Pack it up, Pack it in

So Little Monster has been lurking around all week. Our Papa Monster, Clyde, was in Atlanta this past week on the new job site. This left Little Monster, Princess Poo and I to man the fort. The week started off pretty OK, Little Monster was unsure of all the packing and he laid low for a couple days. Now that all of his precious toys and treasures are under siege Little Monster is in attack mode.
How dare I pack up his toys? Even worse how dare I pack up the pictures from his walls? I can hardly blame Little Monster for being upset. Little Monster was a sad sight today, sitting on his slide crying that it didn't work. How can a slide not work? Well, because it was laying flat on the ground having been taken apart by Pop. What a sight, tears streaming down his face, snot bubbles in his nose, wailing that his slide didn't work.
Tomorrow I board a plane and take leave of Utah. Will airport security let little Monster through? Are horns considered dangerous weapons? Say a prayer, not so much for us but for the poor people we'll be sitting by on both our flights. Poor unsuspecting travelers. A mom with two kids sits next to them, we all smile, Tate coos. Twenty minutes into the flight Turner is ripping at his hair screaming about not wanting a new house and Tate has sprayed poop on everyone in a two row radius. Lord please protect the innocent.
I am sure we'll survive the flights. We'll arrive in Louisiana where my secret weapon awaits, Booyah. Turner will be distracted from all the chaos in his life once he and Booyah have time to play. I will get a sweet break and some rest before it all starts again.
I can not wait to see the house Pop picked out for us. Little Monster will be excited to inhabit and new lair. He may be swinging form the rafters, if I don't stick him in a box first. Wish us luck, we're about to start the second leg of our adventure. What wonders will Georgia hold for us? I look forward to exploring all the new places with Little Monster, Princess Poo, and Clyde tormenting me the whole way.

See you tomorrow

Denial is my thing. I plan to go on like nothing is changing, even though I'll be leaving Utah on Monday. I am still going to friends houses, staying, watching our kids play, talking, and laughing like my life is not about to be turned upside down. I am great at denial and I am comfortable using it to get through these last few days here.
God makes your heart grow when you have kids. Mine got so much bigger, not only for my children but bigger for all people. It is so much easier to look at a situation and place myself in it now than it was before baby boy and baby girl came into my life. Before T-n-T I was annoyed by peoples kids running around, now I know it's better for them to run than to cry. Before my dynamic duo being late was inconsiderate, now it's what happens when there's poop on Tate's clothes or we can't find Turner's bear. Before my two sticks of dynamite I was me and now I am one of you- the moms. I think that's why my heart grew so much, so I could give pieces of it away.
I have been having to say a lot of goodbyes today. I want to stay a little too long, talk just a few minutes more, get in all my time with you. How do I go through my day with out Becky calling to make sure I am not sleeping late, and who will call at five for the daily recap? What do I do on Tuesdays at ten if I'm not meeting Tyna to let Turner go on a date with his girlfriend while our daughters grow together in front of our eyes? If Janisha isn't next door whose tree will I sit under and comiserate with? Will Lindsie still call during nap time and speak in hushed tones to not wake the sleeping babes? Kaleb and Kira will be too far to ride the four wheeler over to race around the yard.
How will I get through my days? All of you are my days. You are the women I have depended on. Each of you have been with me through some great times and some really bad ones.
Becky I met you when I moved to Orem, two souls looking for a friend in a Chuck-E-Cheese. Sounds like a great country western song doesn't it? I love your wit, your sense of humor, and your daughter. You are my vacuum-er. You came and vacuumed my floor during the hardest time of my life. I had just had a miscarriage and was not handling the everyday life tasks, you came and helped. You helped me more than you'll ever know. You've helped me pack and you vacuumed again. You always know when I need to tidy up, not so much my house but my mood. You brighten everything that surrounds you, I love you.
Tyna you were my husband's "Work Wife", and we weren't even in Utah. I feel like we grew up together. Phoenix was a wild time. We had all of our kids together, even though "together" sometimes meant talking on the phone over thousands of miles. You know when to call. I am not sure if you know how much I love when your name pops up on the ID. You understand the lifestyle of construction. You know the moves come too often and the true friends are hard to find. I am so glad I found you.
Janisha you are my ice cream lady. One of the most meaningful gifts I have ever been given was a pint of chocolate ice cream with marshmallows and almonds. I had just started to miscarry. You didn't say the typical "It's for the best" you knew it hurt like hell and nothing about it felt like it was for the best. You let me be scared and mad, but you brought me ice cream. Nothing anyone could have said would have made me feel better, but knowing you were there was the best thing in the world for me.
Lindsey you are my Pampered Chef. I met you at a party, you walked in as fresh as a breeze. I loved talking to you from our first encounter. Every time I have red polish on my toenails I will think of you and I so pregnant it hurt, getting our pedicures together.
Kira you were my blind date. We got to know each other on mom's night out. I feel a close bond to you, something about going through a really rough time along with another person makes them forever special to me.
So I can tell you all goodbye if I type it. I can't say the words to you, I can't take the tears. Turner has been telling me that we'll see all of you again. He doesn't know how right he is. When he sings louder than anyone else I'll see Olivia Z. singing right there with him. When he says "Watch this" I'll see Olivia O. the dare devil. When popsicles run down his face and arms I'll see Dallan and Makye. When he's in a group of big boys playing rough I'll see Tyler and Kaleb. So I know with out a doubt I'll see all of you and your kids again. I love each of you beyond your understanding. So If I am a little short in our goodbyes, it's because I am only so strong and this is something I can't take. So let's just say I'll see you tomorrow...

Farewell Fry Sauce

I am getting ready to bid Utah farewell. When Brad told me that we were being sent to Utah almost four years ago I was less than thrilled. Who moves to Utah? I'm not Mormon, so I didn't want to come here. I had preconceived ideas about what life in Utah would be like and made up my mind that I wouldn't like here no matter what. Now I consider Utah my home and I have newly acquired family here.
Now three years and two kids later I am deeply saddened to be leaving. I have given birth to both my kids here. I have made some the best friends I could ever imagine here. The people I am leaving behind in Utah are the women I learned how to be a mom with. I have learned so much from each of them.
Not all lessons have been about raising kids, some have had a broader applications. Like learning that Mormons are people too. Just picking, but before I moved here I had never met an LDS(Latter Day Saint) person. Aren't they the people with ten wives? Don't they dress like Little House on the Prairie? No they don't have more than one wife and they dress really cute.
I have gotten to sit in all of my friends' back yards and discuss potty training advice, cold remedies, what store has which cereal on sale, how to make a two year old eat, and all the other mom topics of the world. Unbeknownst to me these sneaky Mormons have crept into my heart. I may not take the Funeral Potatoes recipe with me when I go but I will be taking with me a deep love for the people of Utah.
What other state in our nation has Fry Sauce? We all like to mix mayo and ketchup, Utah just has it already made up for your eating pleasure. I have met and actually befriended women who know how to grind wheat and make their own bread from it. Potato Pearls, who knew? I still say passports should be required to visit Utah, yes it is that different from any where else I have ever been.
My neighborhood is a modern-day Mayberry. I have actually walked across the street to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar. We keep a full stock of pop-cycles to give to the neighbors when they stop by to play in the front yard. Utah is as close to a hidden utopia as one can get. Maybe I'm partial because my son loves it here so much. Every morning Turner wakes up and asks "Who we gonna play with today?" We could be meeting any one of his ten little friends to do who knows what? Parks, hikes, Kangaroo Zoo, Artic Circle- these are some of the fun places we'll be missing terribly.
Yesterday Turner was at my neighbor Mr Tanner's house. Mr Tanner is in his seventies and one of the nicest people I have ever met, he's also high on Turner's friends list. Turner had chatted with Mr Tanner and his wife Mrs Masako for a few minutes and was ready to head back home, we walked in the house and he said to wait he wanted to shut the door. I let him, but before he shut it he yelled "Bye Tanner, bye Sako, I love you" My heart broke a little. How do I prepare Turner to leave his life long friends? It is going to be a really hard next couple of weeks.
Packing and moving are a breeze, hugging your friends goodbye for the last time is what is really hard. I'll call, we'll write and email but I will long to sit with them in and watch the kids play.