"What the Hell is That on the Floor and Why are You Scratching Your Head?" A Mommy Experience

So I felt the need to write this quick blog post for many of you out there.
The groups that may be interested in this post are:
1. Those of you that are thinking of having kids at some point in the future
2.  Those of you with basically new kids that haven't done much but cry, eat, and poop so far.
3. Those of you that have not-so-new kids that can sympathize and laugh at the mishaps within.
4. Those of you with kids that are grown that have been there done that already.
5. Those of you with grandkids who are up to these types of shenanigans.
6.  Those of you that did not have kids of your own, to make you enjoy your peace and quiet a little more.

OH WAIT!  I have described every human on the planet, basically.
And of course, I love my girls and can't imagine life without them.
It is nights like these that I hit the pillow and wonder what the hell I am going to do when they are grown and gone out of the house... oh wait, then I will slowly become group 5 eventually....

SO, quick synopsis of the night last night in the Blammit household...

7:30am-4:30pm:  Work.  5th grade field trip at school.  Not too crazy, but sprinkled with chaos, as always

4:30pm:  Drove home.  Got home, checked on crock pot supper (Thanks husband for stirring during the day.)  Decided to go for a run on treadmill before supper.
---Todd at orthodontist with DD #3---

5:00- 30 minute run on treadmill (much rather be on the road outside, but got it done.)  Who knew I would need the power in the Pearl Jam, Godsmack, Incubus, and Disturbed that played during this time to get through the rest of the night?

5:30ish:  Suppertime  (Damn good chicken nachoes.. I could eat some more right now.)

Around this time as well:  Todd realized that Autumn had fixed herself a root beer float while I was on the treadmill, so there was something sticky covering half of the kitchen floor.  Decided to mop the kitchen-my absolute unfavorite chore in the whole house.. well besides plunging toilets...
(in retrospect, at least I didn't have to do THAT last night!)

6:00-7:00:  Fold 4 loads of laundry while watching TV with the fam.  Try to get Autumn to think about supper (chicken nachoes are not her thing and she wasn't hungry when I ate).

**Around the same time:  I decided that I would try to get the white beans for tomorrow's supper cooked.  Yes, when you read all of this, you will realize this was a bad idea, because yes, I forgot about the beans, and the one time I sat down for 10 minutes, I smelled something burning, and yes it was the beans, and yes they were stuck to the bottom of the pot... this will come into play later...**

7:00ish:  While picking up kitchen towels, almost stepped in a line of cat poop from the kitchen to the living room... even though the dog door was open as was the garage door to outside for them to get out.  The guilty cat in question was no where to be found to put outside, of course.  Took it out on the cat that was there and put him outside.  Not sure what that solved.

--Todd getting Autie to eat supper--

7:30ish:  After Autumn finally decided to eat, getting her to take a bath and needing one myself, thought I saw something in her hair, decided to check her long straight lice-loving hair.. needed more light so went in garage.  She is crying the whole time because NO, her head doesn't itch but YES, she is scared to miss school tomorrow.  At which point I told her she won't miss school because I can't miss, and we are going to take care of this.  So did I see something?  I am not sure but decide to treat her head anyway, which is another crying fit.  Then decide to treat my own head, just in case.  Which means then I have to throw her blankets and sheets and 5,000 stuffed animals in the dryer for at least 20 minutes on high to kill whatever might be lurking in there.  She gets out of tub, we douse her combed hair with rosemary and tea tree oil solution, cursing the very existence of lice.  (Someone please tell me why these bastards exist???)

***Side story:  This is the third time we go through this lice bit this school year.  Her hair is going to be in a bun from now until the end of the year, I swear.***

--Todd cleaning kitchen and checking on laundry at same time as me fighting the possible existence of weapons of mass destruction on Autumn's scalp--

8:00-8:30ish:  Autumn in bed finally, after getting her sheets and blankets from the dryer.  I come into the kitchen to make my bedtime tea and finally lay down, and I remember the pot of white beans.  I figure that they almost burned and they have been soaking in water for almost an hour, so they would be good to go down the garbage disposal, right??????
WRONG...
I shove them down in there, the sink gets stopped up and the garbage disposal stops.
I remember my days of this happening before... I remember something about a broomstick in the garbage disposal.  I remember a reset button on the bottom of the disposal.  I do all of that... the plunger is needed (didn't have to plunge a toilet, but I did plunge the kitchen sink).  After about 10 minutes messing with it, it was a success (at least)... I didn't have to wake up to a kitchen sink stopped up this morning.

It was a culminating feeling of exuberance, for sure.

SO, yes, this is where the story ends, as I head to bed with my tea, I lay down, and I think I read one page of my book before my eyes gave in.  And I slept like a freaking rock.. and did not wake up until my alarm went off at 5:30.

I can think of a million other things that could have happened that didn't last night.
And I am awake and the coffee is hot this morning...
And that's all I've got to say about that....

Blanchards in 2015: A Year of Our Lives in as Few Words as Possible

Welcome to the synopsis of the Blanchards in 2015! January 2015: Taylor got a new car and headed back for her 5th semester at LSU! Todd, Lauryn, Camryn, Patty, Autumn.. all back to work and school as usual. **Note: I am going back to my timeline on Facebook to get some ideas of what to write here, and honestly, January has a lot of "I wish it was summer or still Christmas vacation" posts or "Time to go run" posts, plus some pictures of normal daily events. A regular ol' month, really... Except for the Odell Beckham world record. :)

February 2015: MARDI GRAS SEASON! once again! This time with a freshman in the Fontainebleau's High School Band! Camryn played cymbals, and marched in 4 parades in Mandeville, New Orleans, and Metarie. This was our FIRST uptown parade, and boy was it fun! Looking forward to Krewe of Tucks next year!

March 2015:  A busy month!  Patty ran the Shamrockin' Run 8K in NOLA.  Taylor and Patty ran the Rock N Fly Half Marathon in Pensacola.  The whole family plus the Cadles and the Gillmans went to Austin for Katie and David's wedding at the end of the month.  OH and Patty turned the big 4-0!!!

April 2015:  Taylor and Patty ran the Crescent City Classic.  We had a peaceful, fun Easter here at home, with swimming on Spring Break.  Taylor was inducted into Psi Chi, the Psychology honor society.  We bought a camper!  Ready for some outdoor fun in the Sun Lite!

May 2015:  Taylor and Patty ran the Huey P. Long Bridge Run.  The big girls went to a Paramore concert for Taylor's birthday.  Taylor and Autumn had their 20/5 birthday parties.  Autumn graduated from Pre-K and registered from Kindergarten.  The school year ended for all... AMEN! says all of the teachers! Let the summer BEGIN!!!!

June 2015:  We headed to the beach for an extended weekend of fun in the sun.  The Bodies moved to Mandeville at the beginning of the month.  The Blanchard daughters went to Florida for Girlapalooza, and the Blanchard Mr. and Mrs. and Guinny Boy headed to North Carolina with the camper for a week in the mountains.  (We hiked and hiked and hiked some more.)  Then we came back home for some relaxing pool time and summer goodness in Mandeville.

July 2015:  We enjoyed 4th of July fireworks near the house.  (The first time Autumn watched fireworks and actually enjoyed them.)  We visited in Houma for Paw Robbie's birthday.  Then the whole Blanchard clan headed out for a week+ of camping in Georgia and North Carolina.  We enjoyed some of our old NC stomping grounds.  We loved the majestic views, the cool rivers, and had a few encounters with snakes.. but no bears!

August 2015:  Ah, back to school.  Lauryn started junior high (7th grade), Camryn started 10th grade, and Taylor moved on to her Junior year at LSU.  Autumn started Kindergarten as well.  Camryn joined ROTC; she would soon be moving up in the ranks!

September 2015:  A very busy month getting adjusted to new routines, classrooms, work loads, etc.  Patty became a Girls on the Run coach at Lake Harbor.  Autie truly loves Kindergarten and her teacher.  Autumn was named the Kiwanis Club's Terrific Kid of her Class in September, and she started violin lessons at her school weekly. Patty ran the Saints Kickoff 5K in September.  (and after the season we have had, I may never run across the field again.. was I bad luck?)

October 2015:  Lauryn turned the big 1-3!  We watched the Saints and LSU games every week... ah, the trials and tribulations of being a Louisiana football fan!  We visited Bourg to celebrate Mrs. Bonnie's birthday.  Lauryn started weekly guitar lessons.  Dash and Euen Bodie were born on October 27th!  They stayed in the hospital for a little over a week.  Halloween was a super rainy one- we trick or treated the night before in a nearby neighborhood!  Camryn and Taylor went to Voodoo fest for the first time on Halloween.

November 2015:  LSU's hopes and football dreams took a downturn with the game vs. Alabama.  There was some time freed up on the weekends that was not spent watching football!  :)  Camryn turned 16 on Nov. 22.  We had a great Thanksgiving week off, and decorated for Chrismas in the days before and after Thanksgiving.

December 2015:  And so this brings us to December again.  Our trees are up (one small in the foyer, a bigger one in the living room), we have some lights outside, stockings are hung.  Autumn is anxiously awaiting what her elf, Lucia, will do next.  She wakes up at 5:30 almost every morning to see where Lucia has hidden or caused mischief the night before!  Autumn had her violin concert on Tuesday, and Lauryn had her Christmas concert at FJHS on Tuesday as well.  We are eagerly awaiting Christmas vacation from school!

We hope you have enjoyed this synopsis of our year.  We are never bored in this house, that is for sure!  We wish you all the best of luck and love in 2016!

Synopsis of 2012, to date, for the Blanchard Family

So as I place Christmas cards in envelopes, I feel like I am cheating all of you out there on an update to our family.  Instead of typing this and enclosing it in each card, I figure hey!  Use the power of the blog and just send the address to the blog, right?

Update as written by Patty on November 23, 2012

Todd:    Todd has changed jobs a few times this year, but has seemingly found a happy place working for Northrop-Grumman doing work for the Center for Disease Control.  We are thinking that this job, being mostly remote work, will be able to transfer with him when we move back to Louisiana in Summer 2013.  (Which is possibly NEW to some of you reading this!)  Him and Guinness have been enjoying some quality time during the days, Todd working hard and Guinny Boy laying at his feet.

Patty:  I started working this August at Kennesaw Charter Science and Math Academy as the technology teacher as well as the technology specialist for the school.  I am also still in grad school; I extended my graduation date until May 2013 in order to take 2 more classes toward my certification toward Online Teaching.  I also ran my first half marathon in October (here's a link to the blog post about that experience).  Taylor and I ran a few races together so far this year, including the Peachtree Road Race in ATL, the biggest 10K in the country.  We are signed up for a 15K in January as well.

Taylor:  Taylor is halfway through her Senior year in high school, and just got accepted to LSU as well as LSU's Honor College!  She made awesome scores in her SAT in the Spring and then recently in the Fall.  She is one of the Clarinet Section leaders in North Cobb High School's Marching Band.  Here is a link to the only video so far on YouTube of their show this year.  She also just found out she made first chair clarinet in the school's most prestigious musical ensemble, the Wind Symphony.  Here is a video of the Wind Symphony from last year playing Rising Sun by Allen Vizzutti, playing with Allen Vizzutti at Kennesaw State.  In 6 months, she'll be graduating from high school and gearing up for her freshman year at LSU.  Keep reading the blog for updates!  (Note:  The marching band made grand champs at the festival in Asheville, NC.  The North Cobb football team is in round 3 of the playoffs... we are looking forward to another win this Friday!)

Camryn:  Camryn is in 7th grade at Awtrey Middle.  She is in her second year of band as a percussionist.  She particularly likes melodics- bells, marimba, etc.  When she is not at school, a lot of her time is spent creating all kinds of artwork.  Check the blog for updates... I will upload some pictures of her Halloween mask creation as well as the clan of dragons she has been sculpting.

Lauryn:  Lauryn is in 4th grade at Kennesaw Charter,  decision she made the week before school started.  She is doing great, making awesome grades.. she is really into her music class at school, which led to inquiring about band for next year, so she is planning to play the saxophone next year. 

Autumn:  Our little toddler  truly makes everyday interesting!  She is happy at her little preschool where she spends Mommy and Daddy's working hours, and her make-believe skills have matured extensively!  She's a very loveable creature that we can't get enough of.  Check the blog for some videos of her doing cute toddler stuff. 


We took a great family trip Labor Day weekend to Cherokee, North Carolina to one of our favorite cabins, Water Rock Retreat.  We have been super busy the last few years, what with a growing baby, three growing girls, and me in grad school.  I know I am definitely looking forward to graduating in May and having a bit of time to not worry about assignments and deadlines with school, although that always turns into other kinds of deadlines.

So keep checking back here for more videos, pictures, and blog entries to update everyone on our lives.

We hope everyone has an awesome Christmas season and a fun and joyous new year!