we don't just bake cookies, plant seeds, and smile...

I promise. I am behind on blog posting (really behind), so I just thought I'd let you in on a few secrets.

One: Emma was up ALL night this past Friday night with diarrhea. We didn't get a wink of sleep, and I am certain that due to the stench of the smell, we will never be invited back to my sister's house. Emma looked at us both at 4 am and said, "Can I stay up?" I busted out laughing, and after the night that we had experienced, Rob and I both had a hard time getting our laughter under control.

Two: I almost had a wreck on Monday morning, on the way to take Emma to VBS. While merging onto the interstate, the cars in front of me suddenly stopped. My breaks work. Trust me. They really, really do. I was shaking afterwards, and Emma kept asking me, "did we wreck?" "NO Emma, we did not."

Three: I was late to pick Emma up from VBS that same afternoon. Yes, I was that mom.

Four: Carson has a horrible diaper rash. We used the new Pampers Dry Max diaper for the first time about 10 days ago, and let's just say that I will never use them again. He has chemical burn on his bottom because of them, and no, they have not been recalled. I have used A&D, Desitin, Boudreax's Lotrimin AF, Cortaid, Lansinoh, Baby Powder, Breastmilk, Aveeno Diaper Rash Cream, Aquaphor, and a whole other laundry list of products to get rid of it. No results. After a trip to the pedi Tuesday morning for his 4 month check up, the doc let me know that his skin is sort of "scarred" (not permanently) from the reaction. Sort of like how your skin is pink after a blister heals. I was told to moisturize and wait. I am so good at waiting. So good.

Five:

I had a fight with the baby pool and the baby pool won. I promised Emma that after she woke up from her nap that we would get the baby pool out. It hasn't been out yet this year. She woke at 3:30, so I had exactly 30 minutes to find the pool and fill it up before Carson's 4:00 feeding. We found the pool, but it unbeknownst to me, it had a hole in it. So, what's a good mother to do?

I promised her y'all.

So, after the 4:00 feeding, I loaded the kids up and headed to wal-mart. I pulled up to the garden center, just to see if they had a baby pool. I'm not a fan of unloading two kids in the scorching heat, just to get back in the car unsuccessfully. An older man, who was a wal-mart employee, agreed to help me.

I chose the BIGGEST baby pool they had, because everything's bigger in Texas, right? You know, the one with the built in slide? They had yellow and blue, and Miss Emma chose yellow. My car was still running. I was about 5 or 10 feet away, choosing the pool, etc. They took my cash, paid for the pool for me, and I was impressed! We were all still in the car, which was a monumental success :) If only I had know what was to come...

Well, I thought my car was BIG, but not BIG enough for the pool, so Mr. wal-mart grabbed some twine, and we began tying it to the roof of my car. I could tell that he wasn't doing a very good job, but I am sure that he was thinking that I was just a young, dumb girl, and since he wouldn't let me have the twine (I asked), I just let him have at it.

We literally made it out of the wal-mart parking lot and just onto the main boulevard when....CRASH.

The pool slid off of my roof and onto the main thoroughfare. It was thrilling...

So, there I was, on the side of the road, with two kids in car seats, sweating my *** off, with a ginormous yellow pool in the middle of the road. The twine obviously didn't hold, and in order for me to get back to wal-mart, I would have to drive quite a way and do a u-turn at one of the boulevard breaks in the road.

That was out of the question. So, I attempted to hold the pool out the window, with my hand. Do you have the visual yet?

That didn't work either. The wind blew it away, so I went chasing the pool again.

Tying it back onto the roof of my car was not an option either. The twine had broken into several pieces.

I called Rob. I was praying that he was close to home. He wasn't~still at the office.

By now, I had completely sweated through my nursing bra. lovely. I was ready to sit on the side of the road and cry. Really, I was.

It was just about time for Carson to eat...again, Emma was running her mouth non-stop, and Carson was fussing. I was ready to leave the pool on the side of the road and head home.

About that time, a man in a huge truck passed by us, going the other way. He turned around and offered to take the pool to my house. We were so grateful! I helped him load it into the back of his truck, and away we went.

He delivered the pool safely to our house, so "man with the big truck," if you are reading, THANK YOU!

Six: Emma's legs are covered in "boo-boos." She has fallen so many times this past week, that I am pretty sure it looks like we beat her. They were so bad that I even made her wear pants one day. Yes it was hot, but I wanted her legs to at least have a chance at healing :) The photo to accompany this post was supposed to be a photo of her band aid covered legs. She refused the photo, and I let her win. I had enough battles to fight this week. So instead of the photo, just use your imagination...

Seven: Our ac broke this week. Enough said.

Eight: Carson got his four month shots this week too, which led to crying, fever, diarrhea (yes him too), and general crabbiness.

Nine: I took Emma to the pediatrician yesterday. She was still sick with her "potty business." That makes two trips to the pedi in the last four days. She is on medicine for giardia...some sort of parasite. Disgusting, I am sure.

These stories are true. I promise. And if you need a recount of the stories, just ask Emma. I promise that she will tell you all about it.

So, cheers to the weekend. I am pretty sure that the weekend holds some sort of alcoholic beverage for me. And, I am hoping that next week brings fewer "bottom-half" issues for my children...