Telemarketers...beware

I have to share a funny Emily story that happened recently...

I'm pretty sure 100% of you out there have experienced the familiar yet ever annoying evening phone calls from different marketing groups who try unapologetically to entice you into buying this or that, or go on a "fabulous getaway for two", blah, blah, blah.

Well, our most recent encounter was with Marriot, who called about three weeks ago and wanted to talk to Brian. I vaguely remember the mentioning of some new fabulous resort, we just HAD to try it out for a discount, because, of course, we are their most favorite customers in the whole wide world. I was in an hurry that evening, Brian wasn't home, so I mistakenly asked them to try back some other time. Staying true to form and being ever so persistent, they asked if the evening time was the best time to call. I must have been having a brain fart at the time, because I answered, "yes, that would be fine, thanks."

Big mistake.

Now, for literally the last THREE WEEKS, at least two or three times each evening, we have received phone calls from Marriot on our caller id, no doubt trying to tell us about the amazing, wonderful, can't-pass-it-up deal they have in store for us for the mere price of airfare, food, car rental, etc... We have just been ignoring the calls, hoping they would GIVE UP, but that didn't happen.

Although we had to admire their persistence, we were getting tired of the constant harrassment. So one evening this week, we were sitting at the dinner table, heard the phone ring, and lo and behold, it was Marriot...again. So we did what any normal, sane, fed up to their ears people would do in this situation,

we gave the phone to our three year old daughter.

Now before I tell you the conversation that followed, let me tell you a little bit about our Emily. She may stand only 37 inches and weigh a mere 24 pounds, but trust me, she has no fear of talking to anyone or anything. She also enjoys singing, loudly, on the phone, and has been known to break into her own renditions of timeless children classics.

So, enter Emily Fulling, on the phone, battling the Marriott telemarketer. First, Emily says, "hello?", then smiles sweetly, looks at me, and nods her head "yes" to a question from the phone.
After some more imperceptible nodding of the head "yes" and "no", she fires back with,

"May I have a sno-cone, please?"

At this point, Brian and I have just about wet ourselves. I'm laughing so hard I'm almost crying and rolling on the floor.

I look up at Emily, who is again, nodding her head quietly to whatever question is coming through the phone, when all of the sudden she begins belting out "Jesus Loves Me", the WHOLE song...loud and clear.

This went on for at least a couple of minutes.

It was really a highlight of the day... probably not the most polite thing to do to someone on the phone, but I'm hoping that Marriott will think twice before they call us again for another fabulous vacation that we would ultimately end up paying for!

Crack kills

Future member of the American Plumbers Association

Bag ladies

I'm not sure which is more disturbing...

That we put our children in carry on bags for fun,

or that Emily fits into the same one as Addison...

Labor Day in Kerrville!!

We spent Labor Day at a riverside park in Kerrville, Texas this past weekend. Emily had a great time running around and getting dirty, Addison had fun trying to eat random pieces of grass and flowers, and Allie (yes we brought the dog) was constantly on the alert for pesty squirrels...it's a good thing we have her to protect us :)

We also found The Berenstein Bears treehouse home, Addison and Emily just had to get their pictures taken in it!

Here are some of the highlights!

What I've learned

*NOTE* This post has taken me FOR-EVER, I started this blog on August 8th, it's only taken me about 3 weeks to complete. Anyway, enjoy!


Hello everyone...yes, I know, it's been a while, but we have been out of town recently, so now I get to update you all on our adventures!!




Last week (July 25th), we traveled to New York State, to the sweet little towns of Lakewood, Frewsburg, Jamestown, and Randolph to go to my family reunion (on my mom's side). If you have never been up there, it is just the most beautiful, picturesque setting. With green rolling hills that seem to go on forever, tall trees, farms, and that "small town" feel, you can't help but fall in love with the area. I am a little biased because I went up there every summer as a kid to visit my grandparents...and I always remember the smell of the grass, and the smell of my grandparent's house...nothing has changed. It is just so nostalgic of my childhood and I cherish the times that I get to visit.




It was extra special this year because my mom was also up there with Buppa! So Emily and Addison got to see grandma AND great grandma all in one trip! Emily talked constantly about getting to see Rockabye Nana (aka my mom), and just couldn't wait to get up there!


We had the best time up there, however, there are a few things that Brian and I learned along the way when traveling with 2 toddlers (yes, Addison is walking now):



1. When your 3 year old tells you...in the middle of the Detroit airport...that her tummy hurts and she's going to have diarrrhea...believe her.



2. If you can avoid carrying around a car seat through the airport...DO SO AT ALL COSTS!!!



3. If you're trying to save a buck and put your 12 month old child on your lap for a flight...and you know deep down in your heart that she is anything BUT a lap child, listen to your intuition and pony up the dough for another seat. It will save you the embarrassment of being labeled that "family with the kid who wouldn't stop screaming".



3. When you finally arrive at your destination, and you decide that vacation would be a brilliant time to see how your two children do at sleeping in the same room together for the first time...seriously reconsider.



4. When your daughter is afflicted with "unfiltered toddler mouth" (see previous post), avoid any close contact with women who have very short haircuts. This will help prevent the inevitable question that I heard on several occasions..."mommy, is that a boy?"

...in her defense, there was truly one VERY questionable person we saw



5. When you are on your way home from the airport after almost 12 hours of travel, and you ask your husband how he thought the vacation went...and your children start SCREAMING and SHRIEKING in the back because they are so tired, it's best to just laugh... and table the conversation for another time!

All in all, we had an awesome time. I wanted to post the slideshow of pics that I put together, but I can't figure out how to post an entire slide show on the blogging part of this. Any help would be greatly appreciated from you computer nerds out there who I KNOW can do this!!!

Sincerely, the woman most likely to throw her computer out the window out of frustration :)

Happy 4th of July

Just a cute hat pic of Emily



Ok, so it's what, the 14th of July today? I may be a little bit late on this one, but wanted to share some cute pics of the girls on the 4th. We had a fun day out at a friend's house...they live in the Hill Country and have the most INCREDIBLE views!! Afterwards, we drove down to Fiesta Texas and battled the traffic to witness an awesome display of fireworks. The girls were mesmerized, and we had amazing seats! Happy Birthday, America!!

Emily-ism

I have to share this so I don't forget it. I've already told the story to several people, but since these days I forget to simply put underwear on in the morning (this is an exaggeration...I promise), I thought I better share it on the blog, it's a priceless and probably very common toddler story.

We..meaning Emily, Addison, and myself...were recently in a public restroom with several stalls. You probably know where I'm going with this one...

Anyway, the bathroom was crowded, all the stalls were being used, and we had to wait in line for a short time. When we finally got into our stall, Emily was sitting on the potty, and proceeds to inform me very matter of factly AND loudly that "this bathroom is stinky, mommy!"

After deciding that this statement could have definitely been worse, I quietly replied with, "well, honey, it's a bathroom, sometimes that happens". I'm now trying to hurry things along, because there are still ALOT of people in the bathroom, both on either side of us, and more still waiting in line. Actually, I was hurrying things along because I had the sinking feeling that our conversation about the odor in the bathroom was not over by any means...I was right.

Get ready for it...

"Mommy, I think someone is going poo poo."

...there are just no words...