Happy Mother's Day or Mother's Week :)

Today was wonderful, being with my family seeing MIL in the morning and my Mom this evening. It wasn't our original plan or hubby's I guess though. Though I loved just going out to a nice meal with the kids and him and then up to North Ga he has officially rescheduled Mother's Day for next Sunday due to our house issues and has also spread out some of the celebrating throughout the week.

Can't say I mind a week of celebrating Mamas instead of just the one day, I think we've earned it lol :)

I am so thankful for my healthy smart beautiful babies. C made me a Mommy first but each child has helped me grow as a person and taught me about them, the world, and myself so much already. I can't wait to see what they, and the little ones yet to arrive, have yet to teach me. I love them so much and am so amazed by them every day.

I am so thankful for my Mom who showed me how to love so unconditionally. Who taught me to be a good person and a mother in her words and actions. She is so incredible and I am amazed how much she gives of herself to everyone she loves, her children, grandchildren and even the adopted children and grandchildren she's picked up through her friendships.

I am thankful for my Mother-in-law who challenges me at time but I also know would always fight for what's best for me, my kids, and our family. She is such a strong woman and I thank her for raising my husband but also for helping teach me and help me become a stronger person and better mom.

I am also thankful for all the mothers who've come before in my life. My grandmothers who loved me and raised my parents. My sister Robi who showed me motherhood while juggling her six blessings and all her other endeavors, always going above and beyond in everything she does. My sister-in-law Tammy who though I haven't seen in too long is so wonderful doing everything and anything her kids need. I can tell by their smiles in pics and that glow they get around their mom of pure unbridled joy that she's a wonderful mom and their lives are filled with love.

My friends and cousins who are mothers. In so many different situations, places, but once again loving their kids so much and doing whatever they can to make their babes as happy and healthy as possible.

Whether we agree on everything when it comes to parenting or more than likely not I know we all agree on how incredible it is to be a mom, how amazing our little ones are no matter how big or little they are, and putting our children's well being first. What a blessing to be a mom and know so many wonderful mothers! Happy Mother's Day!

Mommy, I'm ready to go home

This is what J told me this morning. *Sigh* you and me both buddy, but unfortunately not in the cards it seems. We are still at the hotel though we will be stopping by our place tomorrow to pack (repack) to head to North Ga and Monday Chattanooga.

Highlights of today included a wonderful Mother's Day Tea hosted by ICAN of Atlanta and getting the great news that our house does not have black mold but mildew and a fire we weren't as informed about as we would expect which is all taken care of now though chemical odor remains tonight so we're staying here instead.

However this morning and afternoon at the hotel are pretty much summed up by the post title unfortunately. After breakfast hubby headed back to the house to help and the kids and I were stuck going stir crazy at the hotel. We discovered sugar/water ants in the room, E was super clingy, C was running from one wall to the other, J got the seat more than the bowl on a BM, J got into snacks he was not supposed to have until later and hid them, C spilled chocolate milk over the bed, carpet, my shoes, and herself, and when I was cleaning up and rinsing stuff off J locked me out of the bathroom though luckily no one was inside and I opened it with a plastic fork. Ahhhhhh!

Ya you parents know those days I'm sure. When everything that can go wrong does, but I tried to stay calm and carry on. After the bathroom incident I did have to stop and regroup a bit though and that was when my sweet little man looked me straight in the eye as innocent and honest as can be and said "Mommy, I'm ready to go home."

Luckily the rest of the day was better for the kids and me and I'm hoping tomorrow to catch up on relaxing more maybe though it most likely won't be at the house. Home is where the heart is though and I know I'll be at home wherever we go as long as my family is together.

Happy Early Mother's Day!

The Nightmare

So today was not fun overall. I am trying to be positive and think of this as an early start to vacation but it's tough in the moment.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post hubby was away at hang gliding and MIL was staying over at our rental house. Well the kids woke up bright and early today and hubby arrived back home. MIL was helping us with Spring Cleaning and all was going wonderfully until.......MIL went to check our dryer because we mentioned to her that it hadn't been working well for awhile (taking at least 2 cycles to dry or getting way too hot). She dragged the machine out of the small laundry closet with hubby's help and then a few minutes later hubby and MIL are yelling at the kids and I to get out of the house. Of course right in the middle of a clothing change for E, though honestly I don't know if there's any "good" time for that.

C, J, E, and I were evacuated to the backyard and deck and told by Daddy to wait. And we did. And waited and waited. Hubby then came back out to tell me finally that MIL had found some black spots and some kind of mould/mildew behind the dryer and wanted to clean it but knew that would stir up the spores so wanted us out.

Well.......then when she was cleaning back there the floor began coming up! As in it was rotted through and there was the same black stuff and powder on the sheet rock which she now believes is Black mould. Ahhhhhhh.....!

So hubby and her put on masks and the kids and I stayed outside while they packed some stuff for us and waited on the landlords to arrive. The landlords did not think it was black mold and were not in the best mood at first having a very stressful week themselves.

Luckily though when they realized we weren't blaming anyone just trying to get it fixed and not taking any chances we all worked out an attack plan etc. So hubby, MIL, and I agreed no matter what the kids and I were not going to stay there till it was taken care of and we are currently at a hotel.

Hubby and MIL are going back and forth from her apartment and here to the house to help the landlord apply chemicals tonight and replace the floor tomorrow. Fun times. Praying it's not the black mold and just something else though it's definitely annoying either way.

Saturday UPDATE

We confirmed it's not black mold but dark mildew from the washer leaking a few months ago combined with ash and floor issues from a fire the owners mentioned occurring that was bigger then they made out and unfortunately they did not replace all the damaged floor after all at the time UGH. But anyway better than black mold right. The floor is fixed now and mildew gone. Also we're sure there's no more anywhere else in the house, yay! With the kids and chemicals we're planning to stay the night at the hotel and MIL stay at the house and maybe go up to North Ga Sunday for Mother's Day then to Chattanooga later.

Hang gliding and MIL visiting

Today hubby left before the sun arrived to drive up to Lookout Mountain and begin his adventures in hang gliding!

Yep exciting for all and nerve wracking for me but he took his first lesson this morning, second earlier this evening, and has his third tomorrow morning before heading back home to us. This is hubby's gift to himself as a congrats on the grad I think lol. I'm glad he's found the hobby though and if his phone call early was any indication, he's loving it!

Next week we plan to go up to Chattanooga for an early Summer vacation and last hurrah before hopefully hubby starts a new job (still applying, interviewing, etc. currently) and we move who knows where. The plan is hubby will go hang gliding a few mornings next week and then late morning through the evening will be packed with family fun. I'm hoping at some point to go watch him do a bigger flight too since as I understand it he's currently learning on smaller hills to work up to the big stuff. The worry wart that I am I'm not sure if my nerves will be able to take watching him do it in person but I do see the rush and excitement of the prospect so hopefully that plus wanting to cheer him on once will make it possible :)

So anyway while hubby is away the kids and I are having fun with my MIL aka Ibu. She came over to spend the day with us and stay the night. I don't always see eye to eye with MIL (who does lol) but I do enjoy her company at times and have had lots of fun today as have the kids of course. It's also nice having the extra set of hands and eyes to let me get a little more done around here.

Well the babes are asleep and I don't want to stay up too too late since I know they'll be waking to tell me the sun is here soon and hubby will be home around lunch time hopefully. Good night!

Busy Day

Today hubby had a meeting and I had an appointment but we still had lots of fun. I'll add more details later.

I dropped C and J off to spend the morning with MIL and E and I went on our own adventures and errands. We got back around lunchtime just as hubby got out of his meeting and we all met together at MIL's to have fun with her and the neat toys there.

We got some fun time outside enjoying the gorgeous weather as well as inside playing with MIL and with the new kids' computer games she'd bought which C and J were pros with and definitely loved.

After leaving MIL's late and getting home, E and I got to go visit with our friends at the monthly Midtown ICAN meeting. It was great seeing the other sweet mamas, the growing bellies of the expectant ladies, and the cute babies of course! Also Java Vino had awesome food as always too which was another plus.

ICAN of Atlanta is throwing a Mother's Day Tea for subscribers with Mama relaxing activities this Saturday which I'm definitely looking forward too!

Overall today was another awesome day. Tomorrow hubby will be gong on the first part of his hang gliding training adventures and I'm a bit nervous and sad he'll be gone most of the day though I'm excited for him too. Please pray for me on that.

I'll try and get back into the blog and my more thoughtful fun posts soon :P Hope yall are having a great week!

Yay He did it!

Hubby is now officially done with his degree after finishing his exam today! He did great and we're so proud of all his hard work though still in shock he's really done I think lol.

He still has to do a few more meetings for his research assistant work but we're hoping to soon be finding that perfect job and where we'll be moving next potentially!

The next couple weeks are just more applications and playing the waiting game some more. Hubby is going to try a new venture starting training later this week......Hang Gliding. He's very excited and it should be interesting. We're planning a trip to North Ga and Tennessee next as a family when he'll get to show us his skills and we'll be able to visit family and some of the Chattanooga attractions.

I'm hoping to also fit in a beach trip too but it will depend on time around the job search and hopefully finding one sooner and of course where that job is.

As I've been saying alot recently there's lots of excitement to come and I can't wait to find out what other blessings God has in store for us!

Welcome May!

I can't believe it's May already. This year seems to be going by very fast.

Only 2 more days till hubby is done with school! 2.5 more months till C is 4 and J is 3 (so crazy to think about) and 4.5 more months till E is one!

The job search, studying, waiting, and hoping continues.

FIL has been visiting as I mentioned before (he heads back to Indo on Tuesday) so tonight we had a cookout with him and MIL (aka Ibu). Grilled Chicken, Burgers, Grilled Small Sweet Peppers, Zucchini, and Corn. I have a crazy sweet tooth but that was so awesome even I skipped dessert to have my fill of the meal.

The kids loved the time with hubby's folks too, and watching hubby and his Dad grill outside I know they enjoyed the bonding time.

So I know this is a short post but have to keep it quick since I am worn out and hubby's already asleep now. Tomorrow's another long day.

Hope everyone else had an amazing weekend too!