the good news...!
WE MADE IT TO TEXAS!

the bad news...
we brought everyone the worst thanksgiving gift of all time.
ROTOVIRUS... or NOROVIRUS. (at least i’m pretty sure that’s what it is based on the symptoms i googled.)

i wish this was a joke. i really do.

eli randomly puked on friday afternoon for the first time in his life. at that moment i was hoping it was a fluke and something he ate just didn’t agree with his belly. but alas, more puke came later that night and i prayed with all my heart that he would be ok in time for us to leave for houston the next morning. well, God listened and he was fine by morning and so was everyone else! YES! so we made the 2 hour drive to LAX, got on our plane, and everything was just going eerily perfect.

annnnd then presley told me her belly was hurting. so we went to the potty and she told me that she was fine and her belly didn’t hurt anymore. in the meantime, my stomach started feeling not so great, but i was more focused on the kids. presley ended up falling asleep on me, which made me feel a little better. until it made everything worse.
the pilot came over the speaker to say we were in our descent into houston and to keep those seatbelts fastened. minutes later presley just starts SPEWING. vomit is everywhere. on every inch of her, her i-pad, her headphones, her shoes, her seat... i’m catching it in my hands and it’s just overflowing. i’m yelling at randy “NAPKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!”, “TRASHBAG!!!!!!”, “MORE NAPKINS”, “ANOTHER TRASHBAG!!”. at the same time i’m trying to handle this literal and figurative mess, presley is SCREAMING. eli is standing in his seat trying to crawl over to see what’s going on. i switched on my supermom mode and wipes started flying and clothes were coming off (presley, not me 😂).
of course i brought an extra change of clothes for ELI... he was the one who’d been sick. so of course, you know. so when i told the naked child next to me she was going to have to put on her brother’s 2 sizes too small pants, i’d say she wasn’t very happy judging by the screams and tears.
but we somehow made it off the plane, with absolutely zero help or concern from any flight attendant. (i left them a bag of vomit covered napkins to say thanks 😐).
presley vomited again in my moms car on the way home, and as soon as we got there, it was my turn.

i am gonna spare all the other details because i feel like i’ve been maybe too forthcoming with the nasty parts. BUT as of right now, RANDY is the only one who’s been spared. yep, mom and dad are both currently sick.

ugh. let’s hope the rest of this thanksgiving week starts looking up, because i’m pretty sure that’s the only way we can go from down here. 🤦🏼‍♀️


UPDATE: jayden and bryleigh (my nephew and niece) have officially got it.


2nd UPDATE: now my father in law has it.

3rd UPDATE: now my bonus father in law has it.

stomach bug.... the gift that keeps on giving. literally.

eli is TWO!

how in the world has it been two whole years since my little bald peanut baby was born?
i swear it was the shortest two years in the history of ever.

8lb baby ---> 28lb toddler

eli is so so special. it's hard to put into words just how much he means to us, and how he was the perfect puzzle piece to finish our family. he is just one of a kind, in the best way. 

he is SO much like his daddy.... very serious and pensive. but he is also silly, funny, and has a smile that will melt anyone's heart. (but especially mine!) and, of course, THOSE EYES and THOSE CHEEKS.

he is so smart, speaking in sentences and singing the words to all the songs on the radio... i swear he knows more songs than i do. he loves his sister more than anyone, always wanting to do what she does, say what she says, and play with what she's playing with. his favorite toys are cars/trucks/tractors of any shape or size, and he loves to watch blippi and daniel tiger on his "p-pad."

he loves to zoom around the house on his scooter, and play outside any chance he gets. his favorite foods are peanut butter, crackers, froot loops, macaroni and cheese, and any kind of chocolate candy. literally anything. he has tried it all. even almond joy (GROSS.), and he loved it. and if you try to give him anything to eat besides those previously mentioned foods, you'll just be picking it up off the floor in a minute...not that i have experience or anything. (really, his only fault!)

this morning presley was so excited that it was eli's birthday, it was the first thing she said when she came into my room. "i can't wait to see him all grown!".

so we went into his room and she just gushed about how grown he looked and said, "look how long your legs are, eli!" and she couldn't wait to tell her teachers that it was her brother's birthday!

after we took presley to school, eli and i went to breakfast...pancakes, another food fave. then we had to head to the dr for his 24 month checkup. he got his vision tested (perfect!), then his physical exam (also perfect!), and then he had to get a finger prick and vaccine. the finger prick came first and his reaction? "ouch." that's it. no tears, not fuss. just "ouch." then the shot. that one garnered a few tears, but he got a "p-pop" (lollipop) out of it, so they didn't last long.

presley really thought it was going to be a party today, bless her heart. she kept asking where the cake was. i told her we were going to wait until sunday (when we have his party in houston!)... and she didn't quite like that answer. my girl loves cake, the apple doesn't fall far, you know?

when we picked her up from school, she was so excited to see eli again and kept saying she couldn't believe how big he was and she asked me to tell her teacher that it was his birthday! it took everything i had not to cry... i'm a crybaby, ok?

tonight presley and randy went to church and eli and i just hung out on the couch together. he was tired after dinner and he was in the mood to sit on my lap, so i soaked it up. i'm typically not the favorite, but when dad's gone, i am the consolation prize. when they got home, randy brought in presley's papers from church and said, "here's presley's papers. she asked her teacher for a blank coloring sheet so she could bring it home to her brother for his birthday." ummm, are you crying? because i wanted to cry. what an angel. she loves her brother, and that makes me the happiest mommy ever.

anyway, i could go on forever and ever about my sweet "goo-goo bear", "googs", "brudder bear", "brother". like how he rests his little hand on me when while he watches his shows. or how he always asks "again!" if you tickle him or make him laugh somehow. or how he likes for me to pop his toes! or how his eyes scrunch up when he smiles. or how he shuffles across the floor when i tell him to skip. or how he says, "i don't like it" all.the.time. and of course, how he says, "i'm coming!" when i ask him to kiss me.

i love you bigger than the sky my sweet Elijah George!

happy sunday!

i don't want to jinx anything, but i'm pretty sure fall has OFFICIALLY arrived in bakersfield!
the mornings have been in the 40's, and even high 30's, and the afternoons are pretty consistently in the mid 70's! there is actually a RAIN CLOUD on my forecast for NEXT monday (when we will be in texas...of course.), so hopefully thats a sign of more to come!

speaking of texas...6 more days! whataburger here i come! and MEXICAN FOOD!
oh, and family! can't wait to see them too, haha!

also happening soon... the thing i keep trying NOT to think about, in exactly 3 days...
my BABY is turning TWO. my goodness, motherhood is the most bittersweet experience, i swear.

presley and i went to disney on ice yesterday at the rabobank arena. it was a special little girls trip, that included a light up snowflake wand and $15 cotton candy. FIFTEEN DOLLARS for COTTON CANDY. and i'm like, these people are nuts asking $15 for cotton candy, but really, i payed it...soooo who is nuts, afterall? yikes. but it made my girl so happy, and that's pretty priceless!

not much new going on over here in our part of california... but i can't say the same for other parts. the thousand oaks shooting is still a very open wound for everyone, along with the devastating fires all around. it's hard to not feel helpless as a mere bystander to terrible things happening around the world... but we are praying continuously for everyone affected by these tragedies.

halloween 2018!

halloween has come and gone, and while it's definitely not my favorite holiday (and it's left me utterly exhausted), i'm kinda sad to see it go.

all the festivities started last saturday at a little halloween harvest festival our neighborhood put on.
they had games, fall snacks, cupcake walk, and picture ops! the kids had fun, but it was HOT.

they both got lots of compliments on their costumes!
gigi gifted presleys costume to her, and it was the most magical costume for her... the wings are HUGE, and the WHOLE costume lights up! the wings, the dress, and the wand! we were both obsessed with it.
my mom made eli's ghostbusters jumpsuit all the way from houston! it couldn't have been more perfect. i ordered the custom patches on etsy and he loved pointing to the ghostbuster patch when people said "hey ghostbuster!". my dad made him a custom proton pack out of odds and ends and it put his whole look over the edge!

monday started "spirit week" at presley's school, and it was crazy day (crazy socks, clothes, hair...)!

tuesday was halloween at dance class! she wanted to be a unicorn, so we made it work with some dress up accessories from gigi!

wednesday they were able to dress up at school, but i didn't trust presley to wear those giant fairy wings (and also i don't want her teachers hating me for it!), so she went through the dress up clothes again and decided on a bumblebee!

when randy got home from work i had the kids all ready to go celebrate halloween! presley got to wear eyeshadow, blush, lipstick, and even mascara. she LOVED it. she told me, "i look like a lady! like you!" 

eli was OBSESSED with the slimer balloon i made for him. he kept yanking the string and saying, "stop it slimer!" over and over and over. 

after our little front yard photoshoot, we headed up to our church festival with our neighbor friends (from houston!)

the kids had a blast! they had tons of games, bounce houses galore, hay rides, and train rides.

presley especially loved the different bounce houses...the slides and obstacle courses. eli loved the hayride, of course!

after about an hour we decided to come back to the neighborhood to go trick or treating!

these two boys were HILARIOUS. they walked into people's houses when the opened the door to give out candy.

presley got TONS of candy, almost her whole bucket was full. eli was the SLOWEST kid ever. he took the leisurely approach to trick or treating. he dragged his bucket and strolled along. he missed half the houses because he was just taking his sweet time. but he loved it. i tried to pick him up and he told me to put him down! 

we had ONE trick or treater at our house... and i bought FULL SIZE CANDY BARS. what?! i literally bought like 90 candy bars (costco! they were the same price as the big bags of assorted junk that always has something nasty like mounds or almond joy or milky way dark). so now we have all these candy bars...guess what you're all getting for christmas?! 

but really, we didn't get home until almost 8, so we probably missed all the real action. i'll do better next year.

so i'm sad it's all over, but only because my babies are babies and these fun times just go by too fast.

i love love love holidays with kids, it's BY FAR the best part of every holiday...watching them laugh and play and smile.

but, the show must go on, and the christmas tree must go up. and it did. today. and you're welcome, RANDY, for waiting til november. i know it's probably silly, if not flat-out ridiculous to be putting up my tree so early...but it makes me happy. and it makes my kids happy. 

i just really want and hope that when my kids are grown they will remember how fun and special christmases were at our home. i want them to laugh about how enthusiastic i am about christmas (and birthdays!). 

when i die, i want randy to reminisce about my christmas loving heart, and smile. i know he thinks i'm crazy, but he's the one who married me, soooo...? who's crazy now?

but really, jesus is the reason for the season. he's the reason for every season, for every day, and for every single second. and in this month of thanksgiving, HE is everything i'm thankful for, and he is why i have things to be thankful for.... happy november!