Picture adventure....

So...Pictures...Family insist on having them and we needed family ones...Why do I put myself thru this!?

They looked adorable, but they will not sit still. It's a fine balance between chasing them and bribing them...Mostly I just chase and they snap the pics fast.

Professional or not, it's the same thing. I run around trying to capture them and they run around creating blurs. I have to get distance shots to get good pics.
I want to know how these parents of toddlers get pics. Seriously. I see them posed and looking adorable. Mine won't pose and still look adorable, but really...HOW DO THEY DO IT!?

Do they have a team of people and a baggy of treats, like with cats and dogs? Maybe I should try that. "Sit, stay, look cute, Good Sean, here's a candy"

Is this really what it is?

Well, I once again am only talking to children for the evening...L went for drinks with friends and then to her parents for a few hours. Tomorrow it is just us again cause of wrestling, Sunday her family does breakfast together before church then they do lunch together...Yeah, I need adult company. I really really do. The only thing I ever say is "No Sean" "No Seamus" "Sean Brennan do you need to go to bed early!" "Seamus, don't touch!" "Sean....." "Seamus......" Ya'll get the idea.

Ok, I guess I can't complain...I do have....Um....Well....Healthy kids? Except Sean has a bad cold...

Cheap or Frugal?

There really is a fine line. Don't you think?

Cheap: Used food from behind the local Chinese place

Frugal: Making Chinese at home. (plus it's WAY healthier)

Cheap: Finding a stick in the yard, putting it in the Eater basket and calling it a toy.

Frugal: Filling out reviews at Franklin Goose and earning money toward items you want. (This ended on the 31st, sorry)

This worked out SO well for me! I got 4 ImagiPlay wood toy sets, soy crayons, Potty book, Wahmies Pail liner and a Wahmies small wet bag...All for less than $15....Frugal!!

I am learning that $894 won't go very far at all. (Yeah, that's all I am "entitled to" according to the Army. AND....Once the divorce is final they say I'm not "entitled to" anything. A woman who's man has cheated, kicked her out and left her penniless with 2 kids doesn't deserve anything according to our grand Military...AWESOME!) Where was I?

....

Oh, yeah...Making $894 go further...Thankfully I do qualify for WIC and Food Stamps, but still, kids are expensive! So I am having to make some choices I should NEVER have to make. Like, used shoes for the kids or are those a needed new expense? I think new since every shoe forms around the original owners foot. The exception may be sandals/crocs. Or....Will these winter coats really last a second season? Or Do the kids really NEED snow boots next year? OR Can I buy training pants/big boy underwear? Socks? You know. Those things that are needed but you don't think about.

I am interested to know how others do it too. So...I am on the hunt for inexpensive yet quality items for toddlers and children. Websites that offer amazing sales, stores that I can go to, coupons and anything else to help.

I will also be loosing my van. The ex is backing out of paying the van and insurance like he originally promised...So out of that $894 I will have to get some sort of vehicle payment and insurance....I am hoping for some sort of job, but it will be part time to save on day care. I don't know yet if I qualify for day care assistance. So....As the bills add up the money gets smaller...

If I could wish for anything in the world it would be to never have to worry about money again.

Traveling is fun?

Whaaaattttt????

Whoever said that never had to travel cross country with a 3yr old and a 17mn old. Thankfully I had my cousin helping, but still...

Day 1
"Mama, mama, mama, mama...." "What Sean?" "Go go play?" "No Sean we are moving far far away to Aunt Lynn's house." "Oh, sar sar away to Aunt Yynn's?" "Yes"

That exact convo everyday for 3days of driving...Yay. Many times a day. To the point where I didn't want to answer anymore.

(Then there was the "Go home mama." "We are son, we are going home to Aunt Lynn's house." "No mama, home to our house." That conve everyday since getting here....)

"Mama, mama, mama, mama water/milk/juice please" This was also a GAZILLION times a day.

Again, very thankful I had my cousin.

Stopping every 2, no more than 3, hours...Yeah that's a blast too. I cloth diapered for the entire drive as well. That was a challenge. Glad I did it, but one more challenge on a challenging trip. Did you know kids think 30-60min of play at a stop when they have to ride for 12-18hrs is not enough? Apparently they believe they shouldn't have to ride in a car that long. Who'd of thunk it? Wow....

Night 1 in a hotel: 3yr old, 17mn old and me in a FULL bed. Not a queen, a FULL. I slept mostly on the edge with one leg ready to drop to the floor to prevent me from falling off. Yeah, that's good times.

Oh, and never think you know more than the GPS. It can cost you HOURS of time and about a hundred total miles. PLUS! Overtired and irritable children! Just make sure you have it on "GAS SAVER ROUTE" not "SHORTEST". Again, hours out of the way thru back roads with tired and irritable children....Sometimes thru city streets late at night in towns you don't know in states you have never been in...


Ahhhhh......Traveling is FUN! Yeah, right. Whoever said that LIED or didn't have kids!

What used to be simple

So night time routine had been a relatively simple thing over the year while the **** was deployed, but I always had the thought that it would be easier once he was home and we could split the responsibility of it again. It used to be the night was when "Dada" did shower/bath, teeth brushing, and bed. Well, obviously that won't ever happen again.

Now we are using borrowed space on borrowed time.

So the night looks something like this:

Sean goes and gets out of his clothes and climbs in the in shower, I get Seamus and get him nakie, Seamus gets away and runs out of the bathroom and thru the house OR pee's on the bathroom rug, get Seamus into the shower and he acts like it's Chinese water torture and not a warm shower. During all this Sean is throwing himself down the very small incline in the end of the bath and saying "Yay, I'n sliding Mama!" Finally everyone is in and I begin the wet process of washing and conditioning hair, scrubbing stinky little boys and trying to keep from bathing the entire bathroom...That is usually a FAIL. Lol. So I try to pull Sean out first cause he is less likely to run away nakie. Notice I say less likely. I have spent 30-45 minutes chasing nakie kids thru the house before. Fun times.

Where was I?

Oh, yeah, after the bath.

I guess it's sad my oldest doesn't ask for "dada" anymore at bed time. We do story, Jesus Loves Me song and prayers.

Then begins the fight of my life...

Convincing Seamus to sleep....But that might be another post...

Errands...

Yeah, those lovely things we have to do for bills and other fun things. Since my soon to be ex was deployed all last year I am pretty used to doing things on my own. However, the nature of my errands has changed and the age of my children has changed. Somehow it seems more difficult now...

So, who am I? That is a question I ask myself daily, but for the purposes of this:
Hi! I'm Carrie. I have 2 son's: Sean, 3 and Seamus, currently 18mn.
We were recently kicked out of our home in NC by my husband so he could be with his mistress and her daughter. We moved across the country to live in the upstairs bedroom of my BFF(LK).

Ok, that's the super brief summary. I have some funny and not so funny stories I will be sharing in the future.

Be blessed and well!

So, I did it...

I created a blog!

This being my first post I already have to put ya'll off due to taking care of the kiddos. Lol. But I can't wait to introduce us, share our adventures up til now and share our future adventures with you. It will be a wild ride I'm sure!