Panic!!

So today I think I deserve a Razzie award for Worst Mother Ever!  At least that is how I feel.  Let me explain.  My day started out just like every other weekday around this beehive.  I took Addy to the bus stop, it came and she hopped on and I proceeded to go to work.

I was really enjoying my day at work.  It was very productive, I was getting a lot of stuff done.  My boss even offered to buy lunch so I am thinking SCORE!!  I love Fridays!!

And then it happens...I get the dreaded phone call.  It went something like this...

Me: "Hello"

Caller: "Is this Mrs. Lura?"

Me: "Yes, it is."

Caller: "Mrs. Lura, this is the bus company and they are at your daughters stop and there is no one there to pick her up.  We can't let her off the bus until someone comes to get her."

Me: "What do you mean that there is no one there to pick her up?  Wait a minute, why are you dropping her off so early?"  As I look at the clock and see that it is 1:15.

Caller: "They only had a half day of school today."

Now this is the part where the panic sets in because I had absolutely no clue that she only had a half day of school.  And from where I work, it is a good hour drive home.

Me: With a quivering voice, "What happens if I can't get there in time to pick her up?"

Caller:  "I will just have the driver take her back to school."

I immediately hang up the phone and called my husband.  No answer.  And now I am starting to freak out.  I told my boss I had to leave and thank goodness I work for some amazing people who understand these kinds of things.

That had to be the longest hour of my life.  The whole drive I kept picturing Addy in the principals office, in tears, thinking we forgot about her, (because that is exactly what I would have done if I was her).  At one point I even started to tear up just thinking about it.  Unless you are a parent yourself, you cannot possibly understand what this feels like.  I even called my mom for some assurance that I am not crazy.  She politely informed me that this would probably not be the last time something like this happens.  This kind of stuff apparently runs in the family.  Thanks mom for making me feel better.

So I get there, park in the bus loading area and run into the school.  There is Addy, in the principals office, coloring a picture.  I run and give her a big hug and tell her how sorry I am and she just smiles and says, "It's OK Mommy, look what I drew for you."  She is so sweet and strong, and she deserves more credit then I give her.  I love that kid!

So after apologizing profusely to the principal and trying to not act like I just forgot my kid had a half day of school, we get in the car and go home. And we are both enjoying a quiet afternoon on the couch watching the Disney Channel and she is safe and sound and the panicky feeling is starting to go away.  In fact I am thinking that once Daddy and Reese get home, we all deserve a trip to the Dairy Queen.  Ice cream makes everything better!

Rain Rain Go Away

In case you haven't heard it has been raining here today.  All.....Day.....Long.  That is one of the strange things I have noticed about living in the east coast.  When it rains here, it rains all day long.  Did I mention that?  I think I might have....

But I have to say that I sort of enjoy the rain.  There is something to be said about listening to the sound of the pitter patter on your roof from the comfort of your own home, in your jammies, with a warm cup of coffee.

And then life happens and I quickly snapped out of my little dream to realize that I was late for work.  And once the rain decided to complicate my commute, I instantly despised it.  There is nothing that would make a pastor's wife curse more than having a gigantic semi-truck pass me on the way splashing a wave of water on my car, blinding me at 80 65 miles per hour.  (Sorry mom, but in my defense it is safer to drive at the speed of traffic than the actual speed limit.  At least that is what I told the State Trooper who pulled me over).  j/k

And it is still raining...through the night on into tomorrow morning.  I can only hope that there will be a rainbow at the end of this dreary day.  I am ready for some sunshine.  I am read to start digging in the dirt and to get outside.  But it is only March and I am getting ahead of myself.  So I will tolerate the rain for another day and hope that my commute tomorrow is free of any state troopers.

Can a blog have a theme song?

Because if it could this would be it.  Especially the part about honeybees.  I love it!  It is sooo me.  Well maybe not the video but the words are perfect.  Anyways, a shout out to Uncle Byron for sharing. You're the best!  Enjoy :)

Home Sweet Home

Over the weekend we officially moved into the new house.  It feels great to finally have a place to call our own and make it our home.  As I type this I am sitting in front of the fireplace.  The girls have gone to bed and I am enjoying some peace and quite.  I love it!!

The move went well.  With all the help we had we finished moving in 3 hours.  And when I say we, I mean the 10 big strong burley men that volunteered to do all the heavy lifting.  I just told them where to put it and made sure our little bees stayed out of the way.  It was bitterly cold and with 40 mph winds, it made for an interesting morning. Especially when you live on the side of a hill!  

We have yet to park in our garage as it is full of boxes however I am refusing to bring any of them into the house until we have gone thru them.  Remember one of my New Years resolutions was to make sure that everything had a place in the new house.  So that's my motto.  Nothing comes into the house until it has a place.  Plus it is a little motivation if my hubby ever wants to see his beloved garage again!  Wait, that makes it sound like I am holding the garage hostage.  Ok, well maybe I am. 

So the weekend was spent unpacking, cleaning out the rental, runs to the coffee shop (as I couldn't find my coffee pot) unpacking, setting up the new computer, rearranging furniture, unpacking, figuring out how to work the new satellite TV, making sure the little bees stayed out of the boxes, unpacking, finding the coffee pot and having a small celebratory party, and unpacking some more.  I am exhausted and enthusiastic all at the same time.  But even as my body aches for some sleep and relaxation, all of this is worth it.  Dorothy totally got it right.  There is no place like home.  And on that note, I think I hear another box calling my name.  

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

This is my grandfather.  In a few short days he will be turning 96!  Can you believe it?

He is the pillar of our family and the most amazing man I have ever known.  And over the weekend my family will be getting together to celebrate.  Although I can't be there my thoughts are with him.  So to honor my grandfather the best way I can with 1200 miles in between, I thought I would share of few of the things that he has taught me about life.

be creative 

As a young man, my grandfather and some of his buddies made a fake flying saucer out of old car parts and placed it in a neighbors yard as a joke.  This fake UFO looked so real that the FBI had to get involved.

 be mischievous

(see above)

the importance of public service

My grandfather served as mayor for many years of his small town, although he would joke that he got it because no one else wanted the job.  Somehow those qualities were transferred to both my father and my brother who have also served in the public sector.  Although I have no political aspirations of my own, I have a new found respect for those who do and the sacrifice and hard work that they put into it.

the importance of love

It is no secret that my grandfather loved my grandmother with all that he had.  I can remember as a kid, being taken back by the sweet things he would say and do for her.  I remember one instance in particular when my grandmother was in the hospital, we had come to visit and to take my grandpa out for lunch.  We didn't go far, only to the hospital cafeteria, however he wanted to stop at the gift shop before going back to her room.  I remember he picked up a small angel and he told me that he was going to buy, "an angel for his angel."  As a child, I was so moved by this sentiment that it still sticks with me.  It is always important to show the ones that you care about how much you love them.   

the importance of John Deere

As a farmer, you can never have enough of the green and gold.  From big tractors, to the small toy figurines.  They are as much a necessity as the air we breathe.

the importance of staying young

My grandfather loves his toys.  From his electric train sets to his signing birds and dancing politicians, he loves to show them off to anyone who is interested.  It is especially sweet to see the faces of my girls light up when he shows them his toys, and in return to see the sparkle in his eyes.  Whenever we would visit, he would always take my girls for a ride on his electric wheel chair up and down the hall and you could hear them giggle the whole way.  He is living proof that age is only relative. 

 Happy Birthday Grandpa!  We love you and we miss you!  Celebrate strong, and have a wonderful day surrounded by those you love.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend it.

I got nothin'

Ok its late... and I am plum out of words.  So I thought I would leave you with this cute little video of the girls from Christmas.  Yes I know it is Feb 1st but better late then never!  (Disclaimer: Chasing Honeybees is not responsible for the onset of motion sickness from watching this video - I don't have a tripod and it was shot using our regular camera.  Watch at your own risk!)

Sweet dreams everyone!

My little girls room...

In less than a week we will close on our new house.  The house is 4 years old and previously had renters in it, so all the walls are a stark white.  Needless to say, I am just itching to bust out a paint brush.  My imagination is running wild with all the things I want to do.  However, my pocketbook does not feel the same way.  But I keep dreaming anyway....

Moving into this house means that for the first time, our girls will NOT have to share a bedroom.  They are as equally excited about this as I am.  Nap time will be so much easier when they don't have a sister so close by to fight over toys play with.  But this also means that I am on the hunt for a kid friendly furniture that is both cute and not going to break the bank.  Addy currently has my old bedroom set from when I was a kid, but Reese is sleeping in a toddler bed and it is time for an upgrade.

So after much deliberation, we have decided that Reese will get Addy's bedroom set and Addy will get the new set.  (Don't ask about our reasoning behind this, there is just to much to explain and I will save you the boring details.)  So for Addy we have picked out this bed from Ikea.

I like the timeless look and with some fun colored bedding I think it will work really well.  Which brings me to my next dilemma.  Finding bedding that both Addy and I can agree on.

First of all, I might be a little particular in this area but there are a couple of things that I just won't do.  The first one is themes.  The kids outgrow them so fast and I have yet to find a theme that I like.  Sure, Addy would love to have a room with Princesses, or Elmo's but I just can't do it.  And sorry kiddo, but when you are old enough to start paying the bills around here you can do whatever you want, but until then I get the final say.  (Yikes, did that just come out of my mouth?  I am sounding more like my parents everyday...Scary!)

The other absolute no no is comforters.  I can't stand them.  I've had several in my life and they never kept me very warm.  Plus they are not very soft and squishy...not like a duvet.  Now that is something I can get behind! Or a nice quilt!  And I want my baby bees to be warm and comfy at night. So its either a duvet or a quilt.  That's what I have to pick from.

I will start off by saying that I love Potterybarn Kids!  There styles are soooo cute and fun.  There prices, not so much...but if money was not an object I would have grabbed up this set by now...

The only reservation I have is that its white.  And it will probably show the slightest bit of dirt really well.  But isn't it cute?  It's the right colors and everything.  But again, the pocketbook forces me to keep looking.

And then I found this set on overstock.com.  And when I saw the $53.99 price tag, I think my wallet did a little happy dance.  The colors are right on, at least from what I can tell in the picture, however I think it might be a bit to busy for what I want.  So the search continues....

After scouting out Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Land of Nod, Kmart, Sears, you name it I've looked at it, I keep coming back to PB Kids.  I can't help it.  I am just drawn to them.  And just this morning I found this...

It's cute, it's simple and its on sale.  Score!  But her sister has polka dots on her bedding, and I want their rooms to be different.  Sigh...  Am I ever gonna find the right one?  What do you guys think?  I need some advice.