Not Done Yet

So, I haven't dropped off the face of the earth although it does seem that way. Here's a brief recap of what's happened in the days since February 13:

• H turned 3. I could do a whole post about how difficult May 1 is, the day before his birthday is always very hard for me. I always cry when I put him to bed. I guess it's a reminder of God's grace and provision that either of us are here right now. I usually don't think about the night he was born but on May 1, it all comes back to me.
• We finished yet another year of school. K finished 2nd grade which is somewhat unbelievable. What's more unbelievable is that L finished Kindergarten and is reading like crazy. Growing way too fast.
• I finished my first year of working outside the home. I was so ready to be done with that mess it wasn't even funny. I am going to do the same thing this fall and will even have a whole day to myself when H is in school. K3 here we come!
• K turned 8. She is now a young lady, not a little girl. So sweet, such a helper, and has a very giving spirit.
• L turned 6. She is as spunky as ever and is way too young to be into dangly earrings. Yet she is. She still has her L-isms that keep me cracking up. I wish I could remember all of the ones she has come up with over the last 5 months. Alas, I cannot, as I cannot remember yesterday all that well. How am I supposed to remember 5 months ago?
• I got to spend a fabulous girls' weekend with a dear friend on a trip to my hometown. I also spent some much-needed one-on-one time with my mother. We have never spent that much time together since I got married. It was a definite blessing.
• We spend our very first Easter with Nana. We've always stayed home for that holiday as trying to get on the road after a big Easter dinner is almost impossible. However, this year the Easter holiday was the beginning of our spring break so we spent a couple of extra days with the grandparents.
• The kids, all of them, spent two weeks at a day camp at our school, focusing on cooking and art. We came home with some really cool art projects which I hope to share at some point.
• We have conquered potty training. No more diapers at this house!

Now that you're all caught up, I hope to continue to post blogs more regularly. My goal is to post once a week but that's a lofty expectation at this point. I pray all of you have been well!

Some Things Never Change

This past weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Auburn for the weekend and go to the game thanks to some wonderful and very generous friends. We were able to take all 3 kids with us as the very generous friends just so happened to have five tickets to the game. They were also on the 40-yard line. Plus we got to see several dear friends, one who lives there and one who wishes she did (you know who you are). Doesn't get much better than that.

So I began composing this post in my head while I was in Auburn. It won't be nearly as eloquent now since I've forgotten most of it. We had a fabulous time. The kids were great, we stayed in a suite a couple of blocks (!) from the stadium and got to walk around my old stomping grounds. (The kids were none too pleased with the amount of walking we did.)

I must say that lots of things have changed since I've been at Auburn: there are a ton of new dorms, they've re-routed roads, there's a new arena, a new parking deck (where the old athletic complex used to be that burned down during a football game which I attended and saw smoke and flames rising just above the student section), and plenty of new buildings that house various schools and colleges. They have done a great job in keeping with the look of the campus, not putting up some hideous building that doesn't go with anything else around it. So it sort of looks the same if you ignore all the new stuff. Make sense?

Anyway, one thing that never changes is the atmosphere in Jordan-Hare Stadium. It's been four years since I've been to a football game and it felt exactly the same as it did when I was there. The scoreboard is different and they've added some seats but it's still got the same feel, the same electricity that is Auburn football. When I took S to his first Auburn/Alabama game, I knew he would never look at football the same way and it's very true. The fans are still just as passionate about their Tigers, I still love seeing Aubie and his antics (which was, by far, my kids' favorite part of being at the game), I still love watching a game in person. And it's one of those things you have to experience yourself to truly appreciate it.

I believe in Auburn and love it!

Generation Gap

Nana is visiting and gave me a much-needed break from the kids. S has been gone for most of the month of June and I needed a few moments to myself. So she told me to go get a pedicure while she bathed the kids and put them in bed.

While the kids were still in the tub, K yelled to Nana that L had said a bad word. A really bad word. Here's how the rest of the conversation went:

K: Nana, L said a really bad word. She said the S-H word.
Nana (trying to figure out where in the world L heard the S-H word): L, why did you say that?
L: I wanted H to be quiet.
Nana (breathing a bit of a sigh of relief): Oh, you said Shhhhhhh.
K: No she said the whole thing. The whole S-H-U-T-U-P.
Nana (attempting to stifle laughter so that L would know that saying the whole S-H-U-T-U-P is not a good thing [but saying it in her sweetest voice]): Well, I bet that if I let you play in the tub a little longer that you won't say that to H again.
L: Yes ma'am.

Up

Today was a fantastic day. Just plain fantastic. I got to sleep in a little, as did the entire family. H was the first one up at just before 8am. S cooked a wonderful pancake breakfast and I woke to the smell of freshly brewed coffee.

We have some college students visiting our church this summer as part of a campus ministry mission trip. We've "adopted" two of them and had them for lunch. They are great kids and it was fun to have some older young people in the house. Both S and I really enjoyed their company. And our "son" can eat. I love cooking for people who like to eat! We sent them home with all the leftovers we could. The one thing they don't get very much of is home cooking while down here. So they are usually pretty grateful for anything homemade.

Just after they left, we put the kids in the car and went to see "Up." (L calls it "Up the movie") It was great. They all sat there like little angels, enthralled with the movie. Even H had a good time and wasn't running all over the place. The dog truly is the best part of the movie. Just trust me.

We took our time getting home, stopping by a local ice cream parlor for a cool treat. We don't often do things like this but it really was such a nice evening. And H got a free cone since he's a little guy. Can't beat free! He ended up wearing the majority of it, trying to use his "free sample" spoon instead of licking it off the cone. It's moments like that I'm glad I'm not an OCD mom.

While I would love for every day to be like this one, I'm sure I wouldn't appreciate it as much if these days were the norm.

Insert Title Here

I can't seem to come up with a title for this as it's such a random post. Yesterday the kids were playing outside in the afternoon when the sprinklers came on. Instead of running inside, they decided to run in the sprinklers. In their clothes. They were having such a good time, I just couldn't make them stop. When the sprinklers went off, they were very distraught so S turned them back on for a few more minutes of fun. They were all sopping wet and immediately went into the tub. Of course I didn't have my camera and was having too much fun watching them so I have no pics to share.

S surprised me Saturday night by telling me that his boss told him to work from home this week. I cried when he said this as he's been gone for the last two months with only one week at home. Such a sweet blessing.

And I'll leave you with an L-ism:
L: Mama, do you know what?
Me: Yes, and his brother Why.
L: No, it doesn't have anything to do with H!

In Everyone's Life a Little Hair Must Fall

Tonight I was blessed with the opportunity to get out of the house for a couple of hours. A friend had invited me to a Tastefully Simple party and since I'd been cooped up with the kids for two weeks straight (S was away on business), I jumped at the chance to just be with other ladies.

My evening was wonderful and I planned to be home after the kids were in bed. However, when I pulled in the driveway, the light in the girls' room was still on. Not good. I walked in the door and was greeted by S with a look of utter frustration on his face. The girls got in a lot of trouble with, you guessed it, a pair of scissors.

He told me they had damaged a pop-up tent and K cut L's baby doll (which can easily be fixed. We'll just call it a small operation). I walked in the girls' room to check out the damage and was confronted with floor full of bits of cut up paper. I made the girls pick up all the little pieces and as I was folding a blanket that was in a pile on the floor, I saw what I had feared most: a chunk of L's hair. Let's just say that we're going to be taking a little trip to the hair salon tomorrow so that we can even things out a bit. And H will be getting in on the haircut action as K and L, apparently, bestowed on him the gift of the silver shears.

Pictures to follow for sure...

I Always Need My Family

Since we are trying to fix up our house a bit (without spending too much money), Nana took the girls with her when she went back home. That means H is an only child until Friday! We've gotten a lot done since the girls left yesterday morning, including preparing our room for a fresh coat of paint. Gran has agreed to keep H tomorrow so I can paint and S can get other work done without worrying about what H is getting into.

So here's where the family comes into play. Since L is with K at Nana's house (they're also spending time with Papa and PJ), they aren't in their normal routine. The girls got to have their own rooms last night at Nana's house. At breakfast, L told Nana that she missed her family. She said, "I always need my family." Sometimes that little girl really surprises me with her sayings. Usually they are funny (like last week at church when she was sitting in my lap and tooted just as the pastor said that Jesus' love had a very distinct sweet aroma. It's really hard to stifle laughter in the middle of a sermon) but this one truly touched me. My daughter, who is usually the independent one, absolutely wants and needs to be with her Mama, Daddy, sister and brother.

And that's the way I always want it to be.

It's Been Awhile...

Sorry for not posting more but it's just been busy and I don't have time! Oh, how I wish I did. For now, here's a picture of our family taken at K's Thanksgiving Feast. Hope y'all are well!

Pushing Buttons

The other day Gran (S's mom) and I had to take a day trip to a nearby town to pick up pants S had altered in a nearby town. Since our small town doesn't exactly have this particular store we were forced to another town. It's really not that big a deal and Gran and I set off with 3 kids in tow.

Ever since we got our new car, L and K have been sitting in the third row and usually get along quite nicely. Well, Wednesday was an extreme exception. I don't know if it's too much time together and they need a break from being together or if it's their ages but something's got to give. I spent the first half of the trip attempting to break up fights, threatening to pull the car over, telling both of them that they were pushing each other's buttons. I was forced to stop half way there, partially to break them up and partially to stop at a really cute shop. K got moved to the middle row next to H but was, tragically, in front of L.

Better but not perfect, we trudged on to our destination. As the girls were both in a mood, L just couldn't let things go and kept putting her hands on K's chair. I was forced to break it up and threaten L within an inch of her life. K wasn't exactly making life easy, either. L's response to the whole thing?

"I'm just pushing buttons."

P and H

Here are a couple of pictures of my nephew P with H. P was the ring bearer in my wedding and he has grown A LOT since then. We're having fun with them!

Family Fun

S's brother, along with his wife and 8 kids, live in the same town we do. Well, at least until Thursday. They are moving and we are very sad to see them go. They spent the evening with us one night last week, eating dinner, playing, and visiting for the last time. We are so grateful for the time we've had to get to know them and will truly miss having them around.

Since we're still trying to be healthier eaters, S got watermelon for dessert. He got two small watermelons and cut very large chunks for all of the little kids. It made for some great pictures!

Oh, How the Mice Played

This past weekend I got to do something I rarely get to do: I got to surprise my mom (Nana). As an adult, we get so few surprises in life so this one was really fun. She celebrated a big birthday last week and I was able to be there, unbeknownst to her. You should have seen the look on her face when she pulled into her driveway and I was there waiting for her! It was totally worth the trip. We had a great time getting to do all sorts of fun things we never get to do, like shopping, eating out, smelling lotions at the store for half an hour.

How, you might wonder, was I able to do this when there are usually 3 children tugging me in a million different directions? They were home with their Daddy. Yes, you read that correctly. All three stayed home with Daddy while I spent the weekend with Nana. Oh, it was such fun. My mom and I haven't had that much time to ourselves since I got married. It was quite nice. Plus, I got to sleep in!

Meanwhile, on the home front, S let the kids have lots of fun this weekend. The house wasn't too torn up when I got home. Here are a few pictures of their day on Saturday:

Catching Up

I have been such the delinquent blogger this week and there's really no reason for it. It's not like I haven't had the time after the kids are in bed. I guess I'm just too tired to come upstairs and get on the computer. So here's what we've been up to.

K had a field trip to a local TV station to learn about the weather and news reporting. It was really cool. Each child got to stand in front of the green screen, pretend to do the weather, and see themselves on TV. Very cool. Except that K didn't want to do it when it was her turn and then decided, at the very last second that she did but it was too late. Bummer.

Ballet pictures were Friday afternoon and the girls were so excited to get into their costumes. They both looked so cute. K's dress is a princess dress and she looks so beautiful in it; so grown up. They did not want to take them off when we got home. They do like to play dress-up!

H is into anything and everything these days. S gave him a hard-boiled egg this morning. Check out the picture below for how that went over.

I hope all of you are doing well and I promise to be back with more pictures very soon!

K, practicing her ballerina twirls...

L trying to open her eyes in the bright sun so I could get a good picture...

L walking away from me because she wanted to have her picture taken by herself and not with K. K smiled sweetly.

H getting egg all over himself. He did get a bath right after this!

Trip to My Hometown

I almost titled this post "Trip Home" but realized that I'm home now, in my own house and that we just got back from a trip to my hometown, where I was born and raised. We went to visit my parents while S was out of town for the week. While the drive was long, it was well worth it. H did really well in the car and the girls sat in the way back watching movies the entire time. I did have the forethought to give them headphones so I didn't have to listen to Cinderella and Aladdin 100 times.


We had a great time. The girls got to spend the night at Papa and PJ's house which makes them feel so grown-up. P & PJ took them to a wild animal rescue park where they were able to see lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!) and all sorts of other animals that have been rescued from private owners, zoos and other less-than-humane conditions. They had a blast.


Nana and I took H shopping and we were able to get some summer clothes for him. We had such a fun time as we rarely get to spend time together. H was a great sport and conked out just after lunch. He even took another nap when we got home. Shopping is so exhausting!


The highlight for me was going to hear Trent Monk (of Monk & Neagle) play at my friend's house. Yes he was in her living room giving, what felt like, a private concert, even though it really wasn't. He is a phenomenal musician and if he's ever in your area, I encourage you to check him out. And I got to do this without any children in tow. Oh, it was a blessed evening, including reconnecting with a friend I haven't seen since I was in eighth grade!


I will post pictures when I get the chance but I have to play with some of them before they're ready for posting!

Scooter

Lest you think I've lost my mind, this is a picture of our family dog, Scooter. Scooter isn't real yet, and won't be for several years. You see, I've told my children that they may get a dog when K is 10, L is 8, and H is 5 as I have zero desire to have a baby and a puppy at the same time.

One of our Christmas gifts from Papa and PJ was this sweet stuffed Schnauzer, complete with a collar and name tag that reads "Scooter." I really want a miniature Schnauzer because they don't shed as much as other dogs and I've always really liked the breed.

Why the name Scooter, you ask? Well, last fall S took the girls to a volleyball practice to give me a break in the afternoon. While at said practice someone showed up with their brand new Daschund puppy who was, appropriately, named Scooter. L fell in love with Scooter and talked about him for months. In fact, if you ask her what we're going to name our dog she'll tell you Scooter.

The girls take turns sleeping with our Scooter and K brought him into my room this morning. This is the picture that greeted me as I got out of the shower.

All Three in the Tub

Now that H is sitting up on his own, I feel comfortable putting him in the tub with his sisters. Since he's a little wobbly, we have a tub seat for him that all three of the kids have used. (Incidentally, I have no pictures of all of them in the tub because I keep forgetting to bring my camera in the bathroom before H gets in and I'm not leaving him with those two girls. It's just not safe). The girls love it and H is entertained the whole time. K and L take turns sitting next to him, only if I can remember which one got to sit by him last time.

One thing this has brought about is an anatomy lesson. I really don't believe in calling body parts by silly little names so we call it what it is. The funny thing is this is really the first we've had to deal with this. I thought it would be an issue when H first came home and they were watching while I changed his diapers. But they never really asked so I didn't bring it up.

Now, of course, they are asking all sorts of questions. Every time we get in the tub we have the discussion about boy parts and girl parts. And I gently remind them that we don't talk about this with our friends, only with Mama or Daddy. I don't really want the girls running around the playground announcing body parts!

The Indian Cafe

Yesterday, S got a rolling garment bag for his travels. Actually, he ordered it a month ago and was told it wouldn't arrive until February but it was exactly what he was looking for at a really good price. So he ordered it anyway and decided to wait for it.

It came in a great box, one the girls immediately wanted to play with. They stood in it and started pretending it was a cafe. So I got the bright idea to make a menu and give the cafe a name. They came up with the menu and the pricing all on their own. I just wrote down what they told me to write. They have had such fun with this box cafe. It was the first thing they wanted to do when they got up this morning and was the first thing they headed for when they got home from school. K is Rachael Ray and L is Colette.

K was a little dismayed when I told her that we couldn't actually purchase all the stuff on the menu and sell it. I think she had in mind to put the "cafe" on our front lawn and really sell ketchup and McDonald's. Ah, the mind of a 5-year-old.

I think my favorite thing on the menu is the Ketchup for $2.00. That or the watermelon juice. I'm not really sure where that came from!

Gingerbread Houses

My mom found these gingerbread house kits at a grocery store and they were so much fun. K got the idea to make a marshmallow snowgirl and I just happened to have colored toothpicks on hand. Nana helped L while I helped K. Poor H doesn't know what he's missing!

And Now for Something Completely Different

Anyone tired of me talking about Christmas? Yeah, me too. So on to another subject.

(I actually can't believe I forgot to mention this little gem earlier but I've had a lot on my mind, I guess. That, or I'm getting old.)

A couple of days ago, I was doing some housework and K was looking for something to do. So I asked her to get me a drink out of the fridge in our garage. Both girls like to do this kind of thing because it gets them out of having to clean up. Within seconds she was back saying that there was a cat in our garage. I went out there to look but saw nothing and heard nothing so I assumed the cat had gone out without K seeing it. Our neighbor has 3 cats and all 3 at one time or another has been seen in our garage.

About an hour later our neighbor came by and S answered the door. I was in our room with a mound of laundry and went to see who was at the door. I heard her say, "Well, if you see her, please let me know." I knew immediately she was talking about her cat so I informed her that K had seen one in our garage. All of us went back to the garage and started looking for the cat. Again. When our neighbor called for her cat, we heard a faint meow. Coming from the car. Coming from inside the car. Knowing that none of the doors had been open, I knew that the cat must be tucked up in the engine.

We open the hood and look around for a few moments when we see two golden eyes staring back at us. The cat, smart creature that it is, must have gotten in our garage the night before through the side door and, searching for a warm place to sleep, found the car. Only she was stuck and couldn't figure out how to get out. Cats, they are smart little things.

With only a little coaxing and, thankfully, no clawing, S and I were able to turn her around so that she could get out the way she came in. I'm just thankful that we didn't need the car that morning, otherwise there would be a real mess to clean up.

This should serve as a good warning to all of you to make sure that your garage doors are closed up tight.

What Did You Get for Christmas?

There are several things that would be on the list of favorite gifts this year (see post below for mine and S's). But the best thing the kids got was the Cootie game. I remember playing this years ago and it was kind of boring. The girls, however, are having a blast with it. K and L love playing it and it forces us to play with them. Usually, I'm not a game-player but for some reason, this one has been really fun. I've enjoyed getting to play with them and see their personalities erupt. They even played it with a friend yesterday afternoon.

One note to the makers of Cootie: could you please, in your next redesign of this game, include two girl-colored Cooties? Also, if you would, please include two girl-type accessories for the Cootie? You see, right now there's only one hair bow, one set of eyes with eyelashes, and only one pink Cootie (although the box shows a purple one. But that's neither here nor there. Pink will suffice). It would save a lot of hassle and fighting for my little girls (and my hair would be ever-so-grateful to you as there would be much less pulling out of the hair over said fighting).

But we really are enjoying it!