Turkey Day Takeover

Two weeks ago my friend from back home, Sara, messaged me and asked me what my plans were for thanksgiving and since this was my first year post divorce and not my year to have won the custody roulette for the holidays my answer to her was quite simply....I got nothing. I had not made a single plan....had not so much as even thought about what I might do.I just knew that for 10 days I didn't have to be a mom (which is really weird in itself). So given that I had nothing planned and she had nothing planned...the idea for Turkey Day Takeover was some how formed.  The idea was simple really.....two old friends (I have known this chick for 16 years of my life but since life happens we haven't really hung out in almost 11).....two new fur friends (both of our dogs were dragged on the adventure).....4 days......open road. The rules were even simpler....we were not allowed to plan anything and the only thing that we HAD to do was make it to her moms house on Thursday for thanksgiving because she was awesome enough to cook for us.

So Wednesday Sara drove four hours to my house.....she walks in and with enthusiasm that only comes from adrenalin and too much caffeine says "I say we go ahead and hit the road!!".......with panic in my eyes I started throwing stuff in a bag....I think she could tell that I was slightly freaked out  because eventually she said we could go ahead and wait until the morning. Whew! Thursday, however, we woke up and hit the road.....we drove around through Austin (I freaking love that city).....and we made it to Saras moms house somewhere around 2 that afternoon....had a freaking AWESOME dinner for thanksgiving then got to bed pretty early. Friday morning we set out for a place we heard about called Enchanted Rock (if you have never heard of it you should totally check it out....because it really is THAT awesome)....this place could very easily qualify as the coolest place I have ever seen!!! We stopped and bought a tent with plans on camping out at this place. When we got there we waited in what felt like the longest line ever just to get inside the park. When we finally got in we found out that apparently if you want to camp at this awesome place you have to plan a year ahead (looks like I won't ever be camping there cause I can't even plan a month ahead.) Once we finally parked we put the pups on leashes....threw some stuff in our backpacks and set out to hike up the side of this thing to the summit which I am told is about 425 ft. high......but if you ask me felt more like 5425 ft. high....pretty sure I had to stop no less then five times before we reached the top and had it not been for Sara I would have turned around about half way up and called it a day, but she refused to let me give up. So we finally made it to the top and the view was absolutely unbelievable. I was personally perfectly content with the fact that we made it to the top, but Sara....oh my sweet adventurous souled friend.....she wanted to go in the caves......now there are a few things you should know first.....

1. It was currently 4 o'clock and it gets dark around 6

2. I was not in hiking boots I wasn't even in walk up the side of a huge rock shoes....I was in TOMS

3. We had two SMALL dogs on leashes

4. Sara wasn't taking no for an answer

She felt like we needed to go down a different way then we came up. I won't even try to paint the perfect picture of what this meant exactly because I will fail miserably....Just know that where we were venturing, scaling, squatting, jumping and climbing the only people we saw had climbing gear while we had backpacks and two small dogs. Nothing in either backpack put together in any combination could have sustained life for any amount of time. There were times on this hour and half decent that my dog had to be zipped completely in my backpack so she could be handed up or down to Sara just so she and I might make it out alive. I really wish that was an exaggeration. The dog by the way put up absolutely zero protest I am certain she understood the severity of the situation :-) Since I wasn't wearing hiking boots and many, many times we couldn't see what was ahead of us or what our next move should be I let Sara go ahead of me and she would say things like "Yeah Kass come on it looks grreeeatt" or "This is it we are almost there" then I would get there and it was in NO way great or were we any where close to being almost anywhere. I cried exactly twice and almost pushed Sara off the edge more then that. I kept telling her and was pretty convinced myself that we were getting really really close to ending up on the TV show  I should not have survived. But every time I wanted to give up Sara would tell me to take a deep breath and reassure me that we totally had this because frankly there wasn't another option we literally either kept going or hoped that someone would look for us on Monday. When we finally made it to the bottom of the rock and were finally on the trail....the soles of my shoes were nearly ripped completely off and I was more thankful then I had ever been, but as I looked back at that rock I could NOT believe I made it to the top of that thing much less made it down the cliff side. If it had not been for Sara I would have given up no less then a dozen times. Once we made it down I wanted to find out where we were and get to the car as soon as I could....but Sara....oh Sara....wanted to hike these trails and explore everything like we had unlimited day light or at the very least a flashlight (which we actually did....four of them to be exact.....each one of them in the truck.) We probably hiked for at least 45 minutes by the moon light in the heart of the Texas wilderness. Can I just say that after that five hour excursion I was so freaking happy to see the truck again. We ended up back at Saras moms house for the night since there was no camping. I could not wait to take a shower and climb in bed after that day, but it was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life.  

Saturday morning Sara wakes me up at 6 in the morning and says in the most normal, laid back, matter of fact, no big deal at all way....."we need to hurry and hit the road if we are going to make it to Mexico today"........."Ummm what? Sara I really don't feel like this is a good idea....Mexico isn't really a day trip and I have to be a mom again tomorrow" In my head I am trying to process this information before coffee and all I am really thinking is there isn't any room for error in this operation. Fine Sara says....if you want to go home I will take you home but don't expect me to hang out it is Saturday and I am not really in to just sitting around. She gave me exactly 4 minutes and 29 seconds to throw my stuff in a bag and get in the truck. We pull out of her moms driveway and she says "look I promise to have you home in time to get your kids....I mean I could understand if it was Sunday already but it is barely Saturday we have plenty of time. Then she threw in the bomb....she said "come on if I take you home I definitely wont be able to go." So with that when we reached the fork in the road where left was home and right was Mexico we took a right. We drove all the way down to the border cruising through all the towns along the way. We found this guy that has a sign in his yard claiming that he is a peyote dealer....we had to get the scoop on this guy....so we stopped at the gas station next to it and actually met the guys brother in law. Turns out if you are at least 1/4 Indian and a member of the church you can legally buy peyote. The brother in law asked what we were doing down there and I think I kinda looked at Sara like "I have no freaking idea so you go ahead and take this one" .....he asked if we wanted advice and more or less urged us not to cross the border. At this point I am thinking umm don't worry dude I mean I have to draw the line somewhere and I am thinking a literal line of a border seems like a pretty good place to start. So we drove around checking out this border town before deciding on heading back, but the plan was to drive back up the coast.....we are driving.....and driving........and driving and all of a sudden I am like "Sara I really feel like we missed our turn it looks like we are headed straight for the ocean"....."No we are still going north it isn't like we are just going to run out of road"........no sooner did she say that did we run out of road.....straight into the ocean. "Well if we are at the ocean we are at least getting out of the car" So we did....and we walked the dogs by the ocean the same day we went to the border.....freaking crazy!!!

We were in the car for a total of 15 hours just on Saturday. We drove 1000 plus miles all over the state of Texas. By the end of the trip I was so freaking ready to be home, but when we got home I didn't want it to end. It was without a doubt the coolest road trip I have ever been on and I am pretty darn thankful to my sweet adventurous friend Sara for making it happen and for not letting me give up or go home. I did things I seriously never thought I could do.....saw things that I will remember forever.....laughed until I peed my pants just a little.....and while we didn't end up on a TV show....we did create some stories to add to the files of life....some of them will no doubt be told over and over. Which means Turkey Day Takeover was, in my book at least, a huge success! 

Moments Like These......

Paige is in the bathtub and I am standing there talking to her when she says.....

I think this is going to cut off my circulation about that time she raises her foot out of the massive amounts of bubbles to expose a pony tail holder wrapped  around her ankle....Ummm yeah Paige you really need to get that off right now!!!.....I guess if it cuts off the circulation I can lick it.....No...nope...no freaking way Paige!!! you most certainly can not lick it.....Well I like licking everyone......Wow!...Ummm....NO we do not lick anyone EVER!!!..... Oh....okay....so it is only appropriate for me to lick myself then?...as she licks her arm.....That was indeed my cue to leave the bathroom...as this conversation was obviously not leading any where.....(actually it was directly after that when she started chanting circulation, circulation...quietly to herself)...Since the day this child was born....well at least since she has been able to talk any way....conversations like this have become my normal....so almost on a daily basis I have some of the silliest conversations of my life..... I try really hard to memorize these moments and lock them away in my memory.....so I can always remember that at this exact moment in time...she was my absolute favorite.....mostly normal....yet still just slightly crazy......but undeniably hilarious almost six year old!  :-)

Thankful Heart Thursday

It was nine years ago today when I first found out I was going to be a mom. I remember taking that first pregnancy test and thinking to myself....quite literally....no freaking way! I must have taken 5 pregnancy tests that day....just expecting at least one of them to be negative. I was excited...happy....scared and nervous all rolled in to one. I had absolutely no idea....no earthly idea what to expect. Today exactly nine years later I have two sweet little girls that proudly call me mama. My life has changed in so many ways since that day. I couldn't possibly have imagined just how much motherhood would change me....there are days....many...many days....that those little girls drive me completely insane....they have tried my patience and taught me just how deep love can be.....but at the end of the day when all is said and done.... when they are tucked into bed and completely sound asleep I can't help but look at them and think about just how incredibly thankful I really am to be their mom.

Standing Between Me and Being Lazy

I have learned that having my grandparents as my neighbors has many perks...but probably my most favorite of them is the fact that I have not made a single cup of coffee in almost 5 months. Every single morning I just walk up to their house and drink theirs...I have also discovered there is something that makes coffee just a little bit better when you don't have to make it yourself :-) Now when I was a stay at home mom the first time around sure I drank coffee, but not every day because... well I am the only one in my house that drinks it and quite honestly I am too lazy to make a pot of coffee just for myself....so with no caffeine and my already keen ability to almost out lazy anyone....I spent a good amount of my time being just that.....lazy....seriously there were many times I would drop the kids off at school only to come home and go back to sleep....while my laundry pile just miraculously grew and grew. Since moving down here every morning my grandpa makes a full pot of coffee and I sit with him and help him drink it....sometimes we talk about what's going on...a lot of times he tells me old stories from when he grew up (it really was a different life back then)....and there are times when we just sit and watch TV together...and as if making me coffee wasn't enough the other morning he actually poured me a cup and brought it to me while I sat in the recliner....all the while giving me a hard time (something he has mastered over the years) about how I should be ashamed for making an old man cater to me. Truth be told I enjoy every second of our coffee time and I know I am incredibly blessed to have that old man around to cater to me....the only thing is after I am done drinking my coffee (normally 3 entire cups) I am usually in caffeine overload which means there is zero hope left in my days for laziness...so as it seems....standing there in between me and being lazy is my mostly crazy... but super loving....awesome coffee making grandpa :-) which in turn makes me a pretty lucky...mostly productive gal.

A hint of an update with a side of me time

okay....okay...I am well aware that this is long over due and I realize I could list at least a million things that have changed since my last post, but instead of boring everyone to tears I will just stick to the highlights. The two main (and most important) things that have happened are I quit my job and we moved....well technically I quit my job because we moved I didn't really just up and decide to quit my job one day (thought about it many times however)....anyway the real life changer was the fact that we moved....like a real move not just a change of house move that we have done so many times before....but a complete 4 hour away...change of location...I don't know where a single thing is move. My incredibly sweet great grandma passed away this summer and my family and I were blessed enough to get to move into her house. Now this house is a house that my grandpa and dad built pretty much by them selves about 40 or so years ago...so it is the only house I have ever known my grandma to live...I spent summers coming out here to see her so it is incredible to be able to have my girls out here....plus my grandpa and grandma are my neighbors which is pretty cool if you ask me. Those facts, however, did not change the fact that when we got here I knew no one and I literally had to GPS Walmart....so the girls and I spent the summer attempting to get out of the house and find things and meet people....and since I didn't know anyone that also meant that they didn't know anyone and were forced to play with each other so I also spent the majority of my summer trying not to kill both of them :-) But....just as quick as it started...summer ended...except this year when school started something exceptionally amazing in the world of motherhood happened.....BOTH of my children went!!! So there I was a stay at home mama again only this time I found myself with this incredibly strange thing called free time. Seven entire hours a day to try to decide how to spend....now I do still have the never ending chores that come with being a mom and running a household and blah...blah...and most days that is how I spend said free time....but believe me I am not entirely crazy...some days I do absolutely nothing (and try really hard not to feel bad about it)....and some days like today I have a selfish day and go get a massage and facial...now I am pretty positive if you were to ask the husband he would say stuff like that is a waste of money....but if you were to ask me (and lets be honest I am the one who counts) stuff like that....days like today....a little piece of sanity in this crazy world of motherhood....is worth every single penny.

A New Job

I had been waiting tables part time for the past eight months. If you have never waited tables in your life I would encourage you to try it. You learn so much about yourself as a server. A few of the things that I learned while serving is  that I love people, I like to build those relationships with them, I like to be "of service" and I hate the restaurant industry. Lucky for me I got a job offer while I was waiting tables one day from a couple who own a medically supervised weight loss center (that I also happened to be going to at the time)....that I just couldn't pass up. It seemed like the perfect opportunity had just fallen into my lap. It is funny to me that once you become aware of God...I mean really aware of his presence in your life...you can see clearly how he is working and how one step leads you directly to the next. God is NEVER wrong and his timing is ALWAYS perfect. So two weeks ago I started my job as a Diet Consultant. I get to see patients...I get to build relationships with them....I get to be "of service" encouraging and being with them every step of their weight loss journey....and I don't have to step foot in a restaurant :-) Every day I go to work I am amazed that I get paid to do what I do. I love my new job and I am humbled and grateful for Gods perfect timing in every season of my life.

Extreme Makeover the Kid Edition

Here is a little riddle for ya to ponder....what is the direct opposite of cool, calm and collected.....give up?? Okay, okay it is......motherhood. Yesterday started off like any other day for us......and then I took my children to the dentist....and that is where I realized that quite simply my children are brats....I also realized that I may as well be a mute because the second I open my mouth their little ears turn completely off. So there I was at the dentist office knee deep in a nervous break down and I realized (it was apparently a day of realizations) that if something didn't change....and I mean drastically change....this mommy was going to lose it....go completely insane....and possibly quite possibly run far, far away. So today while I sent them off to their very last day at daycare I spent the day making chore charts, house rules and a consequence jar. The second that they stepped foot in the house this afternoon I sat them down and explained it all to them and how the household was going to work from now on. Now I realize (yet again) that stuff like this doesn't just magically change overnight (oh how I wish it did though) and I know that "consistency is the key" to things of this nature. I also know that I have 26 days until school starts back...so I am on a one mama mission to change these little brats that have taken over my house back into the lovely little (with any luck....listening) children that I gave birth to.....Here is to consistency and a whole heck of a lot of wishful thinking....and if all else fails I will be blogging from a beach in Mexico with an untraceable IP address :-)