Happy Derby Day to everyone! Our state is full of Kentucky Derby festivities and celebrations today. As you can see, Lucy is ready in her handmade Derby hat. You can’t see it, but she took great care to detail it with BIG flowers and butterflies. Caroline has vowed to celebrate the day by “only drawing pictures of horses today.” If it weren’t for Caroline’s nut allergy, I would have baked a yummy Derby Pie, and had a great big piece of it for breakfast, to get the day off to a great start. I decided instead to save my sugar splurge for whatever yummy treat Shawn and the kids decide to surprise me with tomorrow. (Hint hint.)

Okay, on to the real topic of today, my new, 3rd job. (Job #1 is my household, #2 is Bitty Bows, and this makes #3). As if I NEED a new job…or any more chaos in my life. Sometimes I think I am a glutton for punishment. Here is a little, brief background…

Pre-children, I started my career as a nurse. I worked in the pediatric ICU, and loved it. I began having children, and cut back to part-time, but kept my foot in it. I never expected my baby hair bow company to take off the way it did, afterall I did not spend years in school, and earn two degrees, to be a professional bow maker! It has become quite successful, and it allows me to not need to work as a nurse. I had even told close family and friends, “After we move back to KY, if I even talk about going back to work as a nurse, please stop me!”

We don’t need me to go back to work, and truthfully, our lives run much more smoothly when I don’t have the extra element of an employer. I do not have a desire to get out of the house, and it is not about needing a break from the kids (although some days going to work is easier than being at home!) Truth be told, I simply couldn’t let go of my nursing career. I worked so hard establishing my education and career as a nurse, and to not continue it in some capacity made me feel like I was wasting it. When I was considering this job, the human resource representative told me, “I think you are making a wise decision, to keep up your nursing. I have seen so many moms who took several years off from nursing to be at home with their kids. Although that is an important role, when they decided they wanted to go back into it, I have a harder time placing them than a nurse straight out of school. They say to me, ‘But I had 10 years of experience,’ but the managers are saying that is too old, and really doesn’t count much. The medical field is changing too much to take a long break, without having to start over.”  The idea that a *very* part-time job would allow me to stay current on my nursing career, was the final straw in my decision.

Shawn was quite hesitant when I first suggested it, but all of my concerns seemed to be relieved. Long story short, I decided to accept a two day a month pediatric Emergency Room nursing job. Seriously, TWO DAYS A MONTH, and I get to pick those days! How lucky am I?! It will allow me to stay current…keep up my nursing license…maintain my nursing skills…and do a little GUILT-FREE shopping!

All of that rambling, to say that my life is about to get really, REALLY crazy for a short while! The hardest part about this job will be the training phase, when I will be working closer to full-time hours. I will be starting in the next week or two, dependent on when my license finally clears for KY. I have done my best to prepare for this short phase of my life, when I will be juggling motherhood, household duties, making hair bows, and training for a new job. After about 6 weeks, it will settle down tremendously, as I’ll begin only working a couple times a month.

In the meantime, I have done my best to prepare for the crazy times. I have:

• Stockpiled my freezer with easy dinners. (Pre-marinated meats to throw on the grill, homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade mac and cheese…)
• Put Papa John Pizza’s number on speed dial!
• Packaged dozens of sandwiches for lunches in the freezer. (Not only do PB&J freeze, but I discovered I can freeze turkey and cheese sandwiches too! Just leave off the condiments and veggies. The day of, I throw a little spinach on it, and send Shawn to work with a packet of mayo.)
• Coordinated childcare. Mine and Shawn’s mom came to the rescue!
• Tried to mentally prioritize what is most important…facebook, email, and blogging are not at the top of this list. I am trying to find a better balance of these social networks and real life, and draw firm lines between how much time I spend on each.

Over and over I have reminded myself (i.e. peptalk)  that this is just a temporary chaos, and that I will be glad when it is all over. I may not be around Carrot Top Mom as much over the next 2 months. I won’t be totally blog negligent, but will aim to post once a week. School will be out soon, so I certainly will have pictures to share!

Speaking of pictures, here are a few recent ones, to end this post…

After weeks of rain and severe weather, this was a beautiful sight. God’s promises don’t change, and this was a beautiful reminder!

Lucy talked for weeks about “Muffins with Mom”, a little celebration at her preschool. It was a truly special morning with my sweet Lu. The best part was when she said, “Mom, I am not even excited about the chocolate chip muffins. I am just excited to have you there with me!” Lucy is my foodie, so this was BIG! I thought she was trying to butter-me-up, to ask for something, but she actually seemed sincere!

Little man has been begging for gum like his big sisters. I recently started telling him he can have it while sitting down, buckled in his highchair. This is such a big deal to him, and he LOVES gum so much, he will sit at the table for over hour, chewing the gum. Sometimes he will do puzzles or color, but other times when I offer activities, he refuses. “No, just want to chew gum Mommy!”

We celebrated Shawn’s grandfather’s birthday recently. I don’t have a clue what birthday it was for him, I just know that he is “OLD”! I also know that he is an amazing man who taught his grandkids so much!

Every now and then, I try to get over the fact that my kids’ clothes might get a little dirty, and I let them play in the rain. Ideally, it is not when they are wearing dresses, or at a family function at someone else’s house, with no change of clothes. It is usually best to avoid these spontaneous adventures when my niece and nephew have on brand.new.outfits, but every now and then I try go against my normal restrictive judgement. It has been raining for days, and the kids just needed a dose of fresh air. There is just so much fun to be had when they aren’t worried about getting muddy or messy, but 99% of the time I am instead yelling, “Don’t step in the puddle!!” Today, after several days of rain, we decided to get out and take a look at a new waterfall that had formed. One thing led to another, and they ended up playing in the mud by the end. The pictures tell the story much better than lengthy words. As I look at the fun they had, I wonder why I don’t let them do this more often!

The kids were intrigued by the creek and waterfall that had formed in the backyard. They probably spent 15 minutes just throwing sticks in it, and watching them float down the water. This was actually what got us outside…it was not intended to be a mudfest from the beginning.

The cousins found a few log “stages” to dance on.

Everybody JUMP on the count of three…clearly, Little Man chose not to follow directions. Not a surprise.

After several minutes outside, the kids were already pretty wet. I told them they could jump in the puddles if they wanted. Notice Caroline’s reservation, and look of questioning on her face.

Caroline has always been very particular about cleanliness. As a 1 year old, one of her first words was “dirt”. She would crawl around, handing me pieces of “dirt”. She does not like getting dirty!

Checking her boots, inspecting them for dirt…

Uh oh, she thinks she got a little drop on her sweater…

This is where it all went downhill…Clearly, Caroline thinks Avery had a poor choice of judgement!

When Carter is focused on something, he always sticks his tongue out…

“Dis okay Mommy?” “I wet Mommy!”

Notice my nephew laying in the mud. About 10 seconds later, he informed me that this was a brand new shirt. I’m so sorry Melissa!! I do hope it washed out…

Who can make the biggest splash??? I love this picture, as it captured the moment perfectly!

Uh ohhhh. Caroline got wet. She doesn’t understand that is part of playing in puddles. As I tried to reassure it that it was okay, she screamed, “It is NOT OKAY!!! I’m all wet! I only wanted to get my rubber boots wet!!!” I remember an identical reaction the last time they went puddle jumping. “

Yep, this was last year…same cry, same reason…she didn’t want to get dirty and wet!

I *somewhat* convinced her that everything she is wearing is washable…

I later found out this was also a new outfit. Double oops…In my mind, I was thinking that we would just throw it all in the wash as soon as the kids were done playing. I probably should have checked with their mommy first!!

I am glad to see he is concerned about cleanliness…he is washing his hands in the puddle.

She finally got into it, a little.

Besides Caroline’s expression, this may have been my favorite moment. Carter found another puddle to jump in, and insisted that he needed to take off his waterproof shoes. I sometimes wish I knew what goes through his 2-year-old mind, that he would feel the need to remove his shoes, in order to jump.

He looks up to his big cousin, and wanted to be just like him…I wish I had a picture to show you his sagging diaper, which repeatedly made his pants fall down!

They all got stripped down and hosed off outside (I wish I had pictures of that!!), and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the dirt comes out of my niece and nephew’s new outfits! I can’t remember the last time they played so hard, and went to sleep so quickly at bedtime!

We are in full Easter swing this week, excitedly awaiting fun times with friends and family this weekend. We are hosting lunch after church on Sunday, so I have been trying to be as prepared and methodical as possible. Truth be told, I am a terrible last-minute procrastinator. Don’t believe me? Perfect example: In college, I started writing my 20+ page senior thesis the day before it was due! Need another example? How ’bout the time we were moving the day after Christmas. Since I refused to spend my holiday in boxes, I did not pack anything until moving day. I prefer to say I work best under pressure, but really it is just pure procrastination at its worst. Somehow I usually manage to pull things off, with the help of coffee, but saving things until the last minute can prove to be quite stressful…and poor Shawn usually gets the brunt of my wrath. It is a character flaw I have tried to improve, but it will help you understand why the following accomplishments and early preparations are a REALLY BIG deal to me!!

In the past two days, I have finished my shopping, prepared a huge batch of homemade macaroni and cheese, a crockpot overflowing with mashed potatoes, 2 different types of cupcakes (which are now in the freezer), and I have done prepwork for a couple pies. I made and shipped all my hair bow orders that had any chance of arrival prior to Easter (apparently I am not the only one who procrastinates, but I love my awesome Bitty Bows customers anyway!) I will have a few things to do on Sunday, but nothing too big. I am determined to relax and enjoy the day!!

Today has been a productive day, especially thanks to a sweet friendship between Lucy and our little neighbor Avery, who play so nicely together. They were begging to play, beginning at 7:30 am. Both little spitfires, absolutely full of energy. Together, they run sprint from one activity to another, playing well and entertaining one another. Don’t let their sweet smiles and girly flower headbands fool you. It is a little concerning what mischief these two could get into over the years! I just love it that Lucy has a friend in our backyard! Aren’t they cute little friends?!

When Carter saw the girls getting their picture taken, he insisted, “Take my picture too!!” This grin melts my heart, over and over again!! 

They were eager to “help” me in some of my preparations…

It was a battle. They simply couldn’t resist eating the coconut and frosting. I turned my back for 2 seconds, and found a couple mini cupcakes that looked like this. Can you see the triple finger dips?

Of course, what kind of hostess would I be if I served cupcakes that had fingerprints in them?! Furthermore, what kind of mom would I be if I rewarded their disobedience by allowing them to eat the cupcake they had just attacked? The only logical solution…

I was excited how this batch of cupcakes turned out. I can’t say that it was an original idea, but it was easy and fun for the kids to help with! I made coconut cupcakes, frosted them, and immediately after frosting  covered them in green coconut (just coconut with a few drops of food coloring.) Add a few robin eggs or jelly beans, and it is an adorable and tasty Easter treat!

Caroline has been asking a lot of questions about the Easter Bunny lately. A few days ago, I found a little note she wrote. It read: “To the Estr bunny. I want to no who you relly are. I hop you have a lot of braks. I love Estr. I want alot of candy this year. I love you so much. Love, Caroline” After a little discussion, she explained to me that she thinks the Easter Bunny is really a person, dressed up as a bunny. She was particularly amazed that he hops all over the world…hence her concern that he gets a lot of “braks” (breaks). Although I truly want them to appreciate the real meaning behind the holidays we celebrate, I am not quite ready for her to realize that there really isn’t an Easter Bunny, or Santa!

This is how Caroline greeted me after school today. This has to be one of the cutest projects they have done in class! I was quite impressed. She said she wants to wear it all weekend, including to church on Sunday. Cute as it is, we will refrain from wearing it to church.

Of all the activities the kids have done over the past week, my favorite was “The Story of Easter to Share” that Lucy’s preschool class did. I have seen similar projects that call them “Resurrection Eggs”. Each of the eggs is filled with an object, which symbolizes part of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It is very simple, so simple that Lucy is able to go through each egg and tell me about it. I love the expressions and details that she shares, as she holds up various objects, telling me the Easter Story in her own words. She says with great excitement, “It was a stone SO BIG, that it too ONE HUNDRED men to put it in place!” If anyone is looking for a last-minute Easter activity, this link does a good job of detailing the supplies etc.

All this talk of procrastination reminds me that I should probably close my computer! I hope everyone has an enjoyable and fun-filled Easter weekend! I am thankful for the Hope that this weekend brings to me.

John 11:25-26
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.