The Important Things in Life Aren't Things.....

The story in which I could have broken my ankle...

2012-01-19T10:47:00.003-05:00

So, after two years of whining (and begging and puh-leading), I convinced Doug that the girls need a trampoline. For the most part, Doug is pretty laid back. However, the trampoline is one example of just how stubborn the man can be. Not that I didn't get his side of the argument. Trampolines can be very dangerous. Especially the trampolines we played on as kids. You know, the ones that had no protective enclosure net. I'm pretty sure the springs were also exposed. Not that any of that kept us from jumping on one. In fact, I remember some pretty awesome (dangerous) games we used to play. One in which you jumped from a higher up spot down onto the trampoline where you were then airborne into the sky before free falling onto your ass, head, arm, leg, etc. All the while you're praying that this time is NOT the time where you bend over and kiss your ass good-bye. So in the spirit of this, my parents went in with us to purchase the girls their very own trampoline. And they have loved every freaking minute of it.

It took me about 3 weeks to get on the trampoline myself. I had been avoiding it only because Doug is currently out of commission with his gimpy ankle. I figure it's probably not the brightest idea for me to put myself possibly in harm's way and then I go and break my ankle. Cuz you know that's just how it could be. So after school one day, the girls managed to coax me out and onto the trampoline. Man...I forgot how much fun you really can have on a trampoline. We played games. We played tag. I made the girls human popcorn where they giggled loudly and begged me to do it again. All was well until one of the bouncy balls we had used for dodge ball snuck out of it's hiding spot and came right under my foot as I came down to bounce. Luckily, I was just getting started and not bouncing very high yet. But all the same, it was like a subtle reminder that I don't need to jinx myself. So after snapping a few pictures of our rumble and tumble afternoon, I hauled myself off of the trampoline and counted myself lucky. Until the next time...

Never a dull moment here...

2012-01-10T11:16:00.002-05:00

For the few remaining people who didn't know it....this is why I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately. You know we Alexanders like to keep things interesting to say the least. Doug has a broken ankle. The pictures above are of his first cast (he's now sporting an army green one which has helped curb those funny comments made by friends and co-workers). He has to wear his new cast for 4 weeks at which point he's praying for a boot. If the bone doesn't heal itself he has been told that he will have to have a screw put in. Let's just say, we all really don't want that to be happening. Of course he broke his right ankle which means he can't drive. Anywhere. I have to say that his parents have been a pillar of support and help and we just can't thank them enough. Also a big thank you to Delaney who has enjoyed taking on the responsibility of handing crutches off, carrying dishes and/or anything that helps her daddy. She's like a little nurse in the making this child.

Santa's offerings...

2011-12-27T15:42:00.003-05:00

Every year, on Christmas night, I start feeling the "winter blues." I look at our pretty tree and it somehow seems sad without the prettily-wrapped packages sitting beneath. The kids are no longer counting the hours, minutes, seconds until Santa makes his appearance. I am no longer frantically trying to bake the last batch of sugar cookies, wrap last minute gifts or help the girls create that one last Christmas craft. While December is by far one of the busiest months in our house (probably all houses really), and some days I tell myself to slow it down, I still feel completely let down once it's over. "I can't believe it's already come and gone...again," I whine to Doug. "You say that every year," he replies. "But it's true! Before you know it it will be summer all over again," I say. And I will get over it as I do each and every year. There are more fun traditions to look forward to that have nothing to do with Christmas. But saying that doesn't make me miss it any less.

Doug & his remote control helicopter (which by the way has shattered one of the bulbs on my ceiling fan in the family room. I sure wish I had foreseen that!)

How nice is it when your older sister cheers you on & knows it when you've landed one bad-assed present?!

Why..hello Barbie! I think she's kinda sweet on Doug...

Some of my favorite moments each holiday we celebrate is the girls helping me in the kitchen. They are both so eager to help & I soak up every minute of it.

Hadley, Mee-Maw, Delaney & Poppie

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

2011-12-25T21:27:00.002-05:00

"You could sleep in the stable for the night!"

2011-12-22T20:07:00.003-05:00

Our precious little innkeeper

I know this is NOT a great picture but it does show Hadley at the mic saying her sweet line...

Roll out the red carpets & enroll my child in acting classes! That's right...Hadley nailed her line as the innkeeper in her preschool's very first Christmas program performed today. Mind you, she only had one line but she marched up to the microphone, with no prodding or shooing, and boldly announced, "You could sleep in the stable for the night!" When I say my heart burst, I mean it. I mentally high-fived my superstar and looked at Doug to see the same silly, sweet expression pasted on his face as well. That look that says it all. We have the cutest, smartest, best kid on the whole planet and she's all ours!

P.S. Sorry about the crappy quality of the pictures. There are few windows in the gym, where the play was held, to let in any natural light. And since I still haven't gotten the camera of my dreams, my little 'ole Canon Powershot will have to do the trick until then. Sigh....

Full of Life...

2011-12-06T15:39:00.006-05:00

It's that time of year again. The time to write our family's Christmas story. Keep up with traditions that have been instilled over the years. And this is one of our favorites! Lights at Life College with our Cracker Barrel dinner. But to be fair, we usually eat at Spaghetti Warehouse in the "train" seating. Which is where we thought we were eating. Until we pulled into the dark deserted parking lot to find a for sale sign hanging in the window and no Spaghetti Warehouse. Damn recession....messing with our Christmas traditions. We drove a little further down the road and found another favorite; Cracker Barrel! Where I practically licked my plate because I had chicken 'n dumplings and by God they were so freaking good. Hadley ordered up her favorite pancakes and I gave Doug the look which made him roll his eyes (the look = Haha, I'm not the only person on the planet who eats breakfast for dinner).

Our elves....Hadley couldn't take her eyes off of all the action going on around us!

I could have scooped up this precious little pot-bellied pig. By far one of the nicest "petting zoos" we've ever witnessed.

You know this girl is a sucker for a bunny.

The chickens & roosters were all huddled together in obvious protest of all the "petting." As we were walking in the man working assured us all the animals are friendly. I had my doubts about the chickens.

You know we can't go anywhere where ponies/horses exist and not pet/ride/love them.

A little taste of the lights. They are all so beautiful!

Keeping with tradition...

2011-12-04T15:58:00.002-05:00

The frosting we used was H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E and this kid sucked it up faster than a vacuum.

I love this picture. Hadley was whispering a secret, "Delaney, you're my BFF!" I love how even though Hadley tells her this secret 71 times a week, she still breaks into a silly grin and giggles like it's the first time she's heard it.

Notice another dark space in Delaney's mouth? Yep...she lost her other top tooth.

Don't you love how well Hadley matches her hair bows with her shirts? And because I am working on my "controlling my environment & people" problem I didn't even ask her to change it nor did I remove it from her hair for pictures. Who knows...maybe we'll use these pictures in our Christmas cards (no I have NOT ordered ours yet. See, it's like I'm totally transforming myself!).

Their finished product. The right window had a malfunction that I may or may not have caused. I'm telling you, this frosting was like frigging glue. Completely unforgiving...

Driving, turkeys and a whole lotta scooter riding

2011-11-29T11:14:00.006-05:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we packed up the Subaru and headed north. We drove for almost a 1,000 miles to the great state of Iowa to spend the holiday with our extended family. First family road trip to Iowa ever. And I was dreading it like I dread cleaning my bathrooms. Not because I couldn't wait to see our family. Because. I. Hate. Driving. That. Far. I can recollect all of the long drives we used to take as kids without all the bells and whistles we have now. Like the DS. Or Leapster. Or iPods. A promise is a promise though and I told my aunt & uncle we would come so by God, we came.

Our little Native American

Delaney sporting her new Razor Graffiti Scooter she bought with her birthday money

Hadley riding on her new Barbie Scooter (her sister's old scooter). She is thrilled because it's not slow like her Dora scooter. She's not even allowed to look at her Barbie scooter unless she's wearing a helmet (yeah, it's that bad).

This is what much of Iowa looks like.

The girls thought it was so cool that cows were just grazing everyfreakingwhere.

Bundle up girls cuz it's cold outside!

Hadley & Uncle Brian (who is by far one of the best uncles in the whole wide world).

Aunt Shelly with the girls

Family shot (side note: I was thinking of using this picture on our family Christmas card but Doug shot that down immediately after seeing it as our background on the computer).

Action shot

Yes, scooters are even fun for adults!

Shelly was a bit more nervous than Brian...

We're breaking all the rules in Iowa! We don't need no stinking rules...(calm down people, we were in a secluded parking lot in the middle of nowhere).

Sm'ores time!

No...Delaney didn't like her sm'ores at all.

I haven't even looked at this game since junior high at least. They really should put a warning on the box that you might wanna stretch your muscles before attempting to contort your body into harmful positions.

Cousin Jenni with the girls

After we left Delaney openly sobbed her heart out for 45 minutes. This was taken later in the afternoon. Poor poopskie. You can't cry like that without taking a siesta.

We had such a good time. I have been unable to stop dwelling on the thought that maybe we need to be closer to our extended family. Being around them all made me miss the whole good chaotic feel that holidays have when you're surrounded by the folks you have all this history with. I loved seeing my cousins because there are 1,000 memories of playing in my grandma's basement with them as kids. Our family has the one uncle who has consistently been playing practical jokes on everyone since as far back as I can remember. He did not disappoint me this time either. I love how everyone shows up with tons of food and we sit around and eat and talk and eat and talk. Most of all, I love how even though it's been years since I've visited, it's like we pick up where we left off as if nothing ever changed. All still held together by the thread of family. And it's nice that the girls finally can put faces to names. Until our next visit, I will have to replay this one over and over.

For the man in our lives...

2011-11-16T11:03:00.004-05:00

Someone here just had a birthday....but this person, let's call him Doug, does not like to celebrate his birthday. Why? Now that's a good question and one that I have yet to figure out. Maybe some childhood drama with a clown? Your guess is as good as mine. Dunno know. Nonetheless, that didn't stop the girls in this house from wanting to celebrate. I mean ALL the girls too just so you know. Cuz, we love our man, our daddy, our friend, my husband. He works hard every single day with little complaints to take care of us. We just wanted to show him that while we are not gonna throw a big party and embarrass him, we did want to celebrate. Kinda gangsta-style too.

We even hired a band! Too much?

The planner

The helpers

Birthday Boy with his girls

One of Delaney's gifts, a faux glittery poinsettia. Cuz you can always use one of these!

I love this picture! I love how proud she is of the card she made & how excited Doug got which made her very very happy.

Hadley figured Doug could use more sponges. You know, you can never really have enough!

Pin the tail on the donkey (Delaney insisted).

Some people claimed she was cheating for feeling on the door for the tail area. I say, we didn't establish any rules up front so who I am to call her a cheater?

#1 Doug

#2 Hadley

#3 Delaney

#4 Katie

Some of us ended up wearing more than eating. So glad I decided to wait on the baths.

Minimal mess & so pretty :)

So I got the idea from one of my favorite blogs to take the girls to the Dollar Tree & let them pick out gifts for Doug's birthday. I gave each girl a $3 limit and told them they could buy whatever they thought their daddy would like. Here's what the birthday boy ended up with:

Delaney: cell phone case, tape measurer, glittery faux poinsettia

Hadley: sponges, TV remote, mini light to attach to a book

It turned out to be so much fun from the gifts to the pin the tail on the donkey to the cake! We had a wonderful night and hope the man in our lives knows how much we all love and adore him! Happy Birthday Doug....here's to many many more!

Whatcha reading?

2011-11-07T20:22:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I've shared some of my favorite reads but I felt like I could NOT not share this book. My mother recently told me about it and I found it while scanning the shelves at Goodwill, which has become a great place for me to find cheap books. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir written about her dysfunctional parents and her life with them. It was so good I can't even put it into words. My heart broke for the kids in this story. While there is serious neglect from the parents, I could not help but feel this tremendous love from the father. My emotions were constantly conflicting as I kept reading. Some pages I felt like I could seriously weep and others left me laughing out loud. A serious page turner and as far as I'm concerned, a MUST read. It left me feeling like there is nothing I can't handle or overcome with my own family. In the end, it's the bonds of childhood that hold us together throughout our lives.

My blue eyed girl...

2011-11-02T13:37:00.004-04:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet, firstborn child. Delaney Grace. The girl that made me a momma. The girl that captured my heart in ways I could never have imagined possible. The girl that amazes me every single day of her life. I am including my favorite "story" that I picked up one day while shopping in Hallmark. I started crying right there in the store. I went back after Hadley was born so I could buy her a copy of her own as well. It's a "celebration of life, love and the bond between mother and child." Could not have said it better myself.

Someday by Alison McGhee & Peter H. Reynolds

One day I counted your fingers and kissed each one.

One day the first snowflakes fell, and I held you up and watched them melt on your baby skin.

One day we crossed the street, and you held my hand tight.

Then, you were my baby, and now you are my child.

Sometimes, when you sleep, I watch you dream, and I dream too....

That someday you will dive into the cool, clear water of a lake.

Someday you will walk into a deep wood.

Someday your eyes will be filled with a joy so deep that they shine.

Someday you will run so fast and so far your heart will feel like fire.

Someday you will swing high-so high, higher than you ever dared to swing.

Someday you will hear something so sad that you will fold up with sorrow.

Someday you will call a song to the wind, and the wind will carry your song away.

Someday I will stand on this porch, and watch your arms waving to me until I no longer see you.

Someday you will look at this house and wonder how something that feels so big can look so small.

Someday you will feel a small weight against your strong back.

Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair.

Someday, a long time from now, your own hair will glow silver in the sun.

And when that day comes, love, you will remember me.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:50:00.002-04:00

Delaney as Pinkie Pie

Hadley as Starsong

In which Lucy carves her own pumpkin...

2011-10-30T15:53:00.004-04:00

Fall has fast become my favorite season. I love the cool crisp air and the smell of the heat when you turn it on for the first time. You know, that funny weird smell in which you scour your brain wondering if you left the iron plugged in or something is melting in the dishwasher. I love the way the leaves all turn color. Looking out our front window to spy the trees across the street in vibrant oranges, reds and yellows. I love pajama pants and sweatshirts. I love snuggling up to Doug each night and sticking my ice cold freezing feet on his legs and hearing him yelp like a girl. I love Halloween and the girls whisking all the costume magazines up to their rooms where they peruse over them for hours, deciding which costume they need the most. I love cooking our meals in the crock pot. I love coming home from being gone for the better part of a day to smell the wonderful aroma wafting through the kitchen and knowing dinner is already done.

This weekend we tackled one of our favorite fall traditions. Pumpkin carving! Doug is like the pumpkin carving master complete with various tools that come along with our kits we have bought and kept over the years. This year, due to the short stature of our pumpkin, we opted for the spooky ghost scene. Which is super awesome if I do say so myself. Doug definitely pulls his weight with the pumpkin carving. The girls "help" with the guts and probably spend about 98% of the time playing and making various food scenarios. Which is fine since they can't really use knives to help carve.

Something else we did after all the carving was had a family movie night complete with It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! I happened to be shopping at Walgreens the other day when I came across it. I LOVE Charlie Brown and have many fond memories of me and my brother watching various Charlie Brown movies as kids. And since we were due a movie night I figured why not? Of course the girls loved it, especially Snoopy. I forgot how darn bossy that Lucy is...and funny. One scene shows Lucy carrying in the super sharp kitchen knives and carving up her pumpkin. Doug starts making disapproving noises and I crack up because you can tell these movies were so made in a different time. A time when we rode our bicycles with NO helmets. A time when you left in the morning and played in the woods all the live long day and didn't even check in with your mother unless you were bleeding or hungry. A time when if you talked about someone's momma you got your ass kicked and you know you deserved it. A time when you were considered a responsible babysitter at the age of 10 & got paid a $1 per hour per kid. A time when you learned how to swim not by the aquatic center but by jumping off the diving board and praying to God that you managed to splash and kick your way over to the ladder. But nonetheless, watching Charlie Brown with the girls was fun and made Doug and I feel like kids again. Which is a nice feeling...real nice.

Her new look

2011-10-25T09:41:00.002-04:00

This kid has yet to pull her own tooth out. First one was taken out courtesy of her dentist. The second one Hadley managed to yank out on a grocery excursion in Publix. Her top tooth has been loose for two WHOLE months. Delaney refused to pull it out. Finally, after off & on bleeding that left the girls bathroom looking like a crime scene straight out of CSI, Doug managed to yank it out. Delaney commented, "It didn't even hurt!" I informed her that the tooth fairy might leave her more money if she does the deed herself. Her other top front tooth is loose but I have yet to see her even wiggle it.

Going to the chapel...

2011-10-18T18:00:00.011-04:00

This past weekend, my little brother got married. He is now officially a husband. I now have a sister. My parents now have two daughters. Her parents have a son. You get the gist of this. My brother asked the girls to be in the wedding as a flower girl and a junior bridesmaid. I wasn't sure if Hadley was going to cooperate as she tends to get a little nervous around big groups of adults that she doesn't know well. Don't worry, be happy....she did just fine! All the kids did so great it made my heart burst with joy watching it. The ceremony was short and sweet. I was even introduced to something I've never seen or heard of until now...unity sand. That's right, not a unity candle but the blending of two different sands. I was unsure about it at first but I have to say that by the end of the ceremony I was totally sold on the idea and thought that if it had been around when we got hitched I would have liked to do it too.

Listening to my brother and his bride say their vows, it made me think back to our vows and wonder if I could add to it as someone who has been married for 10 years. What would I add? What would the Katie now say to Katie back then? Words of wisdom? How about that marriage is hard, hard work and there are gonna be days when you're ready to throw in the towel but don't. Because in my opinion one of the most important lines you repeat is "for better or worse, in good times and bad." We all love the good times but struggle with the bad. But this is marriage, and even if I could go back and give Katie then some advice, I wouldn't change a thing. Marriage might be hard work but it can be so rewarding too. I get to spend my life with my best friend. My husband knows me better than anyone else on earth. While we are not a perfect couple, we are perfect for each other. At the end of the day, there's no one else I'd rather be with.

To Chris & Christy, I wish you both all the best on a lifetime of discovering your best friend and all that it entails. Hold on tight to each other and enjoy the ride...

Carter & Hunter

Hadley & Delaney

She's seriously happy (can't you tell)!

Nana fluffing her hair one last time...

The happy groom!

Unity Sand

The flower girls got a little bored so they threw out the remaining petals in their baskets.

Four generations picture

My parents with the grandkids

The groom's cake (Iowa Hawkeye)

First Dance as Mr. & Mrs. Tesch

Dad & Daughter Dance (so sweet!)

Mother & Son Dance (I bawled like a baby)

Nana & Hadley busting a move!

"Dance with us Uncle Chris!"

Can you tell we love to dance?

Hadley's last dance of the evening....with her Papa.

And what a wonderful night it was!

Hiatus

2011-10-08T19:25:00.008-04:00

No, we did not disappear. I was not sick of blogging (maybe just a little). Nothing unusual happened. I decided to take a hiatus. Really, I just got overwhelmed this past month and had to let a few things go in order to get all the other billion things done. Learning to balance and the art of saying......NO. That's a word I don't always like to use. But learning to use it has really empowered me. Because as much as I would love to do certain things, it's not always possible to do it all. That is a thought that as I get older, I'm learning to live with. It's okay to say no sometimes.

Delaney's 1st "love" letter. It's looks suspiciously like an older sibling quite possibly helped him write this.

Me: What did you say to Julian?

D: I told him that I couldn't be his girlfriend now. Maybe next year in 2nd grade. I have a friend, Nevaeh, who has a boyfriend. She said she's already kissed him.

Me: 1st grade is too young for a boyfriend and I certainly don't want to find out you've kissed anyone, especially Julian.

D: Eww! I'm NOT kissing Julian!

Me: Good. Let's keep it that way.

A few days later.

D: Mom, Julian told me today that he loves the sound of my voice. I think he's falling in love with me.

Me: (SIGH)

Meet Bob Jr. Hadley actually caught this little guy all by herself. She came dashing through the back door and almost mowed me down in an attempt to show off her latest find. I told her she might want to ease up on the pressure she was exerting with Bob Jr. Also told her Bob Jr. could NOT come in the house unless he's properly housed in the bug box. We kept him for a couple of hours, and then let him hobble away to meet up with his family. We miss him but he writes to let us know he's okay.

For fall break, we packed up the girls and headed off Tennessee. It was a reschedule from a trip we tried to take in May. Delaney got strep throat and Doug ended up with a stomach bug the last time. This time both girls came down with strep just days before leaving. It's like the universe is trying to tell us something. Alas, we were still able to go.

The girls claimed this was their favorite thing that we did. It is fun but only if you don't allow yourself to think that you're 1000 feet underground. For some reason, I couldn't shake this from my mind. Ruby Falls is truly beautiful and I love how the light hit the water and rocks in the picture below.

These are pictures all taken at Rock City. Which Doug said would be lame and turned out to be my favorite thing we did. I chickened out and refused to step on the ledge in the above picture. Let's just say I have a deep fear of heights. Nonetheless, everything seen from this high up is truly beautiful. Tennessee is really a beautiful place.

Delaney claimed Ruby Falls her favorite thing until she stepped foot on the "Duck Tour." That changed everything. Maybe it was the fact that the truck turns into a boat and hops from land to water. Or maybe it was the fact that the nice tour guide let her drive the boat. Which at first she did NOT want to do. It surprised me because any time a kid gets permission to steer something, I feel like they will do it no matter what. I explained that she wouldn't have to do the pedal because the guide would do that. All she had to do was steer. The guide would keep us safe. Once reassured, she was more than willing. Our guide couldn't have been a nicer man. He kept calling her "Captain Delaney" and quacking like a duck. Delaney thought he was hilarious. She's still practicing her quacking. Hadley wishes she could remember the Duck Tour however, she was lulled to sleep by the sound of the boat motor and the swaying motion of the water. The kid slept like a frigging rock. Our guide referred to her as "Sleeping Beauty." How appropriate.

Captain Delaney

This past week Delaney was awarded her level 1 green belt! Things are about to get real interesting because she's about to embark on a new adventure in TaeKwonDo. She gets to start sparring. She is so excited she can hardly stand it. While I am excited for her, I am also nervous. The thought of her openly fighting with another student is a hard pill to swallow. You know, the whole mama bear syndrome where no one better mess with my kids. As much as it might pain me to watch, I do think Delaney will be fantastic. She has really excelled at TaeKwonDo and works very hard. We are so proud of her.

Hadley likes to pose with the old belt even though it annoys her sister.

Pre-K, here we come!

2011-08-30T12:17:00.002-04:00

Yesterday during lunch, Ms. Jo Ann asked the kids what they want to be when they grow up? She told me many of the kids gave typical stock answers like a doctor or a movie star or a singer. She said that Hadley declared, "I want to be a witch!" She thought this was hilarious. I immediately called Doug as I pulled out of the parking lot to relay the story to him. After his initial chuckle he said, "She is my kid that girl!" In other words, we will support Hadley in whatever she decides to be. Even a witch.

In their eyes...

2011-08-22T13:23:00.003-04:00

Hadley, me & Buddy (poor Buddy's head got cut off)

Pirate Delaney who obviously found it unimportant to stand still while being photographed all while Hadley's finger is blocking part of the lens.

Buddy

Hadley & Mittens

Hadley modeling their play jewelry & accessories

(I tried to explain that it's easier to take pictures if you're not moving around at the same time)

Delaney's favorite stuffed shark "Hammy" & me smooching

Buddy walking down the stairs (duh)

Hadley's bed & her favorite stuffed toys (her FROGS!)

In their eyes, this is what the world looks like. Toys. Dogs. Mommy. Sisters. The girls have really been into taking pictures lately. They have their own camera but unfortunately the battery is dead and I'm obviously too lazy to replace it. So I agreed they could borrow my camera for a little while and off they scampered giggling and giddy with all the picture taking they could do with a "grown up" camera. It seems that big sister did most of the picture taking. Hadley didn't seem to mind posing with all the various toys and shenanigans. I even stopped to pose for a few myself (side note: I realize I look like hell in both pictures but we had just gotten home from a trip to the lake so I was freshly showered and that was the extent of it). Even though the pictures turned out horrible, the girls had a blast & loved seeing their pictures on the computer. They keep pestering me to borrow it again and I wish I could refuse them with the line "you might break it" but considering it's ghetto-rigged because of ME, seems like a silly & useless thing to say. It will make a nice hand-me-down.

Me and my little...

2011-08-16T15:13:00.003-04:00

Today Hadley and I ventured over to the Yellow River Game Ranch near Stone Mountain. We first visited this place last fall and fell in love BIG time. If you've never been it's definitely worth the trip. Since big sis has been back at school for a few weeks now, Hadley and I have been trying to keep busy. I realized the other day that this is our last summer where I will be left with a preschooler to entertain for a bit longer. Next summer I will send not one but two sweet girls off to elementary school. Like everything else, I'm sure it will be here before you know it. So I have been determined for us to really enjoy these weeks together, just me and my little. Because as we know, all good things must come to an end. While the thought of both girls at elementary school seems exciting, it's a little bittersweet for me. I will have no one left at home to care for and it will be just me. And while I know I will bask in the glory of having a minute to myself, my days will be forever changed.

Judy Blume, how could you?

2011-08-07T09:05:00.006-04:00

If there is one thing that Delaney and I have in common, it's our love of books & reading. I have read to both girls since the day they made their way into the world. Delaney learned to read before she went off to Kindergarten and I'm struck by how advanced and how well she can read. Something new she started over the summer was taking an interest in reading "chapter" books. While she still enjoys books with pictures in them (she is only 6 I keep reminding myself), she has really taken to reading snippets throughout the day and marking her place with her trusty bookmark. The first book she tackled was a Winnie the Pooh book that had well over 100 pages. She read it nonstop and finished within 24 hours. Sometimes when I'm taking a minute to myself to read, she'll grab her book and curl up beside me to read her own book.

At night we've been setting aside a special chapter book to read together when I put her to bed. Our most recent pick was a favorite of mine from childhood that I saved for my girls. Superfudge by Judy Blume. Delaney allows me to read it to her which is nice considering I haven't been able to do so since she started reading for herself. Last night we opened it to Chapter 10 ~ Santa Who? Right there that should have sent up a red flag. Course I haven't read this book since middle school so I couldn't friggin remember what happens. So I'm reading and as I'm reading I look ahead every now and again to make sure there is nothing completely inappropriate considering Delaney is only 6 and this book's target audience is probably more late elementary early middle schoolish. This is what I see before it comes out of my mouth:

"When I got home that afternoon, I cornered my mother. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to let him go on believing in Santa. He thinks you can get whatever you want by just asking. He doesn't know about people who can't afford to buy presents. You should do something about that. After all, you told him about where babies come from. How can a kid that knows where babies come from still believe in Santa?"

"I don't see what one thing has to do with the other," Mom said. "But I do agree that sooner or later he'll have to learn that Santa is just an idea." She sighed. "But for now, he's so enthusiastic and the idea of Santa is just so lovely that Daddy and I have decided it can't possibly hurt. So please go along with us for a while, Peter."

When I saw what was coming, I started a coughing fit which was part real (because I was caught off guard) and part fake as I needed a diversion. Delaney didn't seem to notice that we skipped most of that page so I read on thanking God that I caught it in time. We come to the end of the chapter when I start to read and stop. This is what I see:

"All that Santa stuff..."

I put down my instruction manual and looked at him. "What do you mean, all that Santa stuff?"

"I know there's no Santa," he said.

"Since when do you know?"

"Since always."

"You don't believe in Santa?" I asked.

He laughed. "No...not ever!"

"Then why..."

"Because Mommy and Daddy think I believe in him...so I pretend."

Oh holy shit! And Delaney is peering over my shoulder to see why I've stopped reading. I snatch up the book and back away towards her door.

"What's wrong mommy? Why aren't you finishing the page?"

Now I hate to lie to her but the thought of her magical-I-believe-in-Santa face going away forever bears too much for me.

"There's a bad word on this page and I don't want you to hear it."

"But isn't that a kids book?"

"Yes it is." Shit. "It's just that it's written for older elementary kids and you're in the younger elementary grades making it inappropriate for you to read." Gulp. Is she seeing through me? I feel like I'm sweating a bit. Actually more than a bit.

"Oh. Okay."

She goes downstairs to kiss Doug goodnight. I have taken Superfudge out of her room because I know she will definitely go back and read what I have skipped if left in her clutches. Another reminder to me that while Delaney is extremely mature for a 6 year old, letting her read a bit more mature book almost cost us both something that we would never be able to get back. The innocence and sweetness that comes with believing with all your heart in Santa Claus. To think we almost lost that, makes me want to cry.

Growing up...

2011-08-02T16:08:00.002-04:00

What better way to start 1st grade than to get your ears pierced? None! For two years I have on & off asked my precious first-born daughter if she was ready to do the deed. "No mommy, it will hurt!" I tried reassuring her that it's only a pinch and then it's over. This past year I noticed that almost all of her friends already had theirs done & thought this might bolster her confidence. "I talked to Emily & Indya. Emily said it didn't hurt. Indya told me it did hurt. I don't know who to trust mommy!" Either way, it didn't really bother me. I figured she would take the plunge when ready. Yesterday she was sorting through some earrings of mine & together we stumbled upon my old earrings I had when I was her age. She became very interested. Delaney was even more excited after she dug up my lizard & turtle earrings that I'm sure I wore in high school. "Do you want to get your ears pierced now?" She looked at the earrings & looked up into my eyes and said, "Yes. I'm ready." I was stunned. I really didn't expect that answer at all. "Do you want to go today?" She ponders this & says, "No. How about tomorrow?"

All smiles prior to anything being done!

Finding the perfect spots!

Doesn't this break your heart? Well...it broke mine! She never screamed or cried but after the first earring pierced her ear, her eyes welled up with tears and she looked at me & said, "That hurt momma." I wanted to throw my arms around her but I could tell she was trying to be brave and not draw any attention to herself. "You are being so brave Delaney!"

After the ordeal was over she was all smiles! The earrings she chose were her birthstone (November). She's already got her eye on horse earrings that I've promised her she can try out in a few months.

My big 1st grader! My first-born girl is growing up...

Our cowgirl...

2011-07-30T18:19:00.003-04:00

Delaney & Angel (the one horse I actually was not afraid of!)

Nikki, Lindsey & Delaney (her camp counselors)

Delaney riding on Wizard

Wizard

Delaney just had the best week of the whole summer. And she spent this week at Equestrian Camp. As a lot of you know, Delaney is our horse lover. Looking through her scrapbooks, I noticed that this fascination with horses started at age 2. Doug and I had taken her to a farm out near Ball Ground to spend the day doing pumpkin picking, animal feeding, etc. They had a section roped off for horse rides. With absolutely no fear, she walked right up to the ring and pointed to the horse and said, "I ride horsie!" A love was born like no other in her life. Instead of playing with dolls & barbies, she opts for horses. I wondered how long this phase would last. Almost 5 years later and it's still going strong. The preschool director at Hadley's school emailed me a brochure for Equestrian Camp back in the spring and even though it seemed a little out of our price range, I felt it was important to help Delaney pursue this love and dream. In her words to me, "When I grow up, I'm gonna move to Texas and be a cowgirl." She stands firm by this. Never wavering. And if there's anything that stands out about Delaney, it's determination.

So she spent 5 days at Equestrian Camp riding horses, grooming horses, feeding horses, bathing horses. You get it. Horses, horses, horses. Every single day when I picked her up, she was literally covered front head to toe in dirt and hay. But what struck me the most was this glow she had. It was like that infinite happiness you feel that makes you glow from the inside out. She talked non-stop about her camp. She played with all of her horse toys. She couldn't wait to get back the next day to do it all over again. And her joy made me feel good too. I was happy that she was getting to pursue her dream. Even if it's a small step, for Delaney if felt big. At the end of the week they put on a show for the families to come see all their hard work. Watching her on a horse made me realize that she really does belong there. While the thought makes me cringe as I myself am not a horse person, Delaney looks magnificent on a horse and it makes me so proud of her. Strong, beautiful, young and confident. The makings of our daughter. A glimpse of more to come.

P.S. I tried to upload a few videos but Blogspot had trouble so I will try again later!

The best laid plans

2011-07-23T11:31:00.010-04:00

Summer time can be very challenging for the sahm (stay-at-home mom). Why you ask? Because there is very little time for the sahm. It's all about trips to the pool, play dates, Six Flags, White Water, lake, etc. etc. Which is all great and most of the time, I sincerely enjoy this quality time I get to spend with my girls. But some days, I just need a break. For real. So imagine my delight when Doug told me he was taking the girls camping this week. Most of you know my feelings about camping so I feel I don't need to reiterate about all that. Though if I had to use one sentence to best describe those feelings it would sound something like this: I can think of better ways to spend my day without dealing with the heat, bugs, snakes, dirt, wretchedness that camping represents to me. There. I know Doug keeps hoping I may change my mind but it ain't happening. My nickname while I visit the fam on the campground has been dubbed "Yankee wuss." See, that just sets the tone right there.

So Doug tells me he's going to take both girls camping, leaving Tuesday afternoon and returning home Friday afternoon. They are not going far away and I am welcome to visit any time. So I get all giddy with the anticipation of having a little time to myself. I'm mentally making lists of things I have to do and things I need to do and even things it would be nice to do. Tuesday afternoon comes and I follow Doug up to the campground to help set up and offer support. I stay for a few hours and leave prior to dinner. I go home and bask in the quiet, leisurely making some dinner all for myself and in between cooking I read some bits of my latest Kathleen Woodiwiss book. Life is good. I am able to let out my breath and relax. Two hours later I receive a text from Doug.

D: I am bringing H home.

Me: What?!

Me: Really?

Then the phone rings.

D: Hadley got dirt in her eye and has been crying for 2 hours. She's ruining our camping trip.

Me: Fine. (I am pretty sure I was in such a huff that I didn't even say good-bye. It freaking figures that I allowed myself to make plans and this is the universe laughing it's ass off and flinging my plans back at me.)

About 30 minutes later Doug shows up with Hadley in her nightgown, howling at the top of her "My eye huuuurts!"

I get the eye drops and Doug tries to hold her down as she's doing crazy ninja moves on him. She's writhing in pain and I feel bad for her. It appears that she scratched her eye once the dirt got in and by this time, her eye is causing her considerable pain. I know that if I can get her to sleep the eye will begin to heal itself and she will probably wake up feeling a lot better. So I wet a washcloth and gently sponge her eye. I give her a dose of Tylenol & then decide a dose of Benadryl probably wouldn't hurt either. I take her into her room and lay with her for a little bit hoping she'll roll over and go to sleep. No such luck. She cries for about an hour. I'm beginning to remember life with a newborn and envision myself kicking Doug in the balls the next time I see him. Who does he think he is dropping off this poor crying mess and leaving me to reap the benefits? Payback is a bitch. Finally I get her to sleep only to have her awaken less than an hour later sobbing in her pillow about her eye. Out of ideas and pretty tired myself, I scoop her up and plant her beside me in my bed. She falls asleep instantly and does not cry again for the rest of the night.

Wednesday dawns a new day as Hadley seems to be recovering from her scratched eye and in good spirits. I pack us up and head over to see how the other two campers are faring. I spot them both bobbing in the water swimming waving madly to us. Hadley is happy to be back at the camp site and anxiously awaits the time Doug will take her fishing. We spend the day lounging around, fishing, bug hunting and then decide to head over to the beach area for a swim. We've been in the water for less than an hour when storm clouds approach and thunder can be heard in the distance. The first sight of lightening sends us all scrambling back to shore to pack up and head back to the camp site where we spend the next 20 minutes securing anything we don't want soaked or blown away. A freaking monsoon-like storm hits and Delaney, who has become absolutely terrified of thunder, is shrieking and insisting that she go sit in the car. I shuffle both girls to the car and decide that since there is no other obvious place to sit out the storm, I may as well wait with them. An hour later we are still sitting in the car having an Angry Bird marathon. Doug, refusing to be a Yankee wuss, is sitting under the canopy at the picnic table sending texts to us in the car, complaining of the flooding problem he's having due to the onslaught of rain. When it nears 4 o'clock, I throw in the towel and pack the girls up to head for home. It's still storming and I know that neither kid will sleep in a tent with thunder to be heard. Doug refuses to leave and insists that he'll be fine. Delaney is reluctant to leave him alone but he assures her he'll be just fine.

Thursday is the day I tell myself. Delaney is bouncing off the walls with her need to be at the camp site. She has given Hadley a pep talk and now Hadley is excited and looking forward to spending the night as well. We get there and have lunch. The skies are blue and no one has scratched their eye so do I dare think I may have a kid-free afternoon/night to myself? You bet I did. Even though Hadley gave me an extra chore when I got home (I got to take apart the car seat and wash the cover as well as soak up the gallon of pee she managed to coat over the back seat), it was still a blissful afternoon/evening of doing whatever the hell I want. I read my book, watched one of my top 5 guys in The Other Boleyn Girl, and treated myself to a fat ass glass of wine. What can I say, I'm good to myself. I tried to sleep in but at 7:45 my neighbor's lawn service jarred me out of a sound sleep with their obnoxiously loud mowers. Who cares? 7:45 is like 12 in mom world so it's all good. Being away from the girls, even if only briefly, always leaves me feeling refreshed and ready to plunge in feet first again. Solitude is a gift and though it's one I don't get very often, it makes it all the more precious for me and I savor every little morsel of it.

P.S. A result of the awesome camp out left one kid with poison ivy. Some persons thought me to be overreacting when I noticed a little bump on her face but several days later it is very evident what Delaney found while playing in the woods.

P.P.S. Delaney admitted to me that there was one day that she didn't even brush her teeth. Ugh! Doug told me they were "roughing it" and it's all part of the camping experience. Add one more thing to my list of reason I dislike camping.

Not for the faint...

2011-07-16T10:22:00.003-04:00

Working in pediatrics is very interesting to say the very least. Every weekend holds an anticipation as to what strange ailment will present itself this time. Low and behold, I have seriously heard it all. This is a brief recollection of the phone call that left my mouth sagging open and the gross factor off the charts.

Me: Good morning, XXX Pediatrics, how may I help you?

Patient: Hi, yesterday my son ate an engorged tick. We spoke to Poison Control and they told us what symptoms we need to watch for. They also told us we need to call your office and inform you of what happened.

Me: Excuse me? Did you say engorged tick? (I knew I heard her wrong.)

Patient: Yes ma'am (she chuckles).

Me: (I'm silent because I don't even know where to begin.) Let me speak to one of our nurses. Hang on please.

Monica, one of our nurses, is sitting next to me. I relay the information to her. She too, is stunned. Speechless in fact. We agree that we don't know what the hell to tell this mom. We agree that Dr. X will call her back when she gets in. For those of you (like me) who wonder how in the hell a child could eat an engorged tick? According to mom, the tick fell from the dog onto the floor where the child was sitting. The child, who is 15 months old, plucked it off the floor & popped it into his mouth like a piece of popcorn. I, who am not squeamish at all, felt nauseous at the news of the tick and where it's currently residing. As gross as Hadley is, I am so grateful we haven't had this dilemma. Yet.

Our summer days look like this...

2011-07-15T18:22:00.005-04:00

No...we did NOT drop off the face of the planet! We're still here. I find it harder in the summer months to get in any blogging due to the fact that it's summer which = less time for mommy to get anything done. My house is a mess. I am completely behind on scrap booking. The garage has been begging for a makeover for months. But we don't care about any of that. We live our weeks working in as much water activity as humanly possible. Hadley is still holding firm in her "Miss Hawaiian Tropic" with her ridiculously tanned self. Delaney has advanced into the summer reading "chapter books" which she stays up late to do (even though she doesn't know that we know she's doing it). Doug has taken to the outdoors this summer like no body's business. Camping trip #2 commences next week and he could not be more thrilled about it. He has very much enjoyed sharing this with the girls although I think Delaney enjoys it the most. Hadley seems to be more of my mind set as far as the sleeping in a tent goes. I have spent every available extra minute I've had this summer reading (which may explain the reason why I have accomplished nothing else). But seriously, I love it and since I never get to read like this on a normal day, it makes the summer feel that much more special to me. All in all, we are enjoying doing a little bit of everything. Hard to believe that Delaney will be a 1st grader in 2-1/2 weeks and Hadley will be in Pre-K in 6 weeks. I mean I know I say this a lot but seriously, where does the time go?

Luke, Canyon & Delaney (besties!)

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-04T18:35:00.005-04:00

Delaney, Karalyna & Hadley awaiting the start of the Marietta City Parade

Our good friends & neighbors who came to celebrate the day with us

Hadley waving her flag (mind you I told her to say cheese which she is doing but obviously you cannot see her).

Sweet little poodle that sat behind us during the parade

I love seeing these girls waving their flags so proudly

Getting VERY grouchy until sweet Mr. Mark showed up with cool treat for the girls!

My girls' favorite part...the sheriffs riding on horses to end the parade!

This greatly improved the moods of ALL participants involved!

Little treats I made for dessert tonight

My little blue-eyed firecrackers

And a lion face to end it all!

Happy 4th of July to you all! Happy Birthday to our great country, America! A place I am so happy to live in every single day of my life and raise my girls with opportunity & freedom.

Father's Day Campout

2011-06-19T18:29:00.005-04:00

Hadley's very 1st fish (look how bright her eyes are!)

"The" Storm approaching

For those that don't know this about me, I do NOT camp in tents. That are outside. With snakes and bugs and other critters I'd rather not think about. The kind of camping I do is in a cottage, cabin, RV, camper, etc, etc. You know, the kind of place that has indoor plumbing and air conditioning. For these reasons, Doug and the girls went camping this Father's Day weekend. Without me. It's not that dramatic because they were at a campground about 25 minutes away which means I got to visit twice. I don't mind the other activities such as fishing, swimming, hiking, etc. but there's something about sleeping on the hard ground in the blazing heat of summer that just doesn't quite appeal to me. So anyway, the girls and Doug spent Friday night and most of Saturday at the campground just having a good 'ole time. No electronical devices were allowed with the exception of Doug's phone. They were supposed to spend Saturday night there as well but thanks to a storm that blew threw and scared the living daylights out of both girls (and their momma), the rest of the camping trip was cut short. It was probably most exciting for Hadley who has never been camping before. According to big sis, the kid would not shut up when bedtime came a calling. "She just kept talking!" In Hadley's defense, "I just wanted to momma!" The favorite past-time was fishing from the mouths of the littles. And the scooter riding, chalk drawing, bubble blowing, bug catching, boat riding, lake swimming, worm catching, etc, etc. So even though poor Doug did not get to spend the entire weekend as he'd hoped, at least he has two girls that love and adore camping as much as he does and will keep him company on such outings for many more weekends to come. Happy Father's Day Doug! You are a wonderful father and our girls couldn't be luckier!

Skull Island

2011-06-16T16:28:00.002-04:00

Top of the "skull" where the water dumps out of the bucket & drenches anyone brave enough to stand underneath of it!

Delaney awaiting the bucket to be dumped!

Welcome to Skull Island...at Six Flags. This year we bought a family pass to Six Flags. I was all giddy and excited, having just come off of a high from Disney World. Know this, Six Flags is nothing like Disney World. True, I haven't stepped foot in Six Flags since 2002. So 9 years to be exact. But nonetheless, the first time we took the family to Six Flags for the day, I was not a happy camper. I whined and complained the entire time. The staff consists mostly of teenagers. And they're not happy. And they constantly say, "Have a Six Flags day!" Like, what the hell does that even mean? If you mean "Have a miserable over-priced kinda day," well that would be accurate. So needless to say, I just knew we had wasted money purchasing the family pass. Enter Skull Island. This past weekend we packed the girls up in their bathing suits and headed over to give it a whirl. Let's just say, Doug and I looked at each other and both agreed that Skull Island just made our season passes totally worth it. I daresay, we may even buy again next year. Cuz, Skull Island was freaking awesome! The girls had a blast. I didn't even get wet and I was having a blast! It's just perfect. The girls played for about an hour and a half. We stripped off their wet suits to change into clothes and hit the rides. We gradually made our way back towards the exit and called it a day. Perfection I say! And we now have yet another place to go to bask in the water as the temperatures here are still holding in the 90's.

And the yellow belt goes to...

2011-06-08T20:37:00.002-04:00

Mr. Rodgers & Delaney

Hadley thought it would be fun to tie on D's old white belt!

I have to say that we are ALL so proud of our big girl Delaney Grace! She tested for her yellow belt 5 days ago and tonight was awarded her belt. The head instructor made a point of telling all of the parents that being a white belt is one of the hardest belts to be. I nodded my head in absolute agreement as he was talking. Delaney started off very slow and I wondered if TaeKwonDo would be her thing or not. After about 6 weeks I noticed she really took off and seemed to grasp everything much better. So hearing Mr. Dickson talk about how hard it is starting off made me realize that it wasn't just Delaney but most white belts in particular. And to see how far she's come made me a proud mama! I was proud on testing night that she was in the very first group to test and did everything dead on. She never had to repeat any moves. While that may not seem like a big deal, for Delaney, who is extremely shy, I knew it was. But she never wavered and did all that was asked of her on the very first try. I wavered between letting her test now or waiting until the next round (beginning of August). I am so glad that I trusted Delaney and took that leap of faith. On the one hand, if she didn't advance I knew it would be disappointing and I didn't want her to feel badly about it. I made a point of telling her that it was okay if she didn't advance the first time around. Practice makes perfect and all that speech. On the other hand, if she felt in her heart she was ready, I wanted her to know we had faith that she could do it. And by God, she did. And as always, we are so very, very proud!

August in June...

2011-06-06T19:19:00.005-04:00

Doug about to hit D with a water balloon!

Delaney launching a water balloon at me

Hadley before she launched her balloon at me (what's the deal?)

Splash Park in Roswell

After ALL that play, the girls retire to do a little sunbathing

What's good on a hot day? SpongeBob Squarepants ice cream!

We're into our second full week here of summer break. So far it's a toss up as to how good it's been. The start of it with our family get-a-way to Tennessee was brought to a halt thanks to Delaney's farewell present from Kindergarten...strep throat! Less than 5 days later, Hadley (who didn't want to be outdone) came down with croup. So after swabbing the house with Lysol wipes and lecturing Hadley about licking the shopping cart at Publix, we're hoping to bring all the sickness to a bitter end.

Temperatures here lately have been in the upper 90's which is actually pretty hot for this time of year. We usually see this weather by the end of July, beginning of August. I can't remember the last time it rained. The sky clouded up last night and all the kids' inflatable pool stuff that was on the back porch was flying around in the yard as if a tornado was about to touch down. All bark, no bite. Not a single drop of rain to be had. So with weather like this we have mainly been either indoors or in water. Mostly in water. We've done the lake, the pool and today we ventured over to Splash Park in Roswell to play in the fountains. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the water and I enjoyed sitting under the huge canopy in the shade watching all the kids who were with their nannies acting downright brat-crazy. Of course when we were done we just had to hit up the ice cream stand and purchase SpongeBob Squarepants ice cream bars for $3 a pop. Hadley licked a few spots and went right for the gum ball eyes and declared herself done. For $3, I told her I would finish it even if she is a walking germ. Nonetheless, sick or not, this family is having a great summer thus far.

Hi summer! We've missed you...

2011-05-27T13:11:00.004-04:00

Delaney & Mrs. Robinson

"The Breakfast Club" aka Indya, Delaney, Jessa & Jacob

Hadley & Jayden (he was sweet enough to show her the ropes on the playground).

Hadley exploring the jungle gym

I think she was peeved we had to stop playing to go eat.

Okay, I know I haven't been blogging a whole lot lately. With the end of the school year coming to a close today, let's just say we've been super busy lately. The girls have had endless parties, award ceremonies, performances, lunches, gymnastics, karate, etc. While some are sad school is ending, I could not be more happy. It's not just the kiddos that need a break. No sirree. This momma needs one herself. No more 5:30 a.m. for me. No way. One of the girls is going to have to shake me awake. I'm sleeping in. Having coffee. Pulling my hair up into a ponytail and hitting the pool. Oh pool, how I have missed thee. I am going to slather up with the sunscreen, pack a zillion toys and bask in the sunshine. I am going to read a book. Or two. Or way more knowing me (and a big thanks to my mom who has introduced me to such fabulous authors that it keeps me from wanting to do anything past the bare necessities). Yes, this house is welcoming summer with big open arms. And it's glorious!

3 stripes

2011-05-21T11:35:00.002-04:00

So the Tae Kwon Do thing...it is really working out. I had my doubts at first, mainly because for the first two weeks we saw no other girls. Delaney didn't seem too upset about it but I couldn't believe that she would be the only girl in the white belt class. Since then many other girls have trickled in and I sighed a huge sigh of relief. Then I was concerned that Delaney was not getting it. She seemed a little uncoordinated and she seemed to forget some of the moves she was learning. She is currently going to class 3 times a week (even though she has told me she could go every day if I would just take her). Not happening. So for weeks she was walking around with one lowly green stripe on her white belt. I could tell she was trying really hard not to get upset or frustrated by the fact that some of the others had more stripes than she did. "Some of those kids have been coming longer than you have." Mr. Rodgers has repeatedly told her she's doing great and just to keep practicing the moves at home.

Fast forward to this week. I noticed, while balancing Hadley on my lap while she's playing Delaney's DS and babbling to Spongebob & Patrick like they're having a private conversation, that Delaney was looking good out there. She was sharper in her moves and was able to defend herself a bit better than I've seen before. Tuesday she was awarded with her second stripe, a blue stripe. Thursday she was awarded with her third stripe, a red stripe. I think there is only one remaining stripe for her to achieve, an orange one. After that she gets to do "testing" to advance up into a yellow belt. It's all about the belt people. The look on her face as her instructor taped on her stripe(s) was priceless. I was elated for her! She looked over at me smiling her big smile and I gave her a little wave with my own huge smile to let her know that I saw her do it and I was so proud.

Fast forward to two days later in our front yard. Delaney is wearing her karate belt because she's going to "teach" me how to do TKD. Okay. Shouldn't be too hard. She shows me a few moves to help me learn how to get out of an attack if the attacker is holding onto my wrist. I nail it. She shows me a few "sweep" moves with her hand which basically ended with her chopping my stomach with her arm. Ouch. Kinda hurt but moving on. She then shows me a series of different moves (about 5-6) with a block here and a punch there. Okay, I'm a little lost. "Please show me again." So we do it about 4-5 times. I'm feeling kinda kick ass. Some neighbors drive by. Our good friends stop and chat for a few minutes. I'm feeling all zen with my jeans and bare feet doing TKD in the grass with my biggest. And I'm sending a message. Don't mess with us, we know TKD and we will kick your ass if we have to. For real.

Water, water, everywhere!

2011-05-12T13:44:00.000-04:00

With the end of the school year looming ahead (just next week), Hadley's preschool class had their end of year party today. We ate outside alfresco-style and then the kids suited up and hit the water. It was simple really: 2 tiny baby pools, a Nemo sprinkler, bubbles, sugar cookies & jello cups but the kids really had a blast. Makes you realize how sometimes we can really blow things out of proportion when it takes very little to make them happy. My girl would have been happy with an endless supply of whipped topping. Her lunch today consisted of 1 bite of her turkey & cheese sandwich, fruit chews, 2 sugar cookies, and 1 jello cup. Normally I would have let her starve than give her so much crap all at once but it was a par-tay so what's a momma gonna do? Those kids are just darn lucky I didn't elbow them out of the way and take over that sprinkler. With temperatures reaching towards 90 degrees and a scrap of shade the size of my foot, it was freaking hot! But with the squeals and shrieks reaching an all-time high, it was totally worth it.

Kindergarten PTA Performance

2011-05-11T18:44:00.004-04:00

This is a combination of all 4 Kindergarten classes.

A ridiculously cute version of The Three Little Pigs.

Sassy Pose!

Here's our big 'ole Kindergartener! She just melts our hearts...

It's funny because the "lion face" is becoming Hadley's signature pose and I didn't even realize she did this until after I snapped the picture.

Don't you just love how Delaney is trying her Hollywood-weird-head-angle-look? All that singing in front of such a large crowd tends to do this to a person.

So of course I am that mother that took her digital camera to her first born daughter's Kindergarten performance only to realize the batteries need to be charged. But alas, I had spare batteries in my purse for such an occasion. Unfortunately, because of an incident about 6 months prior where an unnamed individual was swinging said camera around and it slipped and fell and now the darn compartment where the batteries are stored won't shut unless it's taped shut with shipping tape no less, so I couldn't manage to get the tape loose so I could replace the batteries. So the moral of this story is...don't swing your camera around like an idiot thinking you won't drop it because you will. And make sure your ghetto ass camera's batteries are charged and ready to go for such an important milestone in your child's life.

We were serenaded with songs such as Goldilocks & the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs and Humpty Dumpty. My personal favorite was the Three Little Pigs where the kids all whipped out their sunglasses and the boys were croaking in the lowest voice they could achieve trying to mimic the wolf. It was so darn cute! I could tell my girl was nervous but she did everything she was supposed to and I couldn't have been more proud of her.

Later that night...

Me: There were a lot of people there tonight. Were you nervous singing in front of so many people?

D: Yes I was momma. But I just focused and kept on singing like I was supposed to.

Me: Focused? (Mind you I know what this word means but have never her my girl utter this word in a sentence before).

D: You know, focused. Like I was watching my teachers real hard and not watching the people in the bleachers so I wouldn't be scared. Mrs. Robinson told us to do that if we were scared.

Me: What a good idea! You were so great!

And she was so great. Another night that reminds me that my big first born daughter is growing up. And she makes this family so proud. And we love her so much!

A superstar is born...

2011-05-07T15:02:00.003-04:00

Hadley with Ms. Beth & other girls in her age group

One of the down sides to working weekends (besides the fact that you're working on the weekend), is that sometimes I have to miss things that are important to my family. Or certain members of the family. Today I missed Hadley's Gymnastics Spring Fling which is basically a time where each individual class can show off what they've been working on throughout the year. Each child gets a medal so everyone feels like a winner. And while they did the same things they do every Friday when I take her, I still missed seeing my Hadley girl in action. It dawned on me while I was down on myself for not being present, I still have it good. I get to spend 5 whole days every week from sun up to sun down with my girls. I only have to work 10-12 hours total on the weekends. And while I missed today, I took off tomorrow from work so I will get to spend Mother's Day with my family. Life can be full of disappointment. I just do my best and hope the rest will work itself out. When Hadley got home today and pulled out her medal with the biggest smile ever, I know that we can't be doing it all wrong. The kids are alright...

Dead Reckoning

2011-05-04T15:48:00.003-04:00

Okay people. I know there are some really important things going on in the world at the moment. For me one of those things happens to be that Charlaine Harris has released another book in her fabulous Sookie Stackhouse series, Dead Reckoning. Book #11 for those of you keeping track. It was released on Tuesday and of course you know as soon as I dumped Hadley off at preschool, I had to race over to Barnes & Noble. I started rereading the entire series about a month ago. I have one more left to finish and then I can crack this baby open. Yeah! Doug called me a dork for racing over there the day it was put on the shelf and buying a copy. No honey, not a dork. Just a HUGE freaking fan. And if memory serves, the first set of these books was a gift from...Doug.

Inspired by Nature

2011-05-01T19:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my biggest little. Delaney girl. Now that she's in school we don't get much alone time together anymore. Yesterday I promised her we would go do something together. Just the two of us. Now if you know Delaney, you know that she has an intense love of lions, cheetahs and tigers. It all started when we introduced the movie, Lion King. And she's not the only fanatic. Meet little sister Hadley. We have a huge bin full of lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, etc. in the playroom and my girls have been known to round them ALL up, grab The Lion King book, and head outside where they both reenact the entire book bit by bit. Anyway, when I saw previews for Disney's movie, African Cats, I knew this was a movie for my girls. Since Saturday afternoon was an afternoon for just me and Delaney, we decided to see it anyway with promises that if it was REALLY good we would bring back the whole darn family. Needless to say, we will be doing just that.

I was really blown away by this documentary. For me, it portrayed the love of these families, both lions and cheetahs. There were parts where I laughed out loud. There were parts where I thought I'd chew my fingernails completely off. There were parts where I could have sobbed. The main thing I took away from this movie is that motherhood really is universal. It doesn't matter if you're a lion, cheetah or a human being but as mothers, we all have this instinct to love and protect our offspring no matter what. No matter what it takes. No matter what we have to do. We will go to the ends of the Earth to protect our babies. I came away from this movie feeling like everything just made more sense. I can't even put it into words to describe the emotions that I felt but it was very inspiring. It felt really big to me. And it was just plain wonderful. So I would tell EVERYONE to take an afternoon to go and enjoy this film. It is worth seeing and I am very much excited that I get to go and see it again.

These pictures were taken in Amicolola Falls. This was a "friend" that Delaney made half way up the mountain. We finally had to coax her into letting the little guy go so he could go eat and just be a caterpillar (cause she must have carried him for a good 15 minutes or so). I like these pictures because they show Delaney as we all really know her to be which is in love with nature and everything in it.

Mother's Day Lunch with Hadley

2011-04-27T13:43:00.002-04:00

Hadley drew this picture of me! At least I'm smiling...

"Please walk slower, Mommy" said a child so small.

"I'm walking in your footsteps, and I don't want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast, sometimes they're hard to see;

So walk a little slower, Mommy for you are leading me.

Someday when I'm all grown up, you're what I want to be;

Then I will have a little child who'll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right, and know that I was true,

So walk a little slower, Mommy for I must follow you."

Hand print flowers with a hand painted vase. So cute!

Card made by Hadley (she's so crafty this kid!)

I especially love that I am "60" years old but only weight 3 pounds! I guess one cancels out the other!

Took this picture for Daddy because he LOVES a good lion face...

Me & my sweet little pea (thanks Lily's mom)!

Hadley & Ms. Jennifer (her fave!)

Today was Hadley's Mother's Day Lunch and Music & Movement Observation at preschool. I always looks forward to this special time of the year. Being a mom is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I cannot get enough home-made goodies from my littles. Upon entering the Fellowship Hall today I was greeted by delighted little squeals from Hadley as she bolted for me and threw her arms around my leg. "You came back momma!" We sat at our designated seats which was surrounded by the cutest goodies made by yours truly. Hadley then jumped up and went bounding off to retrieve a glass of lemonade for me. While we munched on our lunch she babbled on about all the things she made for me. "I gave you a smiley face on your picture Momma." As I've said before, being a mother is such hard work. There are good days and bad days. Days we cherish and days we could forget existed altogether. Days like today, they make me know that there isn't anything else I'd rather be doing. These girls give me joy that nothing else can compare to. I am thankful for them. I am grateful to God for allowing me to be their mother. Above all else, I know how blessed I am.

Our Easter at Amicalola Falls

2011-04-25T12:06:00.005-04:00

I did NOT care for how close this snake was. Luckily, it wasn't moving at all. Judging by the bulge in its mid-section, I'm assuming it had just eaten and was dozing a bit. Sometimes I think we're all so much alike.

Centipede or as my girls like to call them, a thousand legger! Gave me the heeby jeebies...

This is us all sweaty and starting to get tired; about half way up to the top of the falls. I'm not mentioning any names but there was someone in our family who was so not having the picture taking at this moment.

Almost there! Isn't it just beautiful? So amazing...

We have reached the top! This is the view looking down at the falls.

Getting to play in the water always makes our campers MUCH happier!

It took all of 2 minutes for Delaney to slip on a rock and fall on her side, soaking her with really chilly water. Aside from the shock of the temperature of the water, she was a really good sport about it. Which was good because her spare clothes were in the car which was all the way back down the mountain.

Time for silly faces (although Hadley looks a bit peeved).

According to Hadley, this is her "lion" face. Hee, hee...

Our view on the way back down the mountain. Just so beautiful...

Delaney kept calling this particular section of the woods, the "scary" part. I kinda thought it was cool but did agree with her nonetheless.

For our Easter, we decided to spend our day at Amicalola Falls State Park. To give you some history, these falls are 729 feet long~tallest east of the Mississippi River. The girls and I had never been before. Doug had been years back & didn't remember it all that well. So we packed up the car with lunch, tons of bottled water and back packs. I could not believe that not only did our girls hike all the way to the top of the mountain on foot, they did it with little complaining. Which is miraculous considering our last hike through Red Top Mountain was a disaster and we maybe hiked a mile or so on pretty flat land. Of course we encountered "wild life" along the way which I didn't really care for all that much. We encountered 3 snakes before we were even 1/4 of a mile into our hike (2 snakes could NOT be photographed because they were in the water, very poisonous and I didn't feel like spending my day off in the hospital). And it was all I could do not to stomp on that thousand legger we saw. Guh-ross!

Doug and I have been to several of the state parks and in my opinion, this is one of the more beautiful ones our state has to offer. The falls were so amazing! Just beautiful. I look forward to going back again and possibly staying in one of the cottages you can rent. No tents for this chick. I can just picture us sitting around the fire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs on a stick and watching the girls catch fireflies in their jars. What could be better than that?

A big girl now...

2011-04-23T20:27:00.003-04:00

Dear Hadley,

I just cannot believe we celebrated your 4th birthday today! I mean I know I say this every single year but it's really going by too fast! I need it to slow down because I fear that you and your sister are just growing up WAY too fast for my taste. This was a really fun birthday for you because it was the first year you were so anxious to turn a year older. You've been talking about turning 4 for weeks. "Am I 4 yet?" This was something you've asked us every single day. And what better way to celebrate your special day than to do it at your very favorite place?! Gymnastics! This is one of your favorite things to get to do each week. You always know when it's Friday and we suit up into your leotard and head to Ms. Beth's class where you hang upside down like a monkey, roll on the mats, walk gracefully on the balance beam, and tackle the many obstacle courses that are always set up. I love that you love it so much. I love that you're so passionate about it. And I hope it is something you continue to love as I enjoy watching you do it.

This has been a very big year for you. You walk the halls of your preschool without big sissy at your side. You gave up your pacifiers! Hallelujah! That was a really BIG deal but apparently not too big because you didn't cry one single time (thankfully). You did it so matter of factly. You transitioned from the crib to toddler bed. Okay, so you did this like a year ago but I don't think I ever mentioned it so I'm doing that now. And you never even gave me a fight on this either which was sooo nice. And it was super nice that you not the wanderer like your sister. You just go to bed. No questions asked. You do things all the time without my asking you and it makes me realize how grown up you truly are. You're silly. Super silly sometimes but I always know that if I'm having a bad day, you will brighten it up. You like to come home from preschool and "snuggle" with me in my room. You like to brush my hair and attach about 30 hair clips in various places. You are much too lenient with letting Delaney boss you around but you seem to sense how important this is to her and it doesn't bother you. You are always the concerned sister/friend if someone gets hurt. You cry sometimes if I am too hard on Delaney. You tell me "you hurt D's feelings!" And it makes me want to squeeze you so hard because you're so compassionate.

I love you so very much my sweet little girl! I hope you've had an awesome 4th birthday! You make me so proud and I couldn't have asked for a better baby girl.

Love, Momma

Diary of an annoyed older sister who has kung fu moves...

2011-04-15T19:29:00.002-04:00

I feel that these pictures pretty much speak for themselves. Too bad Hadley can't read (not that it would intimidate her the least bit).

Delaney officially started Tae Kwon Do this week & freaking LOVED it! She wants to go every single day. While I admire her dedication, I told her that she can go 2-3 days per week...tops. I can still hear the S-I-G-H she let out. I'm sure it feels like I'm crushing her dreams.

Like father like daughter

2011-04-08T19:07:00.003-04:00

I told Doug we better soak this kinda stuff up now as the day will come when she won't want to be anywhere near us. I dread that day.

Let the games begin...

2011-04-05T08:51:00.003-04:00

Delaney & Karalyna

The Littles (Juliana & Hadley) deciding they'd rather watch Hadley's favorite! "The girl bunny."

Yes, Hadley was NOT happy and cried on the baby swings.

Now I know how Six Flags makes all their money...$3 per kid to play a game.

So Day 1 of Spring Break was spent at Six Flags with our neighbors and good friends, Karalyna & Juliana. It worked out nicely going with them because the littles don't really want to ride anything which means the adults don't ride much and the older girls have each other and are tall enough to ride without an adult. Karalyna is definitely more adventurous than Delaney. If this occurred and became a problem, one of the adults would ride with her while the others would watch and corral the rest of the kids. I told Doug about her enthusiasm to ride roller coasters and I swear he became envious of our neighbors. I'm not even gonna tell him that Kristen informed me she rode Space Mountain with Karalyna while they were at Disney this past fall. Because while we love our girls, they are totally wimpy in the ride department. While we are not.

All in all, GREAT first day spent of our Spring Break. The kids watched a show. They ate popcorn. Delaney rode the log ride...and freaking LOVED it. Never mind that I had to coax her onto it and she was very hesitant to get on it because of the hill at the end. When it was over she declared it her favorite ride of the day and wanted to do it again! As the temperatures hit 83 degrees and fights starting breaking out between the siblings, Kristen and I gave each other a knowing look and packed it up. We refilled our drink cups & popcorn buckets and hit the parking lot where we said good-bye to each other while the girls all exchanged hugs and excited squeals. I cranked up the a/c, hit the gas and took our tired, stinky selves home for day.

Jump Rope for Heart

2011-03-23T16:04:00.003-04:00

Delaney's school had their "Jump Rope for Heart" jump off today. It helps raise money for the American Heart Association. Delaney's been talking about it for weeks and practicing in PE as well. I didn't know it was such a big deal until this morning as she's getting ready for school.

D: Mommy, are you coming to watch me jump rope today?

Me: I don't know. I don't think the parents are invited.

D: Yes they are. Mrs. Robinson told us that we should invite our parents.

Me: Okay. I'll try to come.

Well, how could I not go? Even though I had plenty to keep me busy around this house and I had declared the night before that I was going to do the hardwood floors come hell or high water. So much for the trash talk. I totally blew that off and decided, life is too short to worry about my floors. I'm sure there aren't many years left of Delaney wanting me to be by her side, surrounded by her friends. There will come that day when I'm not allowed to stand beside her because gawd forbid if I embarrass her. You know...because I'm old or something. So I went. I had a great time! I chatted it up with her and her "group" that she was assigned to sit with from her class. I was one of three parents that showed up from Delaney's class. Which means I was completely bombarded with information regarding boo-boos, older siblings, and which toys are cool and not so cool. One of Delaney's friends, Bryce, informed me that her cat bit her arm and she cried because she always cries when she gets hurt. Reagan informed me that someone stole his PS2 Player and he's very upset about it. He did not ask Santa for a new one because his list was too long. Darien has a heart condition that won't allow him to drink certain kinds of Coca-Cola products (he even showed me his scars).

Can I just say how darn proud I was of Delaney today? SO PROUD! That girl can seriously jump rope! One of the volunteers who held the rope when she did the "long" jump looked at me and said, "Is she your daughter? She is by far the best I've seen all day and we've already had the 1st graders in here." My heart felt like it was going to burst. My sweet smiley Kindergartner was rocking the long jump. And this momma was glad she told the hardwoods to eff off for the day...

Our life at the moment...

2011-03-22T11:14:00.003-04:00

So now that I've posted all the fabulous Disney pictures and babbled on and on about what a great time we had, it's back to the grind. Back to cupcake making, shopping, bouncing, playdates, gymnastics, karate, and on. And on. And on. But seriously, I feel very content at the moment. Sometimes, I allow my insecurities as a mother, wife, friend, daughter, etc. sneak in and seize hold of my thoughts. To keep me on the couch one day when I know I should be at the park letting the girls ride their bikes or swing from the monkey bars. I think as mothers we all have these "funky" days when it just plain feels impossible. Impossible to do more than stick in a movie and snuggle up on the couch with my littles. I am learning that it's okay to not be a perfect mother. It's been a hang up of mine since the day Delaney was born. Always have to be going, going, going. Never a dull moment! Got to keep these girls stimulated 24/7. But lately, I have been reveling in the fact that sometimes, it's the "dull" moments that I am looking forward to and enjoying with the girls.

Example (1) Cupcake Making

Hadley loves to help "make" things in the kitchen so I try to let her help me as much as I can. It's these little things that really brighten up her day. Which in turn brightens up my day too.

These were the cupcakes we made especially for St. Patrick's Day. We toyed around with the frosting until we got the color we liked best. Such a festive green if you ask me!

Please meet the newest addition to our family, Girl Frog #2. While away on vacation, we lost Girl Frog #1. Hadley was pretty bummed about it but frankly, I decided that it was for the best considering how gross and smelly that poor thing had become. And for the record, YES, I absolutely wash these frogs. They would be MUCH more disgusting if not.

This is Boy Frog. See what I'm saying? Just a mess. And Girl Frog #1 was WAY worse than this poor guy.

Awwwww! Girl Frog #2 at her best, fresh out of the box. I hope she stays this way for a while.

Example (2) Day at the Lake with Hadley

Hadley and I packed a picnic, a load of beach toys and drove over to Lake Acworth. This day was so perfect. It was just the two of us. We sat on our blanket in the sand and basked in the sunshine while munching on our sandwiches.

It was nice just to play in the sand. To watch Hadley dig around. To watch the sand fall gently into the bucket.

Hadley buried my feet! Well..sort of.

Our "heart" shaped sand castles. Hadley needed a whole village.

A Royal Celebration!

2011-03-20T19:53:00.004-04:00

Inside of Cinderella's Castle

Of all the princesses we met this time, Belle had to be the nicest (okay...maybe Cinderella was super sweet too but that's just a given).

Delaney chose ice cream for her dessert. Of course, Disney spares no expense with ALL the toppings!

Look at the size of this cupcake! Yeesh...

So, of course I saved the very BEST for last! Our Royal Lunch with Cinderella & the princesses. Last time we were at Disney, Hadley got sick and had to miss lunch at the castle. Which means I also missed it. Delaney and Doug just went on and on about how much fun it was and how cool it was to meet Cinderella. Although, Delaney was pretty miffed that Cinderella didn't actually sit down and have a meal with her. I guess I can see where we mislead her. That's another story. So this time, we all remained healthy and no one missed it. Not even me! And I have to say, of all the awesome things we did while at Disney freaking World, this had to be one of my absolute favorite things. It was so cool! After you take your picture (professionally done) with Cinderella, you are whisked off to the ballroom where you are seated at your own table and served lunch. And not just any lunch. Of course, the girls had kid friendly chicken nuggets served with fruit and fancy cheese. The adults got to choose from a short menu and I ended up with some baked fish served with angel hair pasta in wine sauce. I was trying hard not to get too excited since we had been surviving on pizza, hamburgers and waffles. But delicious isn't even the word. It was MUCH better than that! While you're eating your meal, they send the princesses in one by one to go to each table. Each princess was really nice. She would chit chat with the girls for a minute and then sign autograph books & pose for pictures. For some reason, both girls got a little chattier with Belle than they did with the others. She was extremely nice and answered all questions they had. Delaney was grilling her on why she never wears her yellow ball gown like in the movie. Belle explained that it was at the cleaners and she prefers her blue dress because it's more comfortable. After bumping fists with Belle and sending her on to the next table, lunch started to wind down and it was time to depart. I think I was truly the saddest to leave. After all, it's always me who goes home the bluest after we leave Disney behind. Always deflated, always looking forward to the next time around. And yes, we've already set the date for our next trip down!

Day 5....the Animal Kingdom

2011-03-15T14:10:00.004-04:00

The girls loved seeing the "mama & baby elephants" roaming around.

Look how ridiculously close I got to this rhinoceros! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G

Forgive me for forgetting the name of this gorilla...this much I know, she's the gorilla in Tarzan.

King Louie trying to give Hadley a big 'ole smooch! I love how Hadley was so cute about it and didn't freak out or anything.

I really really love the beauty of the Animal Kingdom. Disney did a fine job of recreating the African look. It makes me want to go and see the real deal.

Just another shot I loved.

This bike reminded me of the book and movie, Eat Pray Love. I longed to pedal away on this bike and feel the wind in my hair.

The girls excavating dinosaur bones

We literally sat still and observed the flamingos for at least 15 minutes. I really think they are beautiful. Fun fact I learned, they are NOT born pink. They are born a gray color but the food they eat gives them the pink "look."

Of course she would choose the face paint with the unicorn design! Did you expect anything less?

Our little "princess" lion! This picture makes me want to scoop her up and plant kisses all over her sweet little face.

The day we lost the Parents of the Year Award...

2011-03-14T15:43:00.003-04:00

Day 4 of our Disney Extravaganza was spent in Hollywood Studios. I like this park, but of all the parks we visited, this was my least favorite. Our girls are too small to enjoy all the grown-up rides they offer. We did enjoy the many shows we saw which include Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Muppet Vision 3-D. Both girls also really enjoyed Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set (hence the big play-dough). Doug had been talking all week about riding the Tower of Terror. Which is in Hollywood Studios. Normally, I wouldn't have wanted to ride this particular ride, but because the girls had gone all wimpy on us, we were both getting pretty desperate at this point. Which brings me to the part about losing our Parents of the Year Award.

So...have you ever made a decision as a parent, and within 3 minutes of making said decision decide that "Holy shit I cannot believe we're doing this??!!?" Well, that's how I felt when we all decided to ride the Tower of Terror. For those of you that have never had the pleasure to ride it, here's a brief synopsis per Disney World:

"Plunge down the dark freight elevator shaft of the once glamorous Hollywood Tower Hotel in the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, a ride for big kids, teens and adults."

So that's what we put our almost 4 year old and 6 year old on. As for Delaney, I wasn't too terribly concerned. That may sound mean but she's 6 and up until recently she's always loved scary fast rides. But I knew, deep down in the pit of my stomach that Hadley had no business getting on this ride. But again, we were desperate and you know what they say about desperation. So we rode it. And seriously, I have never wanted to scream out loud so bad in all my life but I did NOT. I bit my lip and suffered through it. Doug and Hadley were seated in front of Delaney and myself. I could hear Hadley out of the corner of my mind screaming to Doug about how much she HATED this ride. Delaney, who had kept her cool for most of the ride, began to weep a little beside me. Oh hell. So the ride stopped. We, with the two screaming kids, shuffled off of the ride and out into the bright sunshine where we acquired a few more glares from shocked and outraged parents.

Delaney: I NEVER EVER want to ride that ride again. WAAAA-AAAAHHHHH!

Hadley: Me either! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Doug: We have officially ruined any chance of ever getting them to ride another risky ride ever again.

Me: Who wants ice cream?

Epcot, the beautiful...

2011-03-09T13:39:00.002-05:00

Day 3, on our trip to Disney World, was spent at Epcot. While I complained heavily the first trip we took to Disney, that we had to waste a WHOLE day in Epcot, where there's nothing fun to do, I ceased my complaining this time around. I just knew we would have another exceptional day at this park. And I was not disappointed. While I do feel that our family could not spend more than one day here, it's always a day well spent. The very best thing about this park is that there is a place to go to see, get autographs and take pictures of all the main Disney characters such as Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald & Pluto. I think we waited in line for 30 minutes and then we got to see them ALL. Totally worth it. This is not something we really got an opportunity to do anywhere else. The Magic Kingdom is the worst park to go to get autographs. You can only imagine the lines there. No. Fricking. Way. Kids. This park is also much less crowded and just overall, the most beautiful park that Disney has. The gardens are just gorgeous. The fountains are not only pretty but entertaining for the kids as the water "hops" around. The kids really enjoyed trying to time how often the water "hopped" by so they could be sure to be standing directly where it hit and could get soaked. Hadley managed to get hit on the edge of her hand and collapsed into a giggling fit. At the end of the day, we were all deliriously happy and full of ice cream.

The oh so Magical Kingdom!

2011-03-02T10:55:00.003-05:00

Days 1, 2, 6 & 7 were spent at the Magic Kingdom during our ~Disney World Extravaganza~ha ha! I promise not to be so obnoxious. This is actually my favorite park. It is by far the most crowded but there are so many fun things to do and I think it definitely entertains the littles the most. This trip was a little different than the last one for an assortment of reasons. The most noticeable thing is that our girls have become wimpy. I say that with love but seriously, Doug and I were kind of annoyed with them.

Us: What do you mean you don't like roller coasters anymore??!?

Hadley: I don't want to go fast!

Delaney: I'm scared. I'll ride anything but roller coasters.

Us: (DAMMMIT) (You both stink) Let's get in line for Snow White's Scary Adventure.

Hadley: NOOOOOO! I'm scared of the witch!!!

Us: (Sigh)

Hadley: I want to ride the Haunted Mansion!

Delaney: Me too!

Us: (I'm mouthing WTF to Doug) So let's get this straight, you won't ride Snow White but you want to ride the Haunted Mansion? Again...

Hadley: Yay!!!

So this was a big indicator of how our trip was going to go down. Nothing fast. Or scary. Or fun for the grown-ups. My hopes of riding Space Mountain with Delaney were squashed. We did manage to get them both on Thunder Mountain only to have the ride end with not one but two kids opening crying and the littlest little sobbing. And I love the dirty looks from the other parents. Nice.

The weather was absolutely beautiful the whole trip. It was sunny & in the low 80's the entire time. Sometimes it was a bit much. Like when you're standing in line waiting for Donald Duck's autograph and there's not a shady tree to be seen anywhere. And the girls are whining about how tired, hot and thirsty they are. The lady in front of me, who has 3 kids that are not just whining but seriously coming apart, looks at me and smiles. "Whoever said this is the most magical place? It'd be a more magical trip if I were on the beach holding a Corona in my hand!" She chuckles and turns around to hiss at her kids to shut up and wait their turn. While I can certainly sympathize with her, I have to disagree on one point. This is the most freaking magical place on earth. S-E-R-I-O-U-S-L-Y! And this mama, can't wait to go back...

Waiting for rain...

2011-02-28T16:15:00.003-05:00

Today is a windy, warm day. It's a wearing jeans and flip-flops kinda day. For me, it's been a bad day. It's one of those days where I want to crawl back into bed and say "uncle." A day where I can do no more. I won't get into details....it's just one of those days. The girls are happily playing "Jake & the Neverland Pirates" in the backyard. I let them play together while I let the wind whip my hair around my head as I brush the dog, who's losing his "winter coat." Off in the distance I see storm clouds approaching. They've been hovering all day and it looks like they're closer now. It's getting darker. And I'm ready for it.

"After winter comes the summer. After night comes the dawn. And after every storm, there comes clear, open skies." ~Samuel Rutherford

We're baaaaack...

2011-02-27T15:41:00.003-05:00

Hey blog world! We are back baby! Back from our 7 day Disney World extravaganza. And boy are we tired. Well, not really anymore but it's not like doing Disney in 7 days is really all that relaxing. Especially if you take a trip like this with Doug. He's got a notebook planned with rides for each park we're going to along with what order we will be riding said rides in. I don't think I slept in once past 6:15 the entire trip. But considering that we were sound asleep every single night by 9:00 sometimes even 8:00, I guess getting up at 6:00 shouldn't be all that bad. In all seriousness, we had a great time. I will blog each park individually along with my likes and dislikes throughout the week but just wanted to give you a peek at what we've been up to. The girls had a blast and were sad to come home. We've already told them we will go back for winter break 2013. We must be crazy. Or something. Going in February is probably our best bet because it only got up to 83 degrees the whole time we were there. Which in Orlando terms meant it felt hotter thanks to the ever loving humidity that's always there. The last trip we took it was in the upper 90's but felt like H-E-L-L. So we won't be going in September EVER again. But February was tolerable. And by tolerable I mean I didn't want to rip my clothes off and dive into the moat surrounding Cinderella's castle. That wouldn't be good for anybody.

Rainy days lead to...

2011-02-07T18:21:00.002-05:00

So...our least favorite season is winter. When I say our I really mean me. I freaking hate winter. It's cold. It's rainy. Half of our backyard gets zero sunshine until Daylight Savings begins again. Which means that it's a soggy gross mess out there. I have one kid who doesn't mind playing outside in the cooler weather. I have another kid who does mind the cooler weather and prefers to be indoors. The last few weeks around here we have had a lot of rainy days. Never fear. My girls love to be in the kitchen. I love to be in the kitchen. So on days like this, we make homemade chocolate chip cookies. And between us, we really just like the dough. Delaney would get out a spoon and eat it as a meal if her mother would let her. It's a nice activity to distract because it involves taking turns, pouring ingredients and listening for directions. Both girls get an A+.

No such luck...

2011-02-05T12:53:00.002-05:00

Okay, I feel like I need to write about something that's happened over the last two days so I can have some closure and move on. Something sad. Something that's had me awake at nights wondering, praying, and hoping for a solution. When I took Oliver to the vet last week for his incident with tapeworms, the vet rechecked his ringworm. He assured me that he looked MUCH better and he didn't see any symptoms of any current ringworm. He did however inform me that Oliver would now be known as a carrier of ringworm. For those of you that don't have a clue what I'm talking about, it means that while he may not show any clinical signs of ringworm, he may carry infective spores on the hair and skin. I was a little skeptical. But knowing how much the girls freaking love him, I decided to wait it out and see if anyone developed any new ringworm spots and then would go from there.

Fast forward a week later, not only did each of the girls acquire a few new spots, I did as well. My heart felt like it was shattering. While some of you may think this was a no brainer, I did not know what decision to make. So through prayer and guidance from God, I felt like the new ringworm spots was the sign I had been praying for. Nonetheless, it still felt very unfair. I should mention too that while I had been toying with the idea that we might not get to keep Oliver, I had also explained to Delaney what the problem with keeping him might present. For being only 6 years old, she really seemed to grasp why. While it made her completely emotional to even think of getting rid of our Oli, she did understand why it might have to happen. So when the girls woke up Friday morning with several new ringworm spots, I knew that it was time to say good-bye to Oli.

For some of you reading this, I may seem kinda crazy. Who loves a cat when you've only had him for not even two whole months? Us. Oliver had become a fun addition to our family. He was truly the perfect cat for us. He played with the girls endlessly. Wherever they were, you could be sure that he was with them. If Delaney wanted him to snuggle with her while watching TV, then that's what he did. He curled up every night on the end of Delaney's bed while we read bedtime stories. He showed up every morning to watch as I brushed her hair waiting for his opportune moment to attack said hair brush. He was a good, sweet kitten. And now he's gone and I feel like I did when we lost Joey last Christmas. The good news is that he's not dying. The shelter we got him from seemed to have no problem thinking they would find him a home in no time. He's a kitten and he's good with kids so he's got everything going for him. In the back of my mind I wanted to scream at her, "but he's our cat." We wanted our home to be his home. We love him. And this hurts so much. And our house seems a little emptier without him.

A little snack...

2011-02-02T18:16:00.003-05:00

Entering the kitchen this afternoon, I spied something hovering near Buddy's food dish. Upon closer inspection, this is what I found.

These are Hadley's frogs aka her collection. In case in you didn't know, she is obsessed with frogs. When I approached her about what said frogs were doing, she informed me that they needed a little snack. "They're hungry!" I think we can do a little better than Purina.

A big 'ole thank you to Nana...(and Papa)

2011-01-30T12:52:00.003-05:00

This weekend has been quiet. This weekend I have not once had to put ringworm cream on either of my girls. This weekend I did not have to cook chicken nuggets one single time. This weekend I did not have to escort Hadley to the bathroom at 3:00 a.m. because she is afraid to go alone. I did not have to pick up any toys. I did not have to bathe either kid. I did have to work. I did vacuum the downstairs. I did manage to make the bed this morning although it stayed unmade all of yesterday. I did have to feed Oli. I did have to give Buddy his Glucosamine and pain medication. I did sneak in a date night with the hubby that included a trip to my favorite Italian restaurant Provinos. I did see a movie that cute hubby picked, The Fighter. I did come home last night and peek inside the girls' rooms to find it completely dark and lacking their cute little sleepy faces.

Yes, the girls have been living it up at Nana & Papa's house this weekend. My mom emailed me the other day asking if the girls could come and spend the weekend at their house. Which thrilled me beyond speech. I had no words! I have been so tired and worn down lately that it made me a little weepy to think that I would get a small reprieve. Even though I still had to work (boo), it was nice to know that when I got off and came home, I had to do absolutely nothing if I chose to. Which for the most part, is exactly what I did. But you know what? I miss those sweet little girls of mine. As chaotic and crazy as our lives can get sometimes, there's no other way I'd rather have it. While it was nice to get a break (and I hope we will get more), I am very much looking forward to hugs and kisses and fighting and story time and cuddling and tantrums. The whole bit. Because I know how blessed we are and it's something I'm thankful for each and every day.

P.S. Thank you so much Mom & Dad! You are truly awesome and we appreciated the break more than you know :)

In which I became too familiar with Fancy Feast...

2011-01-27T13:34:00.002-05:00

I love kittens. Seriously. They are so adorable. I haven't had a kitten in a long time but all the same, I still love them. I love how you can be walking down the hall way and out of freaking no where jumps a little ball of fur to do the sideways-hair-standing-straight-up-shimmy walk. And then...POOF! Gone again. Only to be repeated about 44 times more throughout the day. I love how they curl up in your lap at the end of the day to make biscuits with their little paws until they find that oh so right place to nestle in and take a siesta.

Our little Oli has been no different. Ahem. Aside from the ringworm. Which I am happy to report he is finally free of. So we love him. He's cute. He's wild (are boy kittens much like boy children, wild and seemingly hopped up on something?). He's curious. He's a pest. Rewind back to Monday afternoon. Delaney and Oli are playing in her room. I come in for a few minutes and as I'm standing there I look down to spy near Oli's rear something white and sticking to his bottom.

Me: What's that?

Delaney: I don't know. It looks like a piece of grass.

Upon closer inspection and prodding of said "grass" it turns out to be a worm. That's right. Tapeworm to be more specific.

Me: It's a damn worm! Please go get me a tissue!

Delaney: Ewwwww! Okay, be right back!

Before I can start dry heaving, we dispose of the worm. I'm not surprised. We got him from the shelter. We've already had freaking ringworm. Why not tackle tapeworms on top of that? God evidently thinks I can handle this so why not take it in stride? I call the vet and make an appointment for Oli first thing Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning after depositing the girls both in their respective spots at school, Oli and I take a trip to the vet's office. The vet confirms that yes he has tapeworms. No it's not a big deal. I'm aghast because our house does not have fleas. Period. We use the hell out of Frontline and I don't even attempt to go cheap on that aspect. I will cut into our grocery budget to make buying Frontline a priority. After preaching this to the vet he quickly assures me that he more than likely has had tapeworms all along and is just now exhibiting symptoms. He will give Oli one pill and that will take care of it. Would I like him to administer said pill? Really? Does a bear shit in the woods? Of course I want him to do it. He's the vet, the animal lover. He can definitely have this pleasure. I've been pumping this little kitty full of oral medication twice a day for the last month. Trust me, it's been no picnic and his teeth seem to be getting sharper and he refuses to swallow which means I end up wearing more of this medicine than I care to.

$80.13 later we leave the vet and go home. We are maybe in the house for a whole two minutes when I hear a noise near the front door. Oli has managed to barf up his entire breakfast. I glare at the little shit and he glares back. It dawns on me that he's probably barfed up the pill as well. I call the vet's office to inform them of our situation.

Vet: Do you see the pill?

Me: Uhhhhhh.....hold on.

And this is where it gets ugly. I had to sift through the Fancy Feast. And sure enough, there's the damn pill pretty much intact.

Me: Yes, the pill has come back up.

Vet: You're going to have to try to get him to swallow it. Again.

Me: Okay.

Vet: Call us back if you can't get it down and we can get you another pill.

After wrestling that little shit to the ground, I manage to cram it down his throat. Three minutes later, I hear another noise. Yes. Again. And yes, the pill is there. Again. Only now it's a fraction of the original form. Obviously, he can't tolerate this pill. After calling the vet again, it's decided that a topical medication is probably the best route for Oli. Can I please bring him back by? Oh sure, no problem.

That poor third child...

2011-01-19T19:18:00.002-05:00

Needless to say, Oliver really likes babies! And I'm thinking I'm so glad Doug had a vasectomy. Not only would the next kid have to survive life with two older sisters, it would obviously have to survive the first few weeks subjected to the cat.

Snow Dance by Lezlie Evans

2011-01-10T15:42:00.004-05:00

Pressure's falling
forecast's calling
for a snowstorm late today.

"Find your warm boots
lay out snowsuits
do a snow dance and it may!"

Slowly drifting
downward sifting
falls a single flake of snow.

Snow grows thicker
coming quicker
now the flakes begin to flow.

Sun's rays streaming
white drift gleaming
school is canceled for the day!

Bushes glimmer
sparkle, shimmer
"May we go outside and play?"

"Put warm clothes on
start with long johns
bundle up from head to toe."

"Next come snowsuits
coats and big boots
hats and gloves, then off you go!"

Outside clomping
boot prints stomping
tasting, munching
fresh snow crunching

snow cakes baking
angel making
funny patterns in the snow.

Ice sheets cracking
snowman stacking
snowballs packing
friends attacking

frozen fingers
still we linger
having too much fun to go.

Red sled riding
downhill gliding
slipping, sliding
now colliding!

Rudolph noses
ice cold toeses
as we trudge home through the snow.

Inside filing
wet clothes piling
"Come and thaw out by the fire."

Mittens dripping
cocoa sipping
now we all begin to tire.

Day's now ending
night's descending
yet we're glad we've had the chance...
whirling, twirling
snowflakes swirling...
to be part of the snow dance.

Huge sale going on Crocs...

2011-01-09T11:16:00.002-05:00

Today, I got two pairs of the above Croc (Gabby) for the girls for $14.38. That includes shipping & tax. Awesome right?! www.crocs.com is having a huge sale right now. Use the following codes to save extra on top of their sale prices:

(1) FABULOUS10 to save an additional 10% off your entire purchase.

(2) novship to receive free economy shipping (please note that it won't show the shipping is free until you get to the final ordering page).

Enjoy! Always feel good to save money :)

Quick takes...

2011-01-07T19:44:00.002-05:00

I apologize for lack of blogging lately. So many things happening. Where do I even begin?

1. Ringworm. Gross right? Apparently, Oliver, unbeknownst to me, had ringworm. He had it almost two frigging weeks before it became obvious. Which means that...the whole effing house got it too! Now me and Doug, we got maybe 2 spots. That's it. Hadley, well, she had probably 8-10 spots. And Delaney? She had at least 15-20 spots (I wish I were joking). Of course this was all discovered on Christmas Eve. No visit to Santa this year girls! I'm sure he appreciated this as well because I sure as hell wouldn't want some kid giving me ringworm. Did I have a meltdown you ask? I had a meltdown so big that poor Doug thought I was having some sort of psychotic episode and was contemplating sending me to enjoy my Christmas at the funny farm. I have never been so angry and upset as I was about the ringworm. In the midst of my meltdown, Doug did point out that it was just ringworm and I should be grateful that Oliver is otherwise healthy (in comparison to little Joey). So I quit crying and slathered the whole family with cream. Everyone had to visit their doctor. The girls and Oliver all are currently taking an oral medication for 6-8 weeks. You've never truly enjoyed giving medicine until you have to give it twice a day to your kitten. Oliver spies me coming with the syringe and stops swallowing. I am not joking. He starts drooling profusely. I have to hold him down with both legs and pry open his mouth all the while holding his head in a headlock position so when I insert the medicine he can't spit it all over himself and me. Good times I tell you. Good times.

2. About 4 weeks ago, I became a brunette. Again. So I was born a blond which I remained for a good portion of my life until I was in high school. I noticed by the time I graduated that it was mostly brunette with a few random blond highlights. So I started getting highlights courtesy of my hair stylist. With all the new medication costs we're now paying and in an effort to pay off debt, I decided to stop getting my hair highlighted. But I really wanted to stay blond. So I figured, why not try to do it myself? Which probably would have been okay if I had picked the right shade. Which I didn't. So I ended up with orange hair. No shit. So I have retired from my hair coloring days and am content to be a brunette until I can afford to go back to having it professionally highlighted.

3. Every year after Christmas I get the winter blues. I hate winter. A lot. I only like it long enough to celebrate Christmas and then I am ready for it to be over with. Except this year. We are currently in countdown mode around here. We are counting down the days until...we leave for Disney World! Oh yeah! I am like a child when you dangle Disney World in front of me! When Doug called to tell me that he officially had booked our condo, I would have pulled over to do cartwheels had I not already been late to pick up Delaney from school. Yeah...I'm that excited! For winter break (which we've never had until this year), we are packing it up and heading south for a week of good 'ole fashion family fun. We are hoping and praying that this trip is better than our last trip in which Hadley had to be hospitalized for a night due to strider. Hadley and I also missed our princess lunch in Cinderella's castle. No worries though. Doug has booked us another one in hopes that we all will be able to attend. Now the task of the girls deciding which dress they will wear...

So these are a few things going on in our house? What's going on in yours?

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:44:00.003-05:00

What better way to celebrate the impending New Year? Oh yeah...roller skating! As if ice skating with Delaney the other day wasn't torture enough, the four of us headed over to Sparkles to see how many more bruises we could acquire. And acquire did we ever! Although it must be said that I am infinitely better at roller skating than I am at ice skating. Much to my surprise, most things in a roller skating rink have not changed much since the 7th grade when I last skated. Still the fancy roller skates. Still the bad neon lighting. Still that one guy who can roller skate like a mofo and you find yourself out there trying your damnedest to play it cool like you do this every 'ole weekend and mimic him. Still find that you can't mimic this guy and retire your hiney to the bench on the sidelines where you stroll down memory lane and remember when you were that bad ass skater girl. Now you're just getting passed by 7 year olds who are wearing their Rollerblades. And you don't even want to get me started on how awful I am at rollerblading...

The Cutting Edge...

2010-12-29T20:48:00.003-05:00

OMG! Can you buh-lieve how stinking cute ice skates can be on a 6 year old? Seriously. Cute. Today, for the first time ever, Delaney and I attempted ice skating. Yes. I too have never been ice skating. Mostly because I really suck at rollerblading and I thought it would be a similar if not harder experience. Boy was I right. For those interested, I also happen to suck at ice skating. The only thing that kept me from busting my ass repeatedly today was the fact that Delaney and I were holding hands about 90% of the time and any time she would start the one-arm flap I would yank her back to her skates before she would eat it. I can't say I saved her every time but certainly did my best. For the first 2-3 laps around the rink, we were both hugging the wall. I'd like to think of that wall as a security blanket. I had a hard time saying good-bye. Eventually I thought I should quit making an ass of myself and let Delaney hold the wall with one hand while holding my other hand. Which means I had no wall and no security. It didn't help that little 3 year olds were whizzing past us at ridiculous speeds. Show offs. Nonetheless, we survived today and by the end, I was impressed at how much solo skating Delaney was doing and at a semi-quick pace. She had a great time and can't wait to go back! And while I too had a great time, my ankles were practically weeping as we left. Who knew it takes a lot of "ankle strength" to pull off that shindig? I can already hear Doug's "I told you so" speech. I look forward to seeing his abilities.

Christmas at Nana's....

2010-12-28T20:46:00.002-05:00

The 3 Amigos (Hadley, Carter & Delaney) My girls sure do love their cousin!

The kids never get tired of making silly faces. This one really cracked me up!

Hadley & her favorite uncle Chris

I am thankful for today. I am thankful for these people. No matter what happens in this family, I will love them to the ends of the earth. Merry Christmas....

Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. ~Denis Waitley

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

2010-12-25T20:02:00.002-05:00

From our home to yours....Merry Christmas! Hope Santa was good to you all :)

Our photo shoot with Kate Byars...

2010-12-17T13:25:00.014-05:00

Here are our photos taken by Kate Byars Photography. As a photography lover and wanna be, I am in love with them. ALL. I feel they captured the beauty of our family.

www.katebyarsphotograpy.com

Play date with Hadley

2010-12-13T18:28:00.003-05:00

Hadley has wasted no time in getting Oliver acclimated to how we roll around here. Despite the fact that we're coaching her daily on how to properly hold him (NOT by his neck), the crazy kitty seems to really like her. I daresay maybe even love her.

Oliver

2010-12-10T19:51:00.002-05:00

Meet Oliver. Our new kitty! Because I am a woman of my word, exactly one year later, we are trying again (never mind the fact that Delaney has reminded me every single week for the past year that we can get a new kitty in December before Christmas). So we decided to return to the shelter that we adopted our sweet dog Buddy from, the Cobb County Animal Shelter. Delaney found the noisiest kitten available and said, "I want this one! He needs us mommy!" So after giving Oliver the third degree and all but sifting through his cat box to make sure his poop was firm and not odd looking, we slapped our $30 down and got the hell out of there before I could change my mind. Which I've done three times in the past two weeks. Seriously. I had cold feet like no body's business. Nonetheless, our little Oli (as only I like to call him) is a joy. I forgot how effing adorable kittens can be. I also forgot that I have to watch where I'm walking constantly so I don't step on the poor kitten and crush him. All 1.6 ounces of him.

Gingerbread house

2010-12-08T15:49:00.002-05:00

As you can see, the girls delightfully decorated their pre-assembled gingerbread house. And boy how I love the pre-assembled part! Now, if I could just figure out a way to keep certain people from eating all the decorations.

Yellow River Ranch

2010-11-28T20:50:00.005-05:00

Today, we ventured over to the Stone Mountain area to a place called the Yellow River Ranch. Several friends had told me I just had to check this place out. I have two of the biggest animal lovers on the planet. I'm sure Delaney is dreaming up a way to trade in her new coat for fur as I type this. Anyway, this place did NOT disappoint. In fact, we all loved it so much we're planning our next trip.

Hadley feeding the deer (with her BARE hands people)! I have to admit, at first I was a little nervous. I mean, has anyone else seen the show, "When Animals Attack!" Needless to say, I had a clip of this playing in the back of my mind as I planted a few sliced apples into Hadley's hand. All for nothing though because these little deer were so precious I was ready to trade in my coat for fur as well.

Delaney feeding the deer. The deer loved the quiet kid. Told Delaney to shut up her little sister who was scaring the shit out of her.

The deer staring at Hadley. Hadley was shrieking "Look, it's a DEER!!!" at the top of her lungs. I lost count of how many times in the first two minutes I tried to quiet her down.

Bob the squirrel. These little guys were everywhere! They were damn adorable! This squirrel walked right up to me and politely took a peanut from my palm. I fainted from all the excitement.

Delaney giving her neck hold again. Clearly showing she dominates little sister. Or perhaps would like to think she does.

Hadley petting a bunny. There was a sign posted in front of the bunny pen that said, "Do NOT chase the bunnies. If you can't follow the rules, you may NOT enter." I reiterated this all to Hadley word for word.

I seriously thought for a fraction of a second that I would love to own a bunny. They're so soft!

Only 25 cents! Sign us up....

This 25 cents almost cost a trip to the ER. No one told us that is was three times as fast as the others. We were just happy that Hadley held on for 8 seconds.

See how annoying we can be? Delaney is already over us.

Me and my sweet little pea

This year I am thankful for....

2010-11-25T20:44:00.004-05:00

This year, Thanksgiving, was one of the best we've ever had. Why? Because it was the first year the girls were so darn helpful. They wanted me to include them on the WHOLE process. From the early morning pumpkin cheesecake making to the turkey to the casseroles. And I enjoyed every minute of it let me tell you. I always knew there was a reason God blessed us with girls. I know what makes them tick and I know what to do to keep the occupied and happy. So not only did they help in the kitchen, they also helped with setting the table. They did about 85% of it without me. I gave them a little direction and the rest was all them. They were so cute. And so darn proud of themselves! It was one of those days where I felt like my heart would just burst with joy. Like I couldn't love them anymore than I did today. It's moments like these that again, I am thankful for diabetes. I know that sounds crazy but it's true. With diabetes, I can stick around with my girls and my favorite guy and enjoy my life. I can sing silly songs to the girls each night and snuggle with them under their covers until their eyes get droopy with sleep. I can kiss their boo-boos and hug them tight when they fall down and get hurt. I can make their favorite cookie dough and let them eat it out of the mixing bowl. I can read them their favorite stories day after day and never once get tired of doing it. Yes. This year there is much to be thankful for. It's nice to have a reminder of what I still get to do. And I'm so grateful for it.

It's a Shutterfly Christmas....

2010-11-19T09:42:00.002-05:00

Okay, so most of you know that I LOVE pictures. Not like. LOVE. I would be embarrassed if I had to walk through our house at this very minute and count how many pictures and frames I have. It's obscene. Some of my favorite gifts given to me are of course..pictures! Just to give you a glimpse of this I have posted a few pictures below of the inside of our house.

In our family room.

The wall leading up the stairs.

With Christmas a mere 36 days away, I'm already thinking of what gifts to give. My absolute favorite gifts come from one of my favorite photo stores. Shutterfly! I have been using their website for years. 8 years to be exact. So what kind of gifts do I like to buy? Glad you asked!

This is a photo book we made one year for Father's Day for Doug. It is so darn precious! I am a huge scrapbooker but this particular year I went from one to two kids and did not get much scrapbooking done. I wanted something for Doug that he could take to work and keep on his desk. This book was perfect! We made it mostly with pictures of around the time Hadley was born. It turned out really nicely! The girls still love to check it out and read it like a story book. To make one all your own go to: www.shutterfly.com/photo-books/simple-path

This is another fun gift we've made. This one in particular was given to Doug many moons ago after Hadley was born. We've made mugs before for others and you can get hot chocolate or a gift card to Starbucks. Delaney has made many of these for teachers as end of the year gifts.

This is my all time favorite gift to give! We make these every single year for ourselves and usually the grandparents. We pick out our favorite pictures from the past year and organize them into beautiful calendars. The girls are so cute about helping me pick out their favorite pictures (sometimes I disagree with them). I was looking through old calendars just the other day marveling at how much our kids have grown up over the years. To create your own calendar go to: www.shutterfly.com/calendars

Something else I've been pondering since the Christmas season is upon us (36 days people), is what kind of Christmas card are we going to do. Some years I dress the girls in their cute Christmas attire and make them model and pose for me. Some years I just weed through our pictures of the year gone by and pick a few favorites. My favorite Christmas card is the photo Christmas card. They are easy, cute and simple. I like the simple part the most because I get tired of writing every single card with the exact same thing scrawled out at the bottom. My hand appreciates it too! The hard part will be choosing which one to use. There are so many cute choices! Maybe I will let the girls choose. Yes, that's exactly what I will do. To create your photo cards go to: www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

Shutterfly is offering 50 free Christmas cards to bloggers that sign up at:

http://blog.shutterfly.com/5358/holiday2010-blog-submission-form/

Slugs & Scratches

2010-11-13T11:03:00.003-05:00

I found Delaney and Hadley in the garden. With shovels. Next thing I know I'm being summoned to the back yard to look at the "snail" Delaney found. Which wasn't a snail at all but actually a slug. Ewww! I cut my eyes to Delaney and informed her of what she was holding in her hand. What I wanted to do was slap her hand down and knock the creature to the ground but I didn't. Delaney is a lover of all creatures, slimy or otherwise. After discussing the situation with her, we agreed that "Sluggie" needed a bowl with dirt and she would carry him in the bowl. And upon reentering the house, we would scrub her from head to toe to kill off any slug germs. Several hours pass and I'm getting Delaney ready for bed.

Me: How was Sluggie when you left him?

D: Sluggie wasn't doing good. He stopped moving. He was suffering. I didn't want him to suffer anymore.

Me: What happened?

D: I squished him so he could be happy and go to heaven to see God.

Me: Really? Wow (I'm pretty much stunned).

D: He'll be much happier now.

Note to self: Delaney is going to end world suffering...one slug at a time.

***

It's late afternoon and I'm on the computer checking my email. The girls are playing in Delaney's room. It's peaceful. It's calm. This makes me happy. Suddenly, I hear a bloody murder scream which I only hear when someone has injured herself. Before I can even get up and make my way down the hall, in comes one screaming kid and her big sister who is attempting to talk over the screaming.

Me: What happened?

D: Well, she scratched my back.

H: My head huuuuuuurts! Waaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh.....

D: And I scratched her on the back too! She started it! (Her lip is quivering and I can see fresh sobs about to break through at any minute).

Me: Delaney, she's holding her head. Did you hit her on the head?

H: WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.....

D: (Pauses, clearly thinking it through). Yes. But she scratched my back and it hurt really bad.

Me: Delaney go to your room. We do not hit our sister and we certainly do NOT lie.

H: My head hurts momma!

Me: Did you scratch your sister on the back?

H: Yes.

Me: Why?

H: I wanted to.

Me: You go to your room too. We do not hit our sister.

H: No momma! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Me: Yes Hadley. Go sit in your room and I'll come get you when it's time to come out.

While both girls were sobbing in their rooms, I took advantage of the quiet downstairs and started dinner. Smirking all the while because life can be so funny sometimes. I love that Delaney finally has had enough of being a doormat and decided to fight back. I love that Hadley just got plain annoyed with her big sister and decided to retaliate. I guess this is the stage we have reached. To drive home my point, I subtracted one marble from each girl's jar.

D's Birthday Sleepover

2010-11-06T21:07:00.003-04:00

iCarly Cupcakes

Delaney's Birthday Banner

Goodie Bags (which Doug would like to see be phased out as he thinks it's completely ridiculous but I won't be the one to stop it).

The Mob (Delaney, MacKenzie, Lizzie, Nathalie & Hadley)

They really get into this! Although Hadley looks like she's modeling not doing silly faces.

This year Delaney opted for a slumber party and a big gift. An iPod touch to be exact. Yes. I'm not even kidding. She has been begging, pleading, whining, and pouting for an iPod touch. I told her this year that if she really wanted one, no big party. I refuse to spend $300 on a party and then buy a $200 present. I told Delaney that in case she hadn't heard of such a thing, the country is in what I like to call a recession and that includes this house. So either a big fancy party or a big fancy gift. Obviously, big fancy gift won out. And I'm not sure it was such a bad idea really. The slumber party was a huge hit. The girls all seemed to have such a great time together. We did pizza & cake, painted picture frames, made beaded bracelets, popped popcorn & watched Toy Story 3 and of course trashed the entire upstairs by dragging out every single toy we own and rearranging the play room. We drug Delaney's mattress out of her room and deposited it on the play room floor along with the queen sized mattress from our guest bed. All the girls slept on a mattress so we didn't even have to make them sleep on the floor. That's the real treat in my opinion! The most amazing part, they were all sound asleep by 10:45. They were also wide freaking awake at 6:30 a.m. With the damn chickens....

Barbie Swim School

2010-11-04T11:26:00.002-04:00

What do you do to keep your little sister from playing with your brand new Barbie Swim School? Tell her one of the dogs pooped in the pool and post a "closed" sign on the bathroom door until further notice. I wish I were kidding....