This is my happy place:

Before you judge me too quickly, let me explain.  This was taken yesterday, which was Sunday, the day of rest.  So by laying in bed with the kids and PeeWee and watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, I was simply obeying one of God’s commandments.

In all seriousness, this is my happy place (well, one of my happy places).  I love, love, love laying down for a nap with the kids in the afternoon.  On the days we do have the opportunity, I take it!

This post is in response to the Weekly Photo Challenge from The Daily Post.

…and it is also part of the #Write31Days writing challenge! I’m knocking out two birds with one stone…or two challenges with one post, you could say! Click the image below to see the rest of my posts for #Write31Days.

We have had a really great day at the Watkins’ house today.  It started out really rainy and dreary but turned out to be very beautiful.  We made it to Bible study this morning and had a great time and learned a lot, as usual.  Did you guys know that while Jesus’ body was in the tomb for three days after his crucifixion, he was actually going around doing things like talking to the demons in Hades?  I found that so interesting and am definitely going to look into that some more.

Also, we looked more into the actions of the disciples and the Mary’s after Jesus’ crucifixion.  The Mary’s were all up at his tomb with their embalming spices and were so upset that someone has stolen his body, when really he had been resurrected.  Even after spending so much time with Jesus, they still couldn’t grasp that he would and had risen from the dead!

After Bible study, I treated Charlie and Maddie to a special surprise.  We stopped by Pet Smart, and I would like to introduce you to the newest addition to our family, Goldy!

Charlie and Maddie each picked out a little decor for Goldy’s new abode!

Goldy is actually green, but we have been reading a book called “Goldy the Goldfish,” so that name stuck.  At first Charlie wanted to name him Power Ranger Fish, then Spiderman Fish, so I am happy with Goldy!

While Maddie was napping, Charlie and I made a bunny.  I found this project on Pinterest and it uses a toilet paper tube as the base, but I used a butter container because I didn’t feel like going through the recycling for a toilet paper tube!  So lazy!  Here’s the original link:   http://www.alannageorge.com/2012/04/04/how-to-toilet-paper-tube-bunny/.  Here’s ours:

Our bunny.

Then, we made Resurrection eggs.  Charlie was supposed to make some in his Bible study class this morning, but his teacher was sick so they didn’t do it.  They won’t meet again until after Easter, so I decided to go ahead and make some.  I found some instructions online at this wonderful site: http://dressesandmesses.wordpress.com/2009/04/10/resurrection-eggs/.  Guys, this was so easy to do and the Resurrection eggs have just been so wonderful.  You can make them with things you have around the house, and you can easily change any part of the story to make it easier for younger kids.  Charlie and I have been through them 3 times today, and he has learned so much already!

Our Resurrection eggs.

Charlie could hardly wait to start opening them up!

Grandpa brought some ice cream by.

Opening up an egg.

I didn’t plan on taking a really long weekend but on Thursday my phone rang while I was sitting at my desk. I immediately recognized the number…….daycare. I figured they were just calling me to inform me that Emma had fallen down and bumped her head. Yes, they call every time she bumps her head or has green snot. I’ve never seen this elusive green snot but it appears at daycare from time to time. Back to the original story……apparently Emma had some kind of infectious diarrhea. This meant she had to go home and couldn’t come back to daycare for 24 hours. Thus began the 4 1/2 day weekend. I’m just going to point out that there are several reasons that I am not a stay-at-home mom.

1. We can’t afford it. We need two incomes. This just is what it is.

2. I love my job. I’m good at it. Not that I’m not good at being a mom but I’m not good enough to do it all day, every day.

3. I need a break. I need several 8-9 hour breaks, five days per week. I need these breaks to stay sane. I don’t just need these breaks from Emma. I need these breaks from John too.

Emma was fine except for the diarrhea so she was crawling around and playing and she expected me to do the same. I can’t handle this many days with no break. I’m tired. I need a nap. Emma doesn’t take naps. She won’t let me take a nap. What 10 month old doesn’t take naps??!!?!

I can’t even write anymore tonight. It is 9:30 and I’m going to bed. In the morning I’m going to wake up and go to work. It will be like taking a vacation.

Well, it looks like we made it through the winter!  It was a tough one. Being inside with the kids all of the time is REALLY difficult, so I absolutely rejoiced when we were able to dust off the swingset and get back to the park. 

One thing that was s hard about the winter was that we were all so sick.  I was just bragging to Jason right before Christmas that none of us had had so much as a runny nose for the ENTIRE YEAR, then boom, we were all sick with one thing or another for two months!  Towards the end of February I told our nurse over the phone that they just needed to call in some antibiotics for Maddie, becasue if I had to come into their office one more time they were going to have to write me a Valium prescription.  Thankfully, they just called in some antibiotics!

As always, Jason is the one of us who didn’t get sick.  When I came down with the stomach virus that Charlie was just recovering from, Jason said, “You’re joking, aren’t you?” He really thought I was.  I think he would rather have been sick than me!

Also, Charlie stopped taking a nap.  We moved him out of his crib into a big bed, and he just would not stay in that thing for a nap!  Now, you all know from my earlier posts how much I value naptime, so this has been a big adjustment for me. 

I did just want to share a GREAT idea that I got from my sister-in-law Bethony.  Instead of spending tons of money on bedrails to keep Charlie from rolling out of bed, we used swimming noodles.  We just slip them under the fitted sheet and he sleeps snug as a bug!

So, we made it to Spring.  We are looking forward to going to the beach, playing on the slip-n-slide, grilling out, and just being outside.  Now I have to go get ready to go to the park!

Jason and I have talked about getting a pool and having a whole outdoor kitchen for a couple of years.  Now that Charlie is here and is ready to go, we just couldn’t hold out any longer.  After discovering on Friday morning (procrastinators that we are) that there was not an empty hotel room on the North Carolina or South Carolina coast, we decided to go for it. We got up Saturday morning and went to Wal-Mart, where we bought a ring-pool.  This is a pretty big swimming pool, 16 feet in diameter and about 3 feet deep, that holds itself up like a big balloon.  It is in the backyard so no passer-by can see that we virtually have an above-ground pool.  Jason had to take it all the way to Rednecktown, getting out the plastic chairs and strategically placing them around the pool, along with a card table.  I had to stop him when he started planning the deck he wanted to build around the pool. 

No matter what others may say about us, we love our redneck pool.  I spent Charlie’s Memorial Day nap floating around, reading the latest copy of Southern Living.  Jason flew around the pool on his lawnmower, waving every time he went around. It was redneck heaven. 

Charlie has only been in once.  Perhaps I am a bit skittish from his first dip in the pool when he flipped his float over and I almost jerked his arm out of socket trying to get him out of the water.  Then there’s also the sunburn factor.  I mean, how do you other mothers stop worrying about your precious babies new, perfect skin?

I definitely need to pray that this pool doesn’t move me in the opposite direction from my quest to the like the Proverbs 31 woman.  Nowhere in Proverbs 31 does the Proverbs 31 woman lounge in a swimming pool.  Where am I going to fit this into my schedule?