Fun in the Sun

Ok so seriously I.Love.The.Country! Yeah there are things I despise, like the fact that we cant pick up one single local channel on TV, the fact that we dont have trash cans and just have to place our trash bags out by the curb, the fact that I saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my entire life in my kitchen this morning and when i tried to kill it it charged me.  The fact that we are 3 hours from my parents who we are used to seeing every day, the fact that our back yard is plauged with chiggers and they say 'spray every week bc the chiggers are bad this year', I hate the fact that Starbucks and ChicFila are nowhere to be found and I could go on for a long time about the things I despise but I am also loving it!
I love that we are within 30 mins of several lakes and within 20 mins of the river.  I love the fact that we have spent most of the last 2 days in the river and plan on spending the rest of the weekend there as well! I love the fact that my kids LOVE the river and do so well there! I love that walmart is only 5 minutes away and I LOVE the fact that my hubs now has 4 day work weeks and 3 day weekends!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the fact that I get to be a stay at home mommy full time again!  I love that I am still no where near unpacked and dont even care!  I love the fact that we are well on our way to becoming super tan and that we finally got our Wifi hooked up!
Trying to find the good in things and keep positive!  Here are a few fun pics of our fun in the water the past few days!  Excited to get back into the swing of things and start serious blogging again! Happy weekend friends!

I've Gone Country

Well it's official... I'm a country girl!  I'm not sure if the theme song to Green Acres is more appropriate or this.. 

It's been a whirlwind of a past month!  Less than a month ago we found out that my hubs got an amazing new job.  He is in the national guard and has been working Full time as tech support for Apple and the pay absolutely sucked and was nothing that they promised in the beginning.  Everything came together for this new job in perfect timing.  Its with the National Guard but also a Federal job and has some amazing benefits and more than twice his pay at Apple! THANK YOU GOD!  The only hitch to this new job is its 3 hours away from our family and the city.  We are now in a 'Town', not a super small town but no where near the city!  It actually has a walmart and a sonic so I should be good right?

No more living 10 mins from the zoo and going there weekly, no more commissary, no more living around the block from my parents, no more date nights in the city, no more babysitters, no more target, no more malls, no more drive in movies, no more calling my mom and saying can you come over and play every day....  The kids are used to seeing my mom every single day and the hardest thing has been them asking 'Can Mimi come over and play' and me having to say sorry Mimi doesn't live close any more.  Heartbreaking! 

It is def a bitter sweet blessing.  Its great to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city & its the job that will most benefit my hubs career.  Today is day 5 in the country and so far its been good except for the fact that our back yard has poison ivy & on day 2 we got locked out and were stuck outside for 2 1/2 hours and in that time I got eaten alive by dang Chiggers!  I killed a dozen of them on me and I had no idea what they were.  All I knew was these teeny tiny lil red bugs were feasting on me!  I now have over 50 VERY itchy bites! Mostly on my thighs, stomach, butt and dang boobs! Eesh!  Benedryl and itch cream have been by bffs. 

Our small town walmart has been a whole new level of walmart.  On my first trip I discovered its okay to wear a bikini to walmart.  Oh she had a beach towel but it was only draped over her shoulders.  Flyswatters are sold in 4 pks, men often dont wear shirts into the store, you have to bring your cart in from the parking lot bc they dont keep them inside!

On a good note our back yard is huge! There are trees everywhere! All of our rooms are significantly bigger, we have walk in closets and in our room I have an entire closet for my shoes and purses! 

On the move

Sorry I have been totally MIA lately! We found out just a few short weeks ago my jobs got an amazing new full time job with the national guard! Amazing job and a quick relocation! So we have been frantically busy searching for a new house and packing and on Wednesday we move! 3 hours from the city to a small town! 

Soooo much to tell you and not enough time today to go into the details but hopefully by this time next week I will have some time and can get back to a little bit of normalcy! 

Such a bitter sweet move and super excited for change! Gotta get back to packing!!! 

Survival part 1

I know I have been totally MIA this past few weeks but life in Oklahoma has been craaaazay!  2 weeks ago today was the devastating May 20 tornadoes... My hubs was at work and I was home alone with my 3 babies when the news said that the Tornado was a mile wide and taking the same path as May 3, 1999... May 3, 1999 Tornadoes were right in my neighborhood...  I panicked, threw the kids in the car and headed out of town... We survived but the devastation is unbelievable!  It came so close to so many loved ones and the destruction is beyond unbelievable!   This was a pic a my babies sitting on the couch watching PBS kids app completely oblivious to the fact of what just happened.  As I watched the news I cried thinking about all those poor little kids... Ugh.. heartbreaking!

Friday night was another tornado outbreak and we headed to Yukon for my aunts house because she had a basement... We quickly had to cram my 3 littles, my cousins 3 along with all of us into a stairwell in the basement when they said the path is a mile wide and heading straight for yukon and only 2 miles away... 

Thankfully it turned and went the other way and we were safe.. Its hard to say thankfully because though we were safe and sound there were 9 other people who were killed when the tornado unexpectedly turned south.

the kids played ring around the rosey while we watched the news coverage...

Once the storm was over and it was safe to head home I cried the entire way home... Benjamin kept saying 'Mommy why did you make me go under those stairs? It was so scary! Dont ever make me do that again' 

4 days later Cloee still refuses to sleep alone and Benjamin is still talking about the scary stairs.

On top of the tornadoes I have had 2 flats, on less than 6 month old tires, had too many days where at the end of the day I just wanted to cry because I felt like it was just another wasted day in survival mode. My diet has SUCKED, stress has taken over I find myself time and time again at the end of the day regretting how much I yelled at my poor babies.  

I often feel like I am spending the majority of the days saying No! Dont do that! Quit fighting, get out of the trash, dont eat that, please quit climbing on me, leave your diaper on, dont pee on the floor, leave your brother alone, get out of there, share! .. everything feels like a fight and its never ending!   I often wonder if it will ever get easier. We havent been able to sit through church in over a month because Jax just cries and cries in class and isnt quiet enough to sit in regular service so we end up leaving after 30 minutes.  

My kids are so sweet and beautiful and precious and I love them more than I ever imagined possible but I need out of this rut!  Today I found something amazing! Kara-Kae over at The Mom Diggity launched a brand new adventure called Thrive!  As I read through the info on Thrive I had tears!  You have no idea how this speaks right to where I am and where I want to be!  Thriving with other moms who deal with the same things I do! I am so tired of just surviving and ready to thrive as a mom and wife and woman!  

HUGE changes are coming for our family!  I am not at liberty to share at this point but hopefully by the end of this week I will be able to tell you the exciting news!!!  :)

Oh and in all the chaos I managed to get my hair done and I went back blonde and I love it and it was super nice to have some me time!