Can Sea World handle the Pfreaks?

Yes, I'm happy to say it can. And yes, we all wore brown shirts and blue jeans. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but anyway... We went to Sea World on Sunday and had a fantastic time. The weather was great! And I'm happy and proud to say, so were the kids. I really couldn't have asked for more.

Not to mention the fact that Stuart had snagged us free passes from his friend at work! We got there just before noon, having stopped to eat first so as not to break the bank on crappy overpriced food at Sea World. We came armed with a backpack filled with water, juice and snacks. Yes, I know you're not supposed to bring in food, but the guy who searched our bag didn't seem to mind and considering the fact that a bottled water there was like $3, it was well worth it. Now I'm going to sound a bit like my Dad here, but that place is a total racket. If we would have paid the actual admission it would have been $178.96 pre-tax (I'm not sure if it's taxed), I don't know about you , but that's crazy!!!! Plus the $10 to park. Dont' get me started on a place that charges that much to get in and then has the audacity to charge for parking too. I mean it's not like your going to go park there and then not go in. It's in the freaking middle of nowhere and there's no other way to get there, shuttle, etc. I digress... Especially with little kids, you are running a big risk of someone having a melt down and having to completely abort. I just kept seeing all these people there and the $$$ were running thru my head! That being said, everything went really smoothly for us. We saw every bit of every show and didn't leave until 6:45 having only purchased 1 bag of popcorn and 1 small toy for each kid totaling about $25. Not bad I'd say.

We had reserved a hotel room thinking that we would be really tired and not want to drive all the way back to P'ville after a full day of fun, but we hadn't told the kids. They are total hotel freaks. They love to stay in hotels. I packed up our stuff the night before after they'd gone to bed and put it in the car without them knowing. After we left the park, we stopped to eat dinner at Rudy's (right outside Sea World) and when we were done eating we asked, "how would you like it if we went and stayed at a hotel, instead of going home?" Logan's first response was, "But we don't have any pajamas." So cute. That's when I told him that we did and it was a surprise. They were so excited, they jumped up and down and hugged both of us. It was great!
We had a fantastic time and it's definitley going to be a great memory for all of us!!

A day in the life.

Warning:
This blog is rated BG- MA and is intended for maternal audiences only.
(reader discretion advised- The following events are real. There has been no embellishment or bending of the truth. Proceed with caution, especially those without children)

Why don't I blog more? I'll tell you why. My life is crazy. Sometimes I feel like I'm running a marathon that never ends. It's like a race from the moment I get up, until the kids go to sleep (and sometimes it extends into the night with wake-ups, night pees ( in the bed), etc.

Example: Thursday- This day actually started at about 1 am. I had just gotten home from Lisa's at 12:30 and was trying to fall asleep when Logan came into my room. I got up and took him back to his room where he told me that he needed the heating pad. (He gets growing pains in his legs sometimes and the heating pad helps.)

Back to bed.

5:30 am, Ellie's crying. I get up and rush into her room because I don't want her to wake Logan. I try to lay down with her, but she's awake, so I take her to my bed around 6 and put on cartoons for her while I try to sleep a little more.

6:45 Logan comes in all wild, wooly and full of fleas (as my mom would say) -I get up and get him ready for school.

We spend the next 45 minutes prodding him repeatedly to eat, pee, get dressed, comb hair, and brush teeth. All the while I get dressed and get Ellie dressed and pack Logan's lunch... ok, I think we're ready.

7:30 I decide to drive today since I'm tired and it's cold.

7:50 Back home, feed Ellie and myself, put on show for her, go back to bed and snooze. Stuart's getting ready for work. I hear Ellie playing, Stu tells me he's leaving then calls in that Ellie has pooped her underwear. Great, I'll get up in just a second and take care of that.

7:52 Ellie walks in, "Mommy, some of my poop just fell down my pants leg". Fabulous. This day's really getting off to a great start.

Get cleaned up, take shower. Erica invites us over.

9:30 We go. That's nice. I do get a little relaxation there. Grace and Ellie are playing outside, Grace comes in, "Aunt Mindy, Ellie peed on the porch." Okie dokie.

1:30, back home. Have to get everything in order for After school kids. Clean house, etc.

2:45 leave to pick up kids- back by 3:15

4 pm All kids are gone (pretty early today). I Remember Logan has birthday party at 5:15 at Pump it Up. Do homework. Wrap gift.

5:10 homework done, Stu's home. Ask him to take Logan to party. Stu pouts, but does it. Realize that I don't have anything ready to make for dinner. Make Ellie and me bean a cheese tacos.

6 pm Put on show for Ellie so I can check email, blog, etc.

6:20 Ellie comes in and asks if I smell poop? No, did you poop? Yes. And pee? Yes. All over living room floor. (Thank God for tile)

(you wouldn't think this is such a complicated device to use. But apparrently, it is)

6:23 give Ellie bath.

7 pm Brush Ellie's teeth. Read books in bed.

7:30 leave Ellie's room. Hear her yelling that I left.

7:35 Stu and Logan are home. Go help get Logan ready for bed.

7:50 Stu puts Logan to bed, hopefully for the entire night. I think Ellie's asleep since I haven't heard her in a while. I'm ready for bed too. My brain is a pool of mushy goo. You wouldn't believe how many typos I've had to correct in this book I'm writing.


Finally Asleep. This is the goal I'm shooting for and looking forward to pretty much all day- most of the time.

All that and it will start over again in a few short hours. Mind numbing isn't it. And yet, through all the muck life throws at us, we still have to appreciate those few fleeting moments with these little miracles we call kids. Like, tonight as I was lying there in the dark with Ellie and she reached out and touched my face and said, "I love you so much, Mommy", it made it worth all the pee and poop I had to wade thru today.

As an aside, we don't usually have so many pee and poop issues in a single day. Today, was particularly difficult in that regard. But it's always something, isn't it? Guess we can only wait and see what tomorrow brings...

My sweet kids

I can't let another day go by without telling everyone what beautiful, sweet, wonderful, amazing children I have. I have included a few pictures just to show how awesome they are. The first picture was in May right after Ellie got her ears pierced. She was so proud. The next is Logan in the snowstorm last winter. In the picture where they're sleeping we were staying at my mother-in-laws house and they fell asleep this way. I came in and thought it was the sweetest thing ever! The last picture was taken at the Waco zoo last weekend. Too cute!

With all the griping and complaining I do about them all the time, it's wonderful when you look at them playing together or sleeping and get that feeling like, yeah, this is why I'm doing this. This is why I had kids- so I can see the amazing human beings they are- and feel that sense of overwhelming love that brings tears to your eyes. Then, wham- It's over. Logan has knocked Ellie over again and she's screaming. But for that brief few seconds you see what it all should be about. And it's those few moments that make it all worth while and helps us get thru all the rotten stuff that seems to permeate so much of our days. Ahhh, the joys of motherhood!! We should all be so lucky!

What's in a name?

It's come to my attention that many of you may not understand or appreciate the title of my blog. You see, living in Pflugerville changes you in a profound way... Pretty much every word written in Pflugerville that begins with an "F" sound is written beginning with a "Pf" to honor our beloved city. Examples: Deutchen Pfest, a restaurant called the Pflugerville Pizza and Wing Pfactory, Pflugerville Pfamily Pfun Pfest (this one takes it to the nth degree), etc. You see what I mean? We P'villers even have sitckers for our cars with just a PF in an oval, like the one's you see over in Europe. I don't mean to make fun of Pflugerville, I actually love living here and am very glad that I do. No where else I've been around Austin has it's own small-town feel and identity the way Pflugerville does. Yay Pflugerville!!!!!! So that's it, just explaining my blog name and putting in my 2 cents for the best little city in Texas!

Pumpkin Fest

On Saturday, we went to the pumpkin Festival in our neighborhood. Erica, Ray, Grace and Carter came too, as well as my Dad. We had a great time going from booth to booth, going thru the maze of hay, picking out pumpkins and visiting the petting zoo. It was a small festival as festivals go, but it was perfect for us, not too much, didn't take too long and we saw everything. It was lots of fun as you can see. I'm sure we'll be back again next year!!

I'm a blogger?

Well, yes. As you can see I've finally relented to the gentle nudges of my sister and friends to start my own blog. Oh who's kidding who? I was completely badgered and brow beaten into doing this, but I think I'm going to like it. I'm really new to the whole blogger thing. I started reading my first blog about 2 weeks ago. Before I didn't really understand blogs. I didn't know why someone would want to put their personal stuff out on the internet for all the world to see. Now I see it as more of a photo album with commentary and a way to keep my family and friends in touch with me and my family's life. So that's how I'm going to treat this. And for all of you reading this, I know right now that I'm not going to be posting everyday, so don't be disappointed when I don't have new stuff all the time. I am going to make a concerted effort to do it as much as possible though. So I hope you enjoy it!