Thankful Thursday

It is so easy for me to get caught up in a stress, anxiety/overwhelmed cycle and frankly, that robs me of my thankful heart. I have wanted to participate in Thankful Thursdays over at Spiritually Unequal Marriage for awhile. So I want to take a minute and consider all of the things I am thankful for.

• I am thankful for the belly laughs of my kids and their sense of humor in general. Somehow I wound up with three jokesters.
  
• I am thankful for my husband. His job takes him away from us for extended time; but when he is home, he is all ours. I couldn't have picked out a better man for me.
• I am thankful for good friends. I am blessed with some awesome friends who are awesome both to me and to my kiddos, whether we are having a kid event, or a girls event. Hanging out with them keeps all of us sane when Brian is gone. I am not sure I could make it through without that support.
• I am thankful that I have a husband who supports me going out with my mommy friends (or hanging around the house in the evening) to have girl time. It really enriches my life and recharges my batteries.
  
• I am thankful for our extended family, and especially grandparents who like to have grandkids visit. Hello Sanity, my old friend, I have missed you!
  

Hurricane Packing list

Clothes

• Swimsuits for Brian, Me, John, Chloe, and Emma
• 8 pair underwear per person
• 4 outfits per person
• 4 hotel lobby worthy pajama sets
• socks
• flip flops x each
  
• closed toed shoes x each

Personal items

• Hair Brush
• ponytail holders for me and girls
• toothbrushes x 5
• toothpaste
• face soap
• contact lens solution
• contact lens case
• glasses and case
• spare pairs of contacts
• Goggles for the kids
• make up
• hair mouse
• hair dryer
  
• hair detangler
• shampoo/conditioner
• sunscreen
• tea tree
• witchazel
• cotton balls
  
• night time pull ups for just in case
  
• Chloe, Emma, and John special blankets and pillows and animals
  
• My pillows and pillow people

Medications

• blood sugar medicine
• asthma inhalers for Chloe and Brian
• Nebulizer (just in case) and meds
• kids clear Benadryl
• My Benadryl
• Zyrtec
• Melatonin
• Brians Multivitamin and kids multi
• injection needles and medication
• b complex
• kids asprin

Useful Items

• Laundry Soap (small bottle) and dryer sheets for hotel laundry
• roll of quarters for hotel laundry
• crockpot (for evenings without manager's reception)
• coupon book
• grocery list for when we stop on the way to hotel (from hurricane manual)
  

Electronics/Entertainment

• My cellphone/charger/car charger
  
• Brian's cellphone/charger
• My Laptop/power cord/wireless adapter
• Brian's Laptop/power cord/wireless adapter
• PSP for kids/games
• DVD books for the van
• fairy book for bedtime reading
• books for mommy poolside/bedtime
• camera

Important Paperwork

• Coppock Hurricane Manual (More to come on that....)
  
• address book
  
• Important paperwork accordian file
• family photo CDs and originals

Pet Items

• Food/Water bowls
• Crate for Leia (have to take out middle seats)
  
• Crate for cat
• leashes and collars
  

Prancing Ponies

Today we went on a field trip to Palm Beach in Galveston.

Conversation overheard at Palm Beach....

Chloe: "Emma, lets play ponies"
Emma: "We can't Chloe the rules sign says no horseplay"

I just about fell out laughing... such literal kids I have.

Am I the only one who thinks its crazy that there are already school supplies out? Opinions aside, there are some awesome deals to be had at staples... Thank you Deal Seeking Mom for posting them. (PS, that is my very FAVORITE site for good deals, saved me so much money!)

:: Easy Rebate Deals

Staples Copy Paper (8.5″ x 11″), $3.69
$3.68 Staples Easy Rebate (through 7/15)
$0.01 after rebate!

Staples Photo Plus Paper (4″ x 6″), $9.99
$8.99 Staples Easy Rebate
$1 after rebate!
:: 1-Cent Deals

* 8-Pack Pencils (through 7/15)

:: $1 Deals

* Acme Junior 5″ Blunt or Pointed Scissors (2-pk.)
* BIC Velocity Stick Fashion Pens (5-pk.)
* BIC Wite-Out Quick Dry (2-pk.)
* Scotch Magic Tape
* Sharpie Major Accent Highlighters (6-pk.)
* Staples Mini Magnetic Stapler
* Staples Pink Wedge Erasers (3-pk.)
* Staples Translucent Pencil Boxes

Plus use the $1/1 BIC Pens or $0.50/1 BIC Wite-Out to get those items from FREE to $0.50!

The Dynamics of Three kids vs. two

My mom and dad have Chloe for a few days (God bless you grandma and grandpa). Today was our first day of having only two kids. Wow, that's a different dynamic. Now, Brian is gone traveling much of the time, and we homeschool. So typically at our house the majority of the time it is me, and the three kiddos all the time. We don't have any breaks where anyone is in school.


Now, don't get me wrong. I love each of my kids, love them dearly. I wouldn't trade a single one, and every once in awhile I imagine what it would be like to have a fourth..... and then the liquor wears off and I sober up. :P


You really wouldn't think that it would be that big of a difference, or a break having one gone. But it is. (So thank you grandparents, its awesome. But I miss her and you have to return her!!!) I have two arms, I have two kids. Wow, that really works. It makes going through the parking lot much less nerve wracking.


Here is what I have learned about having three kids so close together:

• There are 2 years between the first and second, and only 1 year between the younger two. Everything I have read leads me to believe its alot like having multiples.
  
• No decision will ever be unanimous. Much like the Supreme Court, there is always a dissenting opinion, usually a very loud, hysterical one.
• The competition for my time and attention is fierce. Taking some precautionary alone time with each kid can blunt it a bit, and assuage my guilt; but it's never really gone.
• Life really isn't fair when you are the middle child. Especially when there are only 12 months between you and your younger brother.
• More is required of the older child, I have started chucking 20 bucks in the therapy jar for later.
  
• I am the minority and they are a majority. I have to be on my toes and it requires a whole lot of advanced prep work to pull off most of our days. I am usually a very laid back person, but I have had to become a bit of an orginizational gestapo for us just to survive.
  
• Statistically speaking, on any outing, someone will need a change of clothes, a snack, a bottle of water, or medication, shoes (yeah, seriously, SHOES how do you lose your shoes?) You should see the Emergency box I have packed in the trunk of the van. I will have to post what I stash in there some time.
  
• The laundry seems to grow exponentially with each child. I do laundry every single stinking day, and I rarely can ever declare it "done".
• We can actually get sick, pass it around one by one, and it can make it back to the original "carrier monkey" and reinfect them. Cold and flu seasons suck for us.
• I have never, ever, gotten rid of the pregnancy brain fog. It might have something to do with never being able to have a complete thought uninterrupted. In a few years, I suppose we can just start calling it early dementia... how charming.

There are so many pluses. One of the best is that my kiddos are such good friends. Up until this year, they all slept in the same bed like puppies (even though they had their own). Half the time they still do in my room when dad is traveling. It makes my heart sigh to see them all curled up hugging each other.

Deals of the week

Since I have been talking randomly about good deals I have been getting, I thought I would post them here too. We love Kashi cereal, the kids actually think its a treat!

Target (thanks to Stretching a Buck)

Kashi Crackers (10-oz.), $2.50
$1.50/1 Kashi printable (register)
$1/2 Kashi Target printable
$0.50 ea. after coupons!

Kashi Trail Mix Bars (6-ct), $2.50
$1.50/1 Kashi printable (register)
$1.50/1 Kashi Cereal Bars printable
$1.50/1 Kashi Cereal or TLC Bars printable (IE) or printable (FF)
$1/2 Kashi Target printable
$0.50 ea. after coupons!

Kashi Cereal (GoLean Crunch, Heart to Heart & others), $2.66
$1.50/1 Kashi printable (register)
$1.50/1 Kashi Cereal or TLC Bars printable (IE) or printable (FF)
$0.50/1 or BOGO Kashi Cereal Target printable
FREE to $0.60 ea. after coupons!

Family Hurricane Plan, Part 1: Hotels

As of June 1st Hurricane Season is upon us, UGH! For the past few hurricane seasons my plan has been "if one is headed this way, we will leave and stay San Antonio". Great plan right? Except, then when we do decide to leave, I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off! So for this year, I am coming up with a well thought out plan. I have a binder all set up to be our Hurricane folder, and I thought maybe it could be helpful to someone else so I will post it here...

If there is a hurricane our plan is to go to San Antonio. We are pretty familiar with the city, and alot of our memberships to museums and attractions are reciprocal there so we could entertain ourselves on the cheap.

The first decision is the hotel. At first glance, when you look at my list of hotels, you might think, "wow those are kinda pricey". But I have specific reasons why I chose these.

• They are all in an area of San Antonio I know well. Its a suburban area of town and there is an HEB grocery store, a video rental store, and all kinds of other "normal" nontouristy stores right around the corner.
• Each of these hotels offers a big complimentary breakfast AND most importantly each of them offers a free "manager's reception" each evening. The manager's reception is a light dinner with tea, juice, beer and wine in the evening. This cuts the price of our stay enormously, feeding our family of five is expensive. We almost always walk out putting down at least 40 bucks. And in stressful times, free wine for mommy can't be a bad thing.
  
• Each of these hotels offers a full kitchen complete with cooking implements, dishes, flatwear and a dishwasher. This is a huge money/sanity saver.
• The hotels I choose are "suite" hotels. This means that they have a living room and a Bedroom with a closing door. This way, the kids can maintain their bedtimes and not get grouchy. When its bedtime I can put them to bed and close the door, and be able to stay up myself without disturbing them.
  
• They also have to have a pool, and free WIFI internet.

So the Hotels I chose in order of preference are:

• Homewood Suites Northwest (Spectrum One)
• Homewood Suites North
• Embassy Suites I-10
• Embassy Suites International Airport
• Residence Inn Marriot/Medical Center North

And, since we can't forget our pets, I have put together a list of pet boarding options that are also on that side of town.

• VCA Castle Hills Companion (210) 492-5519‎
• Shaggy Dog The (210) 690-9179‎
• Pet Kennels‎ (210) 697-9585‎
• Ten West Bird & Animal Hospital‎ (210) 696-1700‎
• Babcock North Veterinary‎ (210) 690-6030‎