AMANDA!!!

WELCOME HOME AMANDA!!!

Amanda got home yesterday, and we are in AZ. We talked to her from JFK and once she landed in Raleigh. It is so good to have her back, and we can't wait to see her and show her how the boys have grown.

Don't worry, AZ pics are coming soon.

Packing Explosion

This is what it looks like when you are packing for 2 kids and 1 adult. It looks like the laundry threw up on my floor. Add about 4 laundry baskets of folded clothes, a load of towels, a load of sheets and blankets, and bunches of clothes that need to be put on hangers laying around and you can imagine what my spare bedroom looks like. Thank goodness for wonderful Aunt Becky who has a pack-n-play, one carseat, and highchair waiting for us in AZ. Good thing I don't have to carry those in addition to the luggage, backpack, purse, Thomas carry on Lighning McQueen suitcase, double stroller, and Jerry carseat. Just call me pack mule. Last night I was joking with Tyler saying we should take a before and after flight picture, he said no. I think he doesn't want to see what I look like after the trip. WE will all be fine, thanks to the wonderful invention of portable DVD player and Benadryl.

Thanks to those who wished me Happy Birthday. Like I said to Evelyn, I may be getting older, but Tyler is still older than I am. And Becky is still 25, or is she 29 yet? Lolly gave me the coolest shoes for my birthday, adn I wear them jsut about everywhere. Dansko shoes are the best! But dangit, now I want more, they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever had, I think. Check them out for yourself, but be warned of sticker shock. I would compare buying these shoes to buying a car. A friend of mine told me she was sorry I got the shoes, because now I won't wear anything else.

Aunt Amanda comes home while we are gone, and we can't wait to hear all of her adventures and misadventures. We will see you in 3 weeks!

Wow, we land in Phoenix in just over 24 hours. I'm not sure I'm ready for this.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!!!!!

Chaos

Chaos is the word in our house right now. I apologize now for what will be a delay in any new posts. Between my rehearsals and performances all over the place, appointments, story time, and getting ready to be gone for a while, we are going nuts.

Everybody is doing great and the boys are growing like mad. Jerry has 2 complete teeth and 2 more that just broke through. Thomas is beside himself excited about going on the airplane to AZ. Tyler is working crazy long hours, and mom is the usual.

Say a little prayer that I get everything done in the next few days and that we all survive this trip. The goodie bags are ready to be stocked to bribe kids into behaving, and teh DVD player is ready to entertain us all.

Hope everybody has a great Christmas. I will try to post from AZ, but no promises.

Aunt Amanda, we love you and miss you and we will see you in January. Sorry we leave before you get home. (And you could do with an update too)

Little Suggestion

I don't know how many of you actually use the links on the page, but there is one you really need to visit. Check out "Amanda (in Greece)" for some incredible pictures and adventures (and misadventures) of her time in Greece. The pictures are beautiful, and she has this amazing knack of catching fabulous pictures, like the fisherman in the Santorini collection. She was just walking by and thought it would take a good picture. Also, yes, that knockout girl is my sister. Seems her roommate figured out how to make her look like a model. Amanda's a pretty girl, don't get me wrong, but she looks like she belongs in a magazine in some of those pictures. Seems Amanda is all grown up now. When you see her when she gets home, ask her to tell more stories that she didn't post. I think she has enough to keep us all entertained for a week.

For those of us who will likely never see outside our little bubble we live in, her page is a great adventure from your very own little chair in front of your comuter. Hmmmm, a vacation you can take while in your jammas, sounds good to me.

We miss you Amanda, and can't wait to hear more stories. We hate that we will be gone when you get home, but we will see you soon enough. Love and lots of hugs from all of us. And a few butterfly, birdie, and owl kisses too ;)

Sugar Fest

Halloween, aka sugar fest, has come and gone. Thomas had fun last year, but this year was more than fun. We did the church Halloween party at Lolly's, then the party at church with our friends, then we of course did the usual trick-or-treating. On Tuesday, Halloween, Thomas had more energy and excitement than any of us thought possible (the kid never took a nap during the day). He went to the first house, got his treat, came bouncing down the steps saying "Let's do that again!!" In the beginning Thomas was running ahead of mom and dad and telling us to hurry up and come on while we were telling him to slow down and wait for us. After a few blocks he was the one dragging behind.

I do have to make a proud-parent note as well. He is a very thoughtful fellow, often saying "Baby Jerry needs a treat" and getting a treat to put in Jerry's punkin, which was hanging from his foot in the stroller (should've taken a pic of that one too, it was very cute, thanks Daddy), before getting his own treat. Yes, we taught him well.

One serious advantage of a neighborhood with mostly older kids, everybody thinks the little ones are so cute. I can't tell you how many times we heard "they are the cutest ones all night" or "it's so nice to see a little one having fun" or some other such comment. Lucky for Thomas, those comments usually came with more treats.

Yes, I think I have cute kids (so do Lolly and Aunt Amanda). Thomas the Flower in a Flower Pot (recognize the costume Amanda?) and Jerry the Bumble Bee. I love the face Thomas makes when you tell him to smile. Jerry is just a happy little guy. Yes, he does have 2 arms and feet, they just get a little lost next to daddy's jacket. Nice theme costumes, if I do say so myself.

So, next year is Thomas as a mouse and Jerry as a cat?

Are you Ambidextrous?

Thomas and I were at Lolly's last night for Halloween Costume finishing. Thomas was drawing on the dry erase board on the fridge and having a grand time drawing away and telling us what he was drawing. He was using his right and left hand, which Lolly and I noticed at the same time. Lolly asked Thomas "Are you ambidextrous?" In all seriousness he looked at her and said "No, I'm Thomas." We both cracked up, and Lolly said, "Yes, you are, and I love you!" with a chuckle and a huge grin on her face.

So I ask, are you ambidextrous?

Also, as if there was ever any doubt, Halloween pictures will be up shortly. We have a party tonight to start the sugar high fun.

Deal or No Deal?

Too funny, we couldn't kep it to ourselves.

WE let Thomas watch the beginning of Deal or No Deal this evening. The lovely models were walking out down the stairs. Thomas is watching and out of his cute little mouth comes "oh, wow." I don't know about you, but I think he is a bit too young to be wowing over 26 hot models. Yes, they are knock-outs, but he is 3. Most of them could be his mom, gorgeous moms, but old enough to be his mom. At least he knows pretty women when he sees them.

Not sure where he learned that one, but it sure was cute. Hope you laugh as much as we did.

Chores

Daddy was out cutting the grass. Thomas went and got his fleece winter mittens to go help. He has to wear gloves just like Daddy does. Mommy went to get Thomas's gloves, they are so cute with bugs on them, and Thomas went out to help. Daddy let Thomas help by pushing the mower. He even lowered the handle so Thomas could reach better. Do you think Thomas had a little bit of fun? He was the perfect description of grinning ear to ear. Maybe this should be a new chore for Thomas each week.
And maybe next time mom will think to have the kid wear pants and shoes, instead of shorts and sandals (give me a break, I had no idea Tyler was actually going to let him cut the grass. I thought he would just let him pull weeds.)

Grocery Shopping

Thomas and mommy went grocery shopping this evening. We were about 5 minutes into our trip when from the back seat a little voice says, very concerned, "Oh no, we forgot Baby Jerry." I played along for a minute and asked if we needed to go back to get him. Thomas said we did. I asked if Daddy was home. "Yes" came the reply. I asked if it was okay for Jerry to be at home with Daddy. The answer to this one was "no." Through a smile I told Thomas that Baby Jerry was asleep and at home with Daddy. I asked again if it was okay if we left Jerry at home since he was asleep in his crib. After a slight pause there was a big sigh followed by a less than excited "ooookay." Nothing like a brother's love.

Yet another little moment to treasure.

Play Ball

The boys love to play ball together. We all sit on the floor and Thomas rolls the ball to Jerry. I help Jerry catch the ball adn push it back to Thomas. Sometimes Jerry kicks the ball back with one or both feet. Jerry can actually reach out and catch the ball by himself. Mind you, it is a big ball (kick ball size), but still, the kid reaches out to catch it. Sometimes he picks it up and tries to eat it. I would imagine all Thomas can see is a ball with legs. Jerry just laughs and laughs while we play. It is his new favorite game to play. Several times a day Thomas asks to play ball with Jerry. I am going to try and get a picture to post. The hard part with that is he gets so distracted watching whoever else is in the room that he forgets to play ball. I am also going to figure out how to post a video clip of the boys playing ball so you can see how cute it is and hear Jerry laugh (any suggestions?). Playing ball with these two can make anyone smile. And if you don't smile, then pooh on you, because these boys are cute.

For Amanda

Disclaimer: My dear sister, Aunt Amanda, is in Greece, and is requesting blog activity. She seems to think that Thomas poured honey all over the computer since there hasn't been a post in the last couple weeks. Please forgive any seemingly ridiculous posts from now until January. They are the small little things that go on around here so we can keep her informed of what her favorite nephews are doing.

Amanda, here are the pictures of Jerry in the Teddy Bear outfit, just like I promised. Sorry, none of Thomas in his "Cranky" outfit yet. Isn't his grandpa face/mouth so funny?!? Can you tell he is all over the place?

We went to Hickory to visit grandmamma/Gingams on Saturday. While there Thomas shared little individual bags of cookies with cousin Andrew. Thomas ate his bag rather quickly, imagine that. While we were there, he kept trying to eat the bag he gave to Andrew. There was also another extra bag so the boys would have choices. I went to the bathroom, and when I came out I saw my aunt SJ make a little circle with her fingers and point at a cookie on the floor. The gesture was aimed at her sister, my wonderful mother. I think she may have also said something along the lines of she (me) hasn't noticed. I did notice. Thomas had opened the bag and helped himself to the cookies. When I asked Thomas what he was doing he said "I have a big idea!" Of course he is smiling and puts his little hands out to the side like this was something very great and exciting. Now, you tell me, how easy is it to keep a straight face and tell your kid he should not have done this when your mother and aunt are laughing almost to tears mere feet away? All I could say was" Yeah, it was a big idea."

Oh well, what are you going to do?

Thomas also knows that Aunt Amanda is in Greece. He also knows it is a long way away. He has no idea what he is saying, but he knows where she is.

He also loves teh movie Cars. His favorites are McQueen and Cranky (aka Mater). Any time the song comes on the radio he asks me to turn it up loud. I feel a soundtrack purchase coming on, and oh yes, the movie will be added to our collection.

ON the Jerry front. The kid crawls EVERYWHERE!! Nothing is safe around here. He found a crayon Thomas left on the floor, attempted to eat it, colored his face, and also colored my carpet. Yep, we went from red marker (which came out) to purple crayon on the carpet (I have yet to work on getting the crayon out). He also hates to be alone. If you walk away, he will follow you. We also had our first ear infection today. Hey, Amanda, he had wax buildup in his ear and Dr. DeFlora couldn't see in one of his ears. Jerry also likes to sit up in his bed and try to pull himself up. He as successfully pulled himself to standing on several occasions, but not in the crib yet.

The boys love to play together. Thomas can make Jerry laugh like nothing else. He finds something that makes Jerry laugh and then does it over and over. Both of them will sit there and laugh and laugh and laugh. I can't tell you how many times Thomas says "Jerry's awake! I go get him." Thomas runs upstairs and I take my time. What, it isn't like he's crying or anything. When I get to Jerry's room I find Thomas in the crib playing with baby brother. Very very cute. One day I will think to take a picture.

Correction

OOPS, sorry Amanda. The sunglasses are not my cousin's, they are my sister's. I was informed of the difference between Amanda's and cousin Sarah's glasses (sorry if I put an unnecessary "h" on the end of your name Sarah).

For those of you keeping up with us regularly, I put up 2 new posts yesterday - the monster baby and the beach pictures that I was finally able to load.

Aunt Amanda, we will miss you!!! We are down to hours now.

Big Baby

Jerry had his 6 month checkup today, and surprise, he's huge.

The kid is now 20 lb 2 oz and 30 inches long. That would be 75% for weight and 95% for height. I think Tyler may be right in saying we know who the father is, but the mom is still in question. How on earth is a kid of mine that tall?!?!

The doc also said don't even bother with baby food, it will run us broke (in my head I said "You mean, more broke?"). She said go for the table food. Give him the same stuff Thomas eats, just smaller, minus the few foods like eggs, PB, honey, and the others you are "supposed" to stay away from for a little longer.

Yup, he's a tank.

Also, the bugger, cute bugger, started crawling last night. Boy am I in for it now. Thomas running and Jerry crawling. Say goodbye to the hair I have left. Dare, I have no idea how you do it with twins (HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY BOYS!!!). Jerry does the military low crawl (daddy is proud of this one), on his hands and knees, and on his hands and toes. Yep, you got it, he is ready to walk now, and I am so not ready. Tyler says it is payback for me enouraging Thomas to crawl and walk early. Whatever.

Just for fun, we measured the rest of us, well, those of us home this afternoon, and the results are in. Thomas is 34.2 lbs and 39 inches tall. He grew 3 inches since March. Sounds like time for new clothes, again. Mom is an undertermined/unmentioned lbs and now 5'1". For those of you keeping score, that is an inch taller than I have been since I was 15. Granted, Aunt Amanda did the measuring, but I will take what I can get. In case you are math challenged like I am, this also puts Jerry at 1/2 my height. No joke, the kid is half my height already, and Thomas is an inch shy of 2/3 my height. In my math brain, the kids should be an average of mom and dad's height, guess not. Aren't genetics fun in how they can fool us?

Love and hugs to all of you, since I am sure we haven't seen you lately. And with Aunt Amanda being in Greece for a semester abroad, there will likely be more frequent posts to keep her up to date. Sorry Amanda, no webcams here yet for you to see the boys. This will have to do for now.

Take care and enjoy!

Upload Success - Beach Pictures

I finally managed to get the rest of the beach pictures up. Gotta love Thomas and the beach hair. Really, nothing in it but salt air and the wind. We have a series of the shorts sagging lower and lower, but your imagination can fill in from dry to the point of the picture.

As for the sticker boy, I think the smile says it all. He also has one on his neck, one curling around his ear from behind, and numerous others on his legs and arms. He has a long jellyfish sticker going from his knee to his ankle down his shin. "Silly silly Thomas" as he would say.
Jerry is quite stylin' in his shades. In the first pic he is wearing his own hat and his own shades. These are so cool, they have a strap that goes around his head and velcro holds them on. Much more baby friendly than other ones I have found. Target is my friend. In the othe picture, he is wearing my cousin's movie star glasses. You see what happens when I leave my kids with Amanda... well, we never know what will happen, but hey, they all have fun, and it sure is cute!

What a Day!

Talk about a day that would have been perfect to not get out of bed. No, I don't mean the weather, I mean just pretend the day didn't happen and ignore everything that did.

I love my kids, I really do, just keep that in mind. I also understand that most of you will probably laugh at me, but at the same time say a little prayer of thanks that you weren't me today.

Things started off bad when the kids woke up earlier than usual. Not by much, but just enough to be a difference. Probably didn't help that I was waking up like my sister (one of those people you avoid as much as possible for the first as least 30 min).

We had finished breakfast and I was pretending I was still in bed. I hear a noise in the kitchen, a mere 15 feet away. Whe I look over I see that Thomas has climbed up and is standing on a chair. He has the top off the Rubbermaid cereal container, and is helping himself using one of Jerry's stacking cups. Before I can do anything, he manages to dump the cereal all over the table and the floor. Later in the day he decided it would be fun to smoosh the cheerios that I hadn't quite gotten all up yet. Read further and you will see why I didn't get them all up.

Thomas, who is almost potty trained, decided to pee on the living room floor (he is horrified any time he does this and stands there crying for me, as if I can help him at this point in the not-so potty process). This was after I had told him to go several times, but Sesame Street was just too exciting.

Next we had the marker incident. Here is me, being so good and doing the dishes. Not sure what made me go into the living room, but I wished I hadn't. Dear, sweet, wonderful, creative, all boy Thomas was having a blast. He had taken Jerry's bottle and was shaking the formula into a stacking cup. Gets better. He then was taking the cup and dumping it on a lovely picture, aka a huge red blob colored with marker. Hmmmm, what happens when liquid meets marker. You got it, red marker all over my living room carpet. Be proud of me, I didn't yell. I did, however, tell him to clean up every single little piece of paper (yes, the paper was so wet it had fallen to pieces all over the floor, plus the pieces that Jerry tried to eat and ripped apart). Silly me didn't realize there was still formula on the paper, so he dripped half way to the kitchen before I caught the fact that he was dripping red even further across my carpet. After a nice long sit in time out he got to watch TV while I cleaned. I was not about to let him help me with that cleanup.

After several hours of cleaning, a few stressed/panicked calls and emails about how to get red marker out of carpet, we went from red to pink. A few more hours, a trip to Target for more clenaing stuff, and we were mostly back to grey carpet. For future reference to those of you who don't think this can happen to you, rubbing alcohol works, Zout works, spray Oxy works, but the real winner is 1 cup warm water mixed with 1 scoop oxy powder. Every now and then while I was cleaning, Thomas would say "I make a red mess," or "Mommy clean up my red mess." At least he knew what had happened. And yes, thank you mom, I do realize that there was no way he could have realized that dumping formula on his picture would cause it to bleed all over my carpet; he was just having fun being a boy.

Oh yeah, and to add to a not so funny situation, Thomas had also given Jerry a formula bath. That's right folks, the baby's hair was slicked down and crunchy. Thank goodness Jerry's formula bath was much easier and quicker to clean up.

Looking back, I should have taken pictures, but I bet your imagination can do a fabulous job creating your own picture.

Moral of the story: If you don't want to get out of bed, don't. If you do, you will wish you hadn't. (Becky, my sister-in-law, told me that when you have a day that you don't want to get out of bed, that is the day you shouldn't take your eyes off your kids. Note that she told me this while she was telling me how to get marker out of my carpet)

And yes, I am now able to laugh at my day and find the humor in the whole mess.

Hope I was able to make you feel better about your day. Or maybe you can look back at when your kids were little and did things like this, and laugh at me while telling me that this too shall pass (and they will have their own kids that do the same thing to them, as my mother so kindly reminded me of one of her similar days involving a gallon of milk from when I was small).

Lolly

OK, my cousin asked the question, so I will answer it for all.

Why is my mom called Lolly?

Here goes (someone correct me if I mess this story up, please). When mom and her sister (Susan Jane) were little, SJ couldn't say "Malinda" so she called my mom "Lolly." Mom hated this. When SJ got older and had kids of her own she told them the story and one of her kids adopted calling mom Lolly, just to be irritating. Well, by this time, mom had grown up and it was no longer irritating.

Fast Forward. Rachel is pregnant. Mom says she is too young to be a grandmother and refuses to be called any variation of grandma. I must say, we had quite a bit of fun calling her all sorts of g-ma names (Granny, g-ma, g-mamma, grandmamma, and the list goes on). She said if people her age (at her office, specifically) are having kids, she can't be a grandma. The whole thing turned into a joke as time went on and baby came closer. We asked what we were going to call her, "Mom's mom"?!? Well, that was just a mouth full, so we shortened that to "M's M." Then we decided that this one would get confusing and turn into "M&Ms." Then Tyler, being the goober he is, said that if we were going to do that, why not call her "Skittles." So for a little while she was skittles and we brought her many bags of skittles, just for giggles kicks.

Eventually someone, probably Amanda, suggested Lolly. Mom agreed that it was a good option and it stuck. So now we have Lolly.

She still insists that she is not a grandmother, the kids are her daughter's kids, but she isn't a grandmother (yeah, explain that one). Now, if she won't respond to you, just say "Lolly" and she will turn around as quick as can be. It is also helpful to call her Lolly in large crowds, because there is only one Lolly and lots of Moms, especially at family gatherings.

And now you have..... the rest of the story.

Mudcats Game

The beach post is up, you just have to scroll down. If you want more pictures, I can email, and I will continue to try and post the pictures.

Tonight was the Mudcats game and we all had a blast! We had lots of friends show up, along with Lolly and Amanda. Thomas loved the french fries and Lolly's drink. Gabe, Thomas's friend, got a ball and Muddy even sighned it. Rachel's appearances are over for the season, but there is always next year to do it again. It may be small ball, but it's the best there is. Come to a game with us, its a blast!!

Working on It

I really am working on getting that beach post up. I am having picture issues and Blog is not quite cooperating, so I get frustrated and quit until next time. I promise, it is coming.

PS, Singing at the Mudcats again on August 22, game at 7:15 (Tuesdays are cheap hotdog day too!!!). Same seats as last time, so far as I know, for those of you interested.

AHHHHHHH, the Beach

We had a blast at the beach and didn't want to come home. Thomas had more fun than he knew what to do with. I think it took him a week to catch up on his sleep. Poor Jerry had a bit of a rough go at it. Poor kid fell out of bed, fell out of bed again (I swear, I put him where he wouldn't fall off, just ask my Aunt who rescued him), and he rolled over and got stuck between the wall and mattress. In spite of all his bed related injuries, he did survive, and got tons of attention from my cousin. Thomas played in the big water and loved it. Mom had a serious task of getting his head above some of the waves, and as a result recieved a few in the face, but he was great. Thomas only got one good one in the face, but went right back out.

Lolly had fun at the Dollar Store before she came, and stocked up for Thomas. The best goodie of all was a Nemo kite that flew surprisingly well. Thomas ran and played with it for quite some time, and even Jerry got in on the fun. Yes, my child is running around on the beach wearing nothing but a diaper, and I don't care, he's 3 so you shouldn't care either :)

Thomas also managed to sneak into the water another day without swim trunks on. He was wearing denim shorts, so the wetter they got, the heavier they got, and eventually they fell off. I especially liked his beach hair. Not a drop of product in it, I promise.

For added fun, the power went out Friday afternoon as dinner was cooking. Beach humidity, no power, and hungry people, not a good idea. So, how do you entertain a 3 year old when the power is out and you aren't allowed to open the doors to go in the house? You put stickers all over him. Yay Lolly for getting stickers earlier that day. Thomas had stickers on his nose, behind his ears, on legs and arms, on his forehead, and the back of his neck. He was a walking underwater creature sticker exhibit.

All in all, it was yet another fabulous trip to the beach and we can't wait to go back. Hopefully, Daddy will get to go with us next time. Next stop in our travels, Atlanta GA, here we come!

Quick Note

We decided to come home from the beach, but only because someone else was coming to rent the house and we had to leave. All sruvived and many pictures were taken by lots of people. Give me a little while to get pics and a real story post up, but know that it is coming. Baby waking up, sounds like I'm done here for now. We'll see you later......

Sleepy and.... Sleepy

Why is it that the some of the cutest pictures are of kids sleeping, and some of the funniest?

Poor Jerry fell over and his less than attentive parents left him there. He fell asleep like this and woke up when I took the picture. Isn't he cute?

He continues to grow ever bigger and is still teething. This is the droolingest kid I have ever seen! Give us a call some time and we will make him laugh for you. Little funny. Thomas was playing with Jerry and everytime Thomas would poke Jerry's fat cheeks, Jerry would laugh. Well, a few days later I heard something funny coming from the back seat. Thomas was reaching over and poking Jerry's cheeks and saying "Laugh baby, laugh." And of course laughing along with him. Very cute kids.

Thomas had oh so much fun on July 4th! Did you have as much fun as he did?

We went and did fireworks and the NC Symphony with friends on the 3rd, and he loved them. He had lots of fun telling everybody what color the fireworks were. The next day we did our traditional church breakfast and he played and played and played with the kids on the playground. Then, our friends came over and we went to do more fireworks the evening of the 4th. The boys ran around spraying each other with the "squeeze breeze" fans. Again, Thomas loved the fireworks. His friend, on the other hand, screamed the entire time. Poor kid crashed on the way home, and this was how we found him when we got home. I don't think he even woke up when we took him inside.

VERY exciting news. Thomas is 95% potty trained!!!! CHEER CHEER CHEER!!! He is now wearing big boy underwear most of the time and does a pretty darn good job going potty. I swannie, he just magically woke up one day and was going potty all the time. I guess the months of trying finally paid off. One determined kid, unless he is ready, it won't happen.

We are just us, being busy parents. Nothing new there. We will be off to the beach in a couple days, without Tyler, so there will be fun pics to share when we return. No promises on when I will get them posted, though. We will also be heading to Atlanta for my cousin's wedding reception in August. Aren't we just the traveling bunch lately.

Hope life is treating you well too. Hugs and loves to everybody!!

Happy Faces

Another short summary of our life. Everybody is still alive and doing well. We all stay busy and the boys sure keep us entertained. No telling what the future holds, but we sure are enjoying what we have right now. Too many blessings to count, but we try to count them every now and then. Wish we could see more family more often, but for now, this will have to do. Love and hugs to all of you, and we will see all of you again, eventually. PS, Congrats to Rachel's cousin Dale for completeing Ranger School without recycling (you can check out the link to his page and see what he is up to next)


Isn't he just the cutest and happiest little baby you have ever seen. Jerry loves to smile, A LOT! He has the cutest little laugh and laughs all the time too, he sounds like he has the hiccups when he gets really going. Now he can roll over both ways, but tends to get stuck when he gets there, which makes him none too happy. The exersaucer is his favorite toy because he gets to stand up and see everything around him. This kid will wear your arms out wanting to stand up and see everything. He is such a mamma's boy and watches mommy everywhere she goes, but he has no problem letting other people hold him. Tyler says that Jerry doesn't like him because he gets fussy when Tyler is holding him and I walk by. What can you do?

Thomas loves his baby brother and is a huge help. He can tell you what Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore say. When he started doing Piglet, baby Jerry laughed and laughed, so now, whenever Thomas starts to play with "Baby Brother Jerry" he says "Oh d-d-d-dear" to try and make him laugh again. Thomas is all boy and all energy. The other day he was playing outside and Tyler looked out to discover him sitting in a pile of dirt playing away. He gives lots of hugs and has discovered how much fun it is to play with blocks/duplos. Daddy helped him build a good strong base for a tower (about 6 inches high) and Thomas made the rest of it almost as tall as mommy. It was so tall he couldn't reach the top anymore, even standing on his stool. There would be a picture of it up here, but it was one of those days when I had not made it to the shower yet, and since I am the editor, I vote no picture.

Thomas has also discovered dandilions and how much fun they are. He ran around the yard finding every one he could and blowing them all away. He doesn't look at all mischevious here, does he. Not to mention his obsession with having his picture taken - he has to see every picture after you take it, thank goodness for digital cameras. Thomas also loves to play with his "new friends" (anyone who will play with him that isn't family) and loves to see pictures of his cousins. If we are lucky, he will know people's names by the time he meets them.

Tyler is, well, Tyler. He works and takes care of all of the family. I caught him and Jerry taking a nap the other day and it was too good a photo op to pass up. Jerry has this silly habit of sticking his feet up in the air then kicking them down and in the process kicks the blanket off. The only way to get him to sleep is to lay down with him and hold the blanket down on him. Unfortunately, most of the time the person putting him down falls asleep too, hence the cute daddy-son picture. Tyler loves his new job and it is going very well. He likes the people he works with and they actually put up with him. His latest favorite topic of conversation is that the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. Poor Becky got a phone call after the first goal (not that she cared, she just put up with her brother calling, as usual).

Rachel is decorating cakes again, and actually taking a class to learn to do it the right way. For Tyler's birthday she made a peppermint devil's food cake with peppermint buttercream filling that had pieces of peppermint in it and a peppermint chocolate ganache frosting. That was one of the best cakes ever, really. Since the entire family is eating at least one cake a week now, she is trying out all kinds of fun new ways of doing them. The rainbow cake is a yummy yellow cake with a chocolate pudding filling. That one didn't stay around too long either. Are ya hungry yet?

Random bit of info for you. Rachel also mowed the grass for the first time in her life. Yep, the entire front and back yard, all by herself (and it only took 2 hours). And now she swears that a riding lawn mower IS a good idea and admits that Tyler was not just being a weenie complaining about wanting one.

Watch the Boys Grow!!! A Photo Journey

The boys wearing their jammas Lolly brought back from New Zeland. Arent' they too cute in their matching "I'm Monster Mad" jammas. Maybe it should say "I'm driving mom Monster Mad."

(March 23, 2006)

Work Boots, just like Daddy

Peek-A-Boo Baby

(April 2, 2006)

The boys with Gingams at her Mother's Day Brunch. 3 hours there and back, 5 people in my Honda Accord, it was quite a day for all of us.

Too cute. We were getting ready for breakfast on Mother's day.

Finally, an Update

OK, sorry Becky, I have been bad. I was waiting on my cousin for pics from the game when I sang, but it seems most of my family is slow to update their blogs as well.

Lots of changes around our place. In the last week Tyler changed positions at Watson, applied for a job at another company, interviewed with another company, got an offer on the spot, took vacation from Watson, accepted the new job, started the new job, and should have his own van by the end of the day. Busy busy week for Tyler. We are really happy with this new company, Starr Electric, and felt that it was the thing to do. They are very family centric and have been family owned since 1928. Let's hope this one works out. Oh yeah, and the $25 million project they are working on means as much overtime as we want. They told us that job is going 24/7.

As for the boys, well, read and scroll down and see what they are up to. Thomas has turned into a self-destructive boy. The kid has more bruises and scrapes than Child Protective Services would probably like to see. The other day he fell out the back door onto the concrete and scraped himself up really bad. A week later and he says his hand still hurts. We measured him last night and he is about 39 inches tall and about 36 pounds. One of these days I am going to take a picture I have of Tyler as a kid and put it next to a picture of Thomas, they look so much alike it is funny. He loves to help take care of baby Jerry and is great at finding and giving pacifiers and giving bottles. He is also a master diaper thrower awayer (is that a real job?). Saturday Thomas went to his first big movie with Lolly and Aunt Amanda. They went to see Curious George at the dollar movie and all highly recommend it. He had a blast and even got treats. Potty training is progressing, but we still have a ways to go. Trust me, when we are done, you will hear the cheer wherever you are.

Jerry is yet another huge baby. Most people see him and think he is about 6-7 months old. He weighs about 17 pounds now. He can roll over and is starting to try and roll to the left. He loves to smile his big toothless grin and he talks, a lot, in that cute baby voice. Not only does he make cute baby noises, he also laughs and makes anybody melt when he does. I think we'll keep him.

Me, I'm just mom. I try to keep up with everyone and everything while keeping my sanity. The most exciting thing in my world is tha I am pretty much back to pre-Jerry weight and can wear most of my clothes again.

Have a good one! Love and hugs to all! Enjoy the pics (I had issues and had to create separate posts), and I will try to be better about updating. My problem is thatby the time the kids are in bed and the house is put back together, all I want to do is go to bed. I will do better, I hope.

Potty Progress!!

OK, so who ever expects to get excited or have a conversation about going potty, but kids will do this to you. We are making major progress with the potty training. Thomas has started to tell us he needs to go and has gone on his own getting ready for a shower a couple times in addition to me constantly asking. He has even pooped on teh potty. It seems that treats are paying off!! Wish us luck on this wonderful trend continuing. Maybe we can be in real big boy unders soon, WOOHOO!!! (Yes, I know there will still be accidents)

On a completely different topic, the Mudcats game was a blast. My cousin took pics and I am waiting on getting those to put up a post about that. It will be coming soon (If she hurries up and puts the pics on her Blog - love you Dare!)

Mudcats Seats

I just got off the phone with the Mudcats Ticket Office and I think I drove the poor guy bonkers. I will be in section 202 Box Seats, they say this is so you get close and get a great view of me singing. General Admission Tickets are $5 and kids over 6 are $3 (under 6 obviously free) and the seats are first come first serve. The Genral Admission seats are right behind my seats and a couple sections over. If you want to sit in section 202 with me tickets are $8. If you go to the Mudcats website www.gomudcats.com you can order tickets and view a seating chart. I think I can order more tickets and they will hold them at the will-call window. If you want me to order/hold tickets for you, just let me know via email (there should be a link in my profile) and I will call early the week of the game to do that. Can't wait to see everybody there, it's going to be a blast!!

Finally Famous

Fun and exciting news in my world. No, I didn't win the lottery, I will be singing the national anthem at a Carolina Mudcats game. Come hang out and have fun at the game on Thursday, April 20. April is nice, not too hot (July) and not too cold (October evenings), the perfect time to go to a game. I think the game starts at 7:15 ( I really just know when I am supposed to be there). If I did this right, you should be able to click on the title of the post and it will link you to the mudcats website.

So come have fun, elbow the person next to you and say "I KNOW HER!!!"

ps, you are not allowed to point and laugh as you say it.

Pictures!

My cute little boys!!

Amanda calls this Jerry's "Thriller" hands

Proud parents after the Baby Blessing. Jerry wasn't too happy at the time.

OK, I am still trying to figure out this blogger thing. As for now, this is how my pictures will show up. Eventually I will get with my cousin who seems to be the blog master and have her show me how she posts pictures and does other stuff. I hope this is keeping others who are not so close updated on our family. Oh yeah, just in case I haven't told you, I lost 2 1/2 pounds last week (I am a bit excited about it!!!).

Our Life

Life is busy, but what do you expect with two kids. Thomas is 3 now and we are making a serious attempt at potty training (any suggestions?). He loves Rescue Heroes and Thomas the Train. Energy is seldom lacking on the Thomas end, which keeps mommy on her toes and patience at the top of the must-have list. Thomas loves to take care of "baby brother Jerry" and is a huge help and sometimes too much help. We are continuing to work on sign language and letters and numbers, He also knows more animals than a kid should, too bad we don't have animal planet anymore.

Jerry is a whole two months old in a few hours and is cute as can be, but we are a bit partial. He weighs in at a little over 13 pounds now, big boy. He smiles and loves to talk to us and make all those cute baby sounds. Unlike Thomas, Jerry does not sleep all the time and we are doing good to get one good nap (1 1/2 to 2 hours). Before too long he can start teaching aerobic classes with all the moving he does. To those of you who knew his namesake, he is built just like him with all upper torso and short little legs.

Tyler stays busy with work and is doing a fabulous job making it possible for me to stay home with the kids. He plays with the kids when he is home and is totally supportive of me and lets me run away every now and then. He is also encouraging Jerry to walk across the room as I type and making progress (6 steps now).

As for me, I still have all my hair, even with all the times I want to pull it out. All my boys keep me more than busy and less than rested, but we are happy. Somehow the laundry never ends, I always smell like baby surprises, and my house is far from spotless, but I wouldn't trade it for anything (well, maybe a maid, chef, and lawn care service). I am still teaching and looking for more students to help pay for all those student loans.

Screaming kid calls, but 10:30 at night is better than 3 am.

OK, so I guess I need to catch up to the rest of my family. I check everybody's page every day to see what is new, and with so much family far away this seems like a fun idea. The baby is screaming upstairs, so this is the short intro. Hopefully I will keep up with it and update it frequently. Just email me a kick in the bum when I get behind. ENJOY!!