TTT: Season 2, Episode 34

1. We've finally arrived in Lubbock for a fun-filled Labor Day weekend! At least I'm praying it's fun, because the car ride sure wasn't. Ugh! And one would think that I'm implying that the troubles were due to traveling with an infant. Nope. It's the two year old and three year old that did me in. And it really was just 6 months ago that I drove all the way from Lubbock to The Woodlands by myself with the two of them and they were fabulous. (minus kolbe's two  rounds of barfing) We drove to Dallas Wednesday night thinking that splitting up the trip with an infant would help for nursing purposes. That ride went just fine. But then yesterday morning the big boys both woke up with runny noses. Not the congested kind where you can suction it out with an aspirator. The clear watery kind that just runs down their faces. I'm hoping it's allergies but who knows. And now even poor little Grant sounds nasal! It's been painful for everyone  involved. And why can't children be born with an inherent ability to blow their noses!?! Said runny nose added to long time in car, plus being strapped into car seats amounts to the likes of two harnessed chimpanzees in the back of a mini-van. One of which thinks it's best to express himself in times of great emotion with screams loud enough to raise hairs on your arms. Forget the eighteen-wheeler tossing a rock at our windshield and shattering it...we have Rudy wailing in the background to worry about!

2. Is it just me or are vacations more work for mama than less? It's kind of like doing my same 24/7 gig, just on someone else's turf. With all of our creature comforts hundreds of miles away.  Don't get me wrong, nothing beats a good opportunity to go see family and good friends, but I think mom deserves a personal assistant for at least two recovery days after the trip. You know, someone to do all the traveling laundry and get it back in it's rightful place, someone to make sure the house is spotlessly clean before we return, someone to clean out the vehicle from top to bottom, someone to have the fridge stocked and cook all the meals, oh and someone to fan me with palm fronds while I kick back in my recliner reading a book and pretending I'm on the beach. Instead, I fear I've just made my to-do list for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. One can only dream!

3. That's all I've got to say this week. Too tired and too much going on. I'm sure next week I'll have oodles to report on our weekend away, plus next week starts hopefully a new normal routine! I've gotten us signed up for two groups at church that meet at different families' homes--one for pre-school aged children and one for moms with young children. Looking forward to hopefully finally meeting some people and not being the hermit/slave to three boys/ walking zombie that I currently am!

You probably saw this little guy on facebook this week. Now if only I can catch him on my iPhone with the full-on smile. It's double adorable.

Not sure how this one was comfortable, but hey, however you like to sleep...

Are you ready for football season?!? We are! Let's go Red Raiders!!!

Kolbe is getting really good at writing his name and loves working on his letters. The top sample we did together (with me holding his hand) The bottom sample is all his own. And let's just say that the 4-barred E is one of his better efforts to control the spasm of lines coming out of his hand every time he writes an E. Usually it looks like a men's pocket comb.

Ok, I know that every other picture has been a head-shot of this guy, but hey, who can resist!

As a mother of three boys, I don't get the luxury of oooing and ahhing over all of the adorable little dresses and outfits they make for baby girls. We all know the truth...there's about thirty racks of girls' outfits to the two of boys in every baby department. But I saw these at Target a few days ago and just about died. A pack of three boys boxer-briefs in baseball prints. We didn't need any more undies, but I just couldn't not buy them.

When we bought our new house, Wells Fargo gifted us with a dual screen portable DVD system for getting our mortgage with them. We hadn't even tried it out prior to Wednesday, 'cause I'm not a fan of the kids watching movies in the car. But man, on a long road trip, all standards are tossed aside in favor of a few minutes of silence! The only bad part? The little earbud earphones that the system came with aren't exactly made for toddler ears. I found myself reaching back there ever five seconds to put them back in this guy's ears. (Thankfully Kolbe got the concept of covering his ears to hold them in place.) I suppose I'll have to invest in some DJ style mega-earphones that strap across their heads! (PS-my favorite part of this picture is the profile shadow of Rudy's little face on the side of the carseat. See it? Too precious.)