'Twas the BUG before Christmas

That time everyone was sick in your house during Christmas vacation... except your husband... And it rained and was humid and was HOT...

'Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the house


the stomach bug was stirring, as quiet as a mouse.


The stockings were FINALLY hung by the chimney with flare


in hopes that we would remember St. Nicholas was supposed to be there... 

The children were restless all sick in their beds

while visions of seeing their dinner twice pounded in their heads.


And Mama in the bathroom, and Dad enjoying a night cap

were about to settle down for a short, hot, rainy winter's nap. 

When out of our son's room there arose such a clatter

we sprang from our bed to see what was the matter.


Away to his room we flew like a flash


tore off his covers, and told him to the bathroom to dash. 

The moon on the breast of the never-fallen snow


gave the lustre of midday to the wet ground below.

When, what to our sleepy eyes should appear

but our daughter standing in her own tiny puddle of Christmas "cheer". 

With a little old towel, Mama tried to clean real quick

because she knew in a moment that she would again get sick.


More rapid than eagles, her stomach did churn,

and she whistled, shouted and closed the door and took her turn...


To the top of the toilet!


To the floor of the hall!


Now flush away! Flush away!
 Flush away all!" 


As we were before the wild "cheer" did fly

when were met with an obstacle, never too big for us to get by.

So up to the pharmacy Dad's car flew

with the back full of Kaopectate and Phenergan too...

... He sprang from his car, to his team gave a whistle


And to him we all flew like the down of a thistle.


Then I heard him exclaim, as he RAN out of sight,


"Give this medicine to all, and to all a good night!"

#christmas2015

Fleece & Flip Flops

o·ver·whelm

ˌōvərˈ(h)welm/

verb

past tense: overwhelmed; past participle: overwhelmed

1. bury or drown beneath a huge mass.

   "the water flowed through to overwhelm the whole dam and the village beneath"

   synonyms:

   swamp, submerge, engulf, bury, deluge, flood, inundate "advancing sand dunes could overwhelm the village"

   • defeat completely.

     "his teams overwhelmed their opponents"

     synonyms:

     defeat (utterly/heavily), trounce, rout, beat (hollow), conquer, vanquish, be victorious over, triumph over, worst, overcome, overthrow, crush;More

   • give too much of a thing to (someone); inundate.

     "they were overwhelmed by farewell messages"

The way I look at it there is a GOOD overwhelmed and a BAD overwhelmed. For example...

• Having my husband travel 14 days/nights so far in the month of November... BAD overwhelmed (seriously, single moms deserve a serious medal!).
• Hearing our son say repeatedly "when is daddy coming home, mama? I love my daddy!"... GOOD overwhelmed.

• Realizing that I did not pack "season-appropriate play clothes" in Holder's backpack for after church today and watching him play in the November cold in fleece and flip flops... BAD mama. #momfail
• Watching him jump all over my dad who had laid on the floor after my mom's "Sunday roast"... moment here please... ok... GOOD GOOD overwhelmed. 

• Stressing about the "to-do's" that come with this time of year... BAD overwhelmed.
• Hearing the beautiful song "Overwhelmed" sung in worship today... GOODness! https://youtu.be/BiGb14tTaH4

• Having 1 or both of my kiddos screaming/whining at the same time... ALL of the time it seems like lately... BAD headache, I mean overwhelmed.
• Watching my daughter smile and hearing her very contagious laugh at my mom, who is always very entertaining, by the way. #borngrandmother... GOOD overwhelming.

• Waiting 2 weeks and FINALLY finding out tomorrow afternoon the results of my father-in-law's test results... BAD overwhelmed.
• Praying with my family today after lunch together... outside... in the beautiful sunshine... all holding onto each other... that's the GOOD stuff, y'all!

SOOOOO, whether you have it all together (please do explain to me how to be you!!) or your kids are running around outside in late November with runny noses in fleece and flip flops, let's dive into this season of OVERWHELMING to do's and JOY with our game faces ON, our hearts FULL and our smiles READY! And when in doubt, just grin & nod. (FREE advice for ya, loves.)

Faith, Family and Fun my Friends. And... the occasional Fleece & Flip Flops... #mommyfog

Mommy Fog Blog Blogcation

"Blogcation" definition: a vacation taken from writing one's blog to reflect upon the meaning of it all...

OR

 (the real definition...)

SERIOUSLY! We are ALL busy in our own ways and own lives but lately, the struggle has been R.E.A.L. 

But instead of flooding this post with all I have been doing over the past 3 weeks, which would either bore or entertain you to literal tears I am sure, I'd rather flood this blog with some ENCOURAGEMENT. 

Encouragement definition: the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope.

Mommy Monday Morning Forecast: FOGGY with a side of rain and gloom. I know I have needed a good dose of some vitamin E (Encouragement) lately with all of the rain (we needed) and gloomy weather, I tend to start feeling a little gloomsday myself so I want to share with you what was shared to me recently on a Wednesday night from my pastor. Here comes a FLOOD of scripture to lift you up out of the FOG!

Prescription for what ails you: 
A daily dose of Vitamin E, take 10 and call me in the morning...

1. Proverbs 18:10
The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;
    the righteous run to it and are SAFE.

2. Isaiah 41:10
So DO NOT FEAR, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

3. John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

4. 2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us POWER, love and self-discipline.

5. Psalm 16:8
I keep my eyes ALWAYS on the Lord.
    With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

6. 1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on him because he CARES for you.

7. Psalm 119:71
It was good for me to be afflicted
    so that I might LEARN your decrees.

8. Psalm 120:1
I call on the Lord in my distress,
    and he ANSWERS me.

9. Psalm 118:14-16
The Lord is my STRENGTH and my defense;
    he has become my salvation. Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”

10. Psalm 84:11
For the Lord God is a sun and SHIELD;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
    from those whose walk is blameless.


Hope you feel encouraged! XOXO!

BOAS IN THE BIG EASY... WORK IN PROGRESS...

Mommy Monday Forecast: FOGGY (can I get an AMEN!?)

Holder Man
It was a Bow Tie kind of Sunday

Happy Malone Monday all! Sister and I have shoved the boys out the door and are enjoying our blissful, crisp fall Monday morning of sister ruling the roost, me attempting to blog, do laundry, clean the house (where IS the maid?!), meal planning, week organizing/planning, ABC Mouse on the iPad and Baby First (Vocabu-larry, anyone?)
___

Ode to Mama
by Malone on a Monday Morning

Her curlers are in the toilet

The toilet paper is unrolled to the floor.

When she tries to quietly bathe or go potty

My tiny hands are coming underneath the door.

I can point and grunt and tell her what I want to drink and eat.

But I am not sure how to tell her I hid her cell phone in my little pink riding car seat...

___

Last week I survived celebrating ol' Columbus Blue Day with both tornadoes at home on Monday. We enjoyed what MIGHT be one of the last few warm afternoons at the park.

Kids at the Park
It's Fall Y'all 2015

Tuesday was crazy trying to prepare to be gone the rest of the week... I am very lucky to be able to travel with my husband some on his work trips. This past week was one of those times. Wednesday at 1:00 pm we would be in route to the Big Easy until Friday and mama needed to laissez le bon temps router! 

WHY is it SO hard to get out of town? I ask you. Especially mid-week with school and activities that have to still go on. Seriously, it's like you have to PAY for the fun you will have being away from your kids (yes, I said it) and sometimes it feels like it is not even worth it. But then you think of having an adult conversation with adults on an adults only trip and all the pre-leaving-for-NOLA "work" is a-okay. Bring it on! 

We are B.L.E.S.S.E.D. beyond any words I could try to come up with to have BOTH sets of our parents close by who always chip in to help us with the kids when we are away so for that I am forever thankful and hate to sound like I am complaining, because we are so grateful.  SIDE NOTE: My sweet mom told me the first time I left Holder and was completely torn up about it, "think of it as you are SHARING him with us..." Seriously friends, that woman was brought into this earth to be a grandmother and I hope to be like her one day, if I am lucky!

So I did what most any OCD and completely control-freak mama would do, I made a schedule for the grand moms and packed brother and sister's individually monogrammed bags with the essentials: large ziploc bags "sharpied" on the white tab for if they were PJ's (because that one's tough to figure out), play clothes, what day-school clothes, etc... It's how I function people, bless my heart, I know. 

Each tornado delivered to each grandparent, my bags were packed (I can't even explain that process because scholars would be baffled), my husband in tow and we are off to New Orleans. Because we were in a company car, I could not drive so I was thrilled beyond belief to chill-ax and maybe even grab a car-ride-in-the-sun nap. Oh sweet joy! UNTIL... said husband needed my assistance to answer his unanswered e-mails and texts. But I couldn't very well let him text while driving so I became his assistant, which is comical because he is in the chicken business and their lingo is way different than my pharmaceutical and fundraising background not to mention half the time it is in spanish. But sure, I got this. 

We sounded like we were 95 years old with him having to repeat his answer to me 12 times while I slowly typed (hey those words are hard) and then I read it back at least 3 times before I would hit "send". Then I would cringe, visibly. I couldn't have my man's responses being anything but perfect, right. SIDE NOTE: We also established we could never work together day in and day out- with all due respect to each other of course. He's too straight forward, concise and dry in his responses (boring) and I had a hard time not putting exclamation points and smiley face emoticons at the end... well, it would make me smile on a Wednesday!!!! :) 

Once settled in, fun times were had by all as Scott (and I, his free entertainment and comic relief) entertained his customers... and ourselves. Honestly, I LOVE to people watch. Have you ever been to New Orleans? Prime "People Watching" zone my friends! I personally think the Boas were what made the Saints actually win a game this season, but that is probably because they were my idea... 

Commander's Palace
Creme Brûlée 

Bar S Foods & Sanderson Farms
Saints vs Falcons 2015

Boas in the Big Easy

Also, I picked out a few t-shirts for the kiddos...

For: Holder
AKA the pickiest eater on the planet. Ever. 

For: Malone
Because they didn't have DIVA 1.

As I had a free morning to myself in NOLA, (Oh sweet joy) I sat and pondered some pressing desires of my heart and realized that I had not truly been praying about them or giving them totally to God. Ever done that? I think about them all the time but realized that I needed to pray about them constantly. THEN, we discussed "What is Prayer" in Sunday School yesterday and I was enlightened as well as having sore toes from being "stepped on". But isn't that what scripture is supposed to do? Wake us up!! 

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:24-25(NIV)

Wow. That's something to really search my/your heart and life about. I am a continued work in progress. IF I were to have a tattoo (which I don't) it would state that: WORK IN PROGRESS. I almost named this blog that. But everyday I am reminded that God loves me as is. Of course He wants me to strive to be more Christ-like everyday, but still He loves me... AS IS. I am reminded of this sweet love in Jeremy Camp's song, "He Knows". That one gets me every time. To know that God knows all the ugly deep dark places in our lives and hearts and still chooses to walk with us blows my mind. I can only be thankful for His grace and mercy and strive to be better. Daily.

Work. In. Progress. 

Mommy fog and all. 

As. Is. 

WOW.

"He Knows": https://youtu.be/OsccUg4TDd8?list=RDOsccUg4TDd8

It's Just Another Malone Monday... Until it's NOT... THE FANTASTIC VOYAGE EDITION

I realize that "Columbus sailed the ocean blue in Fourteen Hundred and Ninety Two" and all, but did he realize celebrating his holiday would put a kink in my Monday Morning Bliss? Seriously, thank you Christopher, I very much love the land you "discovered", but you see, this unexpected holiday has 2, not 1, child of mine home with me today. It's a Malone Monday AND a HOLDERDAY! For real, it's good, I am so thankful for these 2 monkeys and grateful for their health and VIBRANT personalities. So here we go on our Fantastic Voyage today... "Come along and ride on a fantastic voyage, Slide Slide Slippity Slide..."

Malone Monday AND a Holderday!

Brother's K3 class walked to the Pumpkin Patch at the Methodist Church this past Friday. Sister and I tagged along, because at the time that sounded like a perfect idea, right!? Sure, in theory. You put your beloved in matching pumpkin shirts and take your "big camera" to snap some lovely (and free) frame-worthy photos, right?! NOT if you know the Ainsworth kiddos! Holder chose his pumpkin and carried it around proudly all over the pumpkin patch while sister screamed to get out of her stroller and then proceeded to stand in the middle of Holder's class story time like she owned the place...

Holder's pumpkin choice...

Malone's all: "I own this place"...

Closest I came to a picture of them "together"...

Holder and his K3 buddies 

We had another fun Gameday Saturday in Starkville with our Holderman! He is fun to take into the games now, well at least until halftime...

Bulldog Fam (minus our tiniest member)

MSU vs Troy

Future Bulldog...

I LOOOOOVE fall for it brings me football games, festivals, pumpkins and the season changing! This time of year always reminds me of a song I love, "Every Season". It talks about the seasons literally changing but more so about the changing seasons of our lives and how God uses them to show us His love, grace and never ending presence. He never leaves us in our mommy fog alone! This life can indeed be a fantastic voyage so I will leave you with this beautiful lyric to ponder on...

Every evening sky, an invitation
To trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration
For freedom that is ours
And I notice You
In children’s games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
You are summer 

And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still I notice You when change begins
And I am braced for colder winds
I will offer thanks for what has been and was to come
You are autumn 

And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white, all creation
Shivers underneath
And still I notice you
When branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death, You open doors for life to enter
You are winter 

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter... spring

From Nichole Nordeman, "Every Season", 2000
WATCH and LISTEN at:  https://youtu.be/r-JgsOMiqCs

It's Just Another Malone Monday... THE FAM JAM SICK WEEK EDITION

Our sweet Mimi (AKA my mama) gave me this card recently and she wasn't kidding... Might it have been an omen? 

#mommyfogblog

This past week I took a tiny Blog-cation due to family illness, shots and, well, LIFE! I started feeling less than wonderful on Saturday and felt my voice going and by Sunday morning I was fully hoarse and fully exhausted. But what does life throw your way when you are "down"- MORE life of course. Brother looked tired from the weekend but I didn't think much of it. Until he got home and I realized he was a-brewing... something. So, I "skipped" my Monday night bible study due to what I will now refer to as "mother's intuition". That night our son slipped down (don't run in socks Holder!) and in his cry-fest (bless) started projectile vomiting. Throw that in with his already "unstable tummy", we kept him home from school Tuesday. And by WE, no I don't have a mouse in my pocket (one of my favorite lines), but WE as in my hubby and I. And although he is a dear, he did not stay home to help me, nope, he was down for the count... too. A touch of the stomach bug tried to take down the Ainsworth crew. So both my boys were not at their best while I did have a little of my voice back by then to bark out orders, wait, I mean TAKE their orders while luckily sister was in full swing BUT was definitely being her tiny tornado self! All 4 of us in the house on a Tuesday with 3 babies (yes, 3) was almost enough for me to dust off the ol' resume and start applying... for ANYTHING! 

After all, Tuesday, oh glorious Tuesdays are SUPPOSED TO BE when while Holder is learning his letters and numbers, sister is at our church's Mother's Morning Out (I call it Mother's Sanity In) and I enjoy a 2 hour bible study. It's my ANCHOR and has been one of the best things I have ever done for myself, personally (& spiritually), since I have been a SAHM... 

Snapshot of my studies since March 2012

... BUT this week I had to anchor down at home with my fam jam. Praise the Lord, we made it to Wednesday and were operating on about 75% so the boys went back to school and work, exactly where they needed to be! :) (Disclaimer: Holder had not been "sick" in 24 hours so we were good for returning to school- Mommy Police, stay calm!) Sister and I participate in Kindermusik on Wednesdays but our friends in the class had siblings that were now sick so no music today, love. So needless to say, my head was spinning from my normal week totally disrupted, day 3. BUT then it hit me, my little bitty teeny weenie moo moo turned 18 months old today! Ahhh... mama moment here, please...

Malone, 18 months old

We got back on track Wednesday night for Holder's Choir Program at our church. He was thrilled beyond belief to be there (insert sarcasm here) and show off his "duck face"...

FBC Laurel Choir Program

#threenager

Thursday rolled around and seemed like everyone was doing great. Husband working, Brother at school, Sister at MMO, Mama helping at school for event- we were all where we needed to be. And then lunch time came. This mama took a turn for the worse and ended up on our Mimi's couch. (Thank the good Lord above for grandparents!) By late Thursday afternoon I rallied and we came home and I actually cooked dinner. I felt so accomplished that in my mommy fog, I could prepare grilled pork chops, roasted asparagus and carrots with brown rice. Until my husband came home and could barely eat a bite because he was feeling like I had earlier in the day. SERIOUSLY, leave us alone stomach bug or whatever you are, I COOKED! I've got on my Armor (thank you, Priscilla Shirer) but this bug has almost won. BOO.

TGIF! We may have crawled there but we made it to Friday. Sweet sister had to get shots at her 18 month old check up. Of course she did. The only one of our Fam Jam that had escaped feeling like poo (literally). TMI, sorry! But this little bowling ball rolled right through those shots like a champ and was the best little shopping buddy up in the Bed Bath & Beyond...

What she thought about her shots today!

Friday afternoon we met back up with Brother Bear who was feeling back to his threenager self...

Who Dat glad it's finally Friday!?

We rocked on into our weekend and went to Loblolly Festival and sweet girlfriend, Lilly's birthday party...

This cowgirl...

After about an hour, H warmed up to a pony ride. Finally. 

The rest of the weekend was spent chilling at home, watching SEC football, church Sunday and a good old southern baptist potluck lunch in the church gym, naps and the NFL. Here's hopes to a better week this week... Omens stay away!

"... Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. But as for me and my household,we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15