touched out is an understatement tonight.

you know that day where the two year old wakes up saying no from the second you pull him out of bed? and then continues to repeat the word all day, sometimes screaming it, while you try to get two children fed, bathed, dressed and out the door? and then he continues to scream it during preschool drop off?

and then i decided to be the fun mom who takes her kid to story time and that kid does not even participate but either a) sits in my lap or b) lays on the floor, wailing. kid! this is fun! it's ok to laugh!

and then you are invited to meet friends for coffee and you have an hour to kill before preschool pickup so you go and the two year old refuses to play at the really cool coffee shop play area for kids, but instead would prefer to climb up you, climb on top of a table, dump an entire baggie full of pretzels on the floor, and whine.

and then 5 minutes before you have to leave, the 2 year old becomes quite engrossed {suddenly!} in playing and now does not want to leave. and is telling you so with his screams. and by taking his shoes off for the upteenth time in the car.

so you get to preschool pickup and say, forget it, I am NOT putting that kids shoes on AGAIN. so you rush inside with a barefoot toddler because you are running late due to toddler antics, where your anxious 3 year old thinks you forgot him.

then you should also add in to this mix: not one, not two, but THREE little boys getting colds, one little boy coming home from his dads with his well-timed attitude and dealing with a moronic ex. Oh, please do not leave out that the husband is out of town and your kids have chosen that precise time to awake an hour earlier than normal each day AND not fall asleep until past 10pm.

so you put all your kids to bed early, wish you were into wine because you would totally have a bottle glass if you were and retire to bed early. with a bowl of honey greek yogurt.

and by you, of course I most definitely mean me. 

I would ask for a hug but if one more person touches me today, I might scream.

another one bites the dust.

goodbye summer. we loved every minute of you- the lazy ones, the adventurous ones, and even the excruciatingly hot ones!

        i have a 2nd grader! i do not feel old enough to have a 2nd grader!

totally in awe of his big brother!

the kid rejects pictures. but look! he wanted his own backpack, "just like mason." 

we are tired.

Did you know in 2nd grade, walking your kiddo into his actual classroom does not exist anymore? I did not. I totally showed some self-restraint because I wanted to walk my baby, AHEM-my 7 year old into his class! Sigh. 

"Bye Mom!" from Nicole Drysdale-Rickman on Vimeo.

and I already miss him.

we have reached THAT point.

the point where my kid needs to use the potty. or even go once. or have some freaking interest!

i try not to be affected by the fact that three year olds all around us are potty trained! but i am!

just.use.the.potty.kid!!

So: questions for you!

1. When said kid {i am looking at you, will} flat out refuses to use the potty, do you force them?
2. What has worked for YOU???
3. Since Theo is newly 2, is it wise or insane to just potty train them both?? {it makes me crazy happy to think of no.more.diapers! in our house!}

little girls are crazy.

We found this little note on Daphne's door Saturday. Matt and I could not stop laughing! {Cari is her neighborhood friend.}

yo. from Nicole Drysdale-Rickman on Vimeo.

please excuse the crazy hyena laughing. my husband cracks me up.

face palm.

I am a prepared mama whenst {it's kind of like whilst. i like it. accept it.} out with my children. Very prepared. There is usually an extra outfit for the 2 & 3 year olds, toys to keep them all entertained, snacks a plenty for my crew, and then some for any other child as well, diapers, wipes, drinks, wallet, sunglasses, hats, and on and ooooonnnn...

I am a very prepared mama. I have found that being prepared means we spend less money while out, we are able to adventure for longer amounts of time, and the amount of time we are out is more quality time because we all stay happy.

Well then I decided to take my 5 children to the lake and meet my best friend and her son. 

So this required all of the above items, PLUS a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jelly, a knife, a tub of blueberries {washed} and 6 huge Nalgenes filled with ice water. I also threw in sunscreen, mosquito spray, 7 beach towels, a comforter to sit on, dry bottoms for the 6 & 7 year old, a blow up water floatie, swim diapers, and probably 75 other items I am leaving out.

I was prepared.


Until I arrived at the lake and found 5 children all running in forty directions and only one me to keep my two eyes on all five bodies. In addition to those tasks were making sandwiches, blowing up the floatie, and eating my own sandwich. I soon learned that 5 out of 5 of my kids had attitude, talking back, and basic disobedience packed in their bag, unbeknownst to me.

I then realized: I was so very unprepared.


It took me 3 hours to get us all ready and out the door. We stayed a little over an hour.

Sigh. Stomp, stomp, pout, pout, whine, whine. Biiiggg heeeaavvyyy siiigghhh....

ha. hahaha. ha.

If I am not perfect as a spouse, then I am definitely not perfect as a mother. I have been rocking this gig for 7 years and by rocking, I mean: trying, trying, trying and failing often. 

It's trial and error, friends. And laughing at yourself a LOT! And if you are a parent, you already know that. If I had to think of one piece of best parenting advice, it would be this: 

Have fun and enjoy your children. 

I struggle with this often- in fact, I am struggling with this today. 9 year old girls are no joke. Neither are boys- of all ages. And there do have to be rules and consequences for breaking them, and all that. But life is short. SUPER DUPER SHORT! I surely do not want to wake up tomorrow and wish I would have done more fun outings, smiled more, laughed with my kids more, hugged them more.

I try sooo hard to remember that for kids, playing and being silly is their job. That's how they learn and grow and their sweet innocence about it all is meant to teach us {the boring adults} as much as we need to teach them.

Mas'o'bass rocking it out!

So, while I can never get it just right {bc hey I am still human} I say, HAVE FUN! 

and THAT is my best parenting advice!

Kelly's Korner is hosting a link up with your best parenting tips. Feel free to add your 2¢!

and this is how i end up hiding in the bathroom at 730am.

It starts out smoothly.

I open the door to the babes' room. {Hurray for doorknob covers that lock the crazies in!}
We go downstairs.
I change diapers.
I throw away diapers.
I wash my hands.
They ask for bananas.
I give them bananas.
Will asks for water, Theo asks for soy milk.
I give Will water, and Theo soy milk.
I grab a banana myself.
But, see?
Their bananas are already eaten.
They see my banana.
And each want a piece.
Which ends up being over half my damn banana.
So, instead I grab my banana.
Head to the bathroom
and lock myself in.
Hey, we do what we have to do.

random strangers: take note

A couple things:

#1. Despite what you may think, I do NOT need your parenting advice. Just because my parenting style is not the same as yours, does not mean either one of us is wrong. As long as I am not physically harming my children {which I am not}, what works for your family is fine for you and what works for my family is fine for me.  OPEN YOUR MIND.

#2. I realize that by having multiple children, many people think I know everything about raising babies. Guess what? I don't! Each of my kids is a new child, with a new personality, and each one responds differently. I have a lot of experience raising babes but my children and I are learning with each other, and I don't know everything so please try and use the same compassion you would give a new mother.

#3. When you see me and my children out in public, please try to understand that you are viewing less than 15 minutes of my life and my kids. You have no clue what has just happened in the car, on the way in or what our particular kids excel at or struggle with.

#4. I know that having 3-5 kids on any given day is bound to draw attention to us anywhere we are, whether it's the grocery store or the library. Guess what else? We do not like to be stared at. If you want to talk to us, come talk to us. Have a question? Ask. {as long as it abides by the previously stated guidelines} But, please, don't gawk. Yes, we have five children and our hands are very full, but so are our hearts. :)


#5. And this is most important: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!

I sincerely hope this penetrates the brain of the better than thou parents I keep running into.
Parenting is hard, people. For all of us in different ways- try your hardest not to judge.

**Rant over.**