We survived!!!

Joss getting ready for bed with his bedtime 'toy' (yes, the whole container sleeps right beside him in the bed) :)

{ssssssiiiiiiiiiggggggghhhhhhh} We made! Somehow, someway, we survived the crazy couple of weeks with our big sailing trips (and kayak trip). I can speak for both of us when I say, 'we worked our butts off!' I couldn't have asked for the boys to be better for mommy with all the extra running around they were doing with me. Our schedules were totally thrown out of whack and they went many days without naps (or were catching quick ones in the truck)...but they were so good. I think winding down from the chaos is making them a little fussier than they were when everything was going full speed, but I'm trying to be patient with them and let them get over the crazy just like I'm trying to do.

I have barely had time to sleep lately, and stayed awake all night for 2 nights straight to get some baking and food stuff done for the resupply and the kayak trip. You may say, "Why didn't you do that stuff during the day?" Well, there was all kinds of other stuff that had to be done during the day (shopping for the trips, picking people up at the airport, replacing a tire on the truck, pulling gear for the trips, making sure all the hotels are ready and paid up, plus two little fellas that don't want to be stuck inside the few minutes we were actually at home. SO, I was able to start my 'food work' around 8pm each night... Yeah, it took all night!

The boys and I were doing a food run one afternoon, and the typical setup would be Emit in the seat in the front of the buggy and Joss in the back with his iTouch playing nice and quietly. They drew quite a crowd of spectators each time we went. We had to go a couple times because I could only fit so much in the buggy at a time with Joss in there... couldn't crush my baby. One time Emit found it funny to peel off the price tags and stick them on his arms and legs and say "owweee" as if that was his little band-aid :)

Our sailing trips were before and after the big Family Island Regatta. Of course, we didn't have time to catch much of the races... this was just a few minutes one afternoon while some of the boats were warming up before the race started. We've already agreed that next year we will only have one trip at this time. If there is enough demand for a second trip again, we will schedule it some other time...no more of this back-to-back stuff. And definitely not 15 guests at one time again...just too many folks to keep happy at once!

I have spent every moment of every day with these little guys for the past couple of weeks and these are just about the only photos I have of them during that time... momma ain't had time to take pics! But they have been rewarded a couple times to play on the bumpy slide after our long trips to and from Barraterre. In the words of Emit, "welcome mommy!" (for Thank You!)

And we made it without any major owwees...YEAH!!!

Joss is one crazy little dude!! He keeps me on my toes all the time, that's for sure. Asking me questions or telling me something. It's a non-stop conversation with him all day long. It's fun, but exhausting..."Hey, Momma....?" "Momma....!" "Momma, can I....?" "Momma, look...!" Momma's head wants to explode sometimes when there's too much rattling around up there. But again. they were REALLY really REALLY good for me when it was really critical for them to be good, Thanks Babies!!!

Emit is my little helper these days. He wants to "Hey-yelp" with everything! So I made a game out of it the other day when I was peeling potatoes. Some of you may have seen it on FB, but it went something like this. I peel the potatoes over the trash can and random pieces go flying elsewhere. Emit came running to the rescue to 'hey-yelp mom-meeeeee' by picking them up and throwing them in the trash. He was having so much fun with it. He kept grabbing pieces and sticking them on his arm and doing his fake laugh where he throws his head back and really loudly gives a "HA HA!" It went on like this for a while. And yes, I started missing on purpose very early on in the game... it was just too entertaining :)

Momma's Little Helpers!!

One of their favorite times of day right now is just before story time when we brush our teeth and get vitamins. They both get sooo excited about the 'bite-a-mins' and play the guessing game for which color they want. Emit likes to say 'purple' they best so that's always his guess. Emit will go to the bathroom and say "teef" and then after he brushes his teeth (he likes to do it himself, and doesn't like it when mommy helps) he'll say "those" meaning the vitamins.

A couple of months ago, Joss' caboose and his 'dirty coal car' (his oldest one that has been played with like crazy) went missing. We still don't know where they are or when exactly we lost them. If you've heard me on here before...I hate losing toys! Daily, Joss will say to me, "Momma, we still haven't found my caboose and dirty coal car!" Some days that comment drives absolutely insane because he'll pick times when things are the most chaotic to bring it up, and then other days it is just a comic relief and we'll all start laughing over it. Those stupid little train pieces... I wish they would just reappear...Now....or, how bout NOW...oh, praise they day when we find them (if we do!).

I've done my fair share of sugar cookies lately. I think they were a big hit out there on the water. Lisa & Bethany, you'll notice I didn't put too much fancy detail into them... just didn't have the time or the hand strength :) But they were yummy as usual!!!

Lastly, and definitely not least important.. just want to leave this fresh on your mind. Please continue to pray for and support the relief efforts going on back in Alabama and around the south for the victims of the horrible tornadoes that passed through there a little over a week ago. I mentioned some of these over on our work blog, but the need is great and any support would help. My sister-in-law, Heather, is working with Kids4AL, my mom has been helping around their community a lot with the school and the churches, and you can too at First Baptist Church of Williams and a national organization that is helping a lot is Samaritans Purse.My heart goes out to my Bama family and I am sooooo relieved and thankful that everyone made it through safely. I know there is a lot of work to be done to help everyone, but if there's anything I do know... Southerners know how to work together and overcome this kind of thing.

Gotta go do a little more work, Daddy comes home tomorrow :) YAY!!!!!!!