching shirts.

Look at those blue eyes.

Thursday we drove out to the country and hit up the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm at Preston Trail Farms. It was ADORABLE! It had a ton of animals, photo opp stations, a hayride, and a darlin general store! Our other BFF's Jorie and Preston came out to meet us. We had a blast and will definitely be going back next year. 

Perhaps the most entertaining thing at Preston Trails was the fact that Meg bottomed out their SUV rental in the mud when we got there. All the storms from the prior week made for a great mud bog in their "parking lot". Fortunately, we called the general store from inside the car and these three cowboys came to rescue us. #neveradullmoment

The best part was when Meg's hubby, Hunter asked us over the phone: "How is it, that 2 girls from wherever you're from in Mississippi get stuck in the mud?!"

By the end of the week, we were about to turn orange from all the pumpkins and totally ready for Halloween. Friday Greyson sported his cowboy outfit at the house. When you're a baby, every day is an opportunity to dress up. 

Saturday morning we had a birthday/costume party and that evening we went to a block party in our neighborhood.  Greyson was the cutest little dragon I've ever seen. 

I can't begin to express how much fun this was for me! 

October was such an amazing month and we made memories that will last a lifetime! It makes me so excited for the holidays! November better bring it, cause October set the bar high!  

Beach Babes

So back in 1994 July, me and "The Girls".....my counterparts, Mary Perry and Meg Jones went to the beach for our 11 year anniversary to Orange Beach.  We were supposed to go on a trip for our 10 year anniversary....but somebody got pregnant. They left their babes with their mams, and since I wasn't sure if my little munchkin would still be nursing when we booked the trip, MY MAMAS (both biological and by marriage) came WITH me! It didn't take a lot of convincing before they booked their own condo across the parking lot and offered to babysit Lil G. Seriously, these ladies are the best!!! (And fortunately, Mr. Greyson WAS weaned by the time we went on the trip, but I still visited him a few minutes each day, 'cause I missed him so much!) 

Anyway, me and The Girls had a BLAST. In true form, Meg showed up with good bags for us with matching monogrammed pajama pants, huggies, and plastic cups. And I thought I was doing good by bringing some koozies that still had the price tag on them.

This was Aunt Mary's first time to meet Greyson. I think he was a little frightened by our enthusiasm. Oh yea, and Greyson's shirt was a product of Aunt Meggie too.

Our trip looked a little different than the last time we were in Orange Beach together for me and Mary's joint Bachelorette Party! Our schedule was usually: Beach, Dinner, and pajamas by 9:30. On a rainy day, we got really crazy and went to a movie in the middle of the day. Wild women I know. But we had a BLAST just being together, catching up, laughing, crying. telling stories, reminiscing. In the last 11 years, the three of us have been through almost everything together. College Adventure. Falling in love. Heartbreak. Getting married. Loss. Gain. Moving. Emotional breakdowns. Valleys. Mountaintops. Moving. Job changes. Moving. Babies. Have I mentioned moving? 

I just couldn't do life without these two and can't wait to see what our years ahead hold!

Yes, our first stop after a nice dinner the first night was.....Wal-Mart. And we rocked it.

What's a vacation without powdered donuts???  DUH.

Dinner at our favorite: Louisiana Lagniappe!

Dessert on the docks!

And back at the Grandmothers' Inn.............

Honestly, I'm certain they had just as much fun as me!  

Even Judah came by to join the party for a little while!  Sweet cousins.

I did sneak away a few times and visit my little beach babe........

I

The Rest of the Story

Okay! So we'll pick up right where we left off, cause I know deep down you're all  just ready to hear about me going off the deep end. Patience people. It was a delayed reaction. You know, they say the stress always hits you AFTER the event. 

So after the FINAL load of stuff was delivered from the storage facility and the house was stuffed like a sausage full of boxes, Jeremie finally returned from his "business trip". (And I do put that in "air quotes".)  And like any normal family would do after they moved 37,583 times, the next day we packed our bags again and headed to Mississippi for the week. (This trip was already planned way in advance and multiple people had already taken off work.) I have to admit, since Jeremie likes to drive and CC was in the back entertaining Lil G, I was happy to nap in the front. Not so happy that we had to stop halfway and spend another night in a hotel. (Insert your choice of inappropriate wording here.) 

We finally made it to MS about noon the next day where Jeremie immediately went to bed and I got to see my sweet sister try on her WEDDING DRESS! This Sunday also happened to be Jeremie's FIRST FATHER'S DAY. How sweet are these two. They are equally obsessed with each other.

                                    

All I remember is having TOTAL insomnia that night and finally falling asleep around 3:00 a.m. then G waking up with the chickens at around 5:30. Everything from living the charade called our lives from the last 7 months just caught up with me and I was DONE. EXHAUSTED. DONE.

 Jeremie had gone to visit his parents for the day, so when he came back to my parents' that night he did not know the extent of my misery. So, I don't know if it's just in a man's deep inner being or just my hubby, but when Jeremie senses the slightest bit of moodiness in me he extorts it to the fullest. So he kept following me around as he carried Greyson singing the tune of "Pop Goes the Weasel", but with his own lyrics of: "Pop Goes the Mama". I really thought he connected with my laser eye look that clearly meant: "Now is not the time"......but he didn't. (This reminded me of a tune my dad used with my mom in similar inappropriate moments called "Let's all Panic Together."He would sing it as our family was preparing for sheep or pig shows. What preparations are necessary for a sheep/pig show you ask? Well, pretty much the same as the Miss Mississippi pageant, just throw in a little sawdust, Wranglers, and show sheen. But that's for a whole 'nother blog post.) 

Anyway......just hum the "Pop Goes the Weasel" tune to yourself a few times and feel your blood pressure rise. And finally......Mama did pop. I finally went off the deep end. Ring the bell. Throw the flag. My eyes welled up with tears and I angrily motioned Jeremie to the dining room, away from the rest of the family. And I saw the blood drain from his face. He knew, but it was too late. And the conversation went kinda like this: 

Me: "I'm LOSING IT. It's all been too much. Like, this is Me, losing it. I need a break."

Jeremie: "Ummm.....how about I just take Greyson to my parents' tomorrow and you do whatever you want to." 

And that was the end of the conversation. The next day I slept late, went shopping with my mom, and took a mental break. Jeremie and Greyson had a wonderful day touring Perry County and visiting family. 

The rest of the week we hung out by the pool with our family and Jeremie and I had a whole "date day" so we went to the coast and shopped, walked on the beach and ate lots of seafood. Our families even threw me a birthday party by the pool. (Which I will not post pictures of because I look terrible....and I'm from the South...where you never post a bad picture of yourself...DUH.)  

Seriously, can these two be an more darlin'?! Love them so much

                                   

Greyson played too hard.

Beach babes!

And could this be ANY SWEETER? Greyson and his cousin, Judah holding hands on their big trip to Treasure Hunt and Ward's!

So even though we were anxious to finally get back to our new home and get settled in, it was nice to refreshed and recharged. And I feel pretty confident Jeremie will hang up his little song for a while.

Side note: I totally realize that even though we had some trials over the past 7 months, I know that many of you reading this are going through extremely harder circumstances. In fact, I have friends, family, neighbors, etc., that have been through unspeakable hardship this past year, more than I can imagine. And please know, I am praying for you and hope to learn from YOUR strength. 

Home. Sweet. Home.

Wow. People. We MADE IT. We are finally HOME. Can you hear that? It's the angels singing. We actually moved in a couple months ago, but that's how long it took for my sanity to return and be able to catch up on this blog. Listen, it didn't come easy though. I'll rewind to springtime when the contractors told us we'd be moving in by February...then it was March...then it was April...then after my sweet hubby threatened their jobs, lives, and perhaps families, (ya'll know I'm just kidding....sort of)...they promised May 30th. Like it was in writing. So we gave our official notice to our landlord and promised we'd be out of our apartment by June 4th. (We gave ourselves a little "cushion".) Well, apparently we needed a little more cushion. But it was too late....someone was scheduled to move in the apartment on June 5th, so we rented a UHAUL and storage facility and packed up the farm again. Moving day was INSANE. Greyson essentially took ZERO naps, so I was trying to help pack/move/load the best I could with a baby on my hip. And he spent the rest of the day in the exersaucer. We were literally walking out the door at 7:00 p.m. which is also 30 minutes past G's bedtime. (Sadly, I took no pics of us walking out the door, which I later was sad about, because G essentially spend the first 6 months of his little life there! But not THAT sad.) J stayed behind to meet with the landlord to hand over the keys, so I checked into the hotel with a screaming baby loaded down with the pack n' play, stroller, his night time bag, etc. Let's start a "Mommy's Going Off the Deep End" tally: I. 

But we got settled in and knowing that this was the last hotel stay until we moved into our beautiful home was the light at the end of the tunnel! 

Our humble Home[wood Suites]

BUT....as luck would have it.....after a lavish 6 night stay at the Homewood Suites, they informed us they were overbooked and politely kicked us out. "Mommy's Going Off the Deep End" tally: II. After we heard this news, I literally went straight down to the lobby and bought a Hershey's bar and devoured it. (Chocolate understands.) So we packed everything up AGAIN and you'll never guess where we ended up for the next week.....back at the RESIDENCE INN!!! I said I would NEVER stay in another one, but I admit, it was nicer and bigger than Homewood Suites. 

And yes, that is my wedding dress in the white box which followed us around EVERYWHERE. We didn't want to send it with the movers (which, now I'm SUPER glad we didn't, and didn't want to store it in a non AC facility. Didn't want to leave it in the car....so yep, my gorgeous dress made every trip with us.)

This is what you do when the baby NEEDS to nap, but you have NO clean clothes left. Laundry mat trip in the hotel.

I think my mommy could tell I was on the edge of a breakdown, so even though we were technically moving back to the house yet, they did what all parents do....hop in the car and save the day. 

G had Pop WRAPPED. They loved playing in the hotel mirrors. 

Lunch date with CC and Pop!

And so we FINALLY got word that the major items were done and we could bring the moving truck!!! We were HAPPY to be DONE with hotel living! 

Reunited and it feels so good!!!!

 

The last picture we took in front of the house was this......WOW...somebody grew up!!!!

Anyway, so the movers got BUSY unloading while the electricians finished up some things, like fixing the breaker for the AC (so it would come on..YES) and putting a light above the stairs. (This is apparently Texas code.) Unfortunately, they forgot their adjustable ladder. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. 

While they were cutting into the ceiling for the light, I kept hearing musings like: "Well, CRAP."....."THAT ain't good"....and "It's always something." Turns out they hit a joist and had to go into the attic and cut it from there. 

So they finally finished up and jetted. J also headed off to Lowe's. (Or so he SAYS. He might have just been avoiding the crazy. I've played that game before..."Babe, I gotta run to Marshall's because we NEED a curtain rod!") 

Anyway, to my shock and awe, water started pouring out of the new light above the stairs and onto the new carpet. Umm. I am a banker turned stay at home mommy. I don't what to do.  And now I'm thinking: Well, CRAP. THAT ain't good. "Mommy's Going Off the Deep End" tally: III. Fortunately, one of the movers was clever enough to turn the AC off. Then he went up to the attic and noticed the electricians in all their professionalism had stepped on the pipe to the AC drain pan and knocked it loose. So he hooked it back together and saved me a trip on the crazy train.

G was super excited to have his old room back.

On Tuesday, my dad headed back to MS and Jeremie went on a business trip so mom and I started swimming through all the boxes. We still had a bunch of stuff in the storage facility from the old apartment, which we planned to pick up on Friday. (J was supposed to return Thursday night.) But OF COURSE his flight got cancelled at the last minute, so my mom put on her big girl pants and drove the 15 FOOT UHAUL truck to the storage unit where we met our the movers who loaded it and unloaded it at the house.  She was amazing and I so wish I had a picture! 

 By the end of the week the stress of everything over the prior few weeks totally hit me and my adrenaline ran OUT.  And remember, I was already at Level III of "Mommy's Going Off the Deep End".  BTW-Mommy finally did go off the deep end a couple days later, but I will make leave you hanging and detail that in the next blogpost. Let's focus on the joy of this post that were were finally back in our home after almost 7 months to the day of the fire. 

It was quite a journey, but I can see that God's hand was all over it. It was a huge growth lesson for me and Jeremie's faith and our marriage. My eyes were opened to many things, mainly, the realization that home TRULY is where your heart is, and you can make a HOME anywhere. 

And it definitely made me grateful for the little things, like not having to drag my laundry in a trash bag with the stroller and making sure I had quarters. ; )