Wow! What a weekend! Thursday, Jeff got off work early and we left for Atlanta around 2pm to visit some dear friends that moved there from Hollywood, FL in April. A bout 6 1/2 hours, 1 dinner stop, 1 gas stop, and 1 potty/diaper changing stop later...Jeff and I gladly threw the then fussy children at our friends and collapsed on their couch, each of us with a beer in hand. Overall - the kids did GREAT! Being strapped into a car seat for a long time at any age isn't fun...and at 22 months and 2 1/2 months - explaining that it isn't forever falls on deaf ears. So by the time we got there...poor little Carson was just inconsolable as I tried to put his unwanted Nuk in his mouth...and Kendall was whining and crying and wiggling in her car seat...and no amount of "hush"es or "shhh"s or "we'll be there soon, we promise" could calm either of them down. The last 1 to 1 1/2 hours were by far the worst of the trip. We were so happy to see Lance and Alicia and their boys, Griffen and Aidan! So after letting Kendall unwind her energy for about an hour - we finally put her to bed in her pack and play (expecting her to fight since it wasn't her normal bed...but she didn't at all!!!), and Jeff and I collapsed in the guest room thankful that Carson doesn't know any better.

Friday, the boys were at school, Lance was at work, and Alicia had errands she had to run - so Jeff and I took the kids and went to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta. Amazing how trying to figure out directions to someplace unknown in a city full of CRAZY drivers can turn the best marriage into one of bickering and tight lips... I digress... Anyway - one note of warning to anyone wanting to visit the Aquarium - ignore the "park stroller here" signs...most people do anyway. We didn't figure it out until the 2nd "attraction"...but it is probably good that I had taken Carson out of his stroller - because as I'm holding him I feel as well as hear him fill his diaper. Shortly thereafter - my arm starts to get a little wet...Not only did he fill his diaper - he exploded his diaper!! One of the best pieces of advice my mother ever gave me is this: Always carry an extra set of clothes in your diaper bag for your child! I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've put that advice to use!!! Anyway - after changing his entire outfit and washing my arm...I met Jeff in the overpriced cafeteria (2 cheesburgers, one hotdog, 2 french fries, 2 cokes and an apple juice for over $28!!!) for lunch. Then we continued onto the rest of the attractions - WITH the stroller - which made things so much more enjoyable all around. When we were done at the aquarium...we decided that Kendall wasn't exhausted enough - so we walked about a block to the Childrens Museum of Atlanta (maybe "of Art"...not sure...). Let me tell you what - I only wish that Gainesville had one of these!!! We all had a blast!!! As parents - its amazing how just watching your child enjoy herself makes it all worth it for you as well! They had so many areas for Kendall to play - balls, sand (moon sand), painting, "fishing", slides...we literally had to remove her from the building kicking and screaming because she was having so much fun! I decided that if they had one of those here in Gainesville - we would probably be at it at least once a week if not more...

Friday night, Aidan and Griffen each had a baseball game, so Jeff went with Lance and Alicia - and I stayed home (with a splitting headache unfortunately) with Kendall and Carson and got them to bed. Neither boy won their game that night - but Aidan did win the game ball!!!

Saturday, the boys had games again (which they both won!!!) So, Alicia took them to the game and Lance, Jeff, the kids and I went to a corn maze. It was so much fun!!! I held Carson in a snugli, and we let Kendall walk on her own. She is such a trooper!!! The maze was a total of 7 acres - and with the exception of just a few times - she walked the entire maze on her own...in 90 degree heat...with flying grasshoppers constantly jumping in our faces...I think she did better than I did!!! haha I didn't bring the camera with me...which I regret horribly...because I would have loved to have gotten some pictures from that day - she was so cute!!! But...isn't she always??? Carson was such a little trooper too! Being in a snugli against mommy isn't exactly the coolest place to be...but he was perfectly happy...slept most of the time...but didn't complain when he was awake. One of the things that impressed me the most about the maze - was they had "markers" at different points to try and help you get through the maze quicker. Each marker had a question - and if answered correctly - would move you right along. Anyway - the questions were Bible trivia! What a great way to not only make money for your family - but provide a ministry opportunity to the community!!!

Anyway - we came home on Sunday...this time after 7 hours, 1 gas stop, 1 lunch stop & 1 nursing stop later...and gladly let Kendall run around the house to wear herself out before we put her to bed. As much as we enjoyed seeing Lance and Alicia - coming home is always great isn't it??? Of course...I am just now finishing up the laundry and unpacking from our trip...but that is just because I am lazy and haven't dedicated myself to my tasks.

Well - along with my blog have been a few pictures from the weekend. FYI - Griffen is the oldest (11 years old), Aidan is the youngest (6 years old). And...last but not least...are two of the most wonderful people in the world (and God parents to our kids) - Lance and Alicia. Love you guys!

Day 2

Well today was Kendall's 2nd day of pre-school. After a very good tip from my mother (get her hair just a little wet when putting it up) and some new hair bands (they stick to the hair like rubber bands but don't make it knot up) - I attempted piggy tails this morning. They were so darn cute!!! AND she actually kept them in ALL day long...even through her afternoon nap! Anyway - she was so cute this morning that I had to take some more pictures and post them.

I'm not sure what was cuter...either a) that whenever we tell her to smile (whether there is a camera in front of her or not) she says "cheese" or b) that when she saw me get the picture out she went running to the kitchen to stand in front of the wall where I've had her pose before. She is just way too smart!!!

Exploding Grills...

I feel like we had a "commercial" worthy moment last night...

We made steaks last night on the grill. Jeff likes his steak pretty much bloody...so he pulled both of ours off of the grill early. However...I am just a little more picky than he (ok...a LOT pickier than he is...), and kindly asked if my steak could be put back on a few minutes longer so that it would stop mooing at me. Dutifly, he puts the steak back on the grill. Three minutes later he gets back up and turns the steak over then comes back to eat. A minute later, Jeff's head cocks to one side as he looks out the window onto our back porch where the grill sits. Suddenly he jumps out of his chair and runs out the back door. I then see what his excitement was about. Thick black smoke was rolling out of the closed grill. Jeff opens the grill and removes my steak, flame still attached to it. He comes running back into the house "I need the fire extinguisher" he says. Next thing I know, our grill is covered in white foam.

We still don't know exactly what happened, but after Jeff had turned off the gas, something continued to burn - so the fire extinguisher was necessary. Guess we'll be looking for a new grill... (hmm...I wonder if this was all a plan so that Jeff could get a new grill... haha)

The first day!!!

Kendall started her first day of pre-school today at a local church. She didn't fully understand what she was doing, of course. But Mommy was sure excited for her!!! I took some pictures of her with her Dora lunchbox (of which I know there was at least one exact copy in her classroom this morning...) all dressed and ready to go. Please - someone tell me the trick to get her hair in a ponytail or up on the sides... You would think that after all the practice I had with my hair for years that I would be simple for me to do hers. Unfortunately...no. This is another part of that "girlie" gene that I've learned I do not possess (For those that don't know...the "girlie" gene is what allows most women to be able to decorate their homes effortlessly, wrap beautiful packages, enjoy scrapbooking or other such venture, and, apparently, do your little girls hair.) Anyway - we get to school, and after checking her in, I bring her to her classroom and out to the "dropoff" area - the playground behind the classroom. As I'm talking to her teacher - she runs to one of the toys she spots and starts playing. No "bye bye Mommy" or "I love you Mommy"...just runs and plays. As much as I love the fact that she is independent and doesn't get the seperation anxiety so many other children were experiencing today, I still sometimes wish she would show a little bit of an indication that she might miss me... So Carson and I left and came home...

















The house has an eerie quiet right now. No squeeling and laughing in the background. No beeping and whailing of a toy car. No children's television program playing. All I hear right now is the cooing of my son and the ocean sounds and nursery music coming out of the bouncer he is in. My little girl is in school. Wow. Sure it isn't kindergarten or anything like that, it is, afterall only 2 days a week. And sure, she is only gone for 3 1/2 hours. But it is amazing how quiet the house is. I've become accustomed to hearing her noises throughtout the house. Between her giggles and squeals as she runs after Chance, trying to grab his tail or give him a hug, to the sound of her toys banging into walls or falling on the floor. I forget how quiet those first few months of a baby's life are. Of course I'm used to the quiet when Kendall is taking her afternoon nap. But having this quiet in the house in the morning is just...well...weird... Thankfully - I won't be able to experience the quiet that often. My plans (well...we all know how plans can go...) are that after I drop Kendall off in the mornings, I'll go to the gym for an hour, then do my grocery shopping or whatever little errands I need to do. Most likely - I'll only have half and hour or so to myself in the house before I will have to leave to pick her up by 12:45. Sure there will be days, like next Friday, when I'll have an appointment I have to keep and there won't be time for the gym afterwards...so I will have a little longer in the quiet. And, of course, as Carson gets older he will be more active and make more noise.
Speaking of Carson...he had his 2 month old check up on Tuesday. Drum roll please....25 1/2 inches long and 15 pounds 5 ounces!!! He is the size of an average 5 month old!!! What a sweetie!!!




















These pictures were taken yesterday and I thought were just too cute NOT to put up on the blog. :)

Two nights in a row!!!

Good morning all!!! And I do mean good morning! I'm in a great mood this morning, and may not really even need my coffee (nah...I'll still need it...) all because of one good night sleep of almost 6 1/2 uninterrupted zzz's!!!

Through what I've determined is divine intervention, I decided to put Carson in his crib to sleep two nights ago. He was doing well in his bassinet in our bedroom, but I got the feeling that since I could hear every little grunt he made in the middle of the night - it was probably me waking him up to feed when he was between sleep cycles and making a bit of noise rather than him actually wanting to wake up and feed. So - Sunday night we put him in his bassinet. After his last feeding at 10pm, he was in bed by about 10:20 or so. Had Kendall not waken us up 3 times, I would have then slept until 5am when he finally woke up to feed!!! Well...actually that first night I did wake up at 4:45 with a start realizing that I hadn't heard him all night...so I ran to his room and laid my hand upon his chest to make sure he was breathing. (He's lucky I didn't turn on all the lights and pick him up and shake him to get him to cry to make sure he was alive...again...divine intervention! :) ) However - last night...he was asleep by 10:35pm (I was asleep by 10:38pm...haha) and it was 5:19am that he finally woke up to eat. YEAH!!! Plus...Kendall slept soundly last night (the first time in like a week) which meant that I actually slept just about 6 1/2 hours!!! So...now I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed and feeling really good. It has been MONTHS since I've slept that long without interruption (even when I was pregnant I was getting up at least 2 times a night to pee).

So - when my coffee is ready here in about 15 minutes or so - I'll make a toast to all the mom's out there that are still struggling to get some sleep with their newborns. Here's to hoping that we all get a good night sleep tonight!