Lions, and Tigers, and Ninja Turtles

I was having a little mom guilt after spring break, because I didn't get to take the kiddos to do anything fun (even though at this point they have no clue what spring break even is). Not to mention they have two parents who have jobs that require them to work weekends and holidays- and to help out some coworkers I picked up an extra day of work that week. Soooooo a trip over spring break was not on our agenda. Not to mention, I hate crowds. I'm a very social person- I rarely like to be alone, but I hate the feeling of confinement. Instead, I decided we'd take a day trip to the Caldwell Zoo the next week. And boy did the kids have fun! The Caldwell Zoo is by far one of my favorite places, I remember as a kid going there. It's highly affordable and just big enough that by the end you're ready to be done. We went with a couple that we have been friends with for a very long time, they have a little boy that is sandwiched in between my boys age. He's pretty much like a third child. If Dylan isn't with us, we will hear about how Dylan should be with us. They are the three amigos.Tyler is about an hour and a half away, so of course we had to hit up a gas station before we got there. Here are the three amigos playing in the rocking chairs in front of the gas station. A gas station in Texas isn't complete without some rocking chairs in front of it!

We get to the zoo and all the kids are super excited. Evan is literally mesmerized by the "famingos." Proper English pronunciation- flamingos. While the other two act like they are ready to full sprint their way through the exhibits. While I was sharing in Evan's excitement of the flamingos my friend Kelli informs me that I should look at my child. Never good. Low and behold, Ethan has decided to whip it out and pee into the zoo exhibit. I hate to say it, but you can't take the B-town out of this sweet child. Just a country boy, doing country things. We had a talk about public urination and when and where to do it. Hopefully it will stick, but something in my gut tells me this won't be my last time to see this. Being the over-picture taking mama that I am, of course I had to hurry up and take a picture of his sin. Strictly for proof later in life of how I got all my gray hairs and prescription for blood pressure medication.

Out of all the kids, Evan by far had the best time. Don't get me wrong, they ALL had a good time, but Evan was so entranced in all the animals. He was always the last one to leave every exhibit, and that was pretty much always with force. He'd scream the animals names as soon as he saw them, with such excitement. These are the moments that will forever be burned in my memory. Yes, the peeing is pretty unforgettable, but just seeing the excitement written all over their faces made the whole trip worth while. Evan is a huge Ninja Turtle fan…huge! And when he saw the turtles, they weren't just turtles, they were "NINJA TURTLES!"

   

The boys were mesmerized by the snakes…..of course. Not on our future pet list.

At the mountain lion exhibit we had an interesting encounter. When we first got to the exhibit there were two huge cats lying by the glass, one semi lying on top of the other. The one that was being laid upon (obviously the female)- was hissing non stop for at least five good minutes. We had a front row seat show. This female obviously wanted the male to move. He just couldn't quite comprehend- good to know it's not just humans having this issue- I kidd, I kidd (sort of). During the show, the boys were glued to the glass waiting for the next move. Male kitty finally took the hint and not only moved, but climbed as high as he could up a tree. Which was pretty cool (even to this old mama). And what do you know, the hissing stopped. That easy men…that easy. Know when to walk away. 

 

After all that excitement, it was snack time. And being in Texas and all….guess what we found…..rocking chairs of course! Yohoos and Pringles for everybody!

                   

My life- my loves

Definitely unconventional…thinking outside the box. 

 

Ethan and Dylan were calling the Ninja Turtles through the sewer drain.

We definitely brought the Ninja Turtle lovin' crew!

           

There was a small area of the zoo where you could pet the goats. The boys were a tad bit timid, unsure of how the goats would react to them, but they got a couple of good pats in. I think the funniest part of this story is apparently part of the qualification to be the petting zoo zookeeper was you had to hate kids. Dylan latched himself onto this certain man and thought he had made quite a friend. Besides the fact the man blatantly ignored him the whole time. Dylan kept saying, "sir, sir, sir, sir," and the old scrooge refused to make eye contact with him. It was pretty entertaining watching Dylan try to bring out the best in this grumpy old man. I must say, Dylan won the persistent kid award. A great quality! Scrooge kept looking at Kelli to make Dylan stop, little did he realize if he would just at least acknowledge Dylan he might actually enjoy his conversation with the three year old. His loss. Unfortunately, the man refused to budge, but Kelli and I had quite a good laugh about his scroogeness.

    

My FAVORITE part of the the trip was saved for last! Last time we went to the zoo we visited the bird sanctuary where you actually got cute little popsicle sticks with bird seed on them and got to feed the sweet little birdies. Now last time there were at least twenty other people in there with us, so the birds weren't solely focused on us. They had variety. Not this time. I ranted and raved the whole trip about how they were just going to loooooooove this bird sanctuary. We get there and we are the only ones- therefore, all 350 birds wanted our sticks. They would literally climb on your hands and arms and start fighting with each other over a measaly popsicle stick. Creeped me the heck out. I can handle one bird on my stick, that is fun. Not ten fighting birds climbing all over you. So, I quickly passed my stick off to Kelli- aka Bird Whisperer. This was by far Ethan's favorite part, he had a blast and wasn't the least bit scared. Ethan and Kelli were one with the birds. 

Kelli and her newfound friends

   

A possible pet bird in our future….nawwwww. I've learned as a parent to never say never, but I'm going out on a limb and saying never on this one.

    

We ended our trip to Tyler with a lunch date to Chuy's, which I highly recommend. It was a perfect day trip. The kids had a blast. The adults had a blast. What more could you ask for?

Doo Doo Balls

My sweet little Evan is officially/unofficially potty trained. It's very bittersweet. No more diapers EVER again at the Mo house. Mixed emotions there. Evan is an all star at his pee game, the poop game not so much. Evan isn't a fan of the potty, but he also doesn't like wearing it anymore. Therefore, when he does it in his drawers he rips them off with very little remorse. Not to mention, he is a stealth pooper- he can do it in mid play and you will never know it until he flings those drawers off.

Yesterday Evan and Ethan were jumping peacefully on the trampoline when I hear Ethan start screaming, "Mama, mama Evan's taking his underwear off, mama he's taking his underwear off!!!!!" Ethan is alllll about ratting his brother out- hopefully it stays that way well into their teens. I glance up thinking Ethan is just playing (he has that sense of humor), and then Ethan increases his pitch just a notch and starts frantically screaming, "Mama there are doo doo balls, doo doo balls are on the trampoline!!!" At this point do you think my children quit jumping- NOPE. They keep on jumping, along with the four Evan turds bouncing around with them. I panic and sternly tell them, "Everybody stop where you are! Don't move, don't jump." Because now it is my duty to fish the turds off the trampoline. Do the kids stop? Of course not. Instead they decide to try to pulverize the turds with the gigantic life size ball on the trampoline. So now I am attempting to scrape up flattened turds compliments of their bowling session. This is just a day in my life, a small little sliver of my life with boys. And for some reason, I think it is the best life EVER and I love those two boys with every ounce of my being. So much so I'd scrape their flattened pancake crap off the trampoline so they could continue to jump in a doo doo ball free zone.

Hopefully Evan will eventually conquer his fear of the toilet and I won't live in fear of where Evan will drop his loaf next. Until then, I will be watching him like a hawk in public. My sanity can not handle him ripping his poo filled underwear off in front of the rest of society. I have until August (when Evan starts school) to control this potty phobia and I have full faith he will turn into quite the little potty pooing human and not that wild doo doo ball flinging monkey of the past.

And just like that…Spring Break is over

Even though it is Spring Break (a time for rest and relaxation- ha!!!) I feel like we have shifted into overdrive. We have gone non-stop for over a week. Between Easter parties, birthday parties, and egg hunts, oh yeah and the ever so fun and entertaining t-ball, our cup has runneth over. Over the weekend I learned the boys LOVE to hunt eggs- pretty sure I heard "hide them again, hide them again," about fifty times. We held at least four egg hunts. And I must say, I am over those stupid plastic eggs. They have secretly made their way back to the top of Ethan's closet, not to be seen again until next year.

Easter (outside of those plastic eggs) is by far one of my favorite holidays, right behind Christmas. There are just so many fun things for the kids to do- from dying eggs to seeing the ever so creepy Easter Bunny. This year both boys were definitely into it. Here is a little recap of our busy Easter holiday…..

Ethan goes to seriously one of the best preschools ever. The school is literally two hallways, but there is so much love packed in between those two hallways. They make learning fun and exciting for the kids. The school is actually part of a church, so the kids go to chapel each morning and learn about Jesus and his greatness- which I love! One of the bigger celebrations at the school is the flowering of the Cross and Easter hat parade, which was held Wednesday. Each kid brings a flower and gets to place it on the cross during chapel. After that there is a parade in the courtyard and the kids get to walk around in their Easter hats they (huh hmmm or maybe their parents) made. The most chaotic part is saved for last- the EGG HUNT. 

Friday we stepped it up a notch. I decided my children HAD to see the Easter bunny, or their Easter just wouldn't be fulfilled. They wouldn't receive the full Easter package- hunt, dye, and picture. So after I got off work on Friday (at 3:00) we decided it would be a good ideal to high tail it up to the Bass Pro Shop where the Easter Bunny would be making a special appearance from 2:00-8:00. Me being the cheapo that I am, was going to get the free BPS picture, not the $30 mall package which includes a measly four wallets. And if that included standing in line for a good hour and a half- by God we were going to stand in line for an hour and a half. Luckily we ended up seeing some of our friends with kids the same age, so our kids were well entertained. After getting in trouble by the grouchy door greeter lady, the kids and husbands took off to the fish tank and boats. We had been in line about 45 minutes and I see Chris carrying Evan with a very grim look on his face. I already knew what he was about to tell me….. for some reason I thought it a good ideal to potty train Evan. And when I do something, I usually do it big. I went cold turkey potty training style. No more diapers…period…And there we were- 45 minutes deep in the Easter Bunny line with pee stains on the front and a load of crap in the back. Apparently Evan got a little too comfortable in the bass boat. Good times. I remember having a pair of pants in my purse, but I also remember taking those pants out of my purse. So Evan and I go tromping across that BP parking lot to the Margaritaville parking lot. That should've been my first que to turn that Pilot around. There were zero parking spots at BPS. But as usual, I didn't listen to my inner self. We get to the car, only to find I have no pants. I had taken them out inside my house that morning and put them on the counter, not in my car. I call Chris, "ABORT THE MISSION!" Luckily, he still had his sense and was going to buy an overpriced pair at the BPS and meet me out front. I put a diaper on Evan (placed a temporary hold on the whole potty training gig) and put his pants back on and started the ten mile march back to the Easter bunny. Once I finally got to Chris Evan's pants had dried so I said screw it, if we're going to wait this long my kids are going to match- the Easter bunny is just going to have to endure the dried up piss pants (don't worry, no doody was on them, I'm not that ruthless). 

Worth the long wait and the "accident," which Evan still looks pissed (no pun intended) about. 

And no- my child didn't cause that stain on Mr. Bunny's arm. 

We got our free picture and headed back to B-town to Paw and DeDe's where the kids had an egg hunt extravaganza. To add to the excitement of the egg hunt, DeDe added in a few confetti eggs, which the kids had a blast with! Highly recommend the confetti eggs. 

The Mo Easter Bunny came on Saturday since Daddy wouldn't be there Sunday. Oh the joys of being a civil servant. The Easter Bunny hooked two little boys up. Their baskets primarily consisted of art stuff, stuff that wouldn't make them bounce the walls- that tends to come natural for these two, we need no assistance. The bunny also snuck in some ninja turtle tooth brushes (which were their favorite part) and some ninja turtle band aids. Sometimes it's just the simple things. 

Little Evie with his pretty much permanent dirty face

We also dyed eggs the same day the bunny came, which Evan proceeded to stomp into the concrete. Hey- whatever! Some things aren't worth it. If he wants to be Evan Reid the Egg Crusher, who am I to rain on his egg stomping party? After it was all said and done we all had dyed hands and the dog ate about five boiled, crushed eggs, which I would pay for later. 

On the for real Easter day, I got the boys dressed all cute and wanted to take a family photo- which never happened. My attempt at pictures Easter day are as follows…..

It is what it is……

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

My run in with a step ladder

The first couple of weeks in the little house has brought about MANY stories. From an incident on a step ladder, to a robber's cell phone ringing outside my house. Today I will tell the story of the step ladder.

When we moved into the house there was a two step step ladder already in the house. I'm not really sure where it came from or who left it, but it became very helpful in my move. I used it to put stuff in the kid's closet (singular- one closet), I used it to put things in cabinets- it was my go to to reach anything high. Eventually I got everything put up and I folded the ladder away. After being in the house for about a week I decided I needed my Keurig from the top of my kitchen cabinets (and of course Chris was at work). I had put it up there because I had read somewhere the K-cups aren't BPA free and would give you cancer..blah blah blah. But the dang thing is so convenient and I was having a moment of weakness and in need of quick coffee- especially after moving a 1600 square foot house into a 900 square foot house. That alone can test anybody's inner strength and sanity. So I popped open that handy little ladder I had found and began climbing. First step- good. Second step- not so much. That dang ladder scissor opened so fast and bent me into an L going down the cabinet. Along the way I hit my neck directly on the curve of the counter top and was literally gasping for air. I have never in my life been hit that hard in my throat. So what do I do? It's 8:00 in the morning- who would be awake, who would be awake?! My dad, my neighbor. He is an early riser and is ALWAYS up by 8:00. Call him. No answer. Really?! In my head I was going to die right there, left for my boys to find when they realized Mommy had been gone a little too long. I start playing horrible scenarios in my head. Ok, ok who was the next on my in case of emergency call list- my mom. Ring. Ring. Ring. You've reached the voicemail box of…. Shoot! Yep, I was going to die right then and there gasping for air like a fish out of water. I didn't want to have to do it, but I was left with no other option…..I called Chris at the fire station. Squalling and balling. As I'm squalling and gasping for air at the same time Chris asked what in the world  has happened. I informed him there has been a horrible accident and I've really hurt myself and I might not make it. He informs me that I'm talking so that's a good sign that I probably won't die. He talked me through the hysteria and back to sanity. After I came back down to planet Earth and realized my airway wasn't going to swell shut I had to go investigate the little ladder situation. Any ladder I have ever been on just pops open and locks on its own, not this one. After you pop it open there is a latch you have to actually latch in order for it to not scissor open once you get to the second step. Dumbest ladder concept EVER! Somebody should be punched in the face for that one. The ladder now resides in my Daddy's shed. It was about two seconds from going to the dump, until my Dad rescued it (he's a hoarder). When I woke up the next morning I had zero voice and googled trauma to the neck with loss of voice. Good ole Google informed me I needed to seek immediate medical care- a little late for that. I decided if I was still hoarse by the end of the day I'd go to a  Quick Care. Luckily, my voice returned that afternoon and I avoided the doctor. The ladder and I have split ways, but it has taught me to never expect anything out of a ladder. Now I do four point safety inspections before I get on any ladder.

The story of the Little House

As with everything, there is a story to the little house. Wayyyyy back in the day, many, many moons ago my grandfather was in search of a pad and a piece of land. PawPaw, as I called him, was an oil man. Where the black gold went Paw went, which brought him to B-town. He found a few acres and a/THE little house for a reasonable price, and went for it. My grandparents lived in the little house while they built their current home. In order to keep my mom around, my grandpa gave her a couple of acres on the other side of the little house, and that is where my childhood home was built. From left to right goes: my parents' house, the little house, and my grandparents' house. We call this the compound. The little house has housed MANY relatives; my grandparents, my Uncle Ray, my great-grandmother Grannie Willie, and my sister Candy (who liked it so much she came back to stay a second time!). I swore I would never, under any circumstance, live in the little house. Well guess where I am……the freaking little house.

During most of my childhood, my Grannie Willie lived in the little house, and I pestered the ever loving crap out of her. My friends and I would play behind her house at night, up to no good. She would yell at us to go back home and we would take off running, just to come back five minutes later and do it all over again. She favored my cousin Tiffany. Tiffany would spend countless hours at her house cracking pecans, shelling peas, and crocheting with her. I was too busy for all that jazz. I was very mischievous as a child (imagine that) and shelling peas was not on my top ten list- right there along with cracking pecans and crocheting. So instead, I just irritated the piss out of her. And for that, I think she haunts the little house.

During my sisters first round in the little house I house/dog sat for her while she was on vacation. At the time Chris and I were dating and I roped him into staying with me. Mind you, I had never lived on my own, so I wasn't too terribly keen on staying solo. As we were getting ready to lay our sweet little heads down the light came back on. I had turned it off at the actual switch, not the pull cord. So I figured maybe there's a short or something (I know nothing about electrical stuff). I decided maybe I just needed to turn it off at the pull cord. Pull the cord, light comes back on. In my head I think "Ok, now this is getting a little weird." Give the cord a good, strong pull again, lay down, and once again blinding brightness. By this point I am completely creeped out, and Chris is just trying to play cool. Grannie Willie had decided to pay a visit to her favorite (wink, wink) great-granddaughter. Her gesture did not go unnoticed, I packed my bags and trekked back across the yard to my parents' house. Never to stay in the little house again….until now. And boy did Grannie Willie come in with a bang the first couple of weeks!

The Little House

My very favorite part….I've always wanted a red door. So the first thing I did after we moved in was paint the door red. 

Back to the basics

Going from a 1600 square foot house to a 900 square foot house is a HUGE change- we're talking losing SEVEN HUNDRED square feet. Almost cutting my house in half! It really put a lot of things in perspective. You really don't realize how much stuff you have until you try to squeeze it into a house with technically one closet, one bathroom, one bedroom the size of a closet, and a kitchen comparable to the size of your old master BATHROOM. Sounds absolutely miserable right? Oh forgot to mention, the outdoor "wash" shed that houses my washer and dryer. Yeah, I have to go outside to wash clothes. Sounds absolutely miserable, right? Actually it is far from that.

How much stuff in our life is just "fluff?" Do I really need thirty purses? Oh I shudder thinking of how much money was spent on those babies. Those sweet, sweet, expensive babies. And to think at one time I lived for buying purses. Birthday: purse. Anniversary: purse. Easter: purse. Presidents Day: purse. Do I really need twenty pairs of heels that I never wear? The humor to be had if I tried walking in those ole pre baby having heels today. Who needs fifty t-shirts? Over half of those t-shirts I only wore once. I did keep the good ole Girls State shirt- going fifteen years strong. It's really eye opening when you realize what you don't really need.

Now I'm fixing to get really absurd---- a dishwasher. Do you really need a dishwasher? Let me go ahead and tell you, you don't. Speaking from the girl who hand washes EVERY night. It really isn't bad. Do you know how many memories I have at my parents house as a little girl washing dishes for chore money? I loved washing dishes as a kid! L-O-V-E-D it. Why shouldn't I love it all over again? Why shouldn't I get my kids excited about washing dishes? If there is one thing in life I hate it is putting a three day load of dishes up from the dishwasher. Hate it with a passion. Well now I don't have to worry about that. Put up a couple of cups, a few plates, and silverware and I'm done. Besides, that dishwasher made me a little OCD. Having to "reset" it every time after Chris loaded it. All the plates to the left, all the bowls to the right, cups up top..wonk wonk wonk.

One of the only parts of my old house I miss is that huge, roomy, sink into King size bed. I miss being able to have everybody piled up into the bed, comfortably, for a cuddle session. We still have our cuddle sessions now, it's just a wee bit tighter.

Now when I step foot in Target I am constantly thinking, do I really, like really really NEED that. And the majority of the time my answer is no. Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having things, but in the end it's not those things that will bring you true happiness. Jumping back to my childhood I can remember maybe three toys I got for Christmas over my whole childhood, but oh the memories I have of my parent's house. (That's why if they ever have the crazy ideal to sale it, I will buy it.) I remember breaking the globes to my mother's living room light and blaming it on the train that went by, I remember riding bikes, I remember playing on the swing set all day long, I remember playing in the mud behind my parent's house as a teenager, I remember all the sleepovers, I remember almost catching my parent's living room on fire by lighting the fireplace, I remember swimming until dark, I remember prank calling people way into the night, and the list goes on and on.

I have always had the mentality, no matter how big of a house you have, you will always fill it up with stuff. But in the end, it's not the "stuff" that matters, it's the memories that are stored in the walls of that house, and I hope my kids will hold tight to the memories made in this little house.

Three very long, very busy years….

I am officially off my three year blogging hiatus. Life got really crazy, REALLY fast, and blogging became more overwhelming than fun- so I took a little break. Not to mention the two year old and newborn I was wrestling with daily. So much has happened in three years! Ethan started preschool, Evan started walking…and talking, Chris started a semi new profession (outside of being a fireman), I became an aunt again. And lots more in between all of that.

Flash forward to today: what is going on in the life of the E's you ask? Ethan started t-ball and is loving it. His Poppy and Daddy are the coach. I'm pretty sure his Poppy was initially more excited than him. He's officially a Cub. He goes to school three days a week and has grown up SO much! And to think I had m-a-j-o-r anxiety about that decision. Next year he will step it up to five days a week (kind of sad). I feel like I'm paying to be robbed of time with him- did I mention it's only three hours a day? lol. #mommyissues They are only this little for so long. Evan, my sweet little Evie. Don't let his nickname fool you. He is a wild man, who is 100% fearless of any and everything. His alter ego name is Chuck Norris. Evan has busted his chin wide open on a bar, been squashed like a bug under a forty pound mirror, and cracked his head on a coffee table- and still keeps being a daredevil. He is the all time master of the "stank eye." Evan thinks his brother hangs the moon, and his brother is pretty fond of him in return. Evan wants so bad to be big enough to do everything Ethan does, including playing baseball and soccer, and truth be told he could hold his own. He's tough as nails. Evan will also be going to school five days a week come August, and I have a very sneaky suspicion there will be a very hot mess mama dropping them BOTH off that first day and possibly that whole first week. Evan has been my partner in crime on the days Ethan goes to school. I'll miss that…. a lot. Evan is working on potty training- and we are slowly getting there. The whole potty training business has to be done before he starts school, may the force be with us.

Chris and I made a very important decision not long after Evan was born - no more babies for the Mo's!  We parents cannot be outnumbered. Chris had the big V- and that alone is a story in itself. So unless the big man upstairs has a sense of humor, we will have no more little Chris juniors running around.

The house Chris and I had our babies in (not literally) is officially on the market. Sad face. I LOVED that house and it holds so many amazing, unforgettable memories. Just thinking about what all has gone on in that house makes my eyes swell up with tears. Gosh those were some amazing years! Why are we selling? Our dream has always been to build a forever home- a home our kids will bring their kids to- and we finally found a lot that was a decent size in a good area and we bought it. In between selling and building we will live in my deceased great grandmother's 100 something year old house- which is haunted by her, Grannie Willie. We will live there for about two years so we can save a little bit of money to put down on the house. The nickname of my great grandmother's old house is the "little house." One guess as to why…..yeah it's 900 square feet with one bathroom. Good times, real good times. All my little ducklings will literally be right up under me.

Now that I have caught everybody up it's time to get back to blogging! Stay tuned…..