Magic Solution

Would you pay $90 for this...


What's in it you might ask? I can hear my dad saying, "It better be gold". No, but the #1 most useful product to a mom of 3. Cleaning solution. A salesman came to the door and showed me a jillion uses for it. He cleaned rust off the driveway, a spot out of the carpet, the sides of my tennis shoes... It can be used as windex, laundry detergent, stainless steel cleaner, you name it. You dilute a small portion (40-1) with water and you have a truly all purpose cleaner. But what sold me on it was that he took out a sharpie, drew a line on a towel, sprayed the cleaner on and it came out. Hopefully, I'll be set on cleaning products for the next several years.

Getaway weekend

We've been busy. Take it from me, when a house burns down, there's lots of (for lack of a better word) crap that has to be taken care of. They are starting demolition today. They are now taking it down to the slab and rebuilding. That's good, I wouldn't buy a house that had a fire, now it will be a new build.

Our friends, Adonis (yes, that is his real name) and Hayli, got married this weekend.

So we left all the kids (1st time we've left Brooke overnight) and drove to Table Rock Lake for the wedding. Hayli was the most beautiful bride, it was a wonderful wedding plus we got to hang out with all our old friends from school.

Luckily Timmy married within my circle so I had a friend there too, but even if I didn't these guys are always fun and don't "censor" their stories or actions in front of me. I can take it...I did grow up with 3 brothers. Walking through the hotel the first night there, we got chased down from someone who thought Wade was Wes...which is not uncommon. I don't know, I just don't see it (other than their both shorter than the other guys, same build, bald, etc...).

Just for them

I was feeling like I had been neglecting the kids a bit with everything that has been going on so I decided they needed some special attention. I was pretty concerned about how Brooke would do, but I took all THREE to a movie. We have this theater in Jenks that plays 2nd run movies (matinees) for moms/caregivers and their children. We saw Ice Age and surprisingly we got to stay for the whole movie. I had told the kids that if Brooke acted up we'd have to leave, but she did great. We had a couple of cries, but the great thing about it is that this movie is filled with little kids and the theater is never quiet and nobody minds if there is a little talking/fussing. Brooke is such an angel...so laid back and content, just an angel baby.

The next day I took all THREE to the pool. Now, I'm dreading every minute of this. Riley and Cade are used to the big pool. But I explain before we go, we have to stay in the baby pool because I don't have enough arms to hold everyone in the big pool. We had a blast. Cade and Riley played tug-of-war with Brooke in her inner tube. Riley had her mission to pick up every rollie pollie and try to unroll them (poor things). They wanted in the big pool, but they were very good about not whining about it.

I guess its just like anything...you have to just do it. I used to wonder how I'd go to the grocery store with 2 kids...you just do it. Same with three. You don't have any other choice. You just get it done.

Saturday I devoted completely to the kids. I didn't pay bills, run errands, clean house, check email or any other normal day task. I did call my best friend Christy, but it was her birthday and I called during the kid's naps...but that is the only thing I did for myself all day (and I took pictures to scrapbook later, so I guess I did a couple things for me) . We just hung out and played together all day. Wade was in "the City" (Oklahoma City for those non-Okies) for Adonis's bachelor party so it was just me and the kids. We ate donuts, played in the sprinkler, rented movies, ate popcorn, went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Not the most nutritious day...but a day they will remember.

FYI...Riley lost another tooth, Brooke got another one (both in the same spots that Riley lost hers in...kinda eerie.) Riley and Cade started gymnastics...not sure there's anything much cuter than a little curly headed girl in a leotard, except maybe a bunch of little girls in their leotards.

One more picture from the Lou...

One more picture from the Riverboat. Not the greatest picture, especially the 3 squinty ones in the back. But Mommy photographer is rarely in any photos, so we decided to buy this one from the dock. And the 2 little ones in front just looked too darn cute.

Whirlwind couple of weeks

Lots has happened at the Clark homestead the last 2 weeks both good and bad. So I'll just dive right in...
We decided to go to St. Louis for Memorial day and Wade was able to get Friday off, so we left late Thursday night and thought we'd have a nice solid 3 days there as opposed to leaving Tulsa Friday, have Saturday there, come back home Sunday which we've done a hundred times. Anyway, Friday morning we head down to the Arch and took a riverboat cruise on the Mighty Mississippi on an old paddle wheel boat (The Tom Sawyer)...you know, the ones we used ride when it was Field Trip day (or Tiger Timeouts...for my SC Friends reading this). Then after naps and met up with my niece Kate' and Annette and took the kids to see Shrek 3. About 20 minutes into it Wade stepped out of the theater never to return. Come to find out, one of our rental houses back in Tulsa was on fire. It was actually our old house, our 1st house, where 2 of our kids were born. It was 6:00 on a Friday of a holiday weekend so there's not much that could be done til Tuesday. So, that night we met my friends out in St. Charles and tried to forget about what was waiting for us when we got back to Tulsa. Had a great time with my friends...a little too much fun--proving once again you can take the girl out of St. Chuck, but you can't take St. Chuck out of the girl. Went to bed feeling fine, spent the next day wishing I had just one less drink. Our trip was cut short and we had to return to Tulsa much early than expected. By the way, the house is a total loss.

Other notables this past 2 weeks...Riley lost her 1st tooth! What a big girl...cannot believe it. But Brooke must have found it cause she's got her 1st tooth now! Cade got his summer haircut, which will hopefully grow out in time for Uncle Heath's wedding. Riley had her last day of school, the pool opened...how do you take 3 kids that don't know how to swim to the pool at the same time? I taken Riley and Cade so far, which I can manage, but I need pointers with the 3rd, I only have 2 arms. We started bathing all the kids at the same time. Brooke has until this point bathed solo, for her own protection...although crowded and a bit too rowdy for her at times, she loves every second of it. We all went to visit the famous "Big Blue Whale" which is a Route 66 landmark and about 10 minutes away from church. At church on Sunday, Riley and Cade learned about Jonah and the Whale so we though it'd be a great time to go visit (and in my 12 years here, I had only seen it one other time a few months ago on my way to the Claremore scrapbook store).I'm typing all of this beneath 2 beady eyes of Wade's latest hunt which is now mounted above my shoulder. It's kind of amazing to me that I have had 2 sconces that I have wanted hung for at least 4 months now and they are still not on the wall, but the very night this deer comes home it gets hung up. Hmmm? Reminds me of one of my favorite commercials which I am going to try to post here...

Today I ran over a turtle. I have seen more turtles on the road this spring than in the last 5 years combined. Today, last minute, I saw the turtle crossing the road and in an effort to miss him, I tried to swerve to have him between my tires when I crushed the bejesus out of him. I heard his poor little shell crush beneath me, I felt so bad about it I almost cried. And while my hand is still over my mouth in shock that I killed this turtle, Bohemian Rhapsody comes on the radio... "Momma, just killed a man, put a gun against his head...pulled the trigger now he's dead"...fitting song in that moment. Just enough to make me feel worse, until I remember karaoking that song with my friends back at 3 Frogs in college. Which really is a great song to karaoke due to audience participation.
Anyway, I digress...Hope everyone is enjoying their last few days of spring. It's hot here...but it is Oklahoma...that is what we expect here.