A whole post about the best store on earth

A lot of people say they love Target, but I really mean it. I love that store. Bigtime. Clothes for me, clothes for the kids, toys, housewares (my favorite), and a built-in Starbucks.

We are now farther from that beloved store since our move on base. This is good for the wallet, but...not good for my frequent Target cravings. Just walking around the store makes me happy (weird?).

Yesterday I made the 30-minute trip. It turned into a 40-min trip because traffic in Ft. Walton Beach is insane. On top of that, Jude screamed the whole way. There are two things that throw Jude into an automatic temper tantrum: riding in the car and getting dressed. Even to change his diaper, you have to lock his arms down with your legs or else he will fight you and roll over every single second.

I doubted my  decision to take Jude as soon as the screaming started. Andrew had asked me to take one kid with me and he would keep the other (I think keeping them both at the same time terrifies him more than anything else sometimes).

But...it worked out. Jude's fellow infant friend Ava was there with her mom, my friend Erika. It was girl time (plus 2 babies) and Target time. Double win. When Erika and I were pregnant last summer we would go to Target together, walk around with our Starbucks and have girl talk. It's like a tradition now.

As always, we laughed and had a great time. Our crabby babies were pretty darn good for 1 1/2 hours of shopping, too, thanks to lots of baby snacks and squishy toys.

It's a relief to have a great friend in a new (not so new anymore, but still kinda) place. Erika is the first friend I made here - I met her in a facebook group before the big move and picked her up for pregnant yoga class. We can buy "women of color" hair products together and it's totally ok...and hilarious. Too bad the shampoo did not help my hopeless hair.

And now I will wrap up this very long post about Target. The end.

The top tooth that has ruined my sleep and nearly ruined my patience has come in!

By the way, the corned beef turned out yummy (Maddox ate more than Andrew!) and we actually fit the pool into Andrew's Celica. That...along with great girl time and a package in the mail from my Mom...made my Wednesday a darn good day. 

It's St. Pat's at My House Today

I'm cooking corned beef -that delicious Irish treat- for the the first time today. I'm not sure if I'm doing it right or not. There are so many ways you can cook that big hunk of meat. I'm trying the crock pot. My house smells good, but the meat isn't red like it is supposed to be. Hmmm. I guess we'll see if this is a good idea or not when dinner rolls around.

I've been trying to cook more...it's hard with a demanding toddler and teething baby, but it's worth it. So far I've accomplished all the meals I've wanted to cook this week and now I'm onto my next goal: get a toddler pool for the boys.

This is a big deal. The boys want to spend all day outside, but in the Florida sun? No thank you. A toddler pool will be a refreshing break for ALL of us (yes I'm pretty sure my behind can still fit in a toddler pool...let's hope). I want one of those hard plastic ones with the built-in little slide. End of story. The problem is...we don't have a truck to haul it. Determined to the end, I visited Home Depot and Lowes (I had heard you can rent trucks from them) but nope, that was a dead end. None of our good friends have trucks either. I started considering Uhaul (yes, crazy BUT determined!) and then I found the perfect solution: a smaller version of my dream toddler pool at the BX on base. Can we fit it in Andrew's Celica? (Hey don't laugh. We've gotten two Adirondack chairs in there and a dresser!) We shall see tonight.

If all goes well, we will have a yummy dinner and a toddler pool in our backyard before the sun goes down....

He has re-discovered Lady and the Tramp after we finally unpacked our very last box

Hint: Mother's Day is almost here. I am on top of my game this year and both my mom and Andrew's mom have their gifts on the way! Andrew wanted to know my favorite flowers (can you tell he is not a flower-buying kind of guy?) and I quickly assured him I'd rather have a snowcone machine. Really. I crave them this time of year and I always think back to my childhood Charlie Brown snowcone machine with the best of memories....and then I laugh because I remember Mom had to crank it over and over to get the crushed ice out. Thank God for more modern snowcone machines ;)

Dear Blog, I Forgot About You, but I'm Back

I sorta forgot about my blog. Not really, but kinda. Things have been busy, busy and we've been on the go - a lot. But, this blog is not dead, and it will be back in business SOON!

The boys and I survived our flight to and from SC, we had a blast there, and now we are back in Florida enjoying good times with MiMi and Grandpa.

I was laying out by their hotel's pool the other day (about ten minutes from our house) and I felt like I was on vacation. Palms blowing, that beach smell...and then I thought, "Wait, I live here."

That's not a bad deal.

Oh oh! And date nights! It's so nice to go out to a fancy dinner with no babies. I love my babies, but not at The Melting Pot. That was an experience meant for Andrew and me only! What a fabulous place. I have no idea what took us so long to try that place. It is pretty much heaven in a fondue pot.

...

So, other than being on the go nonstop (it seems), what else have the boys been up to? Maddox can recite his ABCs, he is fully potty-trained and the default 2-yr-old answer of "no" to everything has become: "I can do it."

He thinks he can do everything (including pull my hair, crank my car, dress himself, and pick up Jude). 

It's hilarious and annoying at the same time.

He has the biggest heart, though, like tonight when Grandpa shared his chicken noodle soup with him and then Andrew teased him that he had eaten all "Pa's" food. Maddox talked about it until he went to sleep. 

"Pa's sad. He hungry. I ate all his noodles."

I tried my best to convince him Pa was ok and not starving to death but nope, he wouldn't give it up.

And Jude...oh goodness.

He is a grown man trapped in a 7-month-old body. He learned to sit up, crawl and say "dada" in a matter of 3 weeks. He refuses baby food and demands YOUR food. He is the biggest sweetheart and the biggest fireball rolled into one little chunky body.

It's so exciting to see these tiny babies that can't even hold their heads up when you first lay eyes on them growing and constantly changing and becoming little boys with their own personalities... the days are passing quickly and I'm trying my best to hold on.

Maddox is very attached to his sunglasses

Jude and his big bottom chompers

(I'll try to fill in the gaps later with posts about our journey to SC, time there, Easter and of course MiMi and Grandpa's visit.)

TGIF

I  got a good laugh today when I tried on the "miracle push-up" bra at Victoria's Secret. Enough said. But, seriously, I needed some girl time and today I got it. Sometimes that can make all the difference in the world. Andrew kept the boys and by the way - the cat is out the bag: he got the early promotion known as "Senior Airman Below the Zone." This basically means he will go up a rank 6 months early. He is going to look mighty fine in that uniform with another stripe added!

This will probably be the last post for a week (or two). I'm going to be super busy this weekend getting everything ready for my trip home to SC. I fly out Monday (alone with the boys!). Either they are going to cry and scream and I am going to get lots of nasty looks...OR...Jude is going to pass out, Maddox is going to LOVE flying and sit quietly eating his zillions of snacks that I pack and it all goes smooth as butter.

Time will tell.

Anyway, I'm glad it's Friday and I'm really excited to see SC's beautiful face again :)

Jude is a little concerned that Maddox has been let loose in his territory. 

Jude: What is this goofball doing?

Oh no, he's coming for me! Help, Mom!!

Destination: CROCS

Jude is practicing standing skills...

...as well as his sitting skills and his pick-up-a-Cheerio-and-put-it-in-the-mouth skills.

On Sunday, Andrew had a great idea: let's go to Destin (we had been talking about getting Maddox some Crocs there) through Niceville. Since we live on base now, the toll bridge through Niceville is supposedly closer to Destin than our old 98 route. But...neither of us had ever been that way. I was hesitant.

"Do you know where this toll bridge is?" I asked.

He assured me he did. 

"It's right after First Choice Buffet."

Oh God not THAT place. Bad memories for me...if you recall a previous post....

So...we drove. 40 minutes. Jude screamed. We saw trees. And some more trees. I knew we were in trouble when we passed a hole-in-the-wall restaurant with this sign:

"DIRECTIONS TO DESTIN: $5"

Well, long story short, we did find the toll bridge and we made it to Destin (just don't ask how long it took us).

We experienced the giant Bass Pro Shop. They had about everything outdoorsy you could imagine (hey, camo bikinis anyone?) but no Crocs for Maddox. We checked out these big scary fish and Maddox was not a fan. 

"Gee2 scared!!!"

He preferred the park in the middle of all the shops. Hey, it does look pretty fun. Tunnels, slides, water shooting out the ground...it's a kid's dream come true.

Can you spot Maddox???

The trip ended with smoothies and pretzels (we are such fatties) and no Crocs for Maddox. Turns out, the Crocs don't fit his feet right so I guess we are sticking to the Target brand!

Don't you just want to kiss him a trillion times?!

We took the old route home. 

I like it better anyway. 

A sunset and endless blue water...I love you Florida.

Hello Beach, I've Missed You!

Today, Jude saw the beach for the first time! Andrew dipped his little fat feet in the cold water and no sir, he did not like that at all.

The lack of sunshine didn't stop us. We thought twice about it but decided it was time for beach weekends again. Now swimming...that will have to wait.

Taking it all in

Come on, Dad-ay! (There is no such thing as laying out when you have a Maddox and a Jude)

Man talk

Mmhmm, something to eat! I live to eat!

Beyond exhausted, but this kid REFUSED to nap. He's a trooper.

I even tried the tent and the bottle, but no way, he wasn't catching any zzz's at the beach.

Daddy tried too, but no luck.

The cold water gave him the extra kick he needed to stay awake.

The I-am-fighting-sleep-and-plan-to-whine-nonstop passed and he was a happy boy again.

Daddy cuddles

The guys :)

Look Jude I can jump! Haha!

He was mesmerized by the sand.

Jude Finally Got Him Some Real Food

My 6-month-old has WAY more attitude than my 2-year-old. When he's good he's good. But when he's bad...well...you know how the saying goes. He is convinced that he's the same age as Maddox and can walk, talk, eat everything in sight...and when that doesn't happen, he pitches an out-of-this-world fit. His back stiffens, his face turns bright red and then the screaming begins...and it becomes so loud I often think, "Has Maddox ever thrown a fit like this?" I don't think so. I have no idea what I'll be dealing with when Jude is two, but we're taking it one day at a time!

The worst of his tantrums involves food. If you eat in front of him - even if Maddox has his sippy cup - Jude starts protesting and tries his best to get some. There have been countless times when I've had him in my lap and within a half second he's managed to get a chip or a cookie or salad leaf into his mouth. Fast. And fiery. That's my Jude.

Tonight Andrew told me about this buffet in Niceville that we needed to visit. First Choice was the name. He promised it had a little bit of everything. Well...as soon as we pull up (after a 20-min ride of Jude screaming nonstop from the backseat) I see in big red letters "SUSHI BAR. CHINESE."

"Is this a Chinese restaurant?" I asked with suspicion.

"Yea but it has lots of stuff," he assured me (again).

And yes it did have a little bit of everything...Chinese! It was a Chinese-lover's paradise. Sushi was everywhere I looked (gag) and other yucky things...like clams and "mystery meat." Chicken? Not so sure about that. I gave the food a shot but I swear everything tasted just like banana-flavored sunscreen.

First Choice Buffet would be my last choice! And on top of that, Jude started cranking up. I had assumed this "little bit of everything buffet" would have sweet peas or mashed potatoes, but nope...so I had to let him nurse a string bean and feed him banana pudding and ice cream (because of course he wanted NOTHING to do with his bottle). I think the woman across from us (who kept staring at me as I tried my best to keep Jude quiet...was I THAT entertaining?) was judging me for feeding a 6-month-old ice cream, but oh well. This mama was desperate! What a night, I tell you. I guess Jude enjoyed it though....

my little wild hog, who tries to eat anything and everything