Inside Out - Lisa Rugglesa thousand times I’ve failed, still your mercy remains

Yesterday was a long day, fun but long. The girls and I were running around taking care of last minute details for our new house. It was extremely hot and humid. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I asked Brad (it is so weird referring to him as Brad, we never call each other by our first names) to spend time with the girls while I jumped in the shower and relaxed for a bit. By 9:15 he had them in bed and joined me to watch TV.

There were a lot of thunderstorms coming in and you could see huge bolts of lighting. Then they began posting Tornado Warnings. I hate Tornados. Especially being in the 3rd floor of a hotel. I have been know to make Brad and the girls get in the car and drive in the opposite direction of sightings.

As we were laying there, all of sudden, the fire alarm in the hotel went off. The loudest, most unbearable noise I have ever heard, along with crazy flashing lights. At this point we didn’t know if it was fire or tornado. We are in the room equipped for hearing impaired people, so even more than normal flashing lights and noise.

The girls were freaking out, Brad and I quickly grabbed keys and the girls to head downstairs. We found out that lighting had hit the fire system and set off the alarm. The fire department came and it took them a good 20 mins to get everything turned off. We drove around in the van with the girls. Emily was crying and begging us to go to a different hotel.
It was quite the adrenaline rush! It took us all quite a bit to get settled down. Here we are AFTER the fact.

This was definitely one of those times you throw out the no “family bed” rules!

It took the girls about an hour to finally give in to their exhaustion.

During the night, I woke up quite a few times thinking the alarm was going off. Emily woke up in the middle of the night totally disorientated. She was walking around in circles and crying. I was about to get up and I heard what sounded like an elephant peeing. She was standing in the middle of the hallway and totally let it all go! Poor thing! I have to admit, I was really glad it wasn’t our new carpet.

When was the last time you had a adrenaline rush?

We were so excited to have Uncle Jay and Aunt April for the 4th of July. Chloe and Emily gave up the pull out couch and we all fit nicely into our hotel room. We had a great time!!! They were the first “company” we have had in three months, since our home sold. I miss having friends and family over.

Waiting for the fireworks the girls had fun playing frisbee with Uncle Jason……..

hamming it up with Uncle J

and then the rain came, that’s ok we like to huddle under one umbrella…..

The rain stopped just in time for the fireworks, they were some of the best I have ever seen! We sat in traffic for an hour, even that part was fun.

Little people fell asleep before we could make it home…

Saturday morning we walked over to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. ALL Ruggles LOVE Cracker Barrel. There were many times during my pregnancies that I “lost my Cracker Barrel.” I mean puked.

It has taken me 8 years of marriage to actually be able to sit down and be enjoy a meal there. I always get the same thing, grilled chicken tenders. Can’t go wrong there!
The girls love to play checkers…. haha I mean, you can play with Emily, IF you play by her rules!

and off to the pool for more fun!

Brad couldn’t resist throwing April in…..

Paybacks……

and then the chicken fights began……

Even though we only had them for 24 hours, it was packed with fun!

Jay and April, thanks for coming to visit us!

Last week, Emily was quite upset with me. She hates the idea that we eat birds of any sort. Thanksgiving we had a complete melt down when I pulled the turkey out of the oven. She insisted that I put the head back on and let it go. Plenty of drama in our home.

(click here if you can’t see the video)

I couldn’t resist grabbing the camera and capturing her attitude. There is one part where I asked her something, but if you listen, you can hear her call me a “birdy eater head.” I almost lost it with laughter!

What crazy quirks do the “little ones” in your life have?

I woke the girls up at 6:30 AM yesterday morning so we could drive 2 hours to Fort Wayne. We stopped at Kroger to pick up snacks for Chloe. She is on a dairy-free, gluten -free diet. That is an entire post in and of itself. As we came out of Kroger I started to see the apprehension in her face but she was still staying strong. When the bus arrived she found a friend and locked hands. It made my heart melt.

Chloe and her pals!

As I watched the bus pull away with my baby in it, my eyes misted over. I see my girl growing up. I know this is only the beginning of allowing her independence. I started thinking about the first time we leave her at college, the day her Daddy gives her away in marriage…… and decided I better stop thinking or I might have a complete melt down!

Today as I was reading Brandiandboys, Chloe (my 7 year old daughter) looked over my shoulder and saw this flippee toilet. She was quite perplexed as to what this strange contraption was used for. Since we don’t have little boys in our home with “special equipment”, she had lots of questions. I told her boys stand up and pee and sometimes it can be very messy.

She wanted to know if boys hold “it” while they pee.

Yes, honey they do.

*snickering from Chloe*

She then asked, does Daddy ever miss the toilet?

Fortunately, I was able to tell her that he has great aim. Chloe thought for a little bit and came to the conclusion that it would be best if all boys sat down when they peed.

I can’t say that I disagree.