white cloud stitchery: Not Me Monday!!! (and also confirmation that we are alive and well)

We are alive and kicking in the Nelson home, in case you were wondering! I've been a little blog-quiet, and since y'all were flooding my inbox just beggin' me to write a post, I pulled up my boot straps and dusted off the ol' mac-top. Here I am. You're welcome!

Come to think of it, the whole flooding-my-inbox-beggin'-me-to-write thing could possibly be a sleep-deprived hallucination, I'm not really sure, but still- you're quite welcome ;)

We have been kept pretty busy with 3 children wanting to make the most of every splendid summer day, and a newborn that makes every trip quite the excursion.....and speaking of excursions, we seriously might need to get one of those bad boy's because our Expedition is barely enough room to pack our kids in with equipment.

Wait, what was I saying??? My thought process is one big string of tangents lately. I start telling Jeremiah that we need baby wipes, and before I finish the thought, we are discussing what Floridians did before the invention of the air conditioner, and debating if ice cream from an ice cream maker at home is really better than Cold Stone.

Okay, back to Not Me! I am focused. Ready to spill.....

I used to be a tried and true Huggies buyer. Then, child #3 arrived and my wonderful friend Carrie introduced me to Target diapers. I was hooked. They worked and they were loads cheaper than Huggies and Pampers. So, with Evie, we bought a few packs of Newborn diapers before her arrival. But the hospital had these new Pampers, with an awesome little stripe that turns BLUE when there is moisture (aka, pee). Really, I get how silly this is, because whenever you check a baby's diaper, it is almost always full of something, making the blue line sort of pointless. So, it was NOT me who was so wooed by this thin blue line that I loaded my cart with packages that cost $2 more than the Target brand we'd been using for almost 2 years.

On a day out last week, it was NOT THIS MAMA who started whimpering and crying when I realized that not only had I forgotten to pack the changing pad I keep in my diaper bag, but I was also fresh out of nursing pads. The tears did NOT start spilling about the same time my milk did. So, it was NOT me who was walking around the Town Center, head down and cheeks red, with two rapidly spreading spots on the front of my shirt.

Like most of the east coast, it is BLAZING HOT here right now! Like super-duper, suck-your-energy-out, sweating-buckets kind of hot. But you know me- I'm super woman, and I don't let a little off the charts heat index change my plans or slow my family down. It sure WASN'T ME who listened as my kids asked me to go on a bike ride with them, only to wait for them to finish and say 'What about candy and a red box movie??' NOPE!! NOT ME! I would never encourage indulging in a little couch potato action over some good, healthy exercise.

I did NOT milk this c-section for all it was worth while my husband was home on leave. I certainly have NOT used it as an excuse to avoid: changing Jack's diapers ('he's too heavy too lift, honey....'), pick up the kids toys ('I really don't think I should be bending, babe'- said as I have my hand over my incision), and going outside to feed the cats (I don't think I offered an explanation for this one- I just walked away quickly as he was saying something about them being 'my' cats).

In the past week, I did NOT spend some time drafting up a post titled "WHY I WANT TO GIVE MY HUSBAND'S SQUADRON THE MIDDLE FINGER, by Shannon N.", but subsequently deleted it when I read it and realized it was in bad form.

We did some shopping in Target while my mother-in-law was still here with us. She had the big kids, Jeremiah and Jack were picking up diapers and wipes, and Evie and I were shopping for baby wash and other necessities. When I was all set, I walked over to the toy section (where my mother-in-law was spoiling the heck out of my children). I saw Tyler and walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. The boy all but jumped out of his skin, paused a moment and then breathed a sigh of relief. This is NOT what he said : 'Oh, that's you Mom! I didn't recognize you with your hair out of your clip.... I thought you were a stranger, cause your hair was down.'

Finally, today was first day with my brood of 4 with no one else around to help me. My husband called me a couple hours ago to say that he had to fill in for someone and would be flying late-- after being at work since sunup. I am up to the task and strong as can be, so it was NOT ME who whimpered 'Okay, we'll be fine' into the phone, while silently giving myself a little pep talk and going over the local restaurants that deliver in my head!

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Now, some pictures: