Feeding the Mouth Parts

L-o-n-g driving day..or it seemed that way! : )

We drove from Pigeon Forge to Memphis, Tennessee.  We stayed last night in Germantown-on the Tennessee side.  It's a beautiful little city (and has shopping, heehee!).  I swear my husband is trying to get in good with me.

Yesterday morning (in Pigeon Forge), we were in Outlet Land (even Champion and Under Armour-we don't have those at home!) (and since we lost our Nautica-I went there too!).  Anyway-I discovered the kids were out of clothes, as in..they'd worn them all.  Unless they were going to wear their beach cover up shirts (with choice of red Arkansas or red Phillies), and I'd have to do laundry.

He said we should buy them some clothes. : )  This is always good, but I'm a sale girl.  I have coupons for my coupons-I plan with online discounts (this coming weekend is Sales Tax Free!), and it's a total game for me.  I got my coupon book (since I'm a lifetime member), and went in the first store.  I didn't want to do big shopping since our van had NO extra room, and our driver insists on a clear back window. : )  You usually have to spend at least $75 to get the first level of discount (other than store rewards), so I didn't do as well as I'd liked.  I did score $25 in Gymbucks though! : )

We just love the lobster tank : )

Check out those tail flippers!

..and he had a little claw broken off one of his smaller legs.

We also played around at Red Lobster with the very black and blue lobsters.  We examined their mouth parts, claws, little secondary claws, touched their eyes (I promise we disinfected!), and did you know they have bristles like a whale and teeth-they appear to have three mouth parts! (not googling..still tired!) They also have to be "burped" before they go back in the water!  Apparently the air in their tummies can kill them.  You hold up their big claws, kinda shake them up and down (and they flail and splash water a-l-l over you!), then you drop them back in.  And..he didn't die.  (He crawled to the window to give us the evil eye us for having him out so long!)

Anyway, I continued and we got the kids some tennis shoes, and the boys some shirts.  By lunchtime (we couldn't have been there more than an hour...maybe an hour and a half?), we left and ate in the car to make up the time.

..We've had this awful trouble with Mary Claire's blood sugar for the past two days.  I'd already set her basal up to 200% of normal, and was checking and correcting every hour, but we weren't getting anywhere.  We are talking units of insulin at a time..not tenths of units.  I was starting to get panicky.  I'd just changed her site the day before, so I was assuming it was good?  But yesterday, somewhere along Interstate 40, I changed her again.  I was so worried-it was my last full insulin pen.  It had to work, or I was going to get desperate.

I am also down to my last alcohol pads.  I don't count when I pack for a trip-I just pack them in her supplies case as tightly as I can.  But we've never been gone this long!  I know I can buy some, so that's not scary.  It's her site I want to hold on.  I do have one more set for changing her site, thank goodness.  I'd have to use the bottoms of some insulin pens or reuse a cartridge though!  (Goes without saying..no hotel swimming till we get home!)

Today is our drive home.  We are going to the Pottery Barn and William Sonoma outlets (the originals!) in Memphis before we hit the road.  They always have some amazing deals I can't live without.  (Last time they had the pink and lavender chenille raised dot drapes for $14!) (I didn't get them..but want them now!)

I think we have five hours of drive time?  I never remember.  It will turn into seven or eight with all our bathroom and snack breaks.  I know, I know..they cause each other-it's a vicious cycle.  But when your child cries for a drink, you can't resist. : (

I have to tell you..I'm SO excited to be going home!  I miss my house, with room for us to all move around.  Rooms and beds for everyone.  My own laundry room.  (I know, weird, just go with it!)  ahh..home.  I'll have to remember how to cook!  Ok...we should plan to get home after dinner so I don't have to turn old food into a miracle in under an hour!

Walking in Memphis

Then I'm walking in Memphis
Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale
Walking in Memphis
But do I really feel the way I feel

...you've got a prayer in Memphis

 

Rollin, rollin, rollin…on out of Arkansas!  We moved on to the east side of Memphis across the Mississippi River!  We have driven, played at Chick-fil-A, and shopped at my favorite..Pottery Barn Outlet!  We got in this afternoon after a lazy morning in the hotel at Little Rock deciding where to go.  We were debating between Memphis, Birmingham, and Atlanta.  We may still drive farther, but Memphis has comfy, warm beds with our names all over them!

So…I disappeared in PB for a few hours..and found bedding and drapes, a shower curtain (for mom!):

it's ivory embroidery on white-isn't it beautiful?  It could be formal or vintage/flea market!

a beautiful lamp base (I got the hammered silver one on the left to go under my kitchen cabinets), but check out the gorgeous mercury glass one on the right!  Only $51.97, and I may have to go back to get it if I can figure out where to put it!!

Oh, and check out what I did. . . while warning my daughter not to break anything in the Glass Section:

Yep, shards everywhere!  (and it was loud!)

Here is it before.  A beautiful martini shaker.

Mary Claire attempts to clean it up..with my new silver toilet brush! (only $14!)

Wanted to buy this super long platter-about 24-30 inches long but couldn't think what I'd put on it.  But I did get some of those tiny bowls to the bottom left!  They are sauce dishes (but my kids will use them for ketchup!).

Then, I went to the William Sonoma outlet next door.  And see these beautiful hand towels?  Just guess how much they were.  Just guess.  I'll tell you later-you'll be in shock!

I also got some very realistic cherry blossom branches (which the woman kept checking with me to see if I really wanted them ? ), a small dish with a bird on the side (like a bird bath with no pedestal), and some pillow covers to monogram for $12 (the same ones I'd paid $27.99 for in the fall!)-if I mess them up, I won't feel so bad!

Then we had a small errand to run-we had to go to Target to get some swimsuits since our hotel had an indoor pool, and the kids were chomping at the bit to get in the water.  We did a quick run around the store, gathering swimsuits and flip flops, then back to the van in the iCY wind!  Since my family was famished, we went to dinner.  Clay was pretty upset with us-he wanted to go straight to the hotel to swim.  He wouldn't eat his salad, but gobbled up his dinner.  While we were waiting, he drew this:

He didn't want to take it with us, so I took a picture.  It's hard to see, but it's two roller coasters! (looks like Hershey Park's wooden coasters to me)

Then, they were in Happy Land.  (I think they were fish in another life!)

Now he loves me again.

She swam, then sat with me while I worked off my dinner on the treadmill!

 

**Oh yeah-those 4-packs of William Sonoma kitchen towels?  I got them for an amazing .99 cents per four-pack!!!  (Of course I went back and bought them all!)**

I have to say, we had our moments today.  The kids were super hyper and impatient when we were trying to decide where to go this morning.  We had to check the weather in different cities, look up their childrens attractions and decide which were worth going to, and debate over the time to drive there vs. the amazing draw (aka their kid-friendliness).  Time was slipping through our fingers, so we just drove to Memphis-only about two hours away.

We are waiting to see what Thursday holds.  Ches may have a meeting that day, if the UA has class.  So we can't get too far away till we know.  If it's canceled, we'll go on to Birmingham to see the McWane Science Center-looks super cool!  We've already done the CMOM (Children's Museum of Memphis), but we may do it again tomorrow.  It is a really good museum, but the kids will go through it super-fast since they've already explored it.  We'll see what Wednesday holds when we get there!

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  Matthew 6:33-34