I received a text from my friend Autumn before the roosters had time to yawn OR open their eyes LET ALONE CROW. “Where ya’ll AT??” Well.. I WAS sleeping, which I flipped over, covered my head with a pillow, and KEPT on doing. Then STARLING started receiving texts from Eric, “They’re on number 85… you better hurry!!” UGH… he’s such a liar. Eric, Steph, and Les had stayed the night TUESDAY so that they could get to the Chic Filet Opening first thing Wednesday morning for the 1st 100 competition. WE (Starling and I) had no intention of leaving Hattiesburg until after lunch on WEDNESDAY. (WHICH would have been JUST FINE). But then Autumn told me they were on number 50. I actually believed HER. I rounded up the troops.
We called our friend Justin who thought we were leaving that AFTERNOON (as we had PLANNED). He didn’t answer so I left him a creative voicemail. Then Starling called and left a fun voicemail. Then we were having so much fun with this that we just kept taking turns calling except Justin finally answered and spoiled our fun. We loaded up the car with the essentials… bedding… jackets, drivers license… picked up Justin and headed out. Brooklyn couldn’t WAIT to get to Chic Filet. We only stopped twice. ONCE on the side of the road so Brooklyn could pee in the grass and later for gas. We got to Chic Filet around 11:30. Remember how Autumn told me at SUNRISE that they were on number 50? WELL- I received my number. Number 49. GEEZ. LIES… Brooklyn was bouncing around like a ping pong ball ecstatic to be at Chic Filet and to meet up with her cousin, Alayna. They looked like the ending of a movie. Two characters that have searched the duration of the movie for each other finally meet up… the JOY, the bouncing, the hugging, the giggling… Alayna lives less than two minutes away from our house. Apparently that isn’t close enough for Brooklyn.
The temp was PERFECTLY HOT. Luckily I’d dressed the kiddos in shorts. I was in JEANS and was so hot I considered just cutting them into shorts.
We all met THE COW.
We set up our tent and unloaded our car. HMMM… in the PACKING process we’d managed to leave one of our duffle bags. THE ONE with half of our sleeping geer and the jackets. AT NOON- that didn’t seem too consequential. At SEVEN, when tents were flapping around like wind chimes and the temp dropped to TEN degrees, it suddenly seemed INCREDIBLY CONSEQUENTIAL. I searched through the diaper bag and found two pair of pink sweat pants. Brooklyn’s. SOOO Brighton and Brooklyn geared up in pink pants. ALL of our jackets were in the bag, that LATER, we found RIGHT where we left it… at the BACK door. SO we wrapped the kiddos in blankets.
Before the cold hit in, we played several competitive games, did some intense dancing, and ate a LOT of Chic Filet. FREE.
Brookyn FELL sleep on Starling's HEAD. Ha ha
I won a water bottle for winning human bingo.
Stephanie won a hat and a water bottle. Aaron won a t-shirt for threading three pastas on a spaghetti only using his mouth. Stacey won a mystery gift which turned out to be AMAZING. A CHIC FILET CD of how they came to be. WITH a bag of Popcorn. She was perturbed about THAT BUT STARLING was happy because she gave it to him. Starling lost a Chic Filet chair in the scavenger hunt race BECAUSE he tried to UNTIE his knotted up SHOES instead of TAKING off his shoe and SHOWING his shoelace. There were only 3 people left in the race at that point and he would’ve won it if he would’ve just LISTENED to his WIFE yelling, “YOUR SHOE! YOUR SHOE!! HOLD UP YOUR SHOE!” But it was okay. He won a chair at the last Chic Filet Opening. Stacey and I won the DANCE OFF competition. A PLUSH COW. (To add to my collection of 126 OTHER plush cows that we use as dog toys). Stacey and I were SHOCKED that Aaron didn't win a cow because I'm pretty sure I've never seen ANY man (or living creature) bust a move like HIM. We also won red balls and other stuff. I don’t know what all Starling won. Between Stacey and Brandi and me, we were chasing after five kids. Alayna got picked up by her Aunt Melanie and Kohen was a perfect angel attached to Stephi the whole time. It was awesome fun.
Sleeping was the only mild hump… we had one SKINNY sleep mat and one FAT SHORT one. And two BODY sleeping bags made for hiker people. (Even though it’s been forever since Starling hiked the Appalachian Trail, he STILL thinks he has to buy hiker stuff). Needless to SAY, the body sleeping bags are meant to suction to ONE body. SO Starling's body a lot bigger than when he was a STICK BUG hiking the trail... BUT I STILL made him fit Brooklyn in there with him. Starling tried to protest until he looked at me. I was trying to fit Brighton in my even TINIER sleeping bag WHILE laying on a mat that was MEANT for BROOKLYN. I spent the entire night wrangling Brighton back INTO the bag with me. Every SINGLE time I'd nod off, he'd scoot out the top to SPREAD and I'd touch his arms and FLIP! They were ICE CUBES. (Not that he minded). AND I was FREEZING because Brighton + me= TOO FAT to zip up the sleeping bag. Maybe next time we'll double check before leaving half our night gear. And then of course the WIND. I finally stuffed Brighton deep enough that he couldn't move and defrosted him enough from sticking his little chubby arms on my STOMACH that MY teeth had stopped chattering. I IMMEDIATELY had to stick MY arms out of the bag to hold the tent UP. The wind was blowing SO furociously that even though we were a foot or more away from the wall of the tent, the tent was TOUCHING my FACE.
Stacey and Brandy were sleeping on a twin air mattress with Jayden AND eventually Taelyn. Hudson was the ONLY confortable sleeper who slept soundlessly in his pack-n-play until morning. We were all in one tent. Its a pretty big tent. I decided at that moment that my family could definitely live in that tent if we had to. (Assuming we had our other duffle bag of sleeping gear).
I woke up probably at three a.m. and thought that we should be hearing the lovely cow bell that rings at 5:45 to get us up and lined up. But it never sounded. I kept trying to sleep but it was pointless. When 6a.m. FINALLY decided to SHOW up at Chic Filet, we were ALL already awake just cuddled up in our blankets trying not to DIE from exposure. It wasn't sooo bad in the tent. OUTSIDE the tent was brutal. The wind was making the tents dance and me SHIVER. Starling bundled Brooklyn up in his sleeping bag and I bundled Brighton up in MY sleeping bag and we CARRIED them like that.
(THAT wasn't HARD). Brighton only weighs 20+ pounds NAKED. Lets stuff him into a pile of fluff and make him about three feet more ROUND. And lets NOt change his diaper yet because its so cold. THAT alone probably added 6 pounds to him. His PEE is HEAVY. Somehow I didn't drop him before we made it inside.
Pots and pans banged and everyone cheered. It was better than graduation. Like I'd know since I graduated early from High School and Oak Grove wouldn't let me WALK because of it... and then I just had my College Diploma mailed to me. SO, for me, ANYTHING is more exciting that graduating. I dumped Brooklyn OUT of her sleeping bag once we were inside so that she could eat. I piled the sleeping bag in the corner of my booth and stuck Brighton, still tightly wrapped and sleeping, on top of that. The Chic Filet workers, numbering three workers to ONE guest, brought me my food, drinks, condiments, and asked if they could "refresh my beverage" in consecutive five minute intervals. Finally, after eating the DELICIOUS chicken wrap and AMAZING whole grain oatmeal topped with dried fruit and nuts and brown sugar, and downing my orange juice, we were ready to depart. BUT not without ONE last picture. SOME people had already left, but the part of our group remaining huddled up. I made EVERYONE come to ME because I didn't want to disturb my sleeping Brighton. And as I EXPLAINED this, I patted the sleeping bag were Brighton should have been.
AND that is when I had a "Mr. Smead" (off Peter Pan) moment. If you recall Mr. Smead lathering up Captain Hook's face for a shave, which was actually the buttocks of a white bird, and then, turning back and finding NO HEAD. (The bird had flown away). He exclaims, "OH! I've never shaved him this close before..." And he proceeds to look for Captain Hook's head.
Well I patted the sleeping bag and there was a sleeping bag. But when I looked down I couldn't find a Brighton. I started digging around and having a panic attack because Brighton was NOWHERE in the pile of fluff and puff! I didn't realize I'd made a fuss until I looked over and saw half the Chic Filet staff staring at me with their mouths gaped open that I couldn't find my INFANT that can't WALK. nor CRAWL. One dude pulled the table out and THERE was Brighton. Still asleep. Still wrapped in HIS sleeping bag. Under Starling's seat. I guess he moved and just SLID on down. Craziness. I'll add that to my list of Proud Parental Moments. (That list is getting rather LENGTHY).
We drove home and climbed into our bed around noon. I didn't wake up until almost 5, and only to get showered and ready to go to Jessie's Essential Oil's Class, that I SWORE I would NOT get involved in. I tried to tell myself, "You can NOT like this product because you can NOT afford this product." WELL, one class later, and I had Starling over to Jessie's trying to get HIM sold so I can spend a couple hundred Stocking up on Essential Oils. AND, for the record, they are quite medicinally sound. Brighton started running a fever (I wonder WHY) and Jessie gave me some diluted peppermint for him. I rubbed it on his feet and head. Fever evaperated AND he smelled WONDERFUL. Brooklyn started coughing last night and was all congested... rubbed that pepperment on her feet and under her nose... cleared her up. And I got stuffy and stuck that under my nose and am breathing air like a freshener.
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