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A little daddy-daughter hammock time.  “Whee” she kept saying!

Yup.  We did it… and we lived to tell about it!  We’ve been wanting to go for quite some time, actually, and we finally made it happen for Cody’s birthday.  The big 4-0.  How did he spend the evening before his big day?  Turning the hand crank on an ancient ice cream freezer that he rebuilt – all to produce way more ice cream than he and I could eat.  But man, it was good!!  But, that was just a small part of the trip.  I must begin at the beginning.

We set out Thursday just before lunch, ate lunch in Hondo and stopped at Walmart to get a few last  minute necessities.  Then stopped at HEB because it’s perfectly logical that the tiniest HEB ever built would have tons of firewood for sale when the Walmart SuperCenter for all of Medina County was sold out.  But hey, it’s Texas!  Thank God for HEB!  We had a campfire. 🙂

When we arrived at Garner State Park, they told us basically we had the pick of most of the spots in the place – with only about 50 folks camping that night.  So, we drove around and settled on our perfect spot.  (And it really was perfect, ya’ll.  If only it hadn’t been for all the rocks that our dear, sweet little toddler kept tripping on and falling…  Lots of tears.  LOTS of tears.)

Got the tent set up in record time, and we were relaxing in no time.  It really was a wonderful trip.  Becca saw lots of “burts” (birds), mommy and daddy chased off a few too-friendly skunks, and the only casualty of the entire trip was a loaf of bread that mistakenly got left out when we went for our walk.  Oops.  My bad.  Thankfully the little camp store had another loaf of bread.  Because when the birds/skunks/squirrels/whatever-they-were were done with the bread, we weren’t going to be eating any of it.  The goldfish crackers were also a casualty.  Oh well.  That’s life.

Becca loved roaming around, and even took her daddy on a little hike Friday morning!  She was all about tromping around, digging in the dirt, putting leaves and sticks in her little tote bag, and just generally being outside.  She’s an outdoorsy sort of gal.  Thankfully her allergies cooperated through the entire endeavor!

It was the cutest thing ever watching her lead him off to the trail and up the hill, George tagging along, of course.  Nothing quite catches my breath like the site of these two together.

All in all, it was a fabulous trip.  We know a few things we’ll do differently next time, but the best part is – after this experience, there will still be a next time!  🙂  And when we add new little Hinnants to the clan at some point, I don’t think we’ll be so hesitant to take them out to camp earlier in life.  I’m not really sure why we waited this long with her.  Next time we go, we may need a rope to keep her from running up into the hills!  HA!

Well, sort of anyway.  The rains of last week served to cool us off a bit, so a 55F degree start yesterday morning was enough to break out a cute fall outfit, and squirt some more pumpkin scented Febreze around the house!  (Not to mention the pumpkin spice lattes and cookies that have already found their way into our home a bit early.)

So, since my little munchkin looked so cute in her fall outfit yesterday, I decided it was time to take some pictures.  And I’m so glad I did!  Here are my favs.

Sigh. If you’ve ever been mommy to a toddler, you know the feeling. The nights you fall into bed and think “wait, did I take a shower today?” Seriously, folks. It happens. More often than I’d like to admit. Because while I keep great track of Becca’s baths and hygeine habits, this mommy is also trying to keep lots of plates spinning. Important ones. Like laundry, dishes, vaccumming, the latest on Chopped and Rizzoli & Isles. HA! Seriously. Although I think I have about twenty episodes of Chopped to catch up on, and was always about three weeks behind on Rizzoli & Isles. I finally finished the season this week. (Thank goodness for a winter season- I always have a hard time making it to summer without that show!!! Altho Castle starts soon…)

No, really- there’s so much more than housework and craft projects with Becca. Working from home is a challenge, ya’ll. I LOVE my business. Wouldn’t trade it, or the opportunities. But there’s something about having eight hours of work and your toddler only napping around three and a half hours. And I know I’m lucky- I know some don’t sleep that much. But, all that stuff adds up to mommy falling into bed at night trying to recall when my last shower was. Did I brush my teeth today? Seriously. Sometimes it’s stinky around here. Sigh.

So this morning, even tho I don’t have time, I had to tell you what I did for myself. I rolled myself out of bed just after 6 (despite the glorious sound of rain on the window), got in the shower (I better keep track in case I forget!), and dressed for going to my MOPS steering meeting this morning. And then I did something crazy. Instead of just putting on my normal powder, blush, and thin eyeliner, I pulled out the lipliner! Look out, world! Mommy painted the barn! Seriously. Amazing the instant boost to my self esteem! I put on three shades of eye shadow like the fancy folks that work in big corporations making the big bucks do (most of whom I doubt have toddlers… And if you do, dang- hats off to you, mommy!!!)

But then- wait for it, ladies-

I filed my nails and put on some clear polish! (Thus the need for this post- I can’t do anything til they are dry… Now I remember why I don’t paint my nails!! Ha!). But man, the ego boost. Even tho my hair is wet (I let it air dry) and I’m in a tshirt and capris, I feel like a million bucks! You better look out, alarm clock! It might be worth setting you early every day so that before my quiet time I have time for a shower and put some paint on the old barn! But seriously, I’m not THAT old! I’m not.

That happens in April.

You ever had one of those days? Where you forget everything, your plans get changed last minute… ya know, one of those days?
Well, I’d like to say thank you to a certain cashier at HEB. Despite having done my quiet time this morning, it was her cheery personality and thought-provoking words that turned my morning around and equipped me to handle the REST of my day, which continued in much the same manner it began.
She told me, “slow down, mommy. There’s no one behind you, and I’m here all day. Don’t miss the little moments… Your daughter is so cute playing on your phone… I’m not in a rush for your money, and don’t stress over forgetting your coupons- you can use them next time. Just enjoy life.” Seriously. Wow. She just came right out there and gave me a pep talk. She went on to tell me that “today’s a good day because there’s air in your lungs.” And before I left she reminded me “slow down, mommy and enjoy the small things. Love that baby girl.”
I see this woman every week at the store. She’s practically family. Except that I haven’t taken the time to read her nametag. She knows Becca by name. She remembers that I have a friend who sells 31 and I collect their bags. She knows I used to sell Pampered Chef and that I’m a travel agent. She remembers that I craved peaches when I was pregnant with Boo. This woman cares. Genuinely. And she makes me want to be a better person.
So thank you, HEB cashier. Next time, I promise I’ll slow down enough to read your tag and remember your name.
Thank you for turning my frown upside down and for making one of “those” days just a little bit brighter.
Sincerely,
A frazzled mom who forgot her coupons at home and kept forgetting stuff in the store and back-tracked thru the aisles FIVE seperate times and still ended up forgetting something completely, who was also trying desperately to keep her toddler happy when all she wanted was “up” and to get out of the cart and “alk?”

I have limits.  I know this.  And when I’m too exhausted to go on, I typically fall into my bed and crawl under the covers to snuggle with my pillow, despite the hour.  Unless, of course, my sweet little one is preventing that.  Then I push on and just deal with it.  “Suck it up and deal with it,” as some of my 7th grade coach-teachers taught me.  Her limits, however, well… when she hits that wall, it’s time to go – from wherever we are and whatever we are doing, and just get her some sleep.

Yesterday was no exception.  We had a fabulous day planned, but Saturday night, a new variable entered the scene.  A tooth.  FINALLY!  Her first molar to break through entered the world around 7:45 Saturday night.  (Tooth number 9 if you’re keeping track.)  Sending her into a whirlwind of pain and exhaustion.  So, we changed the Sunday plan.  Becca wouldn’t be attending her first tubing trip- she’d be hanging out at the clubhouse pool and taking a nap in the clubhouse instead.  Except she had plans of her own.

Nap?  HA!

This girl is a FISH.  She LOVED kicking her legs, floating along, walking along the ledge hanging on to the side, and jumping in.  Yup.  She really knows how to make a splash!  We had SOOOO much fun!!!!!  I’m not sure how many hours she spent in the pool, but it was way more than planned after she decided to give everyone a headache and scream through her naptime.  I decided that a nice swim would wear her out!  HA!  We made it to dinner time and still no nap.  And that’s when the fits began.

She wanted to walk around while eating.  Now, remember – I still haven’t made a post with the fabulous news that she’s now totally independent and walking on her own… because she isn’t.  So, she’s wanting to walk, with food all over her hands and food in her mouth, hanging on to the couch of this clubhouse we’re renting out…. yeah, not a good plan.  After she tripped and went down with a mouth full of food, mean mommy instated a rule of you-sit-in-my-lap-to-eat-or-else-you-don’t-eat.  Yeah, that went over like a lead balloon.  Sigh.  The result found Cody and I both cleaning yogurt out of the clubhouse carpet from the food slinging.

Bless his heart, enter Daddy to the rescue!  We got her cleaned up together, and he took her for a walk down to the river so that I could eat and start packing our stuff.  Because despite the fact that everyone else would be visiting for hours, as a parent the number one cardinal rule is – know when to fold ’em.  When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.  No matter what YOU personally want.  We got packed up and hit the road, and within three minutes of being in the car, she was knocked out.  Whew.  Finally.  She slept most of the way home (abt 45 mins of sleep), and then when we got home, we did her normal nighttime routine, and she was out fairly quickly – around 8:00.  Not too far off schedule!

Whew.  One of these days, I’ll have this mom thing down to an art… as for now, I feel pretty much like a gambler.  I place my bets, based on what I want to do and what I think is possible, and then I take hold of the hand I’ve been dealt.  Thankfully, I’ve got a really good partner standing behind the dealer to help me know when it’s time – time to fold ’em and take what I’ve got and run.  I can’t imagine doing this by myself.  Teamwork folks, it’s all about teamwork.  Teamwork, and having the most supportive husband God’s ever created.  Somehow, together, we’ll get through these “terrible twos” that have already hit.  And, in the process, we might get better at our gambling, too!  HA!

You’d never guess that this sweet sleeper was a holy terror at times, would you?
Sigh.  I love this girl so much.  Even when she makes me want to pull my hair out!