Party and Packing

We had Ben's 2nd birthday party on Saturday.  It was so much fun and he had a great time celebrating with friends and family.

This morning it's so rushed that I don't have time to write a proper post about his birthday, but I will get that written soon.

Things are so hectic because we are leaving tomorrow at 5a.m. for Tennessee and Georgia.

#1

Ben's Go, Diego, Go! Party

Judge me if you want to, but I'm not a party planner.  I went to Party City and Ben chose a "Go Go" party.  (Go Go is what he calls Diego).  I know no one is going to "Pin" it on Pinterest, but who cares.  The party was for Ben and he loved it.  If he liked, it that's all that matters.  Plus, it was easy on mom and dad so I'm good with that.  I'll take a theme party any day.

Ben with his balloons.

Cake and ice cream

Blue Bell ice cream from Texas is the BEST!

My friend, Brandi, always makes the boys' birthday cakes.  They are delicious.  She always amazes me with her creativity.  

#2

Our SUMMER ROAD TRIP is here!!!

It snuck up on me!  Mark and I usually have our summer vacation planned by February, but this year it was a little different.

Spur of the moment, Mark's dad decided that he wanted to go to Georgia to see relatives.  We contacted them and they said come on.  We would have had things planned a little sooner, but Mark's dad had to have a biopsy of a growth on this thyroid.  Thank the Lord the results came back benign.  We are all set to go now.  The reservations have been made and the bags are almost packed. 

His parents suggested going to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park before we went to Georgia.  We plan to stay a couple of nights in Gatlinburg and then head to Georgia.

Mark and I are obsessed with the National Parks and even more so after watching The National Parks: America's Best Idea documentary by Ken Burns.

I can't wait to see the Smokies.

#3

Packing and piles of clothes.

There's a method to this madness.

First let me say, I'm an organized person.

Second, I'm a list maker.

Third, I also have ADD after having children. 

Not real ADD, but what I call Parental-Onset-Attention Deficit Disorder.  I could dedicate an entire post to that, but what I mean is that I never complete a task now that I have children.  If I'm in the process of trying to do something, like pack the suitcase, it never fails that I have to stop to change a diaper or refill a sippy cup.  I don't ever finish what I start.  Because of this, I have to heap similar things together so when I find time to pack I can throw the whole heap into the suitcase.  As I type this very sentence, I'm having to stop to refill a sippy cup, see what I mean.

You can see the piles of clothes by the front door waiting to be packed in the suitcase.

So far this is mine, Will and Ben's.  There are still a few things in the washer/dryer and Mark's stuff usually gets packed last. 

#4

I have a compulsion when it comes to packing supplies like diapers and baby wipes.  I know that i could easily stop by a Wal-Mart or Target and buy another package, but I feel compelled to pack like we're going to be gone for 10 months instead of 10 days. Just ask my husband, he'll confirm this issue of mine.

Do you see three package of wipes in the suitcase already?  I plan to take more, too.

#5

Because I'm a list maker, this is a list for me.

Things to do:

VBS-It's at the very end of June.  There's still material that needs to be handed out and information/advertisement signs that need to be hung up around town.

Schedule Swim Lessons--The sweetest girl in our home town is teaching swim lessons this summer, and I need to get with it and schedule Will's lessons.

Write thank you notes for Ben's gifts.

Give graduation gift to a graduating senior at our church.

Ben's Two--Year Photos, When we come home from vacation his photos are the very next week.

Our anniversary--our Nine-year wedding anniversary will be at the end of June.  Don't want to forget that.

#6

Silly and embarrassing iPhone story.

Last night I was up really late (1a.m.) packing and getting things ready for the trip.  I checked facebook from my phone and was going to save a friend's cell number from her contact info on FB.  Well, it accidentally called her!!!  I was hitting everything I could to stop the call.  I was horrified.  It's a good thing that she's a good friend.  I emailed her this morning and told her the whole story and she got a good laugh out of it.  Thank goodness the call didn't go through and she said even if it did she wouldn't have been upset.  Bless her heart!  I tell you what, the learning curve on this phone is killing me!  I don't know if I'll ever get the hang of using the phone.  I'm sure there will be many more embarrassing incidents.  For the record, let me apologize in advance if you ever receive an accidental phone call from me.

#7
I plan to post a couple of things from the road. Forgive me if I don't comment on your blogs.  I promise I'm still reading.

I also plan to have one of my best friends, Terri, write about the transition from being a full-time working mom to a stay-at-home mommy of three.  Even if we don't get that done in the next couple of weeks, I still want her to share her thoughts with you on the subject.  She's one of the smartest ladies I know, and she's an aweomse mom.