Just Keepin' Things Lively

For your family albums

2012-02-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

At playgroup this morning, we were talking about how diligent we were with keeping up with the kids' baby books, photo albums, etc (And we weren't as dilligent as we'd all liked to have been :). We joked about how accurate we were with the first child's stats (I'm sure I had Lucy's first steps documented to the nearest tenth of a second (not really :) and how with the younger children, we're lucky if we knew what month it happened in.

I love making the kids' and our family's annual photo books on Shutterfly, and Elaine was asking me what kinds of things I documented and journaled about. So, here's some things you could think about documenting in baby books, family albums, etc.

I'm just going to list in random order, because I just don't have enough time to organize it sequentially :) Some of these I've used before, but I'm sure I'll think of some new things as I do this, so I'm excited to devote some thinking to this! :)

Kid stuff:

-first steps

-first food (include likes and dislikes)

-birth story (might want to note your doctor's name, where you delivered etc.)

-who came to visit at the hospital

-anything unusual (e.g. abnormally hot or cold temps for when you went home)

-what news stories were making news

-first words

-write down mispronounciations of words your toddler says and what they're trying to say (it'll be even more adorable years down the road :)

-document what they were for Halloween

-what kind of preschool they're in, their teacher(s), favorite things about school.

-who are their best friends? (write first and last names b/c those will be the details you might forget when you're looking back at the album two decades from now :)

-favorite things to play?

-favorite activity?

-quirks

-strenghts and weaknesses

-personality traits

-funny phrases that are unique to them (When Jack was first learning how to talk, if you were trying to be silly and he didn't like it, he'd shout, "No funny!" over and over. THat kind of thing...)

-favorite toys

-kids hobbies

-anything they're attached to?

-what was on the Santa list

-holiday parties (afraid of easter bunny, santa, etc?)

-Each birthday, ask your child these same questions and enjoy seeing how their answers change yearly.

Family:

-mom and dad working positions

-hobbies parents/ family is involved in

-what regular activities do you do?

-vacations (document things you might easily forget, like, the kids' favorite activity to play on the beach, favorite part about where you stayed; best and worst part of the vacation, did you travel with anyone?

-holidays (take a picture of the table set for Christmas dinner, for example; write about what you ate for a special meal. any traditions your family started? why?

-document any moves,

-take before and after pics of any house projects

-as husband and wife, journal about how your marriage has changed in "x" amount of years.

-personal goals for the future?

-family goals?

-church involvement (e.g. leading a kids small group, volunteering in the nursery)

-major news events and if/how they affected you.

-best and worst times from the past year (I wrote about Toby's diagnosis of bone cancer, for ex.)

-extended family members that were born or passed away

-you could have fun and make a list of "best & worst decisions" we made this year. :)

Most importantly, just have fun and include more details than you think you should. I already look back at albums from two or maybe just three years ago and think, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that, and I'm so glad I can relive it :) Oh yeah, and don't stress about it! And if you've forgotten something...just make it up! LOL!

Here's a link to my Shutterfly page where you can view the annual album for 2011 that I just made.

The father's day albums are one of my favorite traditions!

Here's all of the ones I've made (and if you actually view these, you have way too much time on your hands :p)

Don't know what to do with all your kid's artwork from school? Be sure to check out the Kids' Art Projects album. It's a great, super TIDY way to keep track of all their artwork!

The family. We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together. ~Erma Bombeck

Great little article!

2012-01-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

Tiffany shared this with me, and I'm so glad she did. I loved it!

Any mother will relate... ENJOY!

Be sure to read the disclaimer at the bottom; it's particularly funny :)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amber-dusick/parents-caffeine-wine_b_1192976.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

The world from Jack's Eyes

2012-01-15T17:39:00.000-08:00

I've been forgetting to post this...

When Lucy turned three years old, I created a set of questions that I'd ask her every year. I'd document her answers year by year and enjoy how her answers change as she grows up.

So, Jack turned three in December, and here is his set of answers. It's just adorable seeing things from a three year old's perspective, especially from the eyes of Jack Martin :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jack!

“May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true. May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong. May you stay forever young.” - Bob Dylan

Here are your sweet, precious ideas, as expressed by you as you turn three years old! Happy Birthday, baby boy!

We love you so much!

1. What is your favorite toy?

Batman

2. What’s your favorite thing to do at school?

Play with my batman at school.

3. What is something you like to say?

“Spiderman, Batman, Superman, and Bumblebee”

4. What is your favorite food?

grits

5. How do you treat your brother and sister?

nice

6. Who’s your best friend?

Claire

7. Where do you like to play?

At Audrey’s

8. What is your favorite tv show?

Super Why

9. What is your favorite book?

“No, David!”

10. What is your favorite color?

green

11. Who loves you?

Papa

Mommies and their Boys

2012-01-06T06:48:00.001-08:00

This is in honor of my college roomate and good friend, Laura, who just found out they're having their THIRD boy!!!! Brad's got a golf foursome ready :)

I loved this blogpost:

http://studerteam.blogspot.com/2011/11/25-rules-for-mothers-of-sons.html?spref=fb

#6, 7, and 20 are my favs!

Enjoy!

First Haircut for Connor

2012-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

My toehead just needed a trim around the ears and bottom. Since I've given up on cutting Jack's hair (although I seriously think he's received worse cuts at an actual hair cut place :), I'll relish the few times I'll be able to cut Connor's before he too needs more skilled hands touching his wispy locks.

Runny nose was from the cold we've all been kicking around; he wasn't crying about the haircut :)

wiggle worm!

Jason snapped a few of the kids while I was finishing up...

Jason and his Jeep!

2012-01-02T19:14:00.000-08:00

So aside from marrying Jason, the next best decision I've ever made was to surprise him with a Jeep for Christmas. And though I had temporary doubts - and it turns out my family and friends had far bigger worries :) - it was totally worth the risk!

Jason has been enjoying the heck out of his new car...taking it out every day for some kind of ride, going on "adventures" with the kids, washing it several times, tending to it, cooing to it... just kidding.

And today, I think, was probably his favorite day with his new toy. He and a few buddies drove north to the border, and played around at some kind of trail. His friend Jim took his Jeep, and they met up with a guy who had a Jeep as well. Take a look at the fun - and jams - they got in :)

Just goin' through a little puddle...

Hi Ho, hi ho, it's off to play we go...

Jason's first "stuck"

And this jam allowed the engineer boys to put their minds to work and come up with a solution to get this jeep out. I think he said it took about an hour for this one. :)

Nice...

I kind of wanna' go next time! :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T11:57:00.001-08:00

How blessed we are to have such a wonderful Christmas!

Santa brought Jack a superman costume, Transformers talking helmet, and a Buzz Lightyear talking action figure.

I love this gift Lucy received from Lady and Uncle Brendan...She loves Gummy Bears!

This was a hat given to my brothers... hehe

and my favorite gift of the day - the one from me to my husband. I have been eating, sleeping, and breathing Jeeps for several weeks, scouring autotrader and Craigslist all over the Southeast looking for the perfect Jeep. He loved it!

Be sure to check out the video if him finding it:

As soon as he got it, he was off to find some mud pools to play in!

I said, "YOu've already gotten it all dirty!!!" Which, I know, is the point. :) He even washed it off once we got back from a little off-roading!

Lucy's new dresser

2011-12-18T15:00:00.000-08:00

Lucy's two small drawers weren't cutting it anymore to store her clothes, so a few weeks ago I took on a project to find a great piece of furniture on Craigslist for a great price and then have Brooke Rawlins paint and distress it.

I loved the lines of this and the grooves and details. I thought it would look great refinished...

So, here's the before (bought the piece for $150)

and the after!
(It was $150 to have it repainted, distressed, etc. and that included delivery. Very reasonable I think!)

I'm going to find new knobs for the second row since it was missing one bracket when I bought it. Lucy loves the two little cubbies on top. Not sure if you can tell in the photo, but there's that etched /frosty pattern on the mirror around the perimeter- very girly :)

Anyways, it's just what I wanted and pictured in my mind, so yea for things going as I'd hoped!

Jack is THREE!

2011-12-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

Due to Jack's birthday falling on Dec. 2nd, he gets to enjoy several celebrations. First this year, we celebrated his birthday on Thanksgiving while spending the holiday with Jason's family in Oxford, AL:

He LOVED his Spiderman cake, and was showered with lots of spiderman toys.

On his actual birthday, Dec. 2nd, we celebrated before school with special birthday doughnuts for breakfast! :)

Later that night, Jack opened his present from Papa and Lady. TRANSFORMERS! Lady gave Jack "Optimus Prime" because my dad wouldn't give Jack a toy that had a saw for a hand - too violent he thought. I think that's hilariously adorable! So he gave Jack "Bumbleebee". Jack and Lucy immediately began fighting with them :)

And today, we celebrated for the final time with Jack's party at home:

This pic above is my favorite; sweet boy!

Here is the Monster Truck moonbounce we had!

And Jack wanted a "Batman" cake this time!

A new use for an old tree

2011-12-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sunday night after Thanksgiving, Jason scooted around in the attic, got our artificial tree, hauled it downstairs, and spent a substantial amount of time fluffing all the branches and getting it "pretty." And then we plugged it in, and none of the prestrung lights on the tree lit up. Bahumbug!

So, rather than kick the tree to the curb, I decided to take advantage of all the plants and trees in our new yard being so little and make this an "outdoor" centerpiece tree. I bought the old fashioned, big bulbs and let the kids go to town. Our own little "Charlie Brown" Christmas Tree.

Jack's running away because someone upset him (he was seriously having one of those days..."

and therefore, he's not in this picture. He was pouting... (How adorable are the kids?!? A's little stance is priceless!)

I finally managed to motivate Jack to join the group...only for him to run away again...

but finally...
Christmas is on the way!!!!!

The Writing on the...table

2011-11-30T19:27:00.001-08:00

Upon seeing this in the kids' playroom:

1. Wow, Lucy is doing well with her numbers...look how cute that 8 is, and wow, her 4 is pretty accurate...

then, 2. Wait, holy crap, she's done this on the table. Oh well, at least she thinks it's fun cleaning up her messes with the Magic Eraser :)

and finally, 3. Imagine if this was the code on LOST :P

Seriously, though, I think this is pretty darn cute! And though I was hardly upset about the mess to begin with, it's still good to remind myself that someday I'll be wishing my kids were still writing things on furniture :) I just LOVE this age!

Jack and Thanksgiving...

2011-11-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute "funnies" from Jack:

One day, this note was sent home by Jack's teacher:

and his turkey from school...super cute what two-year-olds are thankful for:

Hope everyone had a WONDERFUL thanksgiving! pics to come from our t'giving in Oxford, AL with Jason's family!

Helpful Turkey Tip

2011-11-21T11:48:00.000-08:00

So, as I was wasting away in bed all weekend (thanks to a yucky stomach bug that hit Lucy and me), I watched plenty of Food Network. Yesterday afternoon, they had a special live show that was all about Thanksgiving. People could call in, tweet, skype, whatever, and many of the FN chefs fielded the calls and provided helpful - usually - answers.

I could personally identify very well with one of the questions, as it is a pet peeve of mine (and my worst hostess dinners have been due to this beast! :) OVERCOOKING your meat.

A caller wanted to know how you know when your turkey is done. Alton Brown took this question, and everyone should take note of his answer. He explained how most turkeys these days come with that little popper thing that "pops" up when your turkey is done. According to the package directions, when your popper pops, that's when it's time to take out your turkey. WRONG!

Alton explained that because of the resin that those mechanisms are kept in, it won't pop out until your turkey has reached 179 degrees. And if you know the correct temperature to cook your turkey to (Dad are you listening!?! :) - which is 165 - then you'd know that relying on that thing will give you an overcooked turkey - very overcooked at that (because don't forget your turkey will continue to cook as it rests (so important to let it rest, don't forget! 20 min or so for a large bird!)- every time.

I never knew the science behind those popper things, but because every time I've eaten a turkey that cooked using that popper, it's been drier than a baby's new diaper, I figured those things aren't worth their weight in gold :)

So, ditch that thing, and check your turkey often as you cook it. Pull it out just a bit shy of 165, cover it with foil, pour yourself a glass of wine, enjoy it, and THEN carve your turkey.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

"Soldiers Are Mean"

2011-11-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

I love holidays, but when it comes to Halloween, what I don't love is the excessive amount of candy that is always lying around the house, tempting me all day! And what I REALLY don't love is how my children spend every waking moment for days upon days after Halloween begging for, crying about, fighting over said enemy :)

Sweet CeCe's - our favorite new ice cream shoppe - saved me from weeks upon weeks of misbehaving children due to candy obsession by participating in a "candy drive" for the soldiers. For every pound of candy brought in, you received a punch on your punch card; they're shipping the candy overseas. Wonderful idea!

So, I talked up how we were going to take our candy and send it to the soldiers, and best of all, how we were "trading" candy for ice cream! The kids were super pumped about it (Phew!).

On our way to Sweet CeCe's, we were all having a conversation about the soldiers. Jack piped up, "I don't like soldiers. Soldiers are mean!"

This was a good opportunity to talk about how the soldiers were only mean to the enemy and how they keep us safe, fight for our freedom, etc. Bit heavy for a two-year-old, but he seemed to follow. But, he still kept insisting that soldiers were mean. We arrived, chuckled about Jack, and headed in to partake of some yumminess.

Five punches (yes, over 5 pounds of candy!) later, we were each stuffing our mouths with our own concoction of flavors and toppings when - I kid you not - a big soldier walked in the door. Decked out in army camo gear...black boots, black hat, the whole sh'bang! How perfect!

Now, this place is not a big place, and being that it was a Tuesday night, it wasn't very crowded. There were about five other people in the place. So, after I excitedly told Jack about who had walked in, of course everyone heard when Jack retorted that no, he didn't want to look at the soldier because soldiers are mean! Smiling, I continued to point out all the cool things about the soldier; I could see him grinning as he made his ice cream treat. Jack remained unimpressed.

As the soldier approaches the register, near where we are sitting, I suggested that Jack introduce himself to the soldier so he could talk to him and see that he's very nice. Jack thought that was a terrible idea. So I held out my hand and introduced myself to "soldier Tyrone." Jack just eyed him up and down, eyebrows furled.

We chatted briefly and then Tyrone went to pay for his ice cream. But before he left the shop, he turned around and approached us. He reached one arm to the other, peeled off his army patch and held it out to Jack. "Here," he said, "I want you to have this."

My heart melted.

And then my son rejected the sweet offering. (How lovely...)

Jason: "Jack, this is so awesome; he wants you to have his army patch."

Jack: "No." (Seriously, child of mine...)

I graciously accepted the patch, and the soldier and I exchanged a chuckle before he left.

I hope this soldier has children -and my hunch is that he does - because then he'll understand that Jack was likely to warm up to the idea of soldiers, and specifically the very cool patch he gave Jack. And that's exactly what happened.

In fact, while we continued to talk about the soldier and how cool his present was, Jack began to ask to wear it and inquire about soldiers. By the time we had eaten our ice cream and were leaving, Jack was clutching his patch protectively and insisting that he get to wear it on his pajamas.

And the next day, we pinned it on his shirt to he could wear it to school and tell everyone his story about meeting Soldier Tyrone! Very cool story! I love it!

Happy Veteran's Day!

2011-11-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" -Maya Angelou

Great day today! Kids had a nice time at the parade; Jack was just mesmerized by the large army tanks, and Lucy loved the infantry marching down the street. She kept asking me, "What are they saying!" and I couldn't always tell myself. But it sure sounded cool.

We are fortunate to live next door to some awesome people, Tony and Joann, and they happen to both be veterans. W e had a nice time making them some special treats to celebrate and thank them!

"I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot." -Gary Hart

Family Pictures

2011-11-09T14:04:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under a rock, you have heard of Groupon and Living Social. A few months ago, a Huntsville photographer, Lauren Tomasilla, was featured with a killer deal for a great price. I hadn't heard of her - turns out she's new to town from Ohio - but I checked out her portfolio. I LOVED her work, and figured it was a pretty safe bet to purchase the deal.

She was a pleasure to work with, very professional (sent out a "get-to-know-your-family" questionnaire before the session), and super with the kids. But the best part was the beautiful pictures she took. It was super challenging to choose just 35 from over 100 proofs, but we were able to finally narrow it down.

One neat thing she sent us was a slideshow of her favorite images set to a cute little song. Many of her favs were also my favs. Check this out - and if you are looking for a great photo experience getting family shots, try her out!

http://laurentomasella.com/martin_family/

Long Lost Journal

2011-10-31T13:40:00.000-07:00

Guess what I found?!? My journal from June 1991. That puts me at eleven years old. I dove into my journal entries, and-to steal a line from my friend, Ashley - Oh my soul! Y'all...it's a good thing my Masters thesis was about Writing, because apparently at age eleven, my writing was about as interesting as a doctor's waiting room.

Allow me to share some of my favorite excerpts :)

Referring to the Hilton Head vacation we were on...

"Well, we're finally here! We got here about 4:30. Elizabeth didn't (although I spelled it "did'nt" geez!) come for a long time, so I was worried, but she finally came. We went swimming in the pool, but then we were tired of the pool, so we went to the beach. (wich (some people still can't spell 'which' properly) is just behind our house. it's on the beach.)"

Wow, sounds like we started our vacation with more fun than we could handle! :p So glad I clarified that if the beach is behind our house, then our house must be on the beach...)

Apparently I wrote about things involving my mom a lot. Here's one:

"I asked mom if we could go rent bikes, but she said they would be delivered 'later tonight,' so I asked her if she had ordered them...she said no. I was confused..."

Now that I'm a mom, I realize my mom was probably just saying whatever would shut me up; never mind if it made any sense... :)

A redeeming post:

"Well, I woke up slightly early. My mom made the best breakfast. bacon, eggs, and toast. It was great!"

aw, thanks mom for a nice, hot breakfast!

But the next day, not so many thanks...

"At the tennis shop Elizabeth and I found shirts we liked (seems we liked to dress as twins as much as possible. Yes, Brendan and Ryan, I know I really am a nerd.) We came home and ate lunch. It was good! (My goodness, do I ever write about anything interesting?!?) Then my mom made me make up all the beds in the house! I got extremely mad!"

Making beds on VACATION, mom?!? and the WHOLE house?!? whatev...major boo! :)

Despite it's elementary level of writing and complete lack of topics, I'm having a blast reading this. Fun to look back...

Let's Carve Some Pumpkins!

2011-10-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon, our friends Christy and Michael hosted a Carving Pumpkins Party. Lots of neighborhood friends gathered together to enjoy warm soup, drinks, and of course, get busy on the project at hand - carving our pumpkins!

As we were loading up the stroller to leave, I noticed Jason was bringing his entire stash of dremmel tools, so I was super excited to have a reason to tell him those wouldn't be necessary this year :) (Last year, I think Jason was the only one who had any fun carving (or I should say, 'dremmeling') our pumpkins. Jack and Lucy didn't get to help much due to the nature of the power tool, and I got to clean up lots of sprayed, dried pumpkin bits from outside and all the toys it sprayed on! :)

Lucy picked some fun shapes for the face; and she decided to use the pumpkin guts as hair. That girl LOVED digging out the pumpkin guts. She went around to more than one other kid's pumpkin to take out the filling! :)

Here are the final results!

Thanks, Camp, for taking our picture!

Some people got really creative! I think this Spongebob is Camp's pumpkin...

Winning!

Connor says, "You can take me anywhere, and I'll just chill. ":)

Yesterday, I enjoyed some alone time with my little man. He seemed particularly adorable, so I got out the camera. LOVE these pics! There are so many from this setting, it'd take a long time to load here, so click here and check out Shutterfly if you want to see the entirety of them.

New fave pic, below! Melts my heart!

Today, the kids got to enjoy trick-or-treating at school. They cooperated enough this morning for me to snap a few:

*that mean turtle ninja would be cameron :)

I think Lucy is in love! ;p

Happy Halloween!

Borders, Baths, & Beyond

2011-10-13T14:42:00.001-07:00

We've been busy around here! Our stacked stone border and new garden/landscape is now finished, and we love it! Huge improvement from the barren, dried-out-and-filled-with-dead plants-garden that we inherited upon moving in. Our original plan was to have a stamped concrete border placed around the garden, but ultimately I decided that I really wanted to mimic the stacked stone front wall and stone base of the columns that line the front porch. It was a more expensive route to take, but I think it was well worth it. One huge problem this house had - and the main reason I think the traffic was low when it was on the market - was the lack of curb appeal. The landscape area is so large and has such a presence because of its size. It really needed some TLC. I love the outcome!

Here's a look at the awful mess we inherited in July when we moved in:

and now... :)

not a great view, but here is a long shot from across the street.

better, up close view.

On the right, you'll see the large wall that comes from the garage that juts out. I had a fun idea to make a trellis out of something unexpected for the carolina jasmine to climb. My friend Molly told me about this awesome "mess of a place" called Habitat ReStore. It's where odds and ends that are left over from a house reno can be donated. The dark brown trellis Jason installed on the wall is actually an old bedframe, headboard and footboard, that had horizontal slats as the design. Perfect! And I love how it matches the front door wood color perfectly! Brings it together nicely!

I loved planting new annuals in a healthy plot of new soil and mulch. Hopefully, this year, I'll actually have annuals that grow for the first time! :)

the stacked stone base of the column is the stone that has always been here. You can see how well the stacked stone wall and colors I picked worked out!

And who doesn't love bathtime!?!

And Connor got to swing in his new swingset!

So grown up this one! Sweetest, most content kid, I tell ya' :)

My kids have a real thing for sticking their tongues out :)

twisting it up and letting it go - she loves that!

oh, the 'tude! love the 'tude! that scowl will pierce my heart someday, I know, but right now, I just love it!

Yes, dad, I see how she's drawn all over her hand. I don't think the ink will soak into her skin and poison her or anything :)

Got the walking toy out for Connor...I don't think it will be long. Jack walked at 9 and a half months...my money is going that this guy may do it even sooner... we shall see :)

TGIF Thank Goodness It's FALL! Love this season!

what I wrote on the plane...

2011-10-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a blunt blog post, and it may even offend some people (although since there are just about ten people who read my blog, perhaps I’ll be able to avoid that J).

Our society is going down the shitter.

I’ve had this blog post in my head for over a week now, and I kept debating whether or not to share my thoughts, but hey, it’ll be a good change of pace from just posting adorable pictures of my offspring. What sparked my bold thesis statement actually took place in church.

I started volunteering about a month ago at our church as a Small Group Leader with elementary age children. (In the past, I’ve served as a Storyteller, acting out the weekly message from up on stage. While I enjoyed that position very much, I asked to serve as a small group leader this time because I desired a more personal relationship with the kids.)

It’s a simple set up. Each Sunday, a co-leader and I share a group of girls – anywhere from say seven kids to the largest group has been fifteen or so. When the children arrive, there’s an activity to keep them entertained until it’s time to go to “big group” where we worship together and listen to the Host and Storyteller do their thing on stage.

To avoid a long, drawn-out story (because I never tell stories that way, right :p) I’ll provide the Cliff Notes version of what happened, in succinct bullet points to boot:

*when it was time for the warm up activity to conclude so we could go to big group, my co-leader asked a child to put up her word search and come to group. The child replied, “No! I’m going to finish this.” Upon being told to come to group, she continued to say no. The word search had to be taken out of her hands.

*during large group, two children continually kept pulling the other on top of their laps.

*one child kept performing the “crab crawl” back and forth across the sidelines of the stage.

*two children kept talking to one another, engaging a full discussion throughout the Storytelling time.

*after big group, it was time to play a game called Bible Smack! While I was trying to explain the instructions, the same two kids who were giving each other lap dances during group were doing that again, and then one child proceeded to tell me that the way I was explaining the game was wrong. I believe her words to me were, “No, you’re doing that wrong.” And it was not in a cordial, I-think-you-may-have-it-wrong way.

*one child was performing cheerleading jumps, literally right in front of me, as I was looking into her face and speaking to her.

*the ‘word search’ girl flat out refused to join a team for the game. (I told her she a welcome to watch the game from the sidelines.)

*after a not-very-successful game, I tried to gather the girls together for a closing prayer. Out of eight children, only one child would join me for that. After asking the other seven children – who were literally running around in circles, or doing cheer leading jumps again- I just said a prayer with the one child who was sitting next to me.

Now, before I go on, let me say I do acknowledge that my background as an elementary teacher makes me quick to want to snap my fingers at disobedient, rude children, and perhaps I have higher expectations of young children than some other adults may do. And I believe that church should NOT be school and should most importantly be fun! That being said, I was horrified at the lack of respect shown by the children toward the adults. My background aside, I think these behaviors are unacceptable. And I think any adult should feel the same frustration I felt. (And speaking of frustration, I went home in tears because I was so frustrated at the experience I just had AND fearful on a personal level; I have seen hints of defiance in my own children. Most of my tears were from fear that my children might one day behave like some of these children had. That simply will not happen; I won’t allow it.

I’ll tell you my plan of how I’m going to try to combat that ever happening, but first a quick sidenote that illustrates why I think our society is – how did I put it? – oh yes, going down the shitter…

It was finally time for pickup. The parent of the child who refused to come to large group and participate in the game came to collect her daughter – who, ironically, had a guest with her that morning; a little girl who had spent the night last night for a slumber party. The mom asked her daughter if she “had been a good hostess to her friend?” (A good concern to have, I agree.) When the daughter shook her head, no, the mother looked up to me, seemingly asking for more details. So, I responded, “Well, so-and-so didn’t have a great morning here. She was disrespectful.” Mom’s eyes widened, and she crouched down to her child’s eye level. The child walked away. The mom stood back up, focused on me, and – with a shake of her head- said, “Yeah, we had a sleep over last night; little so-and-so isn’t quite herself.”

Do you catch the hidden message here that is the source of why this young generation of children are so poorly behaved????

Mom: “We had a sleep over last night, said child isn’t quite herself.”

Translation: Because my daughter had a sleepover, my expectations of her behaving well this morning were very low. Fault lies with the sleepover, not with the child.”

I was floored. Parents are so quick to let the circumstances excuse poor behavior. It makes me think about how, as adults, we’ve learned – and hopefully – act on the knowledge that we can’t always control our circumstances, yet we can control how we behave in those circumstances. You’d agree, right? Well, why aren’t we teaching our children – those who are old enough to understand it, and I’d argue 2^nd and 3^rd grade is old enough – this same lesson. The lesson that, despite the circumstances (involvement in an activity that you’re not fond of; having to do something a teacher tells you to do, running errands with your parents to stores you don’t like going to, etc.), you are expected to behave in appropriate ways.

I mean really, when you’re stuck in a work-related meeting where you have to listen to your boss go on and on about something you already know, or you have to sit through boring PTA meetings, or perhaps you just get stuck having to listen to a really annoying person at a dinner party, do we walk out of the meeting, begin exercising at the PTA meeting, or start browsing the web on our mobile phones during the dinner (hopefully not all you “phone junkies”! J)? Of course not.

I believe that it is our job to raise our children to be polite, responsible, capable, and productive adults. (if you don’t want those things for your child, then by all means, ignore everything else I have to say.) And I argue that, when we make excuses for our children, and teach them, by example, that they are not responsible for their actions, we are making it very unlikely that they will, in fact, be polite, responsible, capable, and productive adults.

I saw this all the time in the classroom. A child forgot to bring their project to school on the due date and they lied about a reason to call home (child said they needed to call home because they forgot their lunch, and that was one of the few reasons a child could call home during the school day, but asked their mom to bring their project to school.) Mom pranced in the classroom half an hour later, gingerly placing the book report on the back table, mixed in with the others that had been turned in on time. (And not surprisingly, mom threw a fit when the graded project was returned home with a 10 point deduction for being turned in late. Mom fought the grade deduction tooth and nail. The grade deduction stood.)

One time, our class was going over tests that had been graded and returned. I wanted to make sure that everyone had the correct answers, so they could understand what the correct answers were to any they may have missed. One sneaky child used white out on his incorrect answers, and wrote down the correct ones as we covered the test material. Afterwards, he marched up to me, presented his test, and informed me that I had graded his test wrong, that he did in fact, have the correct answers written. When I called the parents that afternoon, explaining the child’s deceitful act, they took his side and said that “he’d never lie.” Any parent that has never caught their child in a lie or thinks- mistakenly – that their child will never lie is a fool. We’re dealing with Lucy telling bold lies on occasion right now! (Remember, even Adam and Eve, humans created in God’s own image, lied…and they lied the first time their Heavenly Creator even spoke to them.)

But back to how I plan to combat my children growing up into people who might behave similarly to the poor behavior I saw that particular morning…I’m rearranging my priorities. The amount of free time I have to directly teach my children, one on one is precious and scarce. And instead of breaking out the alphabet books and lined paper for Lucy to practice her handwriting, we’re going to take field trips to the mall and practice things like waiting in front of the elevator door, and letting everyone inside the elevator exit before we walk in. Point it out, be explicitly direct in telling her how to wait for others to exit before you walk in.

We’re going to have more dinner parties with other adults and instead of turning her way when she interrupts an adult when they’re speaking to tell me she has finished eating, or needs to go potty, or whatever. I’m going to ignore her and then when it’s quiet, scold her for interrupting a grown up when they’re talking. What’s funny about my behavior is that while I do scold her when she does that, it doesn’t happen until Lucy has already interrupted and told me what she wanted me to- and I’ve spoken back to her! My absurdity! See how easy it is to miss if you’re not INTENTIONAL about it!?! Well, that’s going to stop.

Another skill I’ve been slacking on: I’m going to teach her how to have a conversation with an adult. That when someone talks to her, saying hello, or complimenting her on something, she doesn’t just stare back at them. A smile in response is inadequate. Do I think so little of her that I think she can’t respond better, returning the compliment with a prompt thank you (notice how often parents have to prod their children to say, thank you? I’ve done it! “Lucy, say thank you…Lucy, thank you!...and so on. Ridiculous!) And when a grown up asks them how they’re doing, my kids are going to learn how to answer the question, and follow up with, “and how are you?”

Interesting side note: Beginning this school year, I made a conscious decision to make Lucy responsible for bringing her school tote and folder to school each day. I was not going to be the one responsible for making sure it gets in the car and in the classroom. She’s perfectly capable of that, and hey, kindergarten is just around the corner; it’s not just the teacher’s job to make sure she’s ready! Anyhow, the first time Lucy arrived at her classroom without her supplies and looked at me wide-eyed, realizing she had forgotten her tote and folder, I shrugged my shoulders at her, and told her she needed to tell her teacher she had not brought her tote to school. I said, “Lucy, you’re unprepared for school.” I wasn’t unkind, I was just matter of fact. I gave her a big squeeze, quick kiss, and told her to have a great day. I saw her walk up to Ms. S as I left the room. A few seconds later, Ms. S peeked her head out the door, and said to me, “Thank you! Thank you so much. You have no idea how many parents tell me it’s their fault when their kid comes to school unprepared.”

I get this one, and I’m working on instilling a huge sense of responsibility in Lucy to take care of things herself, and when she doesn’t “take care of business,” she should suffer the consequences. My two cents: If we don’t let our children suffer consequences – when at this stage, they’re so small and soft, really – we shouldn’t expect them to be able to cope when the consequences are big and harsh. No, I’m focusing on the fact that the hard work I put in now will pay dividends down the road!

But, back to what I was talking about a few paragraphs ago – doing less educational activities with my kids and more activities that teach important social skills. And because I love lists, I’m going to create a list that I think represents what I observe people placing as priorities. (Understand, I don’t think these things are not important or frivilous; on the contrary, I think these are great skills to have. I just think our society has unwittingly transitioned to focusing on these things instead of paying adequate attention to other things.)

By the time my kids begin kindergarten, I want them to be able to:

“Old:” 1. Know their ABC’s and the corresponding phonetic sounds 2. Be able to color in the lines. 3. Play at least one sport 4. Speak several words in a foreign language.

And though it may be hard to believe, I have never had a list like the one above, but from now on, I am going to act more intentionally with my “new list” in hopes that I help my children grow into bigger, “little kids” who are equipped with what I consider, even more important skills.

“New:” 1. Be able to give their undivided attention to an adult who is speaking to them. 2. Properly use “Yes, m’am and No sir, etc.” 3. Ride a bike 4. Complete simple chores without whining and 5. DO NOT INTERRUPT others. (can you tell that’s a big pet peeve of mine with my children!? J)

As for my volunteer position in church, I have been praying for God to grant me patience and an accepting, non-judgmental attitude as I try to help these precious little ones hear God’s Word, receive his Grace, and learn what he has to teach us all – myself included! J

And if you want to join with me in readjusting your parental focus, let me know and let’s hold each other accountable! J We only get one chance with our sweet babies!

My Dad's Visit

2011-09-19T12:35:00.000-07:00

We were so glad to have my dad come visit us Labor Day weekend, from Denver. My mom was in Italy and so it was just us and Papa. We had a wonderful, laid back visit. I think my dad really enjoyed watching the kids drive their power wheels, and as always loved snuggle time with Connor.

Both my mom and dad are great gift givers; they have a real knack for picking out gifts that you'll really enjoy and /or really need! My dad sends the kids lots of things via the computer, and below, the kids are enjoying the story "The Three Little Pigs." The cool thing about this website, Zoodles, is that a person can film themselves reading the story, and when the recipient watches it, they see they storybook AND the person reading it to them simultaneously. The kids' favorite part is when the wolf huffs and puffs because my dad acts all out of breath. And at the end, when the wolf burns his bottom in the pot of soup and runs away, saying "Ouch! Ow! Ahh!" the kids squeal with delight at my dad's narration of that part.

Look closely on the computer screen; on the left you'll see the cartoon storybook, and on the right is the box with my dad reading the story.

*You can't tell well here, but Jack is all giggles! Thanks Papa. When the kids are really unruly, I just start playing this video, and they run to the computer and forget whatever they were fighting about! :p

Connor's new thing

2011-09-13T07:20:00.000-07:00

Connor can claim this trait as his own...neither Jack nor Lucy ever moved around with their tongue hanging out like a dog :)

Other new things with Connor: he has finally started sitting up on his own. He has been crawling for about three weeks now, and he can get anywhere he wants to. Not pulling up on things yet. He's just as happy and content as always! What a treat! He'll turn seven months on the 17th. Where does the time go?!?

what a great product

2011-09-11T12:28:00.001-07:00

Isn't this awesome!

Kids' Piggy Bank

A wet, rainy Labor Day

2011-09-05T11:16:00.000-07:00

Today we're getting the weather from some tropical storm - or maybe it's a hurricane, not sure. Anyhow, we woke up to rain, and that's all we'll be seeing for a few days. (Gives us a good chance to try out the new drainage system that's been set up in our yard at least :)

And because our kids play best outside, our outfits for today were swimsuits (or in Jack's case, just his underwear :). And, oh my! The fun they had! Makes me wish I were a kid again!

This is the way to spend a rainy day! Jason and I sipped hot coffee while watching these monkeys play around!

Yes, the umbrellas were a bad idea; the blue one lasted about 8 seconds before it was broken. Ah, they're a hazard anyway :)

That's Jack :)

This is taken in our front yard...can you tell why we needed a drainage system! Looks like we need to have one installed in the front too!

Some playful wrestling!

And the "wheels" came out too! :)

Lucy came up with the idea to bring out the slide, and Jack had the idea to jump from the top of it! :)

Happy Labor Day! Hope you're busy doing anything other than work! :)

Playdate with Audrey

2011-09-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week the girls had a blast making a bed at the top of the landing.

Lucy put on her fancy nancy pj's and audrey wore Belle's gown to "nap" :).

These two are cute as a button together! I hope they'll always cherish each other!

What we've been up to...

2011-08-31T06:47:00.001-07:00

Sorry it's been a while...you know us, always have lots of fun things going on! We feel SO blessed to have so many great friends and family things to be involved in :)

Here's an update in photos:

Jack is still loving his Hummer power wheels; he calls it his "monster truck" and it is ALL he talks about from the minute he wakes up till he finally crashes at night. I'm not kidding, driving it is the ONLY activity Jack wants to be involved in. We had a meltdown on the way to storytime last week because he wanted to stay home and drive some more (he had already been driving it for about an hour that morning :) Best $60 I've ever spent on this kid!

Lucy is happy to ride along...they're buds :)

And Connor is still our happy, happy boy! We've nicknamed him "smiles" for he is rarely wearing any other expression on his face. He's just an angel baby!

And he's fully crawling now. I got jipped on the phase where you can plop a baby down on the ground, have them be able to sit up and entertain themselves with a few toys while you tend to things. Connor can crawl, but he can't sit up, and whenever he does begin to do that, he'll never stay in one place since he knows how to crawl :)

Lucy and Connor spend a lot of time together! She's an awesome helper!
Growing boy!

Lucy still sucks her thumb at night...

which is SILLY... :)

and she loves to paint her nails and show them off!

and pose...here, you can see her rare "Sarah face" making an appearance.

and even six months after having our third edition, Lucy and Jack are still OBSESSED with him. All they want to do is hold him, play with him, etc. This morning, they got some love before heading off to school.

Connor cheats death daily with big brother Jack...

Connor: "Mom! Why do you keep letting this big person get near me!?! Haven't you learned he is incapable of MODERATION!?"

And when Jack gets the special privilege of holding Connor by himself, you can see how it puts Lucy off! LOL! (and how happy it makes sweet Jack!)

That's all for now, have a great day everyone!

A weekend for our boys...

2011-08-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a special weekend for our little guy, Connor, as he was baptized (or "bathitized" as Lucy says it) today. And today also turned out to be a special occasion for Jack (who as the stereotypical "middle child" can always use any extra attention - planned or not.)

I LOVE yard sales, and so I was tickled pink when a facebook page was created for our little community this side of the mountain in Hampton Cove. And not just any FB page, but a community YARD SALE page where people from the valley can post things they're selling. I've already bought a free standing floor mirror for our room (always wanted one as I hate standing atop the bathtub ledge to see what the bottom half of my outfit and shoes look like on :), and today, I decided to quickly pop onto the page and just see if anything fun had been posted.

So glad I did!...because just twelve minutes prior a lady had posted her son's Hummer Power Wheels two-seater with battery and charger!!!!! And for just $60! A steal for one of these things in great condition. I jumped on it because Jack has been driving around Lucy's "Barbie Take Along Tunes Power Wheels" and while it was kind of Lucy to let him drive it so much (she never hardly got a chance to drive it because it is seriously ALL Jack lives to do - first words out of his mouth in the mornings are "Can I go drive Lucy's Jeep?!?"), Jack really needs a proper manly toy car!

So, we brought it home after lunch and surprised Jack with it! His face was priceless! I just edited and posted all these photos to our Shutterfly share site, so I'm just going to link to it here if you want to see the pics and his surprised face!: (the "hummer" pics begin at #63 I believe in the album "August and the new house"

http://kjjlmartinpics.shutterfly.com/#editPictures:albumId=2866

And now for what the weekend was originally planned to be about: Connor's baptism. My mom and Jason's parents and several of our dear friends joined us for the happy occasion, and despite Connor falling asleep on Barbara's shoulder during the praise time, he woke up and did just fine - if not a bit confused - up on stage as John baptized. Thanks to my friend Dawn for snapping some pictures of the event, and you can see them in the folder, "Connor's Baptism":

http://kjjlmartinpics.shutterfly.com/#editPictures:albumId=2866

Daddies are from Mars, Mommies are from Venus

2011-08-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Case in point...this brief - yet so revealing - interlude took place just two night ago. Quick background: Jack has become a bit preoccupied with "big bad wolf" and it's quite common for Jack to stay back from a room's entrance because "the big bad wolf is in there!" When I'm home with him during the day, Jack will dramatically announce the big bad wolf's location, and I'll make a big scene of running into the room with my arms waving, leap forward, and yell, "Go away big bad wolf!" The kids giggle with delight, and then I'll announce that the wolf is gone, having either jumped out the window and into the construction trucks at the Carney's new house across the street or sometimes I just have the wolf disappear through the closet.

Okay, so anyhow...dinner was finished, kids had played around, and it was time to go upstairs and get ready for bed.

Jason: "Okay kids, upstairs, let's get ready for bed..."

Jack: "But the big bad wolf is up there."

Jason: (with a smirk and attitude) "Jack, no there's not."

Me: "Jack, I'll go scare it away."

Mommy saves the day... :)

Happy Half-Birthday Connor!

2011-08-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Today is a cool day; my mom turned 24 :) and Connor turned 6 months! And as is the tradition in our house, we celebrate the first half-birthday with half of a birthday cake.

Lucy picked the icing color - lime green, and both kids helped put sprinkles all over the cake (and the floor :) We sang happy birthday, and Connor had a grand time sucking the icing off his fingers. Watching ever so closely, Lucy asked me, "Mommy, are babies supposed to have icing?" Me: "No baby, not really, but it's okay (unsaid: It's okay because Mommy is going to bunco and Daddy gets to watch you tonight :) She seemed a bit confused but let it go...

So happy half-birthday sweet lil' boy - it's flying by! I officially crown you, best baby! :)

We have his 6 month check up tomorrow, so I'll post his stats then, but for now, Connor eats A LOT! Twice a day, he consumes about 1/4 cup of baby food plus rice cereal, and he's nursing no less than five times a day (and somehow he has picked back up a nighttime feeding. We tried to let him cry it out a few night ago, thinking that he's just nursing at night because he wants to, but after 90 minutes of crying I figured perhaps he really is just hungry. He's always ravenous every time he eats.

We've nicknamed him "smiles" because he is such a happy baby and most of the people we encounter remark about how happy he is. He really is a delight! Also, he's a tough cookie, hardly ever crying when Jack throws himself on top of him, or Lucy squeals at a glass-breaking decibel in his ear. Great kid, just a great kid! We're so fortunate!

Lucy still ADORES him!
'

Some sibling love...

Thanks Baba for the cute "cupcake" outfit; it was perfect for today!

There's a smile!

a few house pics

2011-08-07T11:07:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the delay family; I know some of you are eager to see some pics...

So, I've taken a few, but more to come.

Here's my favorite room - the kitchen. It really was love at first sight :) This is super close to exactly what I would design if customizing my own kitchen. I love the cream-colored distressed cabinets, the large center island that's done in a dark color and also distressed. There's a prep sink in the island with disposal, which has come in very handy, and the new appliances are very nice. I don't mind unloading the dishwasher...yet :).

Jack and Lucy have their own barstools they use to eat on at the island, and the large kitchen table space is a huge improvement from our old house, where you practically bumped into the wall when you scooted your chair back to get up :)

Thanks mom for the lovely housewarming present, the new kitchen rug and seat cushions. I love it all!

Another view of the kitchen. The opening on the right, just past the wine rack is the pantry door, and the pantry is a long, hallway type pantry...so nice to be able to walk into it. The cabinetry on the right starts with the fridge, followed by an opening where we have a "coffee station", then more cabinets before the 90 degree turn from where you can see the countertop against the backwall with the stove. So, basically, the kitchen is a rectangular shape, with three of the walls housing all the cabinetry (which we so needed as we have filled up almost every cabinet) and then the area I'm standing in to take this picture is an open wall into the downstairs den.

Standing in the kitchen, looking into the den. We have a tv in that armoire, although we mostly watch tv in the upstairs media room. The opening to the left goes to our bedroom.

Foggy, because I just stepped back inside, but this is the view from the front door. Dining room (not pictured) is directly on your right.

Front door/ entryway

Okay, here, I'm standing in the little hallway at our bedroom entryway. To the right of the stairs goes to Connor's room, the guest room and guest bath, and eventually to the laundry and garage. To the left of the stairs is a hall bath, the den, and opening to the kitchen.

The window to the left of the fireplace looks out onto the screened-in porch, and the door to the porch is on the right of the fireplace.

My new favorite piece of furniture - and BEST CraigsList find EVER: a sofa from the Jeff Zimmerman collection. (These pieces sell for several thousand new- owner said this one was $4000, and I paid $350! I'm telling you, if you aren't shopping Clist, you should!) We ended up knowing the owner of the couch once I contacted them (has happened several times with pieces I've bought off CL :). It is filled with down and is hands down my new favorite place to nurse Connor. I love how my friend Tiffany calls it the "Matilda Jane" couch. It's a funky blend of all kinds of fabrics that are very different, yet all go together. Everything is reversible, and the trim on all the pieces is so pretty. I love it!

So, that's it for now. I'll work on getting more pics up soon.

Let me out!

2011-08-05T19:05:00.001-07:00

Super cute "Lucy-ism"

2011-08-03T11:33:00.000-07:00

So, on the way home from Pump It Up this morning, Jack and Lucy were discussing when their grandparents would be visiting next.

Jack: "Baba coming soon, tomorrow..."

Lucy: "No, Jack."

Jack: "No! Baba coming TOMORROW!"

Lucy: (oddly enough, with quite a bit of patience): "Jack, Baba is not coming until Connor is getting "bath"itized."

I love it!

And yes, said bathitized is taking place this month, Aug. 21. We're looking forward to it!

Boxes, boxes, boxes

2011-07-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Boxes...that has been the story for us the past several weeks. First we were packing things into them; now, we unpacking those things into our new home! We are ever so grateful, and having such a great time getting everything in place. The best part is that we now have places to put all our stuff! Jason has an entire garage space to house all his brewing equipment - and the best part is that it's separated by a wall and door from my two-car garage side. I'm thrilled to have my very own designated "tutoring room" and craft room. The kids have a separate bedroom for their playroom, and Jason has had a great time buying a new tv for the media room. It's huge, and while I'm not a huge fan of larger than life televisions, I do have to say it's pretty great.

And like I was saying, we're finally here, but it would not have been nearly as smooth a process as it was without the help of so many of our friends and family. And for that, here's a "message on a box" just for you!

Thank you to:

*Julie and Jed for housing many of our household things that we stored in their detached garage while we had our house on the market. To achieve the "uncluttered" look that is desirable when trying to sell one's home, we shuttled about 25% of our house into their garage. Sweet friends that they are, they kindly put up with all our junk for about four months. (Your yard looks great; hope you enjoyed the break from "lawn duty" :)

*Friends that came over to help me pack: Susie, Jodi, Michelle, and Molly. Everything made it in one piece. Y'all are FANTASTIC friends! I know packing is no fun, but it was a huge help! And your company is priceless!

*Friends who watched my kids so I could pack: Elaine, Lisa, Corley, and Donna. Oh, how beautiful was the peace and quiet, and because I could focus, I was able to get so much done!

*Tiffany and Matt: Toby loved playing in your backyard during showings of our house. And we'll never forget the "rodent dugout" near the fence. Jack still announces from time to time that "Dogs eat mice." :)

*My mom: Moving day would have been absolutely miserable if we hadn't had you here to watch the kids. I surely would have lost at least one child. Thanks for keeping their routine in place. And for all that you did to help us get unpacked. The kitchen is a dream, and you did an amazing job getting it ready to use in record time! You eye for design is great to have too! When your house sells, we're there to help you pack (and take whatever furniture you don't want off your hands :)

*Jason's parents, Barb and Jim: you win best in-laws ever award. Thank you for giving your time over the weekend to come and take care of the kids and do some grunt work in the garage! Count us in when it's time to pack up your house for the big St. Louis move! We'll be there!

*Amy and Julian: thanks for the boxes! You saved us a ton of money since we didn't have to buy any! They're going on to another good home, the Carney's!

*Josh, John, Eric, and Tony: Lucy and Jack are so glad to have a new swingset to play on. And retrieving it from way out in Monrovia is way above and beyond being a good friend!

*Moving Day help, Brad: It took the movers nearly thirteen hours to move us one street away; however, it would have taken even longer had you not given up about four hours of his afternoon to help as well!

*The wives of all the guys that helped: I know that when the husbands are away, it's a longer day for you. Thanks for sharing your strapping, strong men! :)

*Elaine: thanks for loaning us your new house for nap time; how conveniently did that work out?!? Can not wait until you live across the street! Can you say CARPOOL!?!

*Allison: for steering us in the right direction, leading us to this house. Here's to another "closing celebration!"

As you can see, we're ever so fortunate to have such amazing friends and family who gave generously with their time and energy to help us. Put us at the top of your list to call whenever you need a favor. We'd love to help!

I'll post pics of the house soon!

Things that never get old...

2011-07-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

Changing it up a bit. A list for today:

Things that never get old: (In no particular order)

1. sleeping in
2. going out for a fancy dinner
3. chatting with girlfriends
4. The Bachelor (apparently, as I continue to watch this ridiculous show even though I think it's absolutely absurd. :)
5. kissing your spouse
6. your kids running full throttle every day when you pick them up at school
7. baby smiles
8. going to the movies
9. a good cup of coffee

and my favorite

10. the miracle of a baby being brought into the world.
And to Eva, beautiful girl, welcome to the world! You are joining a spectacular family!

Congratulations, Matt and Tiffany!

Our 'thyme' at Rosemary Beach

2011-07-14T17:59:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful beach community; we're having a wonderful time! Enjoying a break before the crazy closing, moving, and house switching process begins next week.

Taken before we headed to a restaurant called Stinky's. It was so delicious!

lots of fun down time! these photos were taken on the sleeping porch. it had this hanging bed on it, and I fell in love with the linens!

This place is great for kids and has lots of scheduled family-friendly events. Last night, they had their annual Summer Block Party with a dj, moon bounces, and as you can see hoola hooping. Lucy was deep in study of a fellow playmate...

Enjoying some popcorn!

The kids favorite part of this trip is the pool!!!! They live in it! :)

And we've made special time to nap!

And cuddle :)

Welcome Thomas David!

2011-07-08T14:23:00.000-07:00

This one is for Choo-Choo and his Caboose:

"Welcome to the world
It's going to be quite a show.
First, there's something important
I want you to always know:
You are my shining moon; you are my glistening sun.
You are my inner peace; you are my abundant fun.
You are my roaming land; you are my wavy sea,
You are, and always will be, everything to me."

-Crystal Dawn Perry

and for when you get home:

"My first night at home
was really just fine.
I woke up Mommy and Daddy
only twenty-nine times."

-Carl Joseph Vonnoh

Enjoy your sweet new life, Dave and Cindy; we're so thrilled for you!

Little Lu

2011-07-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Love my baby girl, Lucy. Four is such a fantastic age! She is a wonderful help with Connor (98% of the time), picks out her own clothes and gets dressed by herself, and plays the role of big sister perfectly! (sometimes with a little too much gusto - she's bossy...just like I was; oh dear! :)

Just recently, she has begun giving up some of her naps. She still naps a few days a week, but she's certainly giving them up. But, I'm not going to complain...we had a REALLY good run with the three plus hour naps a day...well into 4 years old - I'll take it :)

So, while the little boys of the house were sleeping a few days ago, we had a little fun with the camera.

Her favorite...candy! Here a Tootsie Pop!

Little one has a fun personality and lots of spunk! For sure...

7 years!!!!

2011-06-26T19:32:00.001-07:00

Today marks Jason's and my seven year anniversary!!! Happy Anniversary, dear!

We celebrated on Friday night, going out to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Surin. For Jason's present, I had a trick up my sleeve. I was giving him a trip to Denver, for us to go to the Great American Beer Festival that's being held Sept 29- Oct 2.

Thanks to an idea from my clever friend Susie, I whipped up my own label, glued it onto an empty beer bottle (because those are more common in our house than toy soldiers strewn across the floor, naked babies next to the toilet (yes, I've even found one there :), or half-stocked diaper bags hanging on hooks in the hallway) and arranged for the waiter at the restaurant to bring the bottle to Jason after he orders his drink.

It was cute when it arrived because as soon as the waiter placed it in front of Jason, his face struck a look of bewilderment, and he just about started to say, "Excuse me, this isn't a Bass Ale," when I prompted him, "Read the label!"

And for part two of the surprise, we met our friends Josh and Rebecca, out for drinks at Mason's. Jason got to tell them about his present, and Josh followed up with, "So, what would you say if I told you we've already bought tickets and are coming with you?!?" Jason thought it was awesome!

So, my gift-giving plans went off without a hitch - very cool!

And as for my gift, Jason always sticks with the traditional yearly themes. 7 years is "wool" or "copper." And I love, love, love what he picked out: a cashmere pajama set; but it's a tank top and shorts set, so I can wear it now. I've always wanted something made of cashmere, so it was a great, great gift!

Here's a photo of us, seven years in...

and a fun look back...

A Father's Day for the Best Daddy!

2011-06-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

So this post is a little delayed - it's been quite a week :) To recap: we finally got an offer on our house! (it's been on the market since mid March, going on four months) And even more surprising was who the offer was from - the seller of the house we're under contract with! :0

Apparently, he was REALLY ready to get rid of his house, to be done with it, etc. and so his agent (who happens to be our agent as well), advised him that the best way to get his house sold was to buy our house; this is because our contract on his house was contingent on our selling. So, as soon as ours sold - to whomever - we'd buy his. Best way to unload his house? Buy ours! And he's under contract now to do just that...we are set to close July 21 (although we've been advised be ready for that to likely change and be even a few days after that...)

Fingers crossed this deal goes through as it's supposed to!!!!

But back to Father's Day! We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend, celebrating Jason - truly a wonderful dad! I think these photos capture it best!

It is a wise father that knows his own child.
~ William Shakespeare

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."
~ Clarence B. Kelland

a sweet moment between Connor and Lucy!

Dad's new watch! He loves it!

Every year, I make Jason a special Father's Day album on Shutterfly that recaps the past year with his kids. Here Connor and Lucy are taking a look...Jack was running around wild somewhere :)

Look at Connor looking at Lucy :)

Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope.
~ Bill Cosby

Q & A with Lucy

2011-06-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Starting last year, I came up with some questions to ask Lucy and record her answers. It's so much fun to hear what she thinks. I forgot to post this back in April.

Enjoy!

Happy 4th Birthday, Lucy!

Here are your sweet, precious ideas, as expressed by you as you turn four years old! Happy Birthday, baby girl!

We love you so much!

1. What is your favorite toy?

Jack in the box

2. What’s your favorite thing to do at school?

Play with the baby dolls

3. What is something you like to say?

“I would like some candy”

4. What is your favorite food?

Peanut butter and jelly

5. How do you treat your brothers?

nice

6. Who’s your best friend?

Audrey and Claire

7. Where do you like to play?

At the pool

8. What is your favorite tv show?

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

9. What is your favorite book?

Cinderella

10. What is your favorite color?

Pink

11. Who loves you?

Mommy

Family Day at the Lake

2011-06-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

This past year, my Thursday mornings have been so very blessed by the time I've spent with this wonderful group of women. Our women's cgroup celebrated summertime with a great day at Tina's house on Lake Guntersville. For those of you who couldn't come, we missed you!

Wonderful company aside, I think my favorite part of the day had to be the kids using a slip and slide for the first time. Lucy and Jack, meet Slip 'N Slide...Slip 'N Slide, prepare yourself! :)

Tiffany's Baby Shower

2011-06-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm so super excited! My very good friend, Tiffany, is due with her third baby in one month. And the gender is a surprise, so I'm especially looking forward to the birth!

Last weekend, Elaine, Molly, and I hosted a "gift-card" themed shower for Tiffany. I came up with the gift card theme because Tiffany is the ultimate shopper. Seriously. I don't know anyone who shops more than her, nor who enjoys shopping more than her. Actually, my mother-in-law may rival Tiffany's passion for shopping, but it's a close call :)

And the gift cards are perfect for several reasons:
1. This way, Tiffany gets to pick out her things.

2. If it's another girl (she and Matt already have two adorable little girls), she can use the gift cards for diapers, wipes, etc. and if it's a boy, then she can go crazy picking out boy clothes. And this will take her an immeasurable amount of time, as she always has her girls perfectly coordinated with their daily outfits. If it is a boy (which I'm really hoping for :), Tiffany will be scouring the Gymboree clothing lines to find things that go with what Audrey and Claire have :)

3. Taking home her "gifts" were super easy and lightweight, as the cards fit into her purse :)

4. Giving a gift card is super easy, so it's nice for the guests too. I did make a suggestion on the invitation to use the stores, Target, Babies R Us, or Gymboree.

At the shower, we all made predictions for the gender, date of birth, and weight. We'll see who the winner is. We also took a "Third Time Around" baby quiz, and wouldn't you know, Tiffany answered the most questions correctly - Perfect!

Here are some pictures from the fun event!

Molly handmade these adorable party favors. They were delicious and almost too adorable to eat!

(The paper and envelopes on the right side are for guests to take home and send Tiffany a congratulations or encouraging message when the baby arrives.

Isn't that an ADORABLE summer maternity dress! I love it!

Diaper Cake! I love making these; they're so fun, and quite simple!

Connor

2011-06-17T19:47:00.001-07:00

Connor is four months old today!

We haven't had our four month checkup quite yet, so I'm not sure of his weight, but I can tell you this little guy is all about MOVING around! If you lay him on his tummy, he's flipped over - and back again in a flash. He loves his play mat, although he scoots himself off of it and then gets frustrated :)

My memory is already foggy, but he does seem to be the very happiest of all our kids. He absolutely LOVES to sit in his bumbo atop the table when I tutor. I sit him in front of the student I'm working with, and he just stares, stares, stares, and SMILES! There's one particular 2nd grader I'm working with, and when he reads out loud, Connor coos and giggles - big open mouth smiles. So adorable!

Truly a delightful baby!

A box of goodies!

2011-06-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Our friends Dave and Jeri just moved to Denver a few weeks ago, but Jeri was kind enough to leave a box of size 5 and 6 clothes for Lucy. And, Lucy, being the fashionista that she is - absolutely FLIPPED OUT when I gave her the box. I gave her the box when she woke up from her nap around 4:30, and I didn't see her the whole time I was getting dinner ready; she was playing in her room. Anyhow, about 5:30, I put dinner on the table and went to get her to join us, and this is what I found:

She was taking out the clothes, piece by piece, and laying out her "styles" she calls them. I think her favorite part was the shoes, and I was so tickled seeing the ensembles she pieced together. My favorite was a bright orange, Charlie Chaplin tshirt with a long, ruffled, purple and white polka dot skirt (which is the "spinniest skirt she got"!) Oh yeah, and the shoes to match, white mark janes.

You can see that outfit in the picture below on the right hand side :)

The silver glittery shoes are my favorite. She was so excited and enthralled with what she was doing, I didn't even make her come eat dinner at that time. I told her she could come eat dinner whenever she was done making her "styles".

It was another half hour before we saw her again :)

Jeri - thanks a million! The clothes are adorable; I can't wait 'til she grows into the "fishbowl" outfit -that one is my favorite! :)

My little Monet

2011-06-09T15:16:00.000-07:00

This is what I found on Jack's bed this morning...

Oh. My. I'm not sure how long it's been there - it really could have been days. I told him that he'd have to show Daddy what he did when he gets home. That put some healthy fear into him.

All I have to say is thank goodness for the Magic Eraser!

Kids Say the Funniest Things!

2011-06-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

This one's a goodie!

Recently, I took a hiatus from tutoring - from January through May - so I could better handle Connor's difficult pregnancy and take a breather during the transition of going from two to three kids (which in my humble opinion, was WAY easier than going from one to two kids...but I digress). I really missed my students, so I've been very excited to resume tutoring this week.

Several of the kids I worked with before are returning, but I have a new student - a sibling of a kid who I already work with. He is going to start kindergarten this Fall, and today was our first session.

Not knowing much about this little guy, I started out with a very informal interview, so I could get an idea about his likes and dislikes, what he likes to read, etc. His answers are absolutely precious, hilarious, unexpected, and wholly entertaining! And I quote:

Me: So, W. what do you like to do?

W: play with nerf guns and color

yep, typical boy :)

Me: Tell me what you are good at.

W: Pickin' up stuff, putting stickers away, and pickin' up glass.

Glass? wonder what the story is behind that :)

Me: In school, what are you really good at?

W: sharing, picking up

humm...he sure likes to pick up a lot...maybe I should invite him over for playdates with Lucy :)

Me: What's hard for you?

W: Going to middle school when I'm five and I don't know what to do...
(a flash of fear spread across his face...)

aw, poor dear...I let him know he has a while before he has to worry about locker codes, crowded lunchrooms, and choosing electives and after-school clubs.

Me: What do you like to read about?

W: bats, snakes, spiders, cows, horses, and God.

awwww, sweet kid

Me: We're going to spend some time together this summer reading and learning. What do you want to happen during our time together?

W: I hope your little tiny baby grows.

Love the honesty! It's not me he's going to be looking forward to seeing, but little Connor. I think we'll make a science experiment and measure Connor each week and chart the growth :-)

I love kids, love 'em, love 'em!

Waterscape Beach Vacation

2011-05-29T16:49:00.000-07:00

We arrived home yesterday from the best family vacation we've had yet! Waterscape in Ft. Walton Beach was a blast, and is so perfectly suited for families with young kids, I highly recommend you visit here for your next vacation. It was safe, fun, and entertaining for everyone!

The lot of ninety-something photos are on our Shutterfly share site, click here, but here's a few of my favorite photos!

Above, this is Justin Revelle, Jason's sister, Sarah's boyfriend. He is so good with our kids; we love him!

We loved that the Beckers were at Waterscape the same week. Lucy and Audrey loved playing together!

Notice the orange lips and fingers? Cheetos!

Not bad for a group shot of all the kiddos, huh? :)

On a date with my new man, Connor, and with the entire family - Jason's entire side of the family was able to come: Grandmama and Grandpa Bert, Baba and Grandpa (Jason's parents), sister and brother Sarah and Justin, Aunt Rebecca and her kids, Joshua and Sophie.

Jack is full of hugs and kisses, and like everything with Jack, it's full on! :)

Some sweet quality time with Connor. He is full of giggles and easy to make laugh.

I am in love with these photos of Lucy...

Jack on the slide, which he would play on - climbing up and sliding down - all day!

Our last night at the beach, we visited Baskin Robbins for a cool treat!

Check out the slideshow on Shutterfly if you want to see the whole lot of 'em. We can't wait to visit Waterscape again - maybe we can make it Fall Break?!

Lucy's 4- year-old photoshoot

2011-05-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

My little darling Lucy has turned four years old! I simply can NOT believe she is only home one more year before full-time school begins! Oh my...to be a teacher and to be on the other side of the equation will be interesting... :-)

I have so many talented friends who are photographers, but here's my challenge with booking someone for a particular session...it's a crap shoot whether your child (or children) will be in a proper, festive, happy-go-lucky mood, or if they will be an absolute rotten, whiny, ready-to-list-them-on-ebay mood on the day of the photo session. And if you happen to be very unlucky and have a demon on your hands the day of your photos, you're done. Good luck getting anything you might like.

So, I decided to take a chance and capitalize on the times Lucy is in a happy mood, and just see what I could capture on my own. For the "theme" of these photos, I wanted to capture her current personality best. And she is still obsessed with clothes, shoes, and fashion. (Where she got it I'm not sure :)

When we were blessed with a particularly happy Lucy, I told her she could wear her favorite outfits. My favorite outfit is her bright lime-green, too-small leotard, blue and purple very full tulle tutu, pink feather boa, and crocheted floppy hat with velvet flowers. Take that Fashion Police! :)

And I have to say, I'm really happy with how these photos turned out. I made a 16 X 20 collage from Costco for $5.99, and I love it!

Enjoy:

Note the TWO glitter purses!

This is a classic Lucy face here...we get this look often :)

Could she look anymore grownup!?!

Spin, spin, spin!!!

Love this face!

Sneaking some jellybeans! I love my candy fiend!

What we've been up to lately...

2011-05-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week, but hey what's new about that ;-) Jason and I helped host a couples baby shower for our friends David and Cindy Kudrav, who are expecting their first child - a boy (obviously) - next month. We're so excited for "Choo Choo" (what our kids call David) and "Caboose" (what David calls Cindy around our kids :)

Annie and Lauren and their respective husbands also hosted, and we all enjoyed a casual, outdoor barbecue with lots of friends, good food, and very good drinks!

Here are some pics from the big event!

I made this diaper cake, and it was so much fun to do. The most tedious part is rolling up all the diapers, but fortunately, my aunt Karen helped me roll up just a few hundred or so on one of her recent trips to visit us - thanks Aunt K! And would you believe the total cost to make this was only $49!? These sell for over $100...

such a cute baby bump!

I love how Dave opened all the gifts!

Before moving on, another big thanks to Baba and Grandpa for coming up to spend the day with us Saturday and watching the kids while we hosted the shower! THANK YOU!

I've been making a point to try to spend more alone time with Connor, so I've been playing around with the camera and my adorable little guy...

and then "alone time with Connor" was over...big brother and sister had to join in!!!

Connor's rocking the beach shirt!

Not a great photo, but I like how you can see the beautiful sapphire color of his eyes.

Snuggling after a morning cartoon!

My favorite and new facebook profile pic. And yes, Jack is still very attached to his "pallow" ;-)

"Favorite Things" Birthday Party

2011-05-14T04:12:00.001-07:00

Although it was postponed one week due to the tornado outbreaks, we were finally able to celebrate miss Lucy's 4th birthday. Back in March, when I asked her what kind of party she'd like to have she replied, "One with decorating cakes, bubble gum, and candy!" Seeing as they don't sell themed party supplies with that exact phrasing, I decided to theme it "Lucy's Favorite Things."

And even though I totally forgot to have bubble gum at the party (but, the blow pops in the goody bags did actually have gum in the middle, so that counts right? ;-), it was a great time!

The kids could choose cupcakes or cake squares to decorate! (And by the way, if you're ever in need of plain sheet cakes, Costco was fantastic to work with. They even separated the colored icing and put it in icing piping bags for the kids to use. I totally love Costco!)

Lucy's concoction - very fancy! ;-)

and there was lots of time for playing! The party was at McGucken Park, and we had beautiful, warm weather.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."

Lucy's sweet friends gave her lots of fun dolls, books, and games! Thank you everyone! It was a great party!

And a big thanks to my mom who was here for the festivities and worked hard to help Jason and I prepare for the party, and also kept little man Connor happy during the party. Thanks Mom!!!!! Love you!

Mother's Day Muddle

2011-05-09T12:11:00.000-07:00

I can sincerely say that I hope everyone else's Mother's Day was better than mine; I would not wish our experiences yesterday on anyone.

We had an emergency situation yesterday - at church - involving Jack (no surprise!) - on Mother's Day.

After service, I went to the nursery to collect Jack and the other two. Upon seeing me at the door, Jack turned, shouted "Mommy!", and proceeded to run as fast as he could toward the door (because that's the only speed Jack knows). And I'll never know how he didn't see the kid in front of him, pushing a baby stroller, but clearly he didn't - his eyes were really quite fixed on me, I guess - and Jack plowed into him, catapulted himself over the kid and stroller, landed in a forward motion, rolling all the way into the door...and HARD!

I scramble to set down all the kid paraphernalia that I'm holding, scoop him up, and discover the blood pooling in his mouth. I see his lip is busted, with a clear line for a tooth biting into it. Figuring this is just a bad lip cut, I hug him close and rock him until he calms down,

But unlike the many other times Jack has been hurt in a similar situation, he doesn't calm down very quickly. In fact, he's still quite upset about five minutes later while we're sitting in the church front lobby. He would settle down, then erupt in a piercing cry that was very much a "I'm-genuinely-hurt" cry. During one of these cries, he rolled his head back while he opened his mouth to cry, and then I saw it...

His front left tooth was angled back towards his throat at -no joke - about a 45 degree angle. Oh. My. God.

"Shit!" escapes from my mouth as I sufficiently startle Jack and create a new scene (Crap, now I've gone and cursed in God's holy place - wonderful...) Jason pulls out his phone to call the emergency line at the kids' dentists' office, I tell my mom to go find Dawn Wilson who is in the preschool room (Dawn has first-hand knowledge of this from when her daughter nearly lost a tooth), and I begin to cry even harder than I already was. The people in the line for sodas and scones are getting some good entertainment.

Dawn appears, and I ask her if it looks worse than she's seen. With a sympathetic nod, she suggests it's pretty bad - and I appreciate her honesty, because I didn't want someone just telling me fluff. It certainly seemed like it was beyond repair, and although I wasn't surprised to her assessment, this started a new rush of tears.

Unfortunately, the emergency line at our dentist's office is not working, and Jason is on hold for no less than five minutes. We can't get through. I'm working really hard not to flip out in anger, and he tries the line again. It takes several more minutes to actually reach a person - and it sounds like it's someone in India - who says they'll page the doctor. Well, turns out the doctor on call left his phone in his car while inside his church, so we aren't able to speak to him for what would be at least 45 more minutes.

So, in the meantime, Dawn suggests we call her kids' dentist, Dr. Bidel. My friend Tiffany also uses him, and I've heard great things. We quickly dial his office, and are able to speak to his secretary who is actually in the office. But Dr. Bidel is away at his lake house and won't be home for several more hours. But, by this time, our APDA dentist has finally returned our call, and asks for a picture of Jack's mouth to be sent over the phone. Poor Jack is a puddle in my arms, kind of in a little shock, so it's not difficult to get a shot of the poor kid's mouth. Doc says it looks bad enough to come in. Dr. Lackey was kind enough to leave his family's Mother's Day lunch outing at Bridgestreet and meet us in the office.

Jason and I arrive at the empty office, and I immediately recognize the dentist, Dr. Lackey. I taught his daughter 5th grade language arts my first year at Randolph. Anyhow, he was wonderful, very patient, and terrific with Jack. And speaking of Jack, he is over at the truck table, pushing cars across the table, making car sounds to go along...sweet, sweet child. Tough as nails, that one...

We go back and lay Jack on the chair. Doc takes a look, and relays to us that Jack has managed to pop his tooth completely out of its socket and knock it back. He prefaces the next part by saying what needs to be done is "quite traumatic." More fresh tears surface; my heart is just broken for my little guy. We're told the best move at this point is for Dr. Lackey to pull the tooth down and try to pop it back into place.

He says some parents medicate the kids with a shot of Novocain, but that can often be worse than just getting it over with, without using medication. I ask him what would he do with his own child; he recommends not using medication, and we agree.

And so Jason and I do gut-wrenching thing - hold Jack down on the chair and let the doctor do his thing. I hold Jack's hands, look into his face, and watch him -through his tears - tell the doctor "Okay, okay". The doctor had just said to Jack, "Okay, buddy, I'm going to give your tooth a hug, and then we're going to go get a toy." Jason's holding Jack's little torso, tilting his own head away. Our hearts are absolutely breaking, seeing how very very brave Jack is being. Then we hear a squishy, popping sound, followed by Jack's screams. It was just awful.

But, the tooth popped back into place, which was the best case scenario. I scooped Jack up, and he held on so tightly. "Toys, Jack; it's time for toys!" I sniffle to him, and we head over to the toy display. Dr. Lackey asks if he wants a toy, and he squeaks out a few "no's" until Jason points out the blue and red race car. The dentist walks over with two cars and hands them to Jack who has begun to nod his head "yes." ;-)

By the time we are back in the lobby listening to Dr. Lackey tell us what to watch for now, Jack has already calmed down and is playing with his cars. The doc notices Jack and remarks at how most kids are still very upset this soon after the procedure. That's Jack for you; I wasn't lying when I said he's a tough cookie! ;-) In the sweetest way you can imagine...

So here's what we're to watch for and the scenarios that may play out in the next six weeks:

1. If we see raised pumps -like pimples - on his gums, that's bad. The tooth is infected and has to be pulled.

2. The tooth may discolor and do one of two things: 1) get darker and stay dark or 2) get darker and darker then lighten up. If it stays dark, the tooth is dead. At that point, we can have it pulled and let Jack sport a look that would make his hockey-playing uncles quite proud or we can have the inside of the tooth sucked out and some sort of white coloring placed on the outside of the tooth. Or, if it darkens and then lightens up, the tooth is fine and will proceed just as all his other baby teeth do.

So we're in a holding pattern for the next six weeks. His diet doesn't need to chance much; we're just to avoid giving him foods that need biting with his front teeth. And the doctor said to try to avoid him encountering further injury. The tooth is very weak and will likely not survive another accident. Super...my only option there is to wrap my son in heavy duty bubble wrap each morning, and send him out on his way. This IS Jack Martin we're talking about! LOL! I'm seriously considering getting one of those helmets that young children wear to fix their oddly-shaped heads. Perhaps that will help, I dunno...That and a lot of prayers; a lot of prayers.

After Jack fell asleep last night, I snuggled under the covers next to him, cupped his face in my hands and took in his sweet toddler smell. I cried for like the fourteenth time that day, and asked God to keep him safe.

And today, we're working on demonstrating the word, "walk." And we survived playgroup, which was a huge success. Anything that involves a playset, bats and balls, and several other toddles is typically a huge risk.

So, that was my Mother's Day... a difficult, but tender reminder of what's most important in life...our children - the very best blessings, our loved ones, and being there for each other to help out when things are tough.

I am so thankful my mom was here this weekend; she kept Lucy and Connor occupied while Jason and I dealt with Jack at church. My sweet friends Dawn, Robert, and Allison stayed by our side for at least an hour while we were at church trying to figure out what to do. Dawn dropped everything and went to the store to buy Jack some pain medicine and popsicles. And Jason was a dependable teammate through the entire ordeal, reminding me several times that everything would be okay. And it will; everything will be just fine...

Favorite Lines from Today

2011-05-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

Okay...two times today I was reduced to giggles...

The first time was when Lucy, Jason, and I were getting ready to play Lucy's new Fancy Nancy's Parfait game. Lucy was unloading all the pieces and announcing that the "constructions are right here!"

And then, later on, as the kids were running around like wild animals and screaming, Jason had had enough and snapped..."Jack! Stop screaming! That is the sound a teradactyl makes as he goes in for the kill, not a sound you should make while inside the house!!!"

I just found his explanation hilarious and completely random...although on second thought, Jack does remark about dinosaurs quite often, as he goes through his list of what animals do and don't bite:

Jack: "And dinosaurs...dinosaurs bite?"

"Yes, Jack, dinosaurs bite; but they don't live on the earth anymore, so they can't bite you."

Jack: "And alligators, alligators bite?"

"Yes, Jack, alligators too."

Jack: "And crocodiles, they bite?"

"Yes, crocodiles bite also."

Jack: "But frogs, frogs not bite?"

"Right Jack, frogs don't bite."

Jack: "And caterpillars, they not bite?"

"You got it, buddy, caterpillars don't bite."

And then he'll smile and briskly turn around and walk away, secure in his knowledge of what animals to fear getting bitten by and which ones not to worry about ;-).

Oh yeah, and sadly today, one of my favorite Jack words has already come to pass...he no longer calls "hockey" "pockey". When Matt Becker came over, Jack was wearing his Thrashers jersey. Jack ran up to matt, stuck out his jersey and told him that this was "Uncle Ryan's hockey jersey."

Little guy sure is growing up - and practicing his dinosaur roars on a daily basis. ;-)

A change of plans...

2011-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a very unexpected week...Typically, I'm not one to freak out when the storm predictions forecast dangerous conditions, but now I understand why a lot of people do. The storms that hit Alabama last Wednesday were unbelievable. And instead of being glued to the television prior to them hitting, I've been glued to YouTube watching videos of the storms as they hit.

And as we drove south to stay with Jason's parents on Thursday - the day after the storms hit, the first full day of no power, the first of many days we were predicted to be without power - our jaws dropped open many times. In Guntersville, there were gigantic trees laying on top of downed power lines, roof tops of buildings lining the road, and beautiful stretches of land just littered with debris and wreckage. It wasn't until we had been driving about 90 minutes that power was available. (Stopping at every single light from Albertville through Boaz, on toward Gadsen was nothing short of tedious.)

But, we're here in Oxford, in the comforts of "Baba and Grandpa's" cozy home. Lucy's birthday party was scheduled for yesterday in Huntsville, but we still managed to celebrate here; and her spirits didn't seemed dampened at all ;-)

Grandpa gave Lucy her own set of golf clubs! They're out on the course right now breaking them in! I can't wait to hear how it goes!

Trying it out in the yard! Check out the sweet outfit Aunt Sarah gave her. Lucy loves it, and is wearing it yet again. The glittery sunglasses are such a hit!

Lucy is 4!

2011-04-26T09:46:00.000-07:00

My darling Lucy turns 4 today!

The celebrating began last night with a trip to Brusters for ice cream. She was twirling before we even ordered!

Sweet, so sweet! Thanks, Lady, for the "Birthday Princess" dress. She's wearing it at school right now ;-)

"I'm 4!"

"I'm 2!" (No surprise his "2" is the same way he uses his hands to represent a gun - LOL!

And this morning, we celebrated with Birthday Pancakes! (which neither kid would eat; i did mess up the texture a bit;-)

Now dressed for school, it's time to open presents!!!!

opening her present from Daddy:

long, formal gloves, dress up heels, and a cupcake purse

"Shoes!!!!" There was an appropriate squeal to go along with it! ;-)

And now mommy's present: glitter shoes! Oh how I wish they were in my size too ;-)

She loves her new cupcake purse from daddy! She took it to school filled with suckers to share with her classmates at lunch. (And no lie, Jack broke the purse strap literally three minutes after she opened her present. But nothing a little hot glue gun can't fix ;-)

And a look back over the past four birthdays!

turning 1!

turning 2!

turning 3!

Our big, grown-up 4 year old!!!!

It's not your mother's...way of discipline

2011-04-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

Any parent knows that the "grandparents" are unlikely to discipline your child in the same way that you would. Specifically, they're not usually as firm or likely to make consequences stick, right? And with good reason; there's no need for them to be as firm, and I do think to a mild degree, it's good for kids to be a little spoiled by their grandparents. Makes for great memories and a special bond between grandkid and grandparent.

With that said, I have a story that is still making me laugh when I think about it. It has to do with the difference between what a grandparent and a parent consider "appropriate discipline." And the characters in this story are me and my mom.

My family loaded up the van for our first trip out of town since Connor was born. We were heading to Atlanta to 1) pick up Lucy who had been with my parents for almost two weeks! (She had a blast visiting Colorado for Spring Break and then spending some time alone with Lady in Atlanta. A million thanks mom and dad!) and 2) to celebrate Easter with my brothers, dad, and mom in Atlanta.

My mom has a friend, Jill, who lives on a beautiful piece of land, complete with a chicken coop, lambs, coy pond, and LOTS of chickens walking around. Lucy had already been to see this before we arrived in town, but Jack wanted to go see the chickens too.

Before heading out, I was feeding Connor and Lucy and Jack were playing outside on top of the hot tub, running across the cover and swinging on some sort of bar that stretched across the top. My dad kept telling them to get down, and no surprise, they weren't obeying. I encouraged my dad to be a bit firmer and tell them to "get down now!" As is always the case, it was hard for him, but he told them. Tails tucked, they staggered back inside; Jack moved on immediately, but Lucy took on quite an attitude. She put on a sour face and threw herself on a chair while I scolded her for not listening to Papa. And she started with those three-year-old retorts, "No...no...no!"

Me: "Lucy, you're being disrespectful. That's not okay."

Lucy: "No!"

Me: "Papa told you to get off the hot tub, and you should have done what he said the first time he told you."

Lucy: "No!"

Me: "Say 'no' again and see what happens!"

(Now, I realize that was not the best thing to say; provoking your child isn't going to end up being productive, but that's what came out of my mouth... ;-)

Lucy: (no hesitation) "No!"

Me: "Fine, you're not going to see the chickens. You will stay here while we go."

Thrashing about begins immediately. Fortunately, Connor is done eating, so I get up and begin to load up my boys in their car seats, ignoring her antics.

Meanwhile, my dad is looking at me like a lost puppy, sad that Lucy won't be coming with us. "Are you sure she can't come," he quietly says to me. "Absolutely not," I reply, "She was being completely disrespectful - to you and to be."

While Lucy's tantrum is reaching new levels inside the house, my dad and I get in the car with Connor and Jack. I turn on the car, and as I begin to back up, my mom stomps out onto the driveway, approaching the car with a determined look on her face.

my mom: "Are you really going to make her stay home!?!"

My dad has already heard the explanation for the punishment and why I feel it's just, and now I explain to her.

mom: (arms crossed) "Well, you better be sure to punish Jack when he does something like that! (Spews out some more things, but I can't remember exactly) to which I reply...

Me: "And if he did, mom, then he'll not go see the chickens."

Mom: Well, Lucy is inside just sobbing."

me: "I'm sure she is..."

(I think my dad chimes in at this point, agreeing with my mom...)

Mom: (practically seething at me by now) "This. Is. EXCESSIVE. ABUSE!!!!"

me: I fall toward the steering wheel in laughter. "Excessive abuse? Is she kidding?!?" I can't hear what she's saying anymore I'm laughing so hard.

As I recover, I realize we're not going to even come close to a compromise. So, I decide to give in. I'm mad that I've been put in this position, so as I go inside to talk to Lucy, I shout, "I'm going to talk to her; let me talk to her!"

I walk into the house, and it's SILENT...there's no crying, no hysterical sobbing whatsoever. I throw up my hands, turn right around to my dad who was following me, and I tell him to get back in the car...we're leaving...obviously, Lucy was not very upset. But then my brother Brendan says that she was crying really hard...apparently, Lucy was just catching her breath. ;-)

Ugh! So, I turn around again, heading toward the den to go talk to Lucy.

Me: "Lucy, come here."

Lucy: eyes are red and rimmed with big tears, face streaked and pink

Me: "You misbehaved and were disrespectful, Lucy, and I think you should stay home and not go see the chickens...But Papa and Lady are mad at mommy for doing that, and because I love them, I'm going to let you come see the chickens with us."

Lucy: smile reappears as this information soaks in..."Papa and Lady are mad at you?!?" She giggles.

Me: "Whatever...Come on, let's go."

And thus is the story...One for the books. And I didn't hesitate to make sarcastic remarks the rest of the weekend regarding myself as an "excessive abuser!" LOL! ;-)

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T10:11:00.000-07:00

"Oh praise the One who paid my debt, and raised this life up from the dead."

Happy Easter, Everyone!

Lucy's Colorado Trip

2011-04-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

Lucy has been with my mom and dad -in COLORADO! - for the past 9 days, and as you may have noticed from the lack of posts, me and "my boys" have been super busy enjoying our Spring Break in the South.

And, from what I've been told, Lucy has very much enjoyed her trip out West! My dad is working in Denver for a while, and my mom offered to take Lucy out there for a trip. (Originally, my mom wanted to take Lucy AND Jack, but I told her that she would surely go crazy if Jack were out there with her ;-)

The few times Lucy did want to talk to me on the phone, I could hear such excitement in her voice: Papa and Lady had so many fun things lined up for them to experience each day. They went to the zoo, visited the circus - which happened to be in town - went to the butterfly museum, played with the ponies at my mom's cousins' houses, shopped for new clothes and shoes, and visited Diary Queen frequently (my guess is probably every day ;-).

We certainly missed her here, but I have to say, this was a "win-win" for everyone. Before the trip, Lucy was in the throes of a whiny spell, it was nearly impossible for me to spend much quality time with Jack, and I felt like it was 9pm before I was ever able to just hold Connor and soak him in. But, with Lucy gone, Jack received attention, other than being told to go to time out or stop touching Connor, and he has really been a pleasure.

One new thing that has started happening - that had NEVER happened before - is that he'll say, "I love you, Mom" after a hug or kiss. (Notice, I'm "mom" not "mommy"...I have no idea why, but he's called me mom for quite some time now.) And he lays on the sweetness often, too. He loves having Connor on his bed for nap and bedtime stories, and he'll be sure to kiss and tell Connor he loves him before going to bed. And Jack has started taking showers with Jason, which he loves.

My aunt Karen was able to visit us again, and she was really great to have around. Jack loved playing outside with her, not to mention receiving all the gifts she gave him. She bought him a tee-ball set and two guns that shoot darts. One time I returned from a jog to find both of them on their bellies in the driveway, playing with a new car I bought Jack at the Hampton Cove yard sales (another fun thing my aunt and I did). And I haven't done laundry since Wednesday, so another major THANK YOU to Karen for all her help!

So, here's a look at Lucy's trip:

sweet Lucy, who turns 4 next week! (April 26)

just gorgeous - I love Denver!

LOVE this picture! (I'm holding this one ransom ;-)

Now, perhaps Lucy gets a free pass, being that she can't read that sign, but Uncle Brendan?!? LOL!

Lucy and Papa...sweet picture ;-)

Look at Lucy's face smiling up at him... awww

Lucy 'n Lady (Mom, you look so great and YOUNG in this picture! ;-)

I'm sure that's candy in Lucy's mouth...she'll probably need a detox period when she's back in Huntsville ;-) (But, hey, spoiling is what grandparents are for, right ;-)

She and Brendan were fast friends with all the time they got to spend together. My mom told me that when Brendan left to go back to his home (an hour north of Denver) after being with her for several days, she cried really hard. So sweet...

Trip to the circus...Before the show Lucy and my dad rode an elephant!

Visiting the butterfly exhibit. Cute backstory: Before Lucy went out there, every time I'd mention the trip, Lucy would obsess and focus on Papa giving her a butterfly net so she could try to catch the butterflies at the exhibit. I called my dad and gave him a heads up about how this was not something Lucy was likely to let go of, and he might want to actually make sure he had a butterfly net ready to go ;-). Well, my sweet dad tried to arrange to have butterflies fluttering around his house when she got there so she could catch them in her net. Well, after investigating how to accomplish that, he discovered the only way was to order them through a wedding service...for $450 they told him they could deliver the butterflies the next day. Now, I know a grandparent's love knows no bounds, but I have to say I'm glad my dad didn't pay that... ;-)

Lastly, click on the link to see a few more that are on our Shutterfly page:
http://kjjlmartinpics.shutterfly.com/

We can't wait to see our Lucy again and hear more about her trip! What a special time she's had with Papa 'n Lady! (I feel a Shutterfly photo album project is in order! ;-)

Connor in pictures

2011-04-10T15:34:00.000-07:00

Connor is over seven weeks old now! He has just started giving us big smiles, and we are lovin' it!

This is his grumpy face:

Guess Who

2011-04-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, my idea was to have a game where you could guess which baby was in each picture and then I'd provide the answers at the end. Only problem was, lucy was always adorned in pink, very girly outfits, and I couldn't find any pictures that weren't obvious.

But, I think you'll still enjoy seeing the striking resemblances between Lucy and Connor. Amazing!

There's no such thing as Super Mom

2011-04-05T14:10:00.000-07:00

It just doesn't exist...the whole notion of a Mom achieving "Super Mom" status.

In my opinion, we may reach that status temporarily - pulling off an awesome birthday party celebrating a child, baking the best dessert your kids have ever tasted, finding time for your kids, your pet, your husband, and yourself all in one day - but it never lasts. At times, we break.

So, while I'm on the subject of parenting stories I'll never forget, today I present another one. (yesterday's was a good one I've been told ;-) And oddly enough, my friend who said it was reading the post while waiting at her OB's office, debating whether or not to remove her IUD which would potentially lead to child #3 ;-) Bet that post shed an unflattering light on the subject of "So, how is it with three kids?!?")

Anyway, this happened last week, and for a change, does not involve my two-year-old. Instead, Lucy is the antagonist in the story...

So, I'm picking up the kids from Mom's Morning Out, hauling around Connor is his carrier. It is a feat in of itself just getting Jack and Lucy to the car, let alone getting all three buckled in to their respective carseats. Well, on this particular day, Lucy was absolutely refusing to cooperate and get in her seat. And let me be more specific...she had turned into a demon-possessed child, thrashing her body about, swatting her hands in front of her - hitting me in the face, her wispy hair matted to her face, thanks to the mess of snot, tears, and saliva that was all over her. She was absolutely out of control!

And after three calm attempts on my part to force her into her seat, I simply snapped. I very quietly addressed the spawn of Satan, saying, "You know what Lucy? You don't want to sit in your carseat, I don't care."

I walked around to the driver's side, got in, and pulled out of the parking lot. (Lately, it seems like nothing works when dealing with my young toddlers, and at this point, I decided to take a risk - a huge one I do realize - and see if it would do the trick.) I said a prayer as I pulled away from school, and hoped that the next three miles would prove to be uneventful, that we'd make it home fine.

Shocked and bewildered by my actions, Lucy starts screaming from the back, "But I'm not buckled in, I'm not buckled in!!!!" To which I replied, "Lucy, you wouldn't let mommy buckle you in."

Then, she starts screaming, "I wanna be safe; I WANNA BE SAFE!" It was at this point that I hesitated for a moment, contemplated pulling over and buckling her in. My heart was literally splitting apart, and I was questioning my ability to parent, wondering if I had become one of those insane mothers (answer: probably so). But, I decided to follow through with what I had said.

And so, she screamed the whole way home. And once in the neighborhood, I even took the turn to our house slightly too fast so as to make her fall over a little bit - on purpose... Just to make sure she got the point. Isn't that just terrible!?!

And, let me just tell you, I dealt with such guilt, such guilt...At bible study the next morning, I told my story and added myself to the prayer list, as clearly I was loosing it and needed some serious help. And it was then that most of the women chuckled. I was dumbfounded...they were chuckling???? They weren't calling the police on me for my illegal actions (it was illegal, right? I'm not sure)????

And then there was a chorus of "I've been there and done that."

Now it was my turn to be dumbfounded and bewildered..."You mean, you've all done that before - driven with a child not in their carseat?!?"

"Oh sure" was the reply. One mom even said she was in such a hurry to get home from the grocery store, she just didn't buckle her kid in.

So, I did find comfort in the fact that I am not the only mother who has acted in such a way, and praying has helped too. And how did pick up go the next day you may wonder? Did she transform into the spawn of satan again? No, she was a perfect angel! And -cross your fingers - we've not had an incident since; in fact, just today she was able to buckle her own seatbelt without my assistance. Imagine that!

So to all my awesome, not-quite-super-mom friends out there, take heart. We've got the hardest job on the planet, but the rewards are unmatched...

If not for the grace of God...

2011-04-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

I've remarked to friends and family on occasions - usually ones that involve a difficult jack as of lately - that "I'm just surviving; I'm just surviving..."

Well, based on the events that happened yesterday and today, I need to change that pronoun use. I'm now saying, "We're just surviving."

And I mean that literally this time. Grandparents may want to stop reading... ;-)

It's as if Jack is on a mission to self-destruct...yesterday he tried to jump through the small opening at the very top of our swingset, not stopping in the least with every "No Jack! No!" I screamed from the porch where I was nursing Connor, watching Jack and Lucy play. By the third scream, I realized that he was not going to stop his effort to ensure a fall which would no doubt involve a broken neck. I had to pop Connor off, run down to the swingset, and literally grab hold of Jack's foot and pull him down. Heart pounding, I burst into tears; this being the most scared Jack has ever made me. God and His angels were surely looking after us yesterday.

And ironically enough, this morning I was having a conversation with my mom about how difficult "parenting" has been lately, and she remarked, "Yep, along with parenting goes a certain amount of praying because sometimes that's all you can do." She was referring to my brother Brendan who, when he was little, survived a critical 24 hours in a hospital only to crack his head in the waiting room while he was being discharged. They had to be readmitted and sent back for an MRI...

And wouldn't you know, after my mom's wise words, Jack cheated a horrible accident yet again today...Jason and I were in the den, talking about or day with each other - enjoying a quiet moment while the kids were quietly playing together without fighting ;-), when Jack walked into the room, holding a pink razor...which was smeared with blood. Oh...my...God. Lucy follows him, announcing, "Jack was shaving; we were shaving." Jack's lips and cheeks were scratched, but amazingly, not gushing blood. And he wasn't even crying. I can hardly believe Jack was taking a razor to his face, and yet, we're not in the emergency room tonight. Yet, again, if not for the grace of God...I truly believe we'd be so much worse off that we are.

Not that I do, but I will never take praying for the safety of my children lightly...

So, in all seriousness, praise to God for His protection over my family.

And God, if I may ask...would you please send some extra angels our way...Jack is unpredictable at best ;-)

picture this...

2011-03-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Connor decided he'd have nothing to do with a nap this afternoon, so while Lucy and Jack slept, I played around with the camera and Connor.

I love these pictures!

Connor is just beginning to give us smiles and big open mouth looks ;-)

Now, this picture below is an interesting look because Lucy had the EXACT same "porpoise lips" when she was little.

I LOVE the sweet, delicate nature of this one...he was looking straight at me.

end of season sales

2011-03-26T12:47:00.001-07:00

It seems people who love to shop get most excited when a new season of clothes is put out for sale; I'm the opposite. My favorite time is when a season has ended, and the clearance sales are taking place.

Because at no other time would I buy these fun boots which were $120 at the beginning of fall/winter.

And I bought them for only $31, Isn't that such a steal? I love it! I originally wanted this color shown above, but they didn't have my size 10, so I ordered them in chocolate brown, which will actually hide dirt better anyway ;-)

Now, I know we don't have to breakout serious snow boots like these that often in Alabama, but hey, it did snow here at least three times last winter, right? And they will always come in handy in Steamboat.

And I don't put any shoes on my feet unless they are super comfortable, and these being Aerosoles, fits the bill! I also ordered some knee-high brown suede boots, that were also regularly $120, for $55.

Super fun shoe shopping!

"I Win!"

2011-03-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

One of Jack and Lucy's current "things" is that they battle back and forth over who wins. And it's really senseless things that you can't even be a winner about; like who wins while they're eating cereal for breakfast - what's to win? or when they're swinging on the playset ;-)

Sometimes, however, they do try to win with typical things like being the first to get to the toilet to go potty or who can reach the car first.

Well, they don't know it, but Connor gets to claim that he's the winner, and here's why. Last night, he slept 6 straight hours - 10pm until 4am - at the age of five weeks. Neither Jack nor Lucy could claim this victory until they reached six weeks.

So, on behalf of Connor, I'll say a little, "Take that "too-much-toddler-love big brother" and "smothering-with-constant-kisses-never-give-me-enough-space big sister". I win!"

First Day ALONE!

2011-03-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

Well, despite my best attempts to put this day off, it has arrived: my first day all alone with all THREE kiddos (and did I mention J & L don't have school today ;-(

Now, before I go on, I must point out that Connor is nearly 5 weeks old, and only now am I on my own. This is due completely to the selfless efforts of:

1) My mom, who so generously took this semester off from school so that she could be here to help out. She keeps everything moving smoothly, tirelessly taking night time feedings, tending to the laundry, dishes, and constant mess that seems to follow the older two everywhere.

2) Barbara, my too-good-to-be-true mother-in-law who took some time off of work to come and help out. She's a saint, there's no better word to describe her. She actually likes changing Connor's diapers ;-)

and of course,
3) Jason, who happily took off work whenever I asked him to so that he could stay home and help. I know some people may be thinking, "wow, who wouldn't rather be home than working, but considering what the "conditions" were like at home, some men would have been itching to get back to work.

So, it's nearly five o'clock - when Jason usually comes home - and I've made it. Jack and Lucy are still napping, in fact. All three kids went to sleep at 1:00ish, Connor sleeping until 3:50. I was able to swing a Tae-Bo workout and shower and brief shoe shopping on shoes.com (didn't find anything ;-( all before Connor woke up. If I can swing all three kids sleeping each afternoon, I can totally survive this transition ;-)

First thing this morning, I got some super sweet, quality snuggling time with all three kiddos. Before I had Connor, this was a special time of day for Lucy and I. (Jack always slept much later, and never had any interest in being still, especially in a bed. ;-) As soon as she woke up, she'd make a beeline for our bedroom, and sometimes she'd be able to even get in the bed before I'd wake up. She was content to snuggle for a good half-hour; I loved this sweet time. And I completely expected I'd have to give that up once Connor was born.

But, this morning, I found out I might still be able to sneak some snuggling time in. Even Jack joined the fun, although most of the time I had to hold his little hands together in mine to make sure he'd stop touching Connor's face so much ;-)

It was a 'Good Morning' indeed:

connor at one month old

2011-03-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

How fast the time flies!

Is that a baby smile? ;-)

look what connor found

2011-03-18T08:21:00.001-07:00

Both Lucy and Jack were thumb suckers from early on, but not quite as early as Connor is turning out to be. Last week, he found his thumb ;-) He hasn't returned to sucking it often, but I'm guessing that will change once he gets more coordinated.

Just a funny pic here...I can't figure out if he's trying to show three fingers the European way or making a new war eagle cheer. ;-)

hey batter, batter, batter!

2011-03-17T12:43:00.001-07:00

Jack's "Pockey" love

2011-03-09T12:16:00.001-08:00

Jack has really gotten into hockey, or "pockey" as he calls it. We've had this Thrashers jersey since Lucy was born, and we're finally able to use it ;-)

My brothers, Brendan and Ryan, are both excellent hockey players, and have played the sport since they were young kids. Ryan even plays now for the UGA ice team. Anyhow, they've shown Jack how to shoot, and last time we were in Atlanta, Jack brought home some hockey figurines /bobblehead type things that he loves to sleep with.

Maybe he will be able to play 'POCKEY' some day! ;-)

And here's just a sweet picture I love that Jason took during bedtime last night...it's a little hard to see, but Lucy was all snuggly on one side, and Jack was all big grins on the other side. What a way to end the day!

little gym kiss

2011-03-05T12:42:00.001-08:00

I love watching Lucy when she's at her Little Gym dance class. This afternoon, I stationed myself on a chair which gave me a view into the studio through the glass door the kids use to go in and out. (There are several windows you can use to look through and see the kids, but they don't see you, but she wanted to be able to see Connor, so I didn't sit behind one of those windows ;-)

Anyhow, such a sweet little thing happened during her class, I just wanted to share:

After Lucy danced her "freestyle" across the floor, she ran up to the glass door, waved to me, and then planted a big kiss on the door.

I had Connor, wide awake and staring at me in my arms, and my little girl kissing me through the door...sweetness squared! (door germs aside ;-)

What we've been up to...

2011-03-04T16:41:00.000-08:00

like a typical baby, connor sleeps A LOT ;-)

Papa (my dad) flew in from Denver this past weekend to see us!

notice Lucy's "grumpin'" face ;-)

A happier girl!

Jack loved this play area of Kids' Space!

and he mastered this climbing part rather quickly...

Looking up at Lucy and Lady through the tire swing...

back at home...lots of love for little brother, connor!

Aunt Sarah and Baba came to visit last weekend as well! Aunt Sarah came all the way from St. Louis!

We've had so many family members come and visit and help us this month: aunt kay (aunt kk) was here in early February to help us prepare for Connor's arrival, my mom has been here several weeks now - she just went home today to enjoy some time alone in Atlanta - and Jason's mom, Barbara is coming at the end of next week to help us out for a few days. We are so, so, SO blessed with wonderful, caring family members who have put themselves out in order to help us! We are so appreciative!