Playtime

As a young girl, when I dreamt of my future, I imagined marrying a man who would be an incredible father. I wanted someone who would get down on the floor and play with our kids... not just someone that would entertain the kids or watch them when I asked, but a man that genuinely loved his children and enjoyed being with them. I wanted a man that would be there cheering them on during baseball games and graduations but would be just as excited to get down on the carpet and wrestle with them or run around outside in the sprinklers. Well I obviously found my man :)

Disney Playhouse

Yesterday was an awesome day. I took the kids and my sisters to Disney Playhouse Live at the Civic Center (thanks to Uncle Kevin for the tickets!) We all really enjoyed the show. It included Mickey's clubhouse, Little Einsteins, Handy Manny, and Winnie the Pooh. There was a lot of music and dancing and flashing lights, and the kids danced the hot dog dance while Maddi kicked and squirmed and squealed with delight. When we got home, we had dinner and then went on a walk around the neighborhood. Seriously...it was almost too much fun for one night :)

Oops!

So sad news... a dear friend and long time neighbor of my parents, Granny Graves, died last week. Aww :( She lived a long, adventurous life, and was an amazing and kind woman. Many years ago, she asked my family to sing How Great Thou Art at her funeral (kind of weird, but I guess old people can make requests like that). Well, I found out about thirty minutes before the funeral started that her family also wanted us to sing Amazing Grace at the graveside. So we went into the little kitchen of the funeral home and threw together a little harmony and then ran into the meeting to sing. So the preacher does his thing, her granddaughter gives a beautiful eulogy, and then we get up to sing. The microphone is crazy loud and dry, so we decide not to use it and thus are forced to stand right in front of the OPEN casket. awkward. So dad whips out the pitch pipe, gives me the note, and I belt out (as loudly as I possibly can because there's no mic) "A-a-a-ma-zi-i-ing Gra-ace" Suddenly I realize that mom and dad haven't joined in, so I glare at them like 'what's going on? SING!' Uh-oh...they're both looking at me like a deer in head lights. Oh crap! I'm singing the wrong song! Wow, this is embarrassing! SO, I stop and look at the family (who are all snotty nosed and sobbing on the front row) and say ever so meekly "oops...wrong song," clear my throat, and start singing the correct song. Wow. How embarrassing! So Granny Graves... I'm sorry. You deserved better, and I'm a klutz, but we love you and will miss you.

aCid + BaSe = FuN

The kids are STILL sick and have added the pukes to the long list of ailments. They are on antibiotics though, so hopefully we can get out of this funky rut that we are in. Speaking of antibiotics, I wanted to give a quick shout out to Publix. For those of you who don't know, Publix dispenses Penicillin and Amoxicillin for free. Yep you read that correctly for FREE whether you have insurance or not; they refer to it as one of their complimentary medications. I just think that is amazing. So thank you Publix. You're my pharmacy hero.

Drew and I had a fun Science project day. Drew put on my lab coat and some latex gloves (so cute) and made a volcanic explosion. We added baking soda, dish soap, red food coloring, then stood back and added vinegar, and boom! Our volcano erupted. It was awesome (and yes, I'm glad we covered the whole kitchen with newspaper.)

By the end of the week we were tired of being cooped up in the house and the only place we could take the kids without infecting any innocent bystanders was the woods, so we loaded up our bikes and headed to the Greenway trails. The trails begin at a little park off of Mountain Gap road and follow a winding creek all the way to the Tennessee River. The trails are paved which makes it easy for kids to ride and there is a playground by the campgrounds at the end of the trail, so we had a great time together, and I absolutely love being out in the fresh air enjoying God's beautiful creations.

A New Day

Well yesterday was my first official I refuse to be fat anymore day; so, after work, I took my depressed, flabby little tail over to the Wellness Center and signed up for my free 3 month post-partum membership. YAY! Please don't get me wrong... I think it is an absolute miracle that as a woman I am able to grow another human being inside of my body... that my chromosomes are able to combine with my spouse's and form a single cell that multiplies and divides into a perfect little baby with perfect little fingers and toes and ears and eyelashes. It is simply a miracle; however, there is nothing miraculous about the body of a post-partum woman. In fact, it can be down right ugly. So, now that the sleep deprivation has worn off, and things are settling down, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to whip myself into shape. I gained around 50 pounds with Maddi (I know, ridiculous right?), and I've lost all of it but 17 lbs thanks to yoga and my lovely Ab Lounge that we keep in the bedroom which obviously served as a laundry hamper during my last trimester. The last little bit always seems to be the hardest to lose though. Fortunately, the wellness center has a little child care facility there with computers and a tv and a bunch of toys. So I dropped the kids off (this in itself was heart wrenching because I've never left my kids with a stranger before) and headed into the gym. Oh how I've missed my precious little Precor EFX 5.21i Elliptical. And that feeling... walking the line of exhaustion coupled by the adrenaline and endorphins flowing through your veins. It's sheer bliss! After about an hour and a half I had a mini panic attack though...I could just picture little Maddi screaming inconsolably, so I called it quits for the day and went to get my babies. It was sure fun while it lasted though!
Later that evening, we decided to load up the bikes and go to Ditto Landing. The weather was BEAUTIFUL, and we rode around for a couple of hours and then watched the sun set over the water. It was Maddi's first bike ride, and she road in the little trailer that Sean pulled with his bike. Drew road his scooter instead of his bike, but he managed to keep up with us anyway. It was such a fun and relaxing evening, and I'm glad I got to spend it with the 3 people I love most.

P Day Parade

We went to the park today and then went downtown to see the St. Patrick's day parade. It was the first time we've gone to this particular parade and it was interesting to say the least. I guess I can be rather naive but I had no idea that St. Patrick's day = alcohol + crazy nakedness. The parade only lasted about 30 minutes (thank goodness) because it mainly consisted of alcohol delivery trucks with green streamers wrapped around their mirrors, the hooters girls who somehow forgot their green but were oh so generous in parading their other attributes, and Huntsville's finest and ever so classy roller-derby girls. Ummm... let's just say it's not what I was expecting. We sat on the steps of a building downtown and after I got everyone situated and sat down, I realized the precious little 70 year old lady beside us was chugging a beer (jeez lady...it was only like 10:00!) Drew had a great time though; he only cared about the firetrucks and the poodle that had been dyed green. So I'm glad we went, but I think I'm just going to stick to wearing my green shirt and looking for people to pinch next year.

Coos and I love yous

This morning has been so fun! I absolutely love days when there's nothing to do but cuddle on the couch in our PJs.
The last 10 weeks have flown by! Madison has already started to smile and coo. She's no longer a newborn :( These first milestones are so hard for me to watch. I love watching my children grow and learn and accomplish new things, but my heart breaks a little with each new feat because I know that I will never get that time back.
Drew, however, is completely enthralled in Maddi's new abilities. He loves talking to her and playing with her and she just watches him and grins. Yesterday he danced around while she laughed and squealed. It was precious! Last week, Drew told me that he loves her so much that he needs to marry her when they get older. Bless his heart! I had to explain that it was against the law to marry your sister which was quickly rebutted by the usual 'but why??' After 30 minutes of discussing various reasons, he was finally satisfied by an in-depth explanation of DNA. I am so glad that he loves her so much and that Sean and I could give him the gift of having a little sister.
I tried posting a video of their cuteness, but this is my first time posting a video, so hopefully all goes well. (You might have to turn the music at the bottom of the blog off and turn the volume up to hear Maddi's little voice.)

Impetigo

In the last post, I casually mentioned that the kids were sick. Unfortunately, it hasn't gotten any better. Drew was just on an antibiotic a few weeks ago, so I decided to just watch him to see if this was just a cold that he could get over himself without hauling him into the doctor's office once again. No such luck. The sneezing and coughing and even the pukes didn't bother me, but when his lip swelled up and he started getting oozy blisters all over his face, I decided this wasn't just the average cold. We went to the pediatrician this morning and found out that Drew has strep and that the bacteria had spread to his skin resulting in impetigo also known as 'school sores' (it seems like he's always getting something icky from his little germy schoolmates). Luckily, I noticed it before it got bad, and it should clear up in about 10 days with the help of a few antibiotics. It's highly contagious though, so I'm just praying that he doesn't share his little germies with us because I don't think I could pull off the weeping, crusty facial wound look. It seems like the second I told him he couldn't scratch it, all he could think about was the uncontrollable need to pick at it...poor baby. So, it looks like this will be a rather interesting spring break or at least the first one we've spent stuck inside afraid to touch our faces. :)

Sniffles

This weather has been making us sick...literally. 80 degrees yesterday, and then only 50 degrees today. The kids are sick again. Drew missed his field trip today, and we've been stuck inside which (in between distributing medicine, cleaning up puke, and changing diapers) has given me the perfect opportunity to fine tune my Mario Brothers skills on the wii. I have such fond memories of playing Nintendo with my brothers. It's one of the few things we never fought over. I don't know if we had a rickety Nintendo or if we just played it so much that we wore it out, but some of my favorite memories are of us blowing into the machine until we turned purple and jamming a butter knife into the game slot trying to get it to work. Then once we finally got it on, we would guard it like Fort Knox so that no one would accidentally turn it off. We'd even leave it on for days because there was no save option back then. Ahh.. good times.

Before all of the runny noses, we had a chance to go to Kids Space. It was Maddi's first time at the park, and when I whipped out my camera to take some pictures, I realized the battery was dead. Boo hoo. Well, needles to say, I am ready for Spring time to finally arrive... and stay... so that we can go outside and play.

Here are a few cute pictures that I took of Maddi and Sean. Sean suprised me and put this song on the blog, so crank it up and listen. He's such a sweetie-pie. Have I mentioned lately how much I love him?

Brad Paisley -She's Everything

She’s a yellow pair of running shoes. A holey pair of jeans. She’s looks great in cheap sunglasses. She looks great in anything. She’s “I want a piece of chocolate.” “Take me to a movie.” She’s “I can’t find a thing to wear.” Now and then she’s moody. She’s a Saturn with a sunroof,With her brown hair a blowin'. She’s a soft place to land, And a good feeling knowing. She’s a warm conversation that I wouldn’t miss for nothing.She’s a fighter when she’s mad and a lover when she’s loving. She’s everything that I ever wanted, And everything I need. When I talk about her I go on and on and on. Cause she is everything to me. She’s a Saturday out on the town. Church girl on Sunday. A cross around her neck and a cuss word cause it’s Monday. She’s a bubble bath and candle baby come and kiss me. She’s a one glass of wine and she’s feelin kinda tipsy. She’s the giver I wish I could be and the stealer of the covers. She’s the picture in my wallet. She’s the hand that I'm holdin when I’m on my knees and prayin. She’s the answer to my prayers. She’s the song that I’m playin and She’s everything that I ever wanted, And everything I need. When I talk about her I go on and on and on. Cause she is everything to me. She’s the voice I love to hear Someday when I’m 90. She's that wooden rocking chair I want rocking right beside me. Everyday that passes I only love her more. Yea she’s the one that I'd lay down my own life for. She’s everything that I ever wanted, And everything I need. When I talk about her I go on and on and on. Cause she is everything to me.

Blessing Day

Madison was blessed this Sunday. Sean was able to administer the blessing, and we were lucky to have some special family members there to celebrate with us. Madison wore a GORGEOUS dress that Candice made. During the blessing her name was declared before God, and she was blessed with courage, strength, and health throughout her life and the knowledge that she will always be loved by us and by her Heavenly Father. It was such a beautiful and heart-felt blessing, and it reminded me of what an honor it is to be a mother and to have a husband who truly loves his children and has dedicated his life to them.

Here is a picture of Madison with Aunt Candice. She is one lucky little lady to have such an amazing Aunt!