I had a little mini meltdown today.  Maybe it was because I was so hungry my stomach started trying to digest itself or maybe it was because mommy(me) and children had a little too much together time.  I'm guessing it was a little of both;  luckily for all involved, as fast as the meltdown came, it went.  The morning started out great; I drank some coffee, watched my man Matt Lauer, made the kids breakfast (cereal), I even got a little crafty.  Then I decided that I wanted to go to Target.  My plan was to drive to St. Augustine, go straight to the bedding department, pick out the quilt that I've placed in my online shopping cart 1,000 times before and leave.  Simple and efficient, which is the only kind of plan to have when you are dragging three kids along for the ride.  When I informed the kids that we were going to Target, Hayden let out an exasperated sigh followed by the cringe worthy question, "Can I get a toy?"  I actually believe it was that one question which set my mini meltdown into motion.  In the last week alone Hayden has gotten a slime hand, cap gun, skunk ball, and a PS3 game.  He has stayed the night out twice in the last week, played golf with his cousin and BB, eaten at numerous restaurants, and so on and so forth.  When Josie and Hayden learned that neither would be receiving a prize for participating in my oh so quick jaunt to Target, they began melting off the couch like the Wicked Witch of the West and onto the floor where together they created the most colorful puddle I'd ever seen.  On my way to get the mop, the phone rang.  It was my mom (Mimi). She asked if the kids and I wanted to go swimming at the Country Club Pool.  My heart was screaming, "No, go to Target.  You deserve that white and tan mini quilt set!"  But my mind was saying, "Katy, dear-dear Katy, do you really want to carry a mop around Target to sop up all those colorful puddles of deprived, toy less children?"  Obviously I went with my head, and agreed to meet my mom at the pool because who really wants to push a buggy and carry a mop at the same time?  Not me.  As soon as I said yes, resentment set in.  But my hair, I thought, I straightened my hair for nothing.  I'm never going to get that mini quilt set.  The kids always get their way.  I don't have a bathing suit that fits me.  I'm fat.  I'm hungry.  And so on.  "We're going to the pool," I mumbled, and in record time the kids were dressed. Luke was trying to put on his swimmies before we even got out of the door.  Then I flipped it on them.  "Kids, we are going to go to Target.  I'll be real quick.  Then we will go to the pool."  But before I even got to the stop sign at the end of my road, I knew that my plan was destined for failure.  My hunger was so overwhelming that the only logical thing to do was to get food, but from where?  It was 10:30 in the morning.  Would I get breakfast or lunch?  Then I saw a McDonald's semi truck.  Question answered.  Two cheeseburgers later, I almost felt like myself again, but there was still one more thing I needed to do before I could take my kids to the pool.  I needed a bathing suit.  "We're going to JcPenny because I don't have a bathing suit that fits me," I said. 
"Isn't that weird, mom, that you keep exercising but your clothes are getting too little for you?" asked Josie.
"That is sooooo weird, Josie.  I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I just ate two cheeseburgers."
Thank goodness for JcPenny because they had a bathing suit that actually fit me and looked decent.  I payed more than I wanted to pay, but that single purchase saved my sanity today and allowed me to enjoy an afternoon of swimming with my 3 deprived and toy less children.  Oh, and I do still intend on buying myself that mini quilt set from Target.  And if you were wondering how many times I could possibly write mini quilt set in one post, well, mini quilt set, mini quilt set, mini quilt set.

When Josie first started dressing her baby dolls in panties, I was all, "Josie, that looks weird.  Why don't you put some real clothes on those babies?" But being the fashionista that Josie is, she ignored my remarks and continued to dress her babies in little girl panties tied with a rubber band in the back to hold them in place.  Occasionally, Josie does dress her dolls in actual baby clothes, but she always ties them up in the back with a rubber band.  She definitely has a mind of her own.  Today I bought Josie a tea set and Lucas an Iron Man mask.  Hayden was at his Mimi and BB's house, so he was left out on the whole toy purchase extravaganza.  The kids have been enjoying their new toys all afternoon.  Take a peep at this awesome tea party...

Check out these freaky pics from our trip to Chattanooga, TN.  We rode the Incline Railway up to the top of the mountain.  It is supposed to be the steepest incline by railway in the world-77 degrees, or something close to that.  The ride up to the top of the mountain was really cool and the glass roof made for an interesting view, although the top of the mountain was not nearly as exciting.  If you are in Chattanooga, I would say definitely ride the Incline, but if you have to drive two hours to get there like we did, I would say pass.  I badly wanted to go to Ruby Falls, which was only a hop, skip, and a jump away, but it only offered an hour and a half long guided tour.  Definitely not the kind of trip you take with a two year old, that is unless you like the feeling of grinding your teeth into dust.  Nope, not for me.  So, maybe in a few years we will visit Ruby Falls and Rock City, but for today, the Incline Railway was enough.

We made it!  All I can say is, "Wow!"  Today was the perfect day.  The kids slept in, we ate eggs and bacon for breakfast, fished in the lake, relaxed on the porch swing- I could go on and on.  Instead, I will just post some of my favorite pictures from today, which happens to be Father's Day.  Matt said countless times today that it was the best Father's Day EVER, and I believe he was telling the truth.  I can't remember the last time I've seen him so chilled.

Here is a photo of our cabin in Ellijay, GA.  We are so excited!  I can't wait to get there...

If you think you are seeing a snapshot from the latest episode of "Hoarders", you are not.  This is my dining room.

Here is a picture of the mountain of junk behind my kitchen island.
And here is another view of the mound of junk placed behind my kitchen island.

This project began Monday afternoon.  Matt and I decided to save some money and remove the furniture and old carpet from the bedrooms ourselves.  It was a massive undertaking, but it was worth it.  When we moved into this house five years ago, we placed carpet remnants in each of the bedrooms.  They were not tacked down and looked awful.  But now we have beautiful carpet in each of the bedrooms and the boys even got some cool new bedding.  With the completion of Josie's new bedroom, it feels like we've finally made this house a home.  There are only two major items left on the home project list- new roof and the completion of the extra bathroom.  I'm not going to push too hard at getting these projects done during summer break because Matt might just decide to strangle me. He has applied for an Assistant Principal job at two elementary schools in town.  He will know within the next two weeks if he got one of the jobs.  If Matt does get the job, then he will be working the entire summer, and all home projects will be put on hold. Summer break began 5 days ago, and already the pantry looks bare. What I'm not paying in child care this summer, I'll be spending on snacks and drinks.  I assume the kids are just bored, but with this heat and the gigantic blood-sucking mosquitoes, I can't bear to go outside for more than 10 minutes at a time, and really, neither can they. Despite the unbearable heat and mammoth mosquitoes, I am on cloud nine; 9 weeks of no alarm clocks, no homework, no grading papers, no packing lunches, no whiny kids except for my own.  Speaking of the kids, they are falling into the summer routine more quickly than expected- staying up late, sleeping in, watching cartoons all day.  If you stopped by around noon, it's likely you would find us all still in PJ's. We are leaving for Ellijay, GA in two days for our official summer vacation.  I will post some pictures while we are there.  The kids were such great travelers when we went to the mountains over Christmas break.  I'm hoping for the same luck this time.
Bedroom After Photos: