Let Summer Begin!

Weather

We've had a crazy Spring here thanks to El Nino. Usually by Memorial Day weekend we already complaining about the heat and we've settled in to a pool routine.

This month has been filled with rain and while it is a blessing to finally have the lakes getting filled back up and to have help with the drought, it has also been tough to deal with the nonstop rain.

Saturday night we had a storm come through that included a small tornado just about a mile from us that did some decent damage to several houses and businesses. Everyone we know from that hood was safe but spent Sunday cleaning up. Monday started off nice and we finally got around to tackling the jungle that had grown up in the yards due to the rain. Around 1, Rick came in and turned on the news because he said it looked bad and he could hear the storm that was Northeast of us. We all sat and watched the weather and the tornado warnings that were popping up south but the maps showed all of it moving west of us.
The boys and I had plans to see their buddy Miles perform in a local play and were set to get ready despite the rain until the news showed a small storm making its way directly through Austin and in to Pflugerville. The news told us to be prepared to take shelter. We never saw a tornado but the rain was intense and while we were excited about backyard flooding, we had non idea what the rest of the hood was experiencing until the storm calmed and we decided to drive around.

The photos show the park and obviously the creek overflowing. There was a car that got caught and they were doing a rescue just as we came out. There is also the field where the boys used to practice baseball, our own flood in the backyard, and after it was all over the most interesting night sky that eventually turned this intense shade of yellow/orange.

The chances of rain are slim this week. Let's hope we get to play baseball and enjoy a little sun.

Patience

Zach often gets overlooked as the middle child but his patience and sweetness for his sisters often overwhelms me.
We are all in a bit of a cleaning frenzy today. After cleaning the chalk wall, Zach sat for 20 minutes and complied without complaint while Lu dictated exactly what she wanted him to draw.

where did you go spring?

School is being attended by two boys – one who is obsessed about perfect attendance and another who isn’t sure the point of it and would prefer to sit at home staring at his phone. Both are excelling but I think they are ready for the break.

My parents came for a week-long visit. I think it was a bit like Nellie Bly going undercover for 10 days in the asylum.  I am not sure they have fully recovered and there may be some lasting scars. It was nice to have them here although work was stupid busy so I didn’t get to spend the time I had wanted. Grandpa Pete did get to see two of JT’s games though and that meant the world to JT as ever since he started playing at 3 he has been asking when his grandparents were going to come and watch him play.

Chickens…well, they are still here and they are devious, mischievous, still in diapers (although I think Lu is really close), masters of the kindle and finding some of the weirdest stuff on YouTube (nothing bad just odd videos of adults opening kid toys), and big fans of Teen Titans Go and My Little Pony.

Rick is surviving. He is doing well with work and still enjoying it. He finally got a truck and for at least a week kept asking me why we waited so long. He isn't pleased that I've come up with a long list of things we can now do that in the past I was told we couldn't do because he didn't have a truck.

And me…I am feeling better. When I was pregnant with JT I was diagnosed with hypothyroid. For the most part it hasn't been a huge issue but the past year I've felt miserable. At first I thought it was depression or may be just being tired from work and life. My last visit to my endocrinologist left me frustrated as she wasn't interested in considering alternatives since I wasn't feeling 100%. Back in February I had this crazy moment where I was feeling miserable, my tongue swelled up, I couldn't get out of bed and I was just at a loss for what was going on. I did what everyone does at that moment and I googled my symptoms and well after a few weeks I went in search of a new doctor. So a few months later, lots of blood-work, one stressful week that included a biopsy (with benign results), and new medication I am back to feeling so much better than I have. I've also been swamped with work. Some of it boring stuff and some exciting.

Summer is looming. We are kicking it off with a quick trip to Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. After that we lots of ideas but nothing set yet.

Remember when you were a kid and you got a new pair of shoes and the most exciting part was wearing them out of the store? Well, the chickens have decided to wear swimsuits out of the store. Lu has also renamed it New Navy because the clothes are new not old.

Easter Eve Bandits

I have this long post about finding balance in a chaotic life and how so many friends are going through struggles with their marriages.  I stopped last night because we were watching a movie. I had every intention of finishing it tonight but then the Easter Eve Bandits hit.

The weather in Texas is finally pleasant. Rick and I sat outside on the deck watching the girls prance around and prattle to each other and us about lord knows what. It is in these moments, when I am drained from a long day, realizing that of the 50 things on my to do list only 2 of them got done. I stare at the girls in wonder. How did they get in to our lives? I mean I know the how but it more the sheer amazement of how these two beings have turned our lives up-side-down and taken us on a wild ride that never in a million years did I expect or plan. They rule our lives and this household; all four of us are at their mercy and they are only 3.

As we sat on the deck Rick and I each got caught up in watching the two of them work out that they could fill the empty water gun they had located with the water from a cup they had left over from dinner. It was pure genius; mad genius. The shit that doesn't happen with just one toddler but happens when there are two. I shutter to think what parents of toddler triplets deal with on the daily.

Not a single concern crossed my mind when I realized that they had both gone in to the house. I was too busy enjoying the quiet moment and watching the cardinals in the backyard. The silence was broken when JT came out to tell us he and Zach were going out to play with friends on the street. We went inside and were met by KitKat who proudly announced that Lulu had Ninja Turtle stickers. Like waking from a dream, it took a moment for me to register what she was talking about. I went in to my office and saw my light was on and then I ran in to their room and saw the Ninja Turtle and princess stickers and bubbles that I had gotten for their baskets strewn across KitKat's bed. I yelled. KitKat firmly declared it was all Lulu and Lulu ran and hid under the blankets on my bed and cried.

It took 15 minutes to calm me down. It took 20 minutes to calm Lulu down. She ended the night in her bed telling me that she really loved me and daddy and she was sorry. She also said she really loves the Easter bunny.

Easter will be a little less exciting but to be honest, I wasn't too worked up for Easter this year anywho.

As my Easter gift to you guys,  I am sharing some photos from the last few weeks so you can see that the kids are still alive and growing. I know the boys would want me to note that they are both quickly catching up with me in height. I know 5' 2" isn't a huge height to overcome but I am sure they aren't stopping there.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope the bunny visits you and brings you some special treats.

The girls bowling over spring break.

The girls went with me to get my blood work done recently. I explained to them what we were doing and they selected these outfits as perfect for the occasion.

The kids and I on a walk through the hood to one of our favorite spots.

Me and KitKat 

Me and Lulu

Lulu dressed and ready to go.

promise

Some  gentle musings coming soon. I think this abnormally bad weather has given everyone a bit of cabin fever and a lack of desire to do much. Or maybe just me. Either way some update soon.

so this is 40

Well it is clear that old age has settled in because I've started and forgotten this post so many times that I can't recall what my original thoughts were and my thoughts probably weren't that original. I think I had wanted to provide some great insight in to what it meant to be 40 but I have nothing really. I don't know that it is much different than any other year with the exception that I think with every other decade turn the thought was about what is yet to come and with this one I find myself not so focused about what is yet to come but appreciating the now.

A quick birthday recap. I was treated to some fun afternoons and evenings out with friends before and after my birthday. I was surprised by flock of flamingos on my yard the day of my birthday. And yes there are 40 flamingos. This little flamingo stunt has alerted basically everyone in Pflugerville to my new age and I've been stopped at the grocery store and at school and wished a happy birthday (because "I saw the flamingos").

This past weekend, I got to sneak away with some good friends for a quick Girls Getaway to Fredricksburg. It was fun times. I am probably not supposed to share the details but needless to say we laughed, we ate and drank too much and really we just got enjoy each others company without the distraction of life and kids. It was quite the treat.

Here is my deep thought for turning 40. Again nothing original but more some thoughts on moving forward and where I hope to place my energies as I work through this next decade.

Wakan Tanka, Great Mystery, teach me how to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my Sacred Space and love beyond my fear, and thus Walk in Balance with the passing of each glorious Sun.  - Lakota Prayer