woods.

Have you ever had one of those nights where you are resting peacefully then you wake up thinking ok, i feel a bug crawling on me.  Well, I had one of those about 3:30am this morning. 

At first I brushed it aside and thought oh, it's a loose hair from this massive thick hair of mine.  So,I tried to go back to sleep.  Then about fifteen minutes later I felt it again.  I pulled the covers off, turned the lights on...nothing.  I decided to take off the covers and sleep with just the sheet.  If it was a bug then it could stay with the covers on the floor.

Sleep eluded me though and at 6:15am I got up to start my day.  I woke up Kate who headed to the bathroom and I immediately followed to change from my pjs.  And, low and behold I saw something strange on my leg in the mirror.  I brushed it off and IT STUCK!!! IT WAS A TICK!  YES, A TICK! 

You would have thought we had a five alarm fire in our house.  I was screaming bloody murder and Steve jumped out of bed thinking something happened to one of the kids.  Drew woke up saying, "What's wrong momma, what's wrong?"

Let me tell ya peeps, if you know me, you know I am not a fan of crickets or grass hoppers.  Well you can add ticks to that list.  Just the thought of a bug sucking the blood out of my body is enough to make me want to bathe in insect repellant.

And that's the thing.  I've been to every state park in WV and hiked tons of trails and never one tick.  Ever.  I go exploring with my kids one night in my backyard and a blood sucking tick finds its way to my leg. 

Sadly, it probably won't be the last.  Bring on the repellant!

I bought a...

MOP!!!!  HA!  Boy, can I ever splurge.

Let's face it...I'm not getting any younger.  And my days of hand and knee floor cleaning are becoming well let's just say I don't want knee replacement anytime soon! Ha!

Boy do I miss the days of bedrest and having Merry Maids clean my house.  Oh wait...did I just say bedrest...NEVERMIND!  Ha!  Bedrest for three months is/was for the birds.  I'll take housecleaning anyday!

So, this morning I bought a mop and cleaned my floors.  It actually worked pretty good.  Not to say I'll never do hand knee cleaning again but for weekly cleaning I'm going the mop route!  Ahhh...the little finds in life. Teehee!

spring weekend.

Happy Birthday to my sister, Linda Lou!  Ha!  That's not even her name but everyone seems to call her that!  Have a fantastic day, sista!  We love you!!!!

What a fun weekend we had! 

Friday, Steve took the kiddos to Tball practice while I enjoyed a fun night out with the neighborhood ladies for girls night out!  As I was talking with one neighborhood friend, we found out we purchased our dogs from the same breeder in a neighboring county.  Ha! Small, small West Virginia.  I had a fun time and good conversation with some sweet ladies.  Happy Birthday to Kim, Amy, and Mary Beth!

Saturday we woke up early to head out to drop Drew off at sister #3s and Kate and I headed to a Pinkalicious birthday party.  There was pink everywhere and the cake/cupcakes were amazing!  Great job, Stephanie!

After the party we picked up Drew and headed over to sister #3s church for our annual visit to the Easter eggstravaganza.  The kiddos had a great time and won some cool prizes!

Fun times!   Thanks Twila!!

Steve went golfing with his buddies on Sunday so we headed down to the Charleston mall to see the Easter bunny. Kate and Drew were so excited to see him and not a bad wait in line (thank goodness).  I can't believe Easter in this Sunday!!!!!

Afterwards the kiddos asked if we could go to the Clay Center.  These kids are getting smart about proximity!  Ha!  It was a seemingly gloomy day so we headed over the Clay Center for some exploring.   Drew was excited to find a lizard on the sidewalk.  Oh the signs of summer!

We ran into some friends and ended up staying THREE hours!  I was one tired momma when I got home but the kids had a blast.

Today I'm headed to Drew's follow-up appointment from his surgery.  It looks like a busy week ahead this week.  I'm ready for Friday to start our fun spring break!!!  Yippee!!!

fear.

I didn't sleep well last night.  I usually read the local news on my phone a couple times during the day and then again before I go to sleep at night.

There has been some freaking weirdo driving around during daylight in a white van in our local area reportedly attempting to pull girls into his van. 
One eleven year old girl ran away and another eighteen year old at a busstop said she froze but luckily another car came and the van driver drove off. 

Abductors are getting braver.

Since the day Kate was born I've always been afraid someone is going to take her. 
Then Drew was born and my fear doubled.

As a mother, IT'S MY BIGGEST FEAR!!!  No seriously...I've lost a TON of sleep over it.

I can deal with sickness and tantrums and anything else that comes my way with my kiddos, but the thought of some lunatic taking my kids away from me scares the living daylights out of me.
Call me crazy...call me helicopter mom, but I don't care. 

I am going to do whatever it takes to protect my kiddos.
I've had friends tell me they are scared of the same thing so I know I'm not alone. 

You just never know.  I hope they catch him.  But I know there are more out there.

Scary, scary stuff.







 

abc...easy as...

lids.

Have I mentioned I love lids.  No, not as in hat lids (HA!) but pretty much anything that has a lid I fall in love.  Quirky, yes. 

It all started with my collection of teapots when I was oh say...15!!!!  I fell in love with every teapot that came my way.

Then I was introduced to fiesta by one of my sisters (can't remember which one-Linda or Twila) and had to have A LOT of covered casseroles with lids.  I love every color of those things and spent a small FORTUNE on EBAY on a retired lilac one.  I could look at it all day.

All the way up there in all its glory!

Wait...let's get a closer look.

Ahhh...pure gorgeousness!!!

The past few years, I have been into transparent things with lids.  Just anything clear with lids.  I know...whacko!  Ha!  I saw on Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa clear canisters and I was in love.  Immediately had to google where I could buy them and Crate and Barrel had them.  Then of course I had to order some.  Love, Love, Love them!  I'm thinking of ordering more in the very near future!

Then there are my old standbys when I need a lid fix...my cake plates and vases! 

This is surprisingly empty today!!!!

I was in Big Lots earlier today and ran across Mason jars!  I'm pretty sure I'll be going back in a few days and stocking up on those!  Fun!!!

Yep, I'm a lid freak.  Don't judge me. Teehee...

spring

Today is National Down Syndrome Day and this blog post from a friend will make your heart sing with happiness.  Definitely alike more than different!! 
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The first day of SPRING was GREAT!!!!  Gorgeous 84 degree weather.  Kiddoss on bikes, scooters and skateboards. Little girls walking their dogs!  And yummy grilled food!  More great weather expected today!  Yippee!