When It's Too Quiet

Yesterday my little man and I went to work as usual. We picked up the little girl we watch, and headed to her house. When we got there it was time for her to have her drum lesson{this is NOT the quiet part}, so while she was busy I decided to get her laundry started. I have Max come upstairs with me and have him play with the toys in her room while I grabbed her laundry and headed to the laundry room {only one door down from where I left little Max} While I was loading in her clothes my boss came around the corner and we started talking about what she should wear to dinner..... now, it is hard to just walk away when your boss is talking to you, but I should've when I had that feeling, the "it's too quiet, he's up to no good" feeling. But no, I was good and stayed to listen, while I secretly worried what he was up to in there. Once we decided on her eye shadow I was gone fast, and when I walked into the room I knew exactly why it was so quiet.... Max fed the turtle. Yes, the girl I watch has a turtle tank in her room,a big turtle tank, a turtle tank that was now filled with turtle food. As I walk further in I see that it is not only filling the tank, but it is all over the floor..... and he squirted in all of the water conditioner....uh oh. Wow, so I start by getting a big cup and taking out some water and then putting some fresh water in, we don't need a dead turtle. Then I venture to the kitchen to find my tool of choice. Perfect, a strainer. After about half an hour of straining through the big turtle tank I have most, most of the turtle food out{and one pissed off turtle}. Then it's onto the floor {thankfully the girl I watch was in her drum lesson, or she would've flipped out at Max for making a mess in her room} Now, I don't know if you've seen turtle food recently, but it is tiny little dots, very tiny. So tiny that even after gathering together what I can with my hand  there is plenty of little specks left trying to hide in the carpet. Now, Max does everything big, so when he makes a mess its a BIG mess, so we are talking a lot of little specks.... everywhere. So for the next thirty minutes I get to pick up little pieces of turtle food from the floor. As all of my frustrated cleaning is happening Max is happily piling up pillows and jumping on them on the other side of the room{ I try to have a little "talk" with him about how he could have hurt the turtle, but he's two and a half, so he didn't really catch on...but he said sorry, so that's a plus}. I am amazed that no one has witnessed our little disaster, which is best. My boss is not used to having a two year old around {her daughter is eight} so I think Max sometimes.... well, upsets her. So it is best that this little oopsie is between Max and I. I now know I need to trust my Mommy feelings and RUN when it is too quiet, run. 

Kelly Callahan

California or Bust

My little man and I had a great summer together, we worked way too many hours, didn't see our friends enough, and had next to no bedtime routine.....but yes, we still had fun. And we even got to see Daddy on the weekends he wasn't working.

Now that the summer is over it is time to look ahead  on the calendar, and guess what? It's almost October....no way....we are off to California in October. We leave REALLY soon to go to my brothers wedding and my mind is not working, okay, well its working, but I can't seem to start getting ready to go. And it's not just packing our bags, its packing the car that I need to plan for. Yes, we are driving. Why? Because I HATE flying, and would rather do a 19 hour road trip with an almost three year old then step foot on an airplane.

So where to start? Well I figure if I write about going maybe something will "click" in my head and I'll actually be able to come up with a plan. My ideas so far are to be super organized, which never hurts. I will make a bag for car toys, a bag for snacks, and put all the things we don't need while driving in the back. See, this doesn't sound too difficult, right? Well, I guess it isn't, I just need to start making my lists and then I'll feel better. I love making lists, and now that I have my mommy brain I need them more than ever to make sure I don't forget anything. As long as I pack my bridesmaid dress and shoes we'll be okay :)

My next challenge is to find my little mans wedding ensemble. It isn't as easy as I thought to find black pants, a white button up, and a grey tie, in a size 3T. But I am always up to a challenge so I will make it happen. Of course this was my goal this weekend......but that's okay, I'll get it done. I will. 

So in the hustle bustle of getting ready I am also becoming a germophobe.... I DO NOT want to have a sick little one on my 19 hour journey, so I will be avoiding a lot of things this week, including pools, the mall play area, and really anywhere swarming with children.  I just hope we can avoid germs for the next week. 

I also want to reserve a place for my little mans third birthday. I want to get this done before we leave because I would be kicking myself if the time slot we wanted was taken when we came home.  My hubby is picky about the Birthday time, he doesn't seem to care where it is or any other detail just wants it on a Saturday afternoon{as does everyone else}, and that's a good reason to reserve our spot early. I will love having the spot in place, but then there will be plenty of little details to work on once we are home.

I think I know why this trip is so hard to get my head around, we haven't been on a vacation in forever, I mean we go on little weekend getaways, but Max has never left the state! So this is a pretty big deal....yeah, there's my reason for being a scatter brain, perfect. 

I guess the closer the trip gets the more "real" it will be and I will kick my butt into gear and get us ready to go, and make sure the house is super clean, because no one wants to come home to a mess. I think it will be like when someone is coming over.... the night before you kick it into high gear and get everything clean and ready, because you realize it's your last chance. So I am sure I will amaze myself and somehow get it all done, hopefully in an organized fashion.

After my trip I have decided to go back to a challenge. I want to save extra money for the holidays, and hopefully another vacation, so I need to do some budgeting! I will be trying to convince my friend to do it with me {you know who you are ;)} So hopefully we can be "budget buddies" and be frugal together . Somehow I need to create a "challenge" to motivate myself, but as long as it has has a happy ending I don't mind how the story begins.

Kelly Callahan