West Texas Freak show

Midland is a freak show. That's fo sho.  Seriously.  This place is a madhouse and you have to experience it to know what I'm talking about.

 Here are just a few examples of the business of this crazy place called Midland.  Everywhere you go shopping is crowded and I'm talking like, "Is it black Friday??" crowded.  People are everywhere yanking things off shelves like its the zombie apocolypse.  The shelves can't stay stocked to keep up with the demand of the place.  Over the weekend, Wal Mart, yes,WAL MART was out of 409.  Sad.  The lines here are out of control.  It takes forever to do anything and check-out of anywhere.  I haven't even had a Starbucks yet because every time I drive by the line is wrapped around the building. Really Sad.  When you ask people for recommendations for pediatricians, doctors, dentists, ect...they will tell you the best one followed by, "...but they aren't taking new patients". Tragic.  I called 8 different churches before I could find one that would take both my little trophies for Mother's Day Out! Thank you, Christ Church Midland.  (I did, in fact, find my bambinos a pediatrician today!)

A few other tidbits about our new home: My allergies were not prepared for this climate.  ohmygawd. They are horrible!  I need to get on some kind of medicine regimen stat or I will forever sound like the person on the other end of Charlie Brown's phone. WHOMP.  After all, scratch that, MOST of our stuff arrived out of storage ( some kitchen appliances and a kitchen table chair were casualties ) we decided to have a garage sale of all the stuff that we weren't going to use in this house.  We had a lot of furniture and I sold a lot of baby boy stuff in hopes that when (if) baby pop #3 comes, she is a girl.
 Shout out, Mark!  Folks here in Midland don't play around with their garage sailing...our garage door opened at 7 by 7:10 we had sold all our furniture.  By 9am most all of our stuff was gone. We shut down the garage sale with a cool $875 in our pockets.

I like the busy, I like the hustle and bustle.  Our new house is just awesome and thanks to my mom, is already decorated. I know we are going to be super happy here.  This week, since I have a kitchen again, I made chili, chicken spaghetti, teryaki beef and peppers, and turkey breast with mashed potatoes and greens beans.  I will start junior league here in January and I'm waiting to hear back from the MOPS group at First Baptist.  We went to story time at Barnes in Noble on Wednesday and I'm seriously introducing myself to everyone who looks like a stay at home mom. HA! Seriously.  Just trying to be in a new place the best way I know how.

STAY POSITIVE,
KPOP

6 MONTHS

The past 6 months have been a whirlwind.  I never in a million years thought our stay with Sassy and Puff Daddy would last this long and I never EVER EVER thought our final stop at the end of this journey would be Midland!  Funny how life works out.

So, Goodbye, McKinney.  Thank you so much for being a great "in-between" home for us.  Thanks to my parents for allowing us to take over their house for 6 months and their willingness to always help out with anything and for the free babysitting.  Thanks to my mother-in-law who was always on stand by on her days off to watch the kids, run errands with us, or just hang out.  Thanks to all my precious friends who I a got to reconnect with.  Thanks to new friendships.

6 months is an eternity when your kids are the ages mine are.  Over the past 6 months they have changed so much.  Molly was just 4 weeks old when we moved here.  Now, at six months...she's eating solid food, she is super loud with her screaming (or as I like to call it, practicing her cheers!), here smiles are wide and captivating, her eyes turned blue like her brothers, she rolls from tummy to back, she drools...a lot,  she thinks everything Mark does is awesome, pink is her favorite color, she is an amazing sleeper, she loves the bumbo and the bouncer (for a short time), her favorite person is Puff Daddy, she is still our little butter bean and I can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for our little gem!  Mark has turned two, it is nothing short of amazing what kids can do after two.  Mark's language has really taken off he can repeat almost anything you say pretty clearly, he is just a mess.  He has a ton of energy, he loves dogs, coloring, play-doh, digging dirt, going to the park, terrorizing my parents' dogs, hitting things with golf clubs, his iPad, every time I take off his diaper he runs to the bathroom...climbs on to the toilet, pees then proclaims "YAY TEE TEE!!!"  He has worn a sheriff's hat to most public places for a solid month now, he likes going to restaurants and sitting on his sisters head.  Like Molly, the next 6 months for him should be pretty fun too!

As for me, the past 6 months...I learned how to be a mom of two, lost all my baby weight, gained upmost respect for military wives and working moms, missed Mike when he was gone, found love for Zumba, rarely cooked, rarely cleaned, shopped a lot, and missed routine.

I will forever look back on the past 6 months where we lived with my parents as a positive time in our lives. Even though, in the moment, it didn't always feel that way.  So Cheers to the past six months as we close the door to you and look forward to the next chapter of our lives in Midland!!!!

One handed

I'm sure the title strikes a nerve with a lot of moms.  Since you've become a mom, are you amazed at the things you can do with just one hand?  I feel that way every time I pick something up with my toes or get dinner on the table all with a kid on the hip!  Here are a lists of tasks I've mastered with just one hand...

1.  Putting on make-up
2. Making scrambled eggs
3. Putting on pants
4. Taking off Mark's clothes
5. Picking up most small objects off the floor (thanks, toes!)
6. Puzzles with mark
7. Putting folded laundry away
8. Carry a laundry basket (thanks, hips!)
9. Putting on socks
10. Strap a baby in their carseat

Impressed? Now, what are some other tasks you moms have mastered with just one hand?

Thank-you, October.

OK, so we've ben on our trip, close on our house tomorrow, and move next Monday/Tuesday.  So much going on!  October just happened to be a fantastic month.

The trip was an absolute BLAST!  Nice adult alone time where I didn't have to share anything off my plate or in my cup for 5 whole days.  It was nice to be with just my baby daddy. The food was delish and the drinks were divine!  The beach in the Dominican was unbeatable.  The water was perfectly clear and the sand had a pink tint.  Hope our next vacay comes sooner rather than later! OH, and also, NOT DURING HURRICANE SEASON :)

Tomorrow, we are closing on our house in Midland, TX. Which I have lovingly named our "West Texas Palace".  This is the second house we have closed on this year.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...I hope we are in this one longer than 4 months.  I'm excited about this house...to decorate and to get our kids all settled.  TWO things that need to happen ASAP...paci has gotta go and potty training will commence! If you live in Midland or in the surrounding areas I am now taking applications for best friends. THANKS!

Today I was brought to tears (which isn't hard), but still.  Surprisingly, in the 5 months we've lived with my parents I have become close to 2 of my parents neighbors, Amanda and Pam.  They both have two kids. Each two precious girls.  I've enjoyed getting to know their sweet hearts and irreplaceable personalities!  Pam texted me to check outside the front door.  I was already feeling fragile because I woke up missing Michael Popino terribly.  There was a wrapped package and inside was...

My motto, framed just for me.  How thoughtful. I will miss my hippy chick friend so much!

Today was Halloween.  I don't know if it is healthy for a two year old to enjoy this holiday as much as mine did.  First of all, his costume has been his outfit of choice since it has been purchased.  He can't go anywhere without the hat.  He was a champ at knocking on doors and trying to go into everyone's house.  He picked out a Mickey Mouse trick-or-treat bucket and insisted on carrying it the whole time.  Molly Jean didn't last long...my little sunflower is very strict about her bedtime. What a diva. All and all Halloween was a success.  By 6 Mike had already sent me 4 texts for costume pics. I know he hates missing all the hoopla as much as we do. 

Now, a Honey Boo Boo marathon is on TV.  I'm about to call it a night.  Tomorrow Molly Jean has her 6 month check-up and I have GOT to make it to the grocery store.  PS- Honey Boo Boo's mom, just said she's not the most "beautemous"(pronounced- beaut-ti-mous) out of the bunch....

Um, not to be ugly (no pun intended), I agree.

Bullets

• Molly and Mark are both asleep
• Mike is in Midland
• I went to Zumba today
• The kids and I ate dinner with the inlaws
• My stuff is still in storage
• Tana Craft Hartman gave me some seriously awesome blonde hair today
• Mark has 6 paci's in his bed. This has to stop
• Will white furniture "yellow" in storage?
• I haven't had a Starbucks in 5 days, withdrawal
• Pretty sure we aren't going to make it to the state fair this year
• We're getting our family portraits taken this Saturday
• I want to wear blue
•  "To Do" list is 30% complete
• Mark goes to school tomorrow
• "To Do" list should be 100% complete
• Is there a Chipolte in Midland?
• I like reading all of y'alls blogs
• They put mine to shame
• I have a really funny story but I don't want to offend anyone
• Any suggestions on books to read on our trip?
• The weather this week is perfect
• Mark likes to be outside
• MUST go to the Arboretum and Trader Joe's before we skip town
• Wow, this was special.

Want to read a pointless post?

Hi readers, I'm back from a little hiatus. I'm back with a confession.  I have not been my positive self lately.  This week is much better but last week...I was a train wreck.  I'll tell you why...

I have been totally cool, calm, and collected with this whole moving/transitioning phase of our life. But y'all last week it hit me that we are actually moving to another city where we don't know anyone, we won't have the luxury of being so close our parents (or Chipotle!), I won't get to hang out with my high school and college homies anymore...you catch my drift.  I lost it.

I'm sorry, I feel entitled to have at least one melt down with everything going on!

Good news, I got over it and once again I am excited for our move to west TX. Still there is not a moving date on the calendar and all our stuff is patiently sitting in storage.

This post was really pointless other than to say that I had a melt down everyday last week and my have only showered 3 times, but who's counting?

OH, more good news!!! We are going to the Dominican Republic in 3 weeks from today.  I will look like this on the beach...

FUN, HUH???? I can almost taste the calorie filled pina coladas!

Limbo and happenings

 As you all know, we are in limbo.   We have been living with my parents since June first, then we started the process of building a new house...that we were supposed to close on last Friday.

The weekend prior to that Mike took a job in Midland. I'm not upset about losing the "old" new house. FOR REAL, the second we signed on it...something just didn't feel right.  Maybe it was the stairs that shot straight down or that fact that it backed up to a major street.  A lot of the living space was upstairs when I cook and do laundry downstairs. The biggest downfall of all was that it took Mike a little over an hour to get to work and after work it was even worse.  He would leave the office at 5 and would't get home by 6:30. BIG PROBLEM.  Lesson learned. If we ever get the opportunity to move back to Dallas again we will live close to where he is working and not try to make it work by living in Mckinney just to be close to parents.  So now, for the 4th time this year we will have a different address and for the 3rd time this year we are in the process of purchasing a new home.  Hopefully we will be in this one longer than 4 months!!!

Isn't she great?!  Now, who wants to road trip to Midland?  I can't tell you how eager I am to get settled. SHEESH.  I'm ready to set up house and cook in my own kitchen, sleep in my own bed, set up sweet Molly's nursery that she was only in for 4 weeks.  I mean, I almost have to have another baby so they can be in the same nursery their whole little infant life (unless we move, again...LORD HELP ME!!!)  We close in 4 weeks. I'm ready. I'm adaptable. I'm ready to make new friends and follow my own advice once again to "BLOOM WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED".

Here are some other things going on right now: 

1.) First Cowboys home game this Sunday and we will be without kids...I plan on getting ridiculous.

2.) Mark's eczema is flared up due to his allergies and he's is scratching at it all the time, today when I went to take him out of the car to go to school he had picked a scab and had blood all over his cheek. I spit on a paper towel and wiped it off. Mother of the year.

3.)  Mike took me on a hot date to downtown Mckinney, we sat outside the wine bar.  Lucky for him, the antique store across the street stays open late on Saturday.  He bought me a giant "P" for the new digs. I like him a lot, still.

4.) I'm making crockpot Hawaiian chicken tonight for dinner. THANK YOU, PINTEREST.

5.) This weather makes me want to go buy boots in black, brown, and gray.

6.) I've been watching youtube videos on "how to make a poly deco mesh wreath".  I will be making one for my new front door.

7.) All the new furniture and fridge we bought for the first new house is ready to be delivered but now we don't have a local house for it to be delivered to. big problem. working on this.

8.)  When I went out to my car to load the brood up for mother's day out today I had a flat tire.  We had to call for some rescue (under warranty! yay). Mark was 1.5 hours late for school and my time in the infant room at the gym had past so I didn't get to go.  What a way to start off a week. WHOOMP WHOOMP!

9.) Purchased my first pumpkin spice latte of the season yesterday.

10.) Molly Popino just happened to be born with like this extra dose of beautiful. For real. She snorts when she laughs too. I'm obsessed with her!

Stay Positive- KPOP