Spring Break 2011... through Tuesday!

Spring Break in Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools this week has proven to be an exciting one thus far. We woke up Monday morning to none other than SNOW. I mean, REALLY? SNOW? It's almost April for goodness sakes and I can't think of a worse surprise than snow during Spring Break in North Carolina. Last week it was beautiful and 80 degrees. GEEZ! AND... to top it off, we're moving this week. Nothing like a week of snow... and rain... and moving for Spring Break. Gone are the days of bikinis, umbrella drinks, warm weather and staying up all night for a week of fun. (well I still stay up all night, but that's thanks to Tee - not Spring Break!) Now, Spring Break is a totally different kind of fun - at least this year! Whew...

Today I threw (literally) the kids in the car at approximately 4:48pm in an effort to make it to the post office by 5:00. I HAD to get two documents in the mail and well, I haven't been the most punctual person as of late. I've been a little more passive about things that matter and a little less passive about things that do. Um... not a good thing for this Type A gal! Anyway, back to the story. So the kids and I make it to the post office just in time. We attempt to go to the grocery store, but OOPS! I forgot my wallet. Silly me! Oh well, back home after a phone call to dear hubby to stop by and pick up the groceries. On the way home, I overheard the girls start arguing. While I clearly heard my mother's words in the back of my head, I tried to listen quietly. What my mom would have said at this point was "Girls! do you know how lucky you are to have a sister? I would have given anything to have a sister growing up. I know that you may dislike each other right now, but one day you'll be best friends. Quit arguing!" If she said this once growing up, she said it a million times. We'd roll our eyes and she'd just smile that arrogant smile... knowing good and well that she was right. That's probably one of the reasons that God gave her three girls :) While I continued to listen to the bickering, I let them solve it on their own and within minutes the giggling ensued and life was all good again for the Butler girls.

My reason for this story is because as CeCe and Patterson were giggling, I fast forwarded to the future and thought about how one day THEY would be best friends. (at least I hope they will) I also thought about my own sisters and how many days I wish I had them to ride around in the car with me. I'd never ask for a movie, I'd never argue with them, I'd just BE... oh and there would probably be lots of giggling...not probably, more like belly rolling laughter. It's funny how when you're little, you take things for granted like riding around all day every day with your sisters, but the older you get, long for those days again. I keep the words of my mom close in my heart because once again, she was right. I AM lucky to have sisters and we ARE best friends. I'm thankful God allowed me to give that gift to my girls and today was just one of many days that I realized it.

Thursday's Surprise! - My missing CHILD!

Today was an ordinary Thursday filled with errands, packing, etc. It was a great day until approximately 4:30. Patterson had been sitting with me helping me file paperwork, giggling, telling me that she was my bestest "baby girl" when the phone rang. It happened to be Archer... he asked me to check the mailbox for a document we were expecting from a neighbor (we're in the midst of closing on our house... details to follow in a later post). I checked the mailbox... no document. I continued to talk to Archer for another 30 seconds while I made myself a glass of tea. After hanging up the phone, I called for Patterson. No answer. I ran upstairs calling her name... no answer. I ran back downstairs continuing to call for Pat Pat. Still... no answer. I repeatedly ran through every room of the house hollering for Patterson. She refused to answer. I started to panic. Where in the world is my child? My bestest baby girl? My heart is sinking at this point because, well... I CAN'T FIND MY CHILD! I walked outside calling her name to no avail. Deep breaths... deep breaths... it's only been two minutes, Missy. She couldn't have gone far, I tell myself. About that time I hear giggling through the yards and what do I see? You guessed it! Sweet Patterson had made it to one of my best friend's houses and was jumping on the trampoline with her big sister and other friends. The only way that I could tell that the little oompah-loompah (her nickname from Aunt Kacky) was there was because my sweet girl was wearing (picture this) neon bright floral knit leggings of turquoise, lime green and pink with a navy and hot pink (sparkly) leotard. I mean, how can you miss that?

I took a HUGE sigh of relief and called Archer in tears. OMG... you will not believe what Patterson has done. She disappeared and walked two houses down BY HERSELF and is now on the Murphy's trampoline. Archer knew how distraught I was and simply asked if "I" was okay, especially now that we knew that Pat Pat was safe. While I wanted to haul my fanny over there and jerk her off of the trampoline, I calmly took it for what it was worth and had a LONG talk with her once she and CeCe got home about "NOT" leaving the house without asking Mommy or Daddy first. I mean honestly, what 3 year old does this? Geez, she's a precocious child ;)

This is not the first time that Patterson has ventured out... just this past summer she decided to travel across a main roadway (4-lane road) at Wrightsville Beach July 4th weekend right by herself and had to be returned by a person who stopped to help her. Homegirl was ready to go swimming in the Intracoastal in her diaper. Mind you, she did put on shoes before her journey. What else does a girl need besides a diaper, sandals and pacifier? (known to the Butlers as a Popi-pronounced poppy) Everyone else thought that Patterson was in someone else's care. (there were 8 adults in the house for goodness sakes). I was beside myself and cried for over an hour thinking about what could have happened to her... kidnapping, drowning, hit by a car... the list goes on. I'll never forgive myself for what happened that day and realized how quickly your child's life could be taken from you. I thank God every day for keeping her safe and out of harm's way and for the kind people who stopped to help her. Things could have turned out much worse.

Today was another one of those days. My Pat Pat is a wanderer. She wants to be where the party is (no clue who she gets that from) :) I don't think I'm a bad mom... in fact, sometimes I think I'm a little "too much", but I'm glad she was safe then and I'm glad she's safe today. The panic you feel when you cannot find your child is unexplainable. Guess I'll have to up the ante and keep a monitoring device on her from here on out - like her wedding day. :) Golly, I love that child, but man does she make me worry. I can only imagine what life will be like in fifteen years. God, help us all!!

It Won't Be Like This For Long...

So... my last post was discussing the early arrival of my sweet babies. I wish I could say that yesterday was "Easy Like Sunday Morning", but unfortunately, it was not. My sweet baby boy graced me with his awakening at 5:00am instead of 5:30. Wow! Thanks son... Mommy really appreciates the reprieve. However, I know all too well that Moms don't get breaks. We start work when the babies arise and go to bed well after they do. It's just part of the job - the underpaid job. As I sat in the den giving Tee his bottle, I couldn't help but smile at his sweet face. It was just a little under six months ago that he graced us with an early arrival. He now weighs well over 16 lbs. and is in one word, a chunk. A big ol' chunk of love! The girls did sleep later... or at least I think they did. I told them that they couldn't get out of bed until they saw light outside :) - my father in law helped me with the bribe by promising to take them to Krispy Kreme if they slept well. (Thanks Jimmy!) He made good on his promise and took the girls to breakfast with their cousin, Jack, and I sat back and had some cuddle time with my early bird.

When the girls got home, life began again and I spent much of the morning getting my money's worth of the Keurig. Archer got back into town late afternoon and I took full advantage of a much-needed nap! It was the perfect rejuvenation for me and I was ready to go again...

Last night as I laid in bed, I thought about the Darius Rucker song, "It Won't Be Like This For Long". How true the lyrics are! While I'm overworked these days and underpaid in my profession, I have three healthy babies that make my days brighter with their laughter and joy. I don't volunteer as much as I used to, I don't socialize as much as I used to, but these little ones make my world complete and fill all other voids and I know that... It Won't Be Like This For Long... this phase is gonna fly by so I'm going to savor every minute of it that I possibly can!

A Day of Suprises!

Oh WOW! What a week it's been! Busy... busier... busiest! I was blessed to have my baby sister, Mary Lanier, and my super cute nephew, Wells, come stay with me for a few days and help me "purge" some belongings. I've said it before and I'll say it again... "I'm not a hoarder... I just like "stuff!"" We had the best time talking, gossiping, laughing, catching up, laughing some more, drinking cold beer in the late afternoon and wine until the wee hours of the morning. We solved most of the world's problems along with my dear cousin-in-law, Mandi (she was the babysitter while all of the purging was occurring and an awesome one at that). I am so blessed to have not one, but two sisters... and I might add... a great sister in law. (I also got to spend the afternoon with her today and my precious nephew and niece, Jack & Anna). Like I said, it's been a great, busy week full of family and I loved every minute of it! Seriously!

So... for my day of surprises! My dear hubby is out of town on his umpteenth guys' weekend of the year (it's only March, by the way!). Just kidding, but he has been gone two out of the past three weekends on a guys' getaway. (Dear God, in my next life, can I please come back as Archer?) :) Mary Lanier, my baby sis, and I stayed up "nipping" a little into the late night and came up with a strategic plan for world peace. We solved my problems, her problems and everyone else's problems. It was great, lemme tell ya! Needless to say, 5:30am was a tad too early for this Mommy! The bad news is that my darling three children didn't get the memo. (sucks to be me!) ha! Patterson cried out at exactly 5:28am. I dragged myself into her room, picked her up and carried her to my bed. "Shhhh! It's still nighttime, Pat Pat. Go back to sleep." She cuddled up beside me, we both closed our eyes and then I hear Tee crying through another monitor. I try giving him his paci to no avail and bring him into my bed as well. The three of us snuggle up together and I have a great feeling we're all going back to sleep, but SURPRISE! The door swings open and in walks CeCe. Seriously??? You have GOT to be kidding me! It's 5:40am and all three of my children are awake and staring at me. Okay... I'm exhausted and really want to pull the covers over my head and tell the kids to go downstairs, fix a Pop-Tart, watch Disney Junior and leave me alone. Oh, and if it's not too much... please fix Tee a bottle and give it to him. But then I think to myself, I'm one lucky Mommy. I have all three of my babies cuddled up next to me, fighting over who can be the closest. It may be "before" the crack of dawn when my "surprise" wake-up occurs, but there will be a day, many years from now that I'll think of this morning and wish I had it back. Therefore, I got up, brushed my teeth, pulled my hair back into my signature ponytail, put on my ol' faithful workout clothes and headed to Biscuitville! (the really good part of this story is that Wells and Mare were already awake, too) The Dillehay sisters needed some grease and the kids were all too pleased! Goooooood Morning Winston-Salem!!!(picture Robin Williams).

While I thought my morning wake-up would be my biggest surprise of the day, little did I know I had one more big surprise in store. YAY! I found out that a dear friend of mine and her awesome husband are expecting a baby! Ginna and Tyler are expecting Baby Van Zandt in late September/early October! Ginna grew up in the same hometown as me and was the first sitter that I entrusted with my precious firstborn, CeCe. She kept CeCe the weekend that Mary Lanier and Graham got married and she actually kept CeCe the day that we had Patterson! I was honored to be a part of her wedding as well. She and Tyler are so special to us and I know that they will be the very best parents in this world. This baby is going to be super lucky to be gaining such a wonderful Mommy and Daddy! God Bless You Both and that sweet, sweet baby. I can't wait to meet him/her and I'm tickled pink and blue. Love you both! Now I just have to figure out a way to get to Alaska... Hmmmmmm!(PS: Did I mention that my mother has known this for "months" and hasn't breathed a word to me? Dulcie, kudos to you for keeping a secret! :))

So, that's been my day of surprises! Hope tomorrow has just as many in store... but I'll gladly pass on the 5:30am wake-up call! GEEZ!

Home!

Peace - that was the other name for home. ~Kathleen Norris

This past weekend I headed home for my sister's wedding. What a wonderful weekend we had! Kat and Johnny were the happiest wedded couple I've seen in a long while. It was so fun to be with my family as well. I'll be sure to post more about it in days to come (but want my sweet sister to get home from her honeymoon before she is flanked with pictures she hasn't even seen yet via technology)

I arrived home Wednesday night after traveling in horrendous downpours the entire way, making my 2.5 hour trip turn into an almost 4 hour trip. Whew! I was so glad to put the car into park and my shoulders and knuckles were also pretty thankful. I was also so glad to be HOME. Of course, I got to be the only child for the night as I'd left the hubby and kids in Winston for the evening. Upon arriving, I got hugs from Mom & my stepdad/Dad #2, John and was quickly whisked upstairs to see my newly decorated room. (it's actually the guest room, but I still call it mine) It's so peaceful and serene now - just what this Mommy needed. I find Mom rummaging around for a bit and she says, "oops. I almost forgot" then gives me a bag full of "surprises". She's always so good about giving little sercies :) And believe me, I'm so grateful for them all! (and also thankful for my baby sister that helped pick them out)

After chatting a little longer and going over the duties of the next few days, I took full advantage of sleeping alone and crawled into bed. I can honestly say that I slept better that night than I have in a LONG, LONG while. Was it because I was in bed alone? No, not quite. I did miss my husband. Was it because I was away from the kids? Not really... because I missed them, too... not the monitor(s) so much, however :) I can tell you that I slept well because I was at HOME. I was able to let my guard DOWN and let everything go... responsibilities, worries, to-do lists, etc. It's just something about being in a house with your parents that makes you feel like a little girl again. Sweet dreams were in store for this chick! (and thank goodness they were because homegirl lost many hours for the next few nights! and it's going to take me weeks to make up for them!) HA! - and I'll also post a small sneak peek from the weekend :)

Happy Monday! and Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Johnny Westmoreland! Love you Both!

Going to the Chapel...

For me, I can honestly say, one of the times I've been the most surprised was the day that Archer proposed. It was March 16, 2002 and we were at Wrightsville Beach with his family. Archer and I arose early and went for a nice walk. (those who know me know that I must've been on some health kick at the time as I am not an avid exerciser) We came back to the house, showered and got ready for lunch. At about the height of my hunger, Archer's mom (Ellon) asked his sister (Maggie) and I to ride with her to look at a friend's new condo. To myself I thought, "you have got to be kidding me"! But...being the nice girlfriend of her son, I obliged and off we went. Little did I know we were going to the new condo, the "end of the island", to get ice, to get beer, etc. etc. etc. and then "back" to the house to get the guys (Archer, his dad (Jimmy) and his sister's boyfriend, Chris). Ok, I am suffering from pure starvation at the point, slightly delusional and thinking "why in the heck can't the guys meet us at the restaurant?" This is absurb!

We arrive back to the house. Ellon & Maggie head/RUN/make a mad dash upstairs. I lag behind a little (what is wrong with them?)... remind you, I'm STARVING! I make it up to the main level of the house and have a seat. I'm overly frustrated at everyone's lack of urgency and continue to stew to myself, all while giving Archer the "EYE". About that time, Archer gets up (and I'm like, thank GOD! FINALLY!) and walks across the room. He picks up a card and starts walking towards me. I'm not giving it much thought... assuming it's just something he wants to show me, etc. He hands the card to me and it reads... "I was just wondering... (open card) if you'd let me love you forever and ever. Okay?" Well, dumb me, as I'm reading the card, remembers that it's an anniversary for us (dating anniversary... you know, you know... you keep up with that kind of stuff when you're dating), but when I finished reading the card, I looked up and he was on one knee. (totally thought he'd been squatting beside me) I honestly can't tell you a thing that he said to me as he was proposing. I was in such shock and disbelief. At some point, he asked me to marry him and I hugged him, kissed him and hugged him again. He finally asked, "well. is that a yes?" Obviously, I said yes and so very thankful to this day that I did.

The day was great as there were more surprises in store for yours truly! Not only did his whole family witness our engagement, but my mom and stepdad, John, were upstairs looking down and had videoed the entire thing. It was incredible! (the reason for the excessive excursion around Wrightsville was because my parents had gotten stuck in traffic and were running behind!) Mom and John joined us and the party broke loose. We had a few bottles of champagne followed by an afternoon of "celebration and cheer". It was an absolutely perfect day minus the fact that I never got lunch! :)

My reason for this post is because my sweet middle sister, Katherine, is getting married this weekend. I remember the night that she called to tell me that she was engaged. She and her fiance, Johnny, had gone to Nashville for a weekend getaway. When he popped the question, I honestly think she was just as surprised as I'd been nine years earlier. I have never heard her more excited (and surprised) in my life! Her joy was contagious! We're so excited for the "celebration and cheer" this weekend, for Johnny to become an official member of the family and for the Westmorelands to begin their life together! Let the festivities begin...

I dreamed of a wedding of elaborate elegance,

A church filled with family and friends.

I asked him what kind of a wedding he wished for,

He said one that would make me his wife.

~Author Unknown

My "ORIGINAL" first post... circa March 2010

OKAY... so, this was supposed to be my first post!... a year ago!!

What am I thinking?

This whole blog thing is very new to me... I've always wanted to start a blog, but never had the time... still don't have the time, but decided to do it anyway :) I named the blog "A Life Full of Surprises" for many reasons. Let me begin by saying... I LOVE surprises. I am the child who still believes in Santa Claus and always asked him for surprises. I never tell my husband or parents things that I want because I want it all to be a surprise. (this doesn't always pan out in my favor either - ha!) However, I still love the surprise. Birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, etc... I never snooped... still don't. I get so excited about being surprised and just as excited about surprising others. I had several surprise birthday parties growing up... my husband surprises me all of the time... my mom still does little things to surprise me. Love it all!

Surprises are not always good... my parents divorced when I was in high school. My mom and sisters moved to Greenville, South Carolina when I left for college. My dad got sick... BUT through it all, SURPRISE!, I inherited two wonderful step-parents whom I love as my own as well as a new home in Greenville!!!! Luck of the surprise!

I went to Meredith College and met my husband when I least expected, um seriously LEAST EXPECTED it... what a nice surprise! I moved to Winston-Salem (away from my family) and love it here... another great surprise, especially being that I was homesick until I was a senior in college :) I got pregnant unexpectedly with my first daughter - SURPRISE!! I had a hard time getting pregnant with my second daughter - not such a good surprise :(

Needless to say, I've had a lot of surprises and lucky for me... they keep on comin'!! We have been blessed with yet another surprise... we're expecting a new Butler in November. Were we trying? Heaven's NO! Is this totally unexpected? ABSOLUTELY! But we're thrilled with our new surprise and can't wait to meet our new bundle :)

Like I said... I love surprises, more now than I ever thought I would! I'm blessed with my health, my truly remarkable, "not so little" growing family, excellent parents, entertaining siblings, loving in-laws and amazing friends! I look forward to all of the surprises that life has to throw my way! Bring 'em on...

stay tuned :)

I think I can... I think I can.... I think I can!

I started this blog a year ago, but obviously failed at getting it started. I'm gonna give it another whirl and try my best to keep it up :) This post is kind of a cheat because I wrote it for my sister's blog a few months ago. However, I think it will suffice as a good start. Here goes!

Why Did God Only Give Me Two Hands? (posted 1.26.2011)

I’m so excited that I was asked to be a guest blogger this week. While I attempted to start my own blog about a year ago, I quickly realized that I was not going to be able to keep up. In fact, I never even got past my first post. So… there it sits, “A Life Full of Surprises” calling my name ever so frequently, in hopes that one day I’ll decide to tackle it once again.

You see, the name “A Life Full of Surprises” came from my love of surprises and was going to have its initial post announcing our newest surprise… Baby #3! My husband Archer and I thought we had finished our family. We had been blessed with two beautiful little girls, CeCe and Patterson (endearingly nicknamed Pat Pat). Being one of three children myself, I had mentally played tug of war for months wondering if I wanted a third child. Archer on the other hand… DONE! I had prayed about it daily and asked God for an answer. I finally thought that He had given me the answer I so desperately needed and decided to move forward with birth control. I made a doctor’s appointment and was set on GO… no more Butler babies! That is until the day before my appointment, I realized that I was a few days late and may need to take a pregnancy test. I knew for sure that it would be negative… why wouldn’t it be? SURPRISE… two lines! God has a sense of humor!

Almost a year later, we now have a precious baby boy… Tee! He made his grand entrance into this world six weeks early (Surprise!) and spent the first nineteen days of his life in the NICU. Once he arrived home, I quickly realized that life with three was simply insane. I had been told that going from two to three kids was going to be tough, but I didn’t heed the warning. I would be fine… just fine! And we ARE fine, but every day is a challenge with three kids. Time to yourself is few and far between… time alone as a couple is a distant memory. There is never enough time in the day to get everything accomplished and I’m convinced that I will never “catch up” again. I have found myself thinking recurrently, this is why God only gave me two hands… to care for two children. Not true! I’ve learned that I can juggle! (a true talent if I do say so myself!) I can change a diaper, make a sippy cup of juice, read a book and wash clothes all at the same time (not really, but kind of). I can also manage to fit all three kids on my lap while giving Tee a bottle and watching Toy Story 3. God only gave me two hands, but he gave me a heart (and a lap) big enough for three!

I love my children more than life itself and couldn’t imagine it without Tee. I still manage to fall more in love with Archer every day… not necessarily for the romantic trips, flowers and gifts like it used to be, but for the excellent father he is to our babies. I’m blessed each day with this crazy, hectic life and wouldn’t change it for the world! I would, however, take that extra hand if given the opportunity!