We are going to be late.

A couple of months ago I started having Friday morning coffee dates with some of my cousins who live in town. I jokingly call it our Tulsa coffee tour because we have been hitting up a new coffee shop each week. After we all drop our kids off at school for the day we meet up for coffee. Life is so busy for everyone and we have a tendency to get stuck in our routines and not stay in touch. We live in the same city and we can go months without seeing each other. Our Friday morning dates give us an opportunity to see each other, catch up, laugh and stay connected--no kids, no pressures, just time to be. Some weeks we can sit all morning, other mornings we are only able to carve out an hour, but it is always time well spent. This morning we met at Foolish Things Coffee Company located at 1001 S. Main Street in Tulsa. I have lived in Tulsa for thirteen years and have never been here. It is near the Tulsa Community College downtown campus and was busy for 9am. It is an open area with lots...

#3 is a free spirit, to the very core. He is the most loving, kind and creative child you will ever meet. He also likes to wear dresses, play with dolls and wear makeup. I let him. I let my children make choices for themselves and be individuals. As with all my children we have a "no makeup if we are going somewhere, and no makeup to school" rule. This is never a problem. As a parent I let my son wear dresses. I also let my daughter ride a skateboard, I let them go days without showers sometimes, they eat junk food, I vaccinate and medicate, we see a chiropractor, my nine year old probably knows as much about sex as some adults, I sometimes let them ride bikes without their helmets, they can play outside without me, I probably let them have too much screen time, and watch too much TV. My list could go on--I am not a perfect parent. But, do you know what the thing I am questioned about most on that list? I let my son wear dresses. We have had neighbors ask my other two childre...

By 8:24 this morning I wanted to start my day over. The past 24 hours have been a roller coaster of extreme emotions. Last night the Dudes came home from karate and I sent them upstairs to shower and get ready for bed. In our upstairs bathroom we have 3 towel hooks for the Dudes to hang their towels on each night. The hooks are a little high for them to reach without a step stool, so I keep a step stool under the hooks for them to use. After #2 got out of his shower we heard him start screaming. Initially Mr. Mayer and I both thought that #2 and #3 were fighting because we could hear #3 yelling. Then we both realized that #2's cry was a little different. Mr. Mayer goes upstairs and before I could blink I hear Mr. Mayer exclaim "OH SHIT!!" Um....that's bad. I run upstairs, with the kitchen towel, because for some reason in my panic I thought a kitchen hand towel was needed. I don't know. Anyway...running upstairs. I get up there and #3 is jumping around in a pani...

Good Tuesday morning everyone! I could use some happy this morning, how about everyone else? Tulsa, the place that I love, is a pretty tense place right now. My social media sites are filled with a lot of unhappy things right now. I figure we could all use a smile and a good laugh. Right? I wanted to share with everyone the culinary experiment that has been happening at my house recently. I am busy. I have a "crap ton" (according to some) of kids, a husband, a job and an endless to do list. Dinner was slagging lately, and we had been existing off of cereal and ramen. I saw something on TV about a website and app called Gathered Table ( www.gatheredtable.com ). *This is not a plug or sponsored post. This is just a I love it post, but if they want to sponsor me I will plug the poo out of them.* I went online and checked it out. They let you sample their site for a day to see if you like it. Of course I did, duh. That's why I'm telling you. This site has dozens of rec...

We have been infected around here. So far, just three of us have gone down. I'm hoping it stays that way. I have to say though, we are fairly healthy around here. I better knock on wood! We all started seeing a chiropractor three years ago (maybe 4?) and started taking multivitamins and probiotics. Prior to that it seemed like one of us was always sick. We have knocked our average down to maybe twice a year, maybe. #1 hasn't even had strep throat in two years. Before she had it twice a year. There was a good solid four years she had strep throat on Halloween. That's just torture for a kid. So, back to my initial statement. We've been infected. Ugh. It all started last Tuesday....I picked the kids up like usual after school. Everyday when I pick the kids up #2 runs as fast as he can to me with his backpack on backwards. It always makes me smile. Tuesday he didn't run. He barely trotted, but his backpack was still on backwards. He gets in the vehicle and is coughing...

It's a long established fact that I have 3 kids. I try to forget this fact from time to time, but it's unavoidable. Traveling is something Mr. Mayer and I have always liked to do. We don't let having kids hinder that. However, there are some logistics involved when traveling with kids that you don't consider when traveling alone. Mainly- survival . How on earth am I going to survive a long trip with my kids?! When you travel alone (or in my case with Mr. Mayer) you pack your bag and saunter to the airport. Flight delay? No problem! Long flight? No problem! I have a book/Facebook/Internet/Etc. Traveling with my children that first concern is packing. I have learned that staying somewhere with a washer and dryer is essential. Especially with 3 kids. Being able to do laundry during your trip cuts back on the amount you have to pack immensely. We recently went to Disney World and stayed at Animal Kingdom Kidani Village. Our room was equipped with a washer, dryer and sma...

Pranking in this house is an expected occurrence. It is as normal as sarcasm around here. In fact, if someone does not try to prank you, there is a problem. Except, do not prank #2 because he cries. Especially if you honk the car horn at him. He is totally down to prank someone else though. So, yesterday was just a normal, ordinary day around here. School, work, dentist appointment after school.....blah blah blah. The kids have a really fantastic dentist and they love going. It is never a struggle to get them there. After their appointment they always get to pick a toy off the shelf. One of the boys ALWAYS picks a whoopie cushion, and then both boys spend days pranking people with it. Yesterday was no exception. On the way home the boys came up with an idea to prank Mr. Mayer. I think what makes the boys pranks so hilarious is that they are so bad at pulling them off. Their idea to prank Mr. Mayer was just as bad as all their previously ones.  Here's how it was going to go dow...