Mommynanny Needs a Vacation

I've tried not to turn my blog into a full-on whine session, but I have to be honest today. I'm tired. Not just, "Oh, I could use a nap" tired, but bone weary, exhausted, my baby hasn't stopped whining or taken a full nap in a week tired. The kind of tired that a caramel chai latte can't fix, and it just keeps getting worse.

However, I must be doing at least okay, because I still managed to get dressed today, whether I was tempted to drive Cody to practice in my sweats or not. That at least has to count for something, right?

And on the bright side, I managed to get him to practice today without scoring myself a ticket.

Half a year

And by the way, Happy Half Birthday to my little man, who is 6 months old today and eating rice cereal like a champ!

FRAZZLED

Tell me, friends. Do I look frazzled?

Because, by the time I took this picture, I'd already had quite a day, and it wasn't even 2:30.
Good thing I ran this morning. That's all I have to say. I felt confident and energized as I rolled back to my street, but was stopped by the ROAD CLOSED sign at the end. A gruff City of Lufkin worker motioned to me to roll down my window, and I found out from him that when they said they were re-surfacing the road, they meant that they were starting at 7:00 a.m. and no one could use the street. I told him we'd be out by 7:45 for Nate to go to work and we'd plan on going to my sister's for the day, and he sent me on my merry way.

Everyone was still sleeping when I walked in my house at 6:50, so I headed out back to water the garden. Well, they weren't sleeping for long, because another city worker decided to ring our doorbell until his finger was tired, and then proceeded to bang the door down, wake Milo up, and get Nate out of bed. After he was finished with that, he hollered over the fence to me, telling me that I would have to drive our car to the end of the street and then we would have to walk to it when we were ready. Excuse me? Nate was going to walk in his work clothes a block and a half? I was going to haul my baby and all his stuff? And did I mention I'm mommynanny again this week, this time to my nephew Cody who had baseball practice at 9 a.m.?

I'll be honest. I was in a tizzy for about 3.5 seconds, and then I calmly got into the shower instead of moving my car. Luckily, I'd already had an outfit in mind for today, so getting dressed was a snap. I packed the car with everything we'd need for the day, including every single one of Milo's toys, his boppy, his bumbo, Cody's giant bat and equipment bag, the stroller, a cooler of water for practice, and a bag full of groceries for Jen's house. We made it out in time, got Nate to work, and headed to Jen and Mike's for breakfast. No problem.

And then the car ride to baseball practice in Diboll (15 minutes away) happened. We were running a few minutes late, and I tend to have a tiny bit of a lead foot, but I felt I was quite reasonable this morning. Officer Young thought otherwise when he clocked me going 68 in a 55 (ooops!). I handed him my license as I apologized profusely, and then dug in the glove compartment for our insurance cards. After shuffling through a stack of papers, all I could come up with was the card that had expired in February.

"I don't know what to do, Officer. How can I prove that our insurance is up to date?"
He responded, "It's fine, ma'am. I'll take this and verify it from my car. But did you know that your registration is expired?"
At this point I threw my hands up in the air and cried, "Are you kidding me? I'm so sorry..."

Thank you, officer, because I got away with a verbal warning on the speed and a citation for the registration that will drop off as long as I register the vehicle in the next 10 days. Cody was only 5 minutes late for practice, and at this point, Milo had begun his nap in the car. I drove at a very reasonable speed to Jen's to get him into his pack and play to finish the nap, but of course, as soon as I got him out, he woke up. I tried to entertain him for a while, but let's face it, the baby needed his nap. He was fussy and whiny, but still sweet, and we hung out until close to 11. Then I happened to think, "Wait a minute, Cody doesn't have my number to call me when he's finished with practice! I'd better head back there!"

I drove at, again, a reasonable speed back to the field, and Milo managed to fall asleep for another couple of minutes. And then we waited. We waited 20 minutes and Milo woke up screaming. I got him out of the car and into his stroller, and we walked around in the 100 degree heat for 20 more minutes, and finally practice was over. Cody and I got Milo into the car, and he'd just plain had enough. He screamed all the way back to Lufkin, all the way to Nate's work to pick him up, all the way to Jen and Mike's, and I thought for a second about screaming right along with him. When we finally got him there, he was crying so hard I didn't think I'd be able to get him to eat, but he finally calmed down. Nate took a drive over to our road, scouted it out, and decided that he was taking us home no matter what happened or who tried to stop him. He's my knight in shining armor, by the way.

Finally, after a loooooooong morning and a headache the size of my Texas hair, I am home. Milo is napping; Cody is watching tv. I'm headed straight for my bed for as long as Milo will sleep, and when I wake up, I will feel rational and under control. Right?

Sweater, because Texas is cold inside in the summer...

Feeling extra sassy

The flash hides my messy hair, tired eyes, and unmakeup'ed face

Little Shop(s) of Horrors

What on earth is up with the Lufkin florists?
As many of you might know, my baby sister Ann is getting married at the end of July. Everything has been going smoothly as far as planning... Well, everything except the flowers.

Poor Ann has been getting the run-around from not one, not two, but three different florists here in Lufkin, all of whom seem to think very highly of themselves. One of them gave her an informal quote when she met with her, and then came back with a bid that was twice that. When asked for a breakdown of the estimate, the woman got an attitude with Nate, which was evidence to me that she was being shady. Ann called to tell her that she was going to go with another florist, and the woman simply said, "Fine, thank you."

Another agreed to work with Ann, gave her a bid, and the day Ann was supposed to put money on it, called her and said that she has another wedding that same weekend, and it's considerably larger, so she won't be able to do Ann's. Oh really? So apparently if you're not spending a certain amount of money, you aren't privy to common courtesy.

And then there's the florist who was going to call her back last Friday afternoon and still has yet to.

Really, Lufkin florists? Are you really all that? Do you really feel that customer service is a thing of the past and that people having small weddings don't deserve the same quality of service as those having larger? I'm not one to blast a place by name, but if pressed, I could give you the names of all three of these horrid shops. And let me tell you, they're the ones most used around here.

So here's my plea. Do you know a good florist with a shred of decency and an eye for design? Because otherwise, Crown Colony is not that far away, and Jen and I will be forced to hit the road with our running shoes and some scissors and make some very lovely arrangements...

Show and Tell

Could I just show and tell for a sec? Because, in case you forgot, I have the most beautiful babyson alive...

Given the choice between a cookie cake and Ann's college tax book, Milo chose the book.

Could he be any cuter?

I think he was talking to his daddy

Helping me fold the laundry

What's the opposite of a hot mess?

Ahhh, good old hot, humid Texas. I think it's literally 100 degrees today, and my hair has the consistency of a thick, scratchy wool sweater. Not a good combination. I'm loving this Anthropologie dress, though, even though it's a little shorter than what I'd normally wear. The lightweight material is perfect for around here. I rocked this look to the grocery store (ahhh, the exciting life of a housewife), because last time I went to the store looking like a crazy woman, I ran into the most pulled-together person I know. Of course, the day I look like I have it together, I saw absolutely no one I knew. I guess the lesson is this - if I want to see someone and have some adult conversation, I must look a hot mess. Hmmmm...

There's Jen's shadow - she took my pictures. Thanks, Jen!

The magic of pull-on pants

You know what I really miss about being pregnant?
Pull-on pants. There was something so satisfying about waiting until the last second to go to the bathroom and then being able to just pull those pants down. I'm still in that bad habit, and from time to time I feel personally offended when I actually have to undo a zipper.
These shorts are a leftover from being pregnant. I mentioned the other day that they were Heidi Klum... I didn't mention that they were from the Heidi Klum maternity collection. Love that girl. They're just great-fitting denim bermudas, but with a stretchy waistband that came under my then-pregnant tummy. I can't let them go, no matter how many preggo friends I have (sorry, guys!).
I also threw in an extra pair of shoes, since some of my 30 items were two belts, a hat, and a necklace, which I now realize are accessories and don't count for the 30. The lessons I learn along the way. I'm not going to go crazy adding things to make up for it, but the shoes were a must.
Anyway, here's the outfit for today. I didn't get dressed until at least 4 today, and had I not needed to go get my bridesmaid shoes for Ann's wedding, I may have stayed in pjs all day long. And that's okay. This outfit was the next best thing.

I bought these shoes, even though I knew my friend Janet already has them. Janet, if you're reading this, I'm so sorry! I stumbled upon them in Apricot Lane and they literally called to me.

Nate made me pull the shirt closer around the waist to get a good shot. Now I wish it actually fit this way!

What's with the cheerleader leg pop?

Hat - Target; Necklace - gift from Nate; Shirt - Target; Shorts - Heidi Klum; Shoes - Apricot Lane