Monday, October 19, 2015

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.



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