the great stomach bug of 2018

first of all, presley is 3.5 and let me just say how fortunate i am that we made it this far without a house-wide stomach bug. to be honest i don’t think she has ever even vomited before.

that all changed wednesday night. and you’re welcome, because i just wrote all the details and then deleted them because who wants to read about that. 🤮 randy and presley actually recovered pretty quickly, and were able to eat lunch and dinner yesterday. it took me way longer, of course. 😩

but, everyone is fine now, and praise God, eli didn’t ever catch it.

so today, i’ve got a whole house to lysol, bleach, and sanitize. happy mother’s day weekend to me!

feliz ocho de mayo! —what a holiday! we are celebrating by doing mountains of laundry in our jammies, while gumby plays on every tv in the background. i mean, talk about wild and crazy. i might even make the kids quesadillas for lunch! 💃🏼

if you can believe it, we celebrated cinco de mayo a liiiittle better. 😂
our neighborhood had a party at the clubhouse with free tacos, ice cream, and piñatas! the kids loved it, and randy and i loved the taco meat (team low-carb going strong).

then came post-party naps, followed by a visit to the splash pad. randy was thinking about getting in the pool, but his swim trunks are all way to big and falling off him so he couldn’t. 🙄 must be nice. 

the kids are starting swim lessons next week, so i have a feeling our whole summer is going to be spent in and around the pool. i really love our neighborhood, and the amenities! this saturday our neighborhood is putting on a “mommy and me” cookie decorating class, so presley and i are going! team low-carb might not be fairing so well after that 😂

both the kids are really just growing so fast lately. it’s such a bittersweet thing. 

every few months i’ll go through their clothes and toys and pack away things they have outgrown  to keep or donate and i try to explain that the things we donate are going to other kids who don’t have those things. 

presley accepted that explanation and sometimes she’ll even tell me things she wants to give to “other kids”. most recently she told me, “i want eli to go to a new home. i don’t want him anymore.”

well, unfortunately he didn’t fit in the box, so we are keeping him this time.  😂😂

eli has started talking more and more, and doing the silliest things. 

every smelly diaper change, i usually tell him “pyuuu weee!”... well today i started changing his stinky hiney and before i could get the diaper off he says “puuuweeee! puuuweee!”. he’s a mess! 

he is such an angel baby. his only real fault is that his still loves his dad more than me. 😂

one last thing before i go... and this is just a general statement (but someone i live with, who also drives, is very guilty of this as well... not gonna name names.), so here goes. 

when you are in a drive-thru, you should be proactive in your situation. sometimes it’s unavoidable, but try to have your order ready, always have your payment ready, but most importantly, PAY ATTENTION. when cars in front of you pull up, you pull up. quit playing on your phone, you’re causing a back up. ok, done. 

also, don’t forget to return your carts back at the grocery store. 

our favorite guy is 34 today!

he walked in the door after work and said, “well, i’m officially mid-thirties.” 😂😂

i took the kids to the dollar tree at the beginning of the week and let presley pick out some decorations. she chose a birthday banner, some mickey mouse balloons, and a giant party hat. she was sooooo excited to surprise dad with “a celebration!”. she also picked him out a special gift while we were there, a toy dinosaur... “he will really like this!”. 

so we set up all our gifts, went and got texas roadhouse takeout, and i made low-carb cheesecake tarts. poor presley waited all day for those little “birthday cakes” and when i finally gave her one she did NOT like it 😂 i ended up letting her have two pieces of easter candy instead 🤷🏼‍♀️

after dinner the kids had a dance party in the living room. watching them dance is prob my favorite thing ever. also, it gets energy out for bedtime... win win. 

we put the kids down and immediately came to bed, where randy crashed in the clothes he was wearing and has been asleep since 8:00. birthday boy was tired, i guess! i booked him a massage for tomorrow, so he will continue to be spoiled!

he is really not into birthdays, like, at all. and if you know me at all, i’m the total opposite. i want to celebrate the whole month. every year i ask randy what he wants or what he wants to do to celebrate, and he always says the same thing... “nothing.”

but every year i try and make things special for him, and i truly hope it makes him feel loved. he is our provider and our strength, and we are his biggest fans. he does so much for us, and works so hard every single day. he rarely takes time off, doesn’t believe in sick days, constantly pushes himself to do better and be better... but mostly, he puts God first, he loves us hard, and he never lets us down. 

we are so proud and blessed to have him, so of course, we can’t help but celebrate him! 

happy birthday randall duane, we love you most!

i didn’t mean to abandon this space for almost a month! i can’t believe none of my followers (is it weird that i call my mom and sister followers?... is it weird that i’m asking my mom and sister if it’s weird that i call them followers? 🤔) have mentioned it to me.

last week at this time we were waking up in anaheim on our quick trip to Disneyland!
Gigi (randy’s mom) came in town on the 21st, and we were so excited to have her. she immediately went into grandma mode and chased the kids around the splash pad (or as presley calls it, “ice pad”) in our neighborhood. it was the first time we went to the splash pad, and presley was in heaven. it’s getting HOT in bakersfield... i’m talking low 90’s. alllllready. eli wasn’t so sure about the water at first, but after about 30 minutes he finally got the courage to let the water touch him. i’m pretty sure by june i’ll be running around in there like a kid because, bakersfield desert heat and all.
they also have a little kiddy pool that only gets 1.5ft deep, and a huge pool that is just waiting for me to lay by (riiiight brynn, with two kids, you’re going to be doing nothing of the sort.).

anyway, the next day we left for disneyland! it was only about a 3 hour trip and that included stopping for food/potty and also LA traffic. we rented a minivan and still barely fit all our stuff. traveling with kids is intense. i can’t believe we are so close to a disney resort. we have become MAJOR disney people since our first trip together in 2013.
we spent monday and tuesday in disneyland and california adventure. the kids loved every second, and honestly, so did we! i’m pretty sure gigi loved it too, at least i hope she did! we loved having her with us.

so here’s an update on the fam.

eli is still all. boy.
he is the sweetest baby, the cutest thing i’ve ever seen. but he is into everything, including the trash can, daily. he can’t eat without getting food on every single inch of his body, including his hair, ears, legs, etc etc etc. he is a climber, and is constantly looking for a stool or box to climb and stand on. he has mastered the fake cry whenever i tell him “no! no!” and is really good at giving kisses. he started this silly new thing where he pretends to eat something and then fake chews it. i die laughing every time. he still loves dada above everyone. and i don’t want to talk about it.

presley is getting too grown up, always telling me she can’t wait to be a teenager. 🙄
you’re  3.5... slow your roll, girlfriend. she has the tangliest hair ever, but is determined to grow it out. i love that she has her own opinions, even if they drive me nuts. she is fiercely momma’s girl. she is still the girliest girl  and only ever wants to play with her fake makeup, hair styling tools, barbies, or baby dolls. she takes her big sister roll very seriously, mostly during bath time where she insists on washing brothers hair, and other times asserting her dominance by stealing whatever toy he’s playing with. she still calls her ipad her “o-plaid” and i’m not sure that’ll ever change because that’s what we call it too, out of habit. she loves watching “neckflips”, and her favorite shows are mutt n stuff, and wishenpoof.

randy is still working hard.
he still shaves his head every single night, i mean, it exhausts me just watching him. he listens to one million podcasts, and during any given conversation with him you will probably hear him say, “i heard a podcast about...”. he walks at least 7,000 steps a day, and is, by far i’m sure, going to outlive me. his favorite tv shows are izombie, the walking dead, and nothing on hallmark channel. we love him more than he even realizes.

now... what have i been up to?
i have officially become one of those weird harry potter people. i read all 7 books in less than 2 weeks. proud hufflepuff. always. i am still living on coke zero, almost solely, because randy and i have started eating low-carb and so. many. restrictions. but i’ll never quit you coke zero, even though you’re probably killing me. i’ve started watching friday night lights on prime. i still mostly only use lowercase letters (does this drive you crazy? sorry, not sorry.). i type the way i talk, and i like to think i talk  in lowercase. unless i need to get a point across, then come all caps or maybe a bold/italic.

oh hey. just checking in on this wild and crazy friday night. and by wild and crazy i mean both kids are already asleep and i’m in my pajamas in bed ready to watch netflix. at 7:30. i am actually just living the dream over here! and no, that’s not sarcasm... i am definitely majorly introverted so this is basically recharging my batteries from all the social situations i’ve had today.

it was actually a MAJOR social situation and it majorly wore me out. im talking ‘bout the dmv.
i finally went and got me a cal-i-for-ni-ayyy drivers license. and california license plates. and i’m actually really sad about it, mostly because i feel like i’m cheating on texas, but also because my texas drivers license picture was from 2011 right after i got married and i was all tan and skinny and cute. today, i was all sweaty and pale and... fluffy. ugh. oh and they  majorly zoom in on your face so i’m actually really dreading what this picture is going to look like 😩 and also, WHY ON EARTH do they put your weight on your license here?!?!? that is rude, and unnecessary.
they did make me take a written exam... i made a perfect score 💁🏼‍♀️ duh.

all this driving talk got me thinking about some big news i forgot to share... the other day, for the first time in my life, i PARALLEL PARKED. 🎉 🎉 🎉
i was so proud of myself. it was such a tense situation because i had never done it, and it was literally the only spot to park for a doctor appointment that was in 5 minutes. so i just had to go for it. and i did it. i give all the glory to God, of course. and my backup camera did alright too.

this week has been exhausting. eli is still extra snotty and presley is just... three and crazy.
we went to walmart a couple days ago and we were walking down an aisle and presley SHOUTS, “look at that BIG LADY!”... twice. i actually died for a second. THANK GOODNESS the lady(the only other person on the aisle with us)  didn’t turn around. i honestly hope that she didn’t even hear presley (but her volume is always turned up to 11, so...🙈). i immediately put my finger up to my mouth to shush her and quickly ran the other way while reminding presley we can’t talk like that.
motherhood, y’all. it’s a blast.

it’s 8:30 and everyone (except me) in my house has been asleep for an hour. yes, even randy.
presley’s nose started running yesterday, and this morning eli woke up snotty too.
and then randy comes home from work... with the man cold. lord help us all.

so, i’ll probably have it by the end of the week. you know, just in time for the weekend. (but what are weekends, again? california has put me on team “no days off”... sigh. i miss you mom 😂)

ugh. we JUST GOT OVER THIS MESS. 😡

anyway. did anyone watch roseanne?! i’ve been so excited about it since i heard it was coming back. i used to watch reruns all the time back in high school. idk why, but i’m weirdly drawn to sitcoms about middle class surburban families. for instance, the middle is probably my favorite tv show. i watch it nearly everyday on hallmark (duh.) but back to roseanne. randy kept saying that he “couldn’t believe i was going to watch that garbage”, and that “roseanne has never been funny”, and he was “definitely NOT gonna watch it.” and then last wednesday he asked if i watched the new roseanne. of course i had forgotten, because “i’m losing my mind!”. but then he said, “it has great reviews. it did so good and”... blahblahblah. so i was like, “are you saying you want to watch it with me?” and he was all “idk maybe.” and then we watched it that night before bed and he laughed out loud like, 84 times. i kept having to explain things to him that he wouldn’t have known if he didn’t watch the old one, but other than that... HE LOVED IT. so, that was a fun thing.

does anyone else’s husbands read reviews for everything? no? just mine?
he is a planner, there’s no doubt about it. and he WILL NOT be wasting his time/money/appetite on a tv show/movie/restaurant/golf course/anything on amazon, if there are less than 4 stars or 90% on rotten tomatoes. i can’t tell you how many movies i’ve longed(😂) to see, but my hopes were dashed because some losers over at rotten tomatoes gave it a 43.

i’ll leave you tonight with a couple “presleyisms”
we were in the car and we were trying to keep eli awake so we could come home and nap and i was telling presley to talk to him. she said she didn’t know what to talk to him about 🙄, so i was telling her things to say... like, “you’re the best brother ever”, and “i love you brother bear!”, and then finally, “you’re so stinkin cute!”—so she tells him. then she says “mommy, is it because he tooted?”

also, last week we went to tour two preschools for presley for next year. after leaving the second one, i asked her which she liked better. she said “i really loved the first pretty school better”. so, from
now on, we are only going to call it “pretty school” because why would i ever correct that?! 😍😂

shes always talking, always asking questions that she already knows how she wants answered. in the car they sometimes go like this... “mommy can we go to the car wash?” and i’ll say, “maybe tomorrow baby.” and she’ll say “today tomorrow?” whatever that means. and i’ll say “tomorrow tomorrow.” and at this point i’ve started to tune her out a bit and she’ll keep talking about who knows what and she says, “ok mommy?” and i’ll just say “yeah baby.” and then it happens. my high school grammar teacher comes out of her mouth and she  YELLS at me— “DONT SAY YEAH, SAY YES.”
and this happens like at least 8 times a day, and that is definitely not an exaggeration. i’m not kidding. i get chastised for saying “yeah” by a 3 year old. daily.

and i feel bad not mentioning brother bear and his shenanigans. he’s not much of a talker yet, but i swear he mimics something new everyday. a couple months ago, everything and anything you asked or told him, he would shake his head no. it was hilarious. “eli is daddy your favorite?” ::shakes his head no:: YESSSS I KNEW IT! (a total lie. he is daddy’s biggest fan). but now he knows how to shake his head yes and it’s my favorite thing. he puts his eyebrows up and his head up at the same time very dramatically and brings them down slowly. 😂😂 he is all boy. his favorite place to be is outside, his favorite toys are ALL BALLS, and his favorite thing to do to drive me crazy is get in the trash can 🤢. he pulls things out, and puts things in (some trash, mostly NOT trash.). i have to inspect the top layer every time i open it to make sure there aren’t any toys or keys or wallets in there.
even though he’s a total daddy’s boy, he’s still my baby and only wants me when he’s tired or not feeling well.

i have the best babies ever, and even with a “man cold” my husband is pretty great too 😜, and sometimes i can’t believe this life is mine. i was looking at our selfie from yesterday and thinking “how did this all happen... been together for 9 years, have TWO kids, and in california?” it’s been a whirlwind, but i love it and i wouldn’t change a thing. i am SO BLESSED.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - i have committed to a middle part.
no, this isn’t an april fools joke. i have been side parting since college, and the time has come that i reunite with my high school middle part.
having babies took a toll on my hair. forget the way the back of my hair now gets nasty kinky curls when it’s wet (yes, just the back. it’s the dumbest thing.) i’ve come to begrudgingly accept  these weird wispy baby hairs on my temples that look like bat ears, and the fact that they will probably never grow out. the side part just put them on major display, and i am tired of giving them a spotlight.

photo brought to you by tripod and self timer

having kids changings a lot of things, obviously. noticeably, it changes your body (hello stretch marks, belly pooch, and previously mentioned baby hairs). it also changes your mental state... basically it makes you LOSE YOUR MIND. anytime i say those words,  “i’m losing my mind!”, randy quickly reminds me that you can’t lose something that’s already gone. touché. but it also changes things like holidays.

for instance, you might think you love christmas before you have kids. you might think it can’t get any better than BEING a kid at christmas. but buddy, you are WRONG. having a kid at christmas is the best thing in the entire world. it’s just... magical. 

Easter is no exception... it has always been a special holiday for me. but with kids, it’s like on another level. you put yourself in Jesus’ sandals and there is no doubt you’d make the same choice to save YOUR children. it’s overwhelming to imagine that someone LITERALLY DIED FOR ME. not just me, but every single person that has ever lived and that will continue to be born in this world. Jesus sacrificed the ultimate sacrifice... his LIFE, so that we could live free from our sins. it takes my breath away to think about it. 

from the moment i woke up, today was hard. 

my mom texted, and i told her i was sad. i know she’s sad too. i get a pit in my stomach thinking about a holiday when my kids aren’t with me. 

i had to clean up my eye makeup a dozen times before we even left for church. 

once we got there, they announced that there were so baptisms. three kids. i can’t help myself but to get emotional during baptisms. especially kids. i was young myself when i found myself saved and baptized. i can still remember the feeling that came over me when i accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. 

today, the youth minister was doing the baptisms and the last one was his daughter. he was so choked up, and he basically said that there was nothing better than seeing your child love and accept Christ. i have so much hope and excitement for the day Presley and Eli find themselves there. i pray about it everyday. -side note. a couple years ago my nephew jayden was saved at church camp. a few months prior i had been praying for my sisters family to find a church and God answered my prayers by not only finding them a church, but jayden got connected and he found God. i cried like a baby when i heard the news, so i can only imagine the emotions i’ll feel when it’s my babies turn.  

anyway, back to the baptism. spoiler alert. i cried. the whole time. 

the message was so good. we have been doing a series on the parables so our preacher tied in the parable of the lost son to the easter message, and it was powerful... i cried. 

then at the end, we sang old rugged cross. and i cried some more. my dad always said it’s not easter unless you sing old rugged cross at church. 😂

usually after church we would head to my grandmas house to eat roast or whatever she had cooking. i had intentions of cooking a roast today, but never made it to the store. instead, we ate at the diner we eat at every other sunday. i’d give anything for grandmas cookin right now. anything. honestly i’d give anything to be in the same state as my grandma, or anyone in my family, right now. 

after lunch we came home and put the kids down for a nap, and i came upstairs to cry. 

i know i shouldn’t be so down about anything. and please don’t mistake this as being ungrateful for the abundance of blessings i have. i just miss my family, both our families. 

i do know that God has us right where he wants us, but even still, He doesn’t always make things easy. He gives us more than we can handle because we aren’t meant to handle it alone. He is my strength.