CPR-Surviving with 3 Boys!

Soccer

2011-09-27T21:09:00.010-05:00

I'm going to try this a different way....one little event at a time. I'm officially a soccer mom. We started soccer practice several weeks ago and the boys have had a great time! They look forward to putting on their soccer cleats and shin guards and kicking it in the goal! We've got some pretty good videos to show for it:)

Well, last week was our first game. The boys were super excited to wear their jerseys and play a game. We got to the field early and they practiced kicking into the goal. Parker kept running over and drinking his Gatorade. I told him to slow down-I was worried he was going to have to use the bathroom in the middle of the game. Little did I know that he drank almost the whole bottle and ended up throwing up right before the game started!! WOW!! What a start to the game! It should have been a clue as to where we'd go from there!

We had all (in-town) hands on deck, Bebe, Pop, LeLe, Guncle, Kerrigan, Doug and Lori....it was time to play! The opposing coach blew his whistle and the game began! It was a complete disaster!! We have 8 players....One never got out on the field, two stood completely frozen on the field, 3 cried almost the entire time (this is where C and P fit in) and the other two ran around like little ants....it was classic 3/4 year old toddler soccer.

Parker cried the entire game. When I asked what was why- he said it was because he didn't get to score the first goal!! He began yelling, "I hate soccer! I wanted to play baseball! I told you I didn't like this sport!" Carson cried for much of the game too-- his reason was that he wanted me to kick the ball instead of him! I tried bribery, toy confiscation...not much luck at all. I did finally get both boys to stay on the field for a few minutes at a time. Parker started throwing himself into the pack of kids trying to kick the ball. He hit the ground hard several times. And continued to cry. We lost about 20-0. We had a rain out this week (a bit of an answered prayer for someone I'm sure!) Better luck next week, I hope:)
Our 1st Practice

Game Day Warm-up

Last Picture Before the Game (and the crying) Began!!

Life as a family of 5

2011-08-07T04:53:00.028-05:00

Things have been busy to say the least! We are enjoying our family of 5. The boys have adjusted well...Parker was pretty seemless, while Carson needed a few days to adjust;)

We were released from the hospital TOGETHER on Monday July 11th. We had a few conditions about leaving on day 3. Insurance will pay for 4 days, but who wants to stay longer than you have to?!?! I was put on blood pressure medication "temporarily" to help keep that in check and Reece needed a bilirubin check the next morning. We probably should have stayed that extra day, but I was ready to get out of there. Bebe and Pop brought the boys that morning so we were able to ride home as a family of 5! We had some tears over who got to sit by Reece, so we stopped half way home so C and P could trade spots and share time sitting by him. We made it clear that this was a one time deal! It was only a one way trip and the first trip, so I could see the urgency!!

We took Reece to see Dr. Brian the next morning, where his bilirubin checked out fine. We were told to feed him a bit more often since he was a "preemie"! Really, Brian, you're calling my 36.6 baby a preemie?!?!? He just wanted him to get a few more feedings a day, so we went back to alarm clock feedings, which are really hard-- I mean isn't it easy to turn off a beep?!? You can't turn off a scream if you know what I mean!

The next several days we had lots of visitors and friends and family fed us delicious meals almost everyday. It only took me a few days to get moving around better, but my blood pressure continued to give me problems. I was feeling bad and having terrible headaches. I headed back to the doctor the following Monday and she doubled my medication because my bp was still running pretty high. I am still on that double dose, which has helped me feel much better. I am still having headaches, but she is thinking it's my migraines coming back as opposed to being bp related. I'll stay on the meds until my 6 week check-up.

My friend Kayla and her girls were headed back to Virginia from her parents' house, so they came and stayed a couple days with us. The boys loved having the girls here....and as always, we enjoyed visiting with Kayla, but missed seeing Chad, AGAIN....dang Airforce keeps him workin'!! It was great timing for them to meet Reece too!

Fun with the Breedloves

Making S'mores- a Douglas/Breedlove Tradition!!

Parents too

Reece went back for his 2 week appointment and was a little piglet!! He had gained 11 ounces and grew 1 1/2 inches. We were thrilled and were relieved of the alarm feedings!!! We had one bump, his organic acid, one of his newborn screening tests came back abnormal, so we had to have blood redrawn for that. It made me a wreck for several days, but the second draw came back normal, so all is well:)

2 weeker

Grandma Sue was able to come down the following Sunday to spend the week with us. The boys enjoyed having her here for "alot of days" and we did too! We got a couple of "off nights" from Reece duty and got some uninterrupted sleep! We did some shopping, some playing and celebrated her birthday while she was here. Jennifer, Troy and the kids were able to come down to celebrate and meet Reece too!

On Monday, July 25th, my dear Granny passed away. She had been in the hospital, but it still came as a complete shock. Dad was able to be up in Illinois with her for more than a week before she passed....and he was with her that day. We aren't having a service just yet, per her wishes, but will at a later time. I am devastated. For those of you who don't know, Morgan, Reece's middle name, was Granny's maiden name. We chose that for his middle name to honor her- and our hope was that he would have some memories of her- as she was our only living grandparent, that he would have a chance to know, at the time of his birth. Wow....what an awesome lady she was...I learned so much about love and life from her. Selfishly, I wanted to see her again and for her to meet this sweet baby, but am grateful that she didn't suffer and that my memories of her will be of that spunky, full of life, Granny we all knew and loved.

July 2010

Feb 2011

Baby Reece is here!

2011-07-23T12:51:00.001-05:00

July started like June ended, bed rest, doctors appointments (Pop keeping the boys while my friend Tracey drove me), and people taking care of all my stuff! Dad and Brenda were able to come down for 4th of July weekend. They took the boys out for breakfast each morning, including their first trip to Waffle House- wow, such a milestone in their lives;), shopping at Target, swimming, a trip to the McWane center....it was a busy one!! The boys had a great time.

After they hit the road Monday morning, Brad and the boys headed to Bebe and Pop's house for lunch and swimming....after a fun-filled afternoon there, we fought off the rain and celebrated the 4th inside at our neighbor's house. I went over to eat and people served me on the couch....geez, I had it good....but then headed back to the couch while the daddys and the kids did fireworks outside. I did sit on the porch for a few minutes so the boys could see me "watching" them!

Tuesday I headed to the doctor and the pressure was up again. I did the PIH workup for the 3rd time and after the all clear I was sent home...to come back Thursday. Thursday when I arrived at the doctor, pressure was still up and Dr. Davis said it was time....the baby was not going to gain much more maturity and my health was becoming more at risk for something "catastrophic" to happen. Geez...ok, I get it....did she have to say catastrophic?!?! Bebe had taken me to the doctor, so she headed over to the hospital with me and I got admitted. They did yet another PIH workup to determine if we needed to deliver that afternoon or if we could hold off for Friday morning. Needless to say, Brad immediately headed that way....he didn't want to "almost miss it" again!!

The PIH workup came back with increased creatine ratio...meaning my kidneys were starting to be effected. She said it wasn't an emergency type situation at that point, but that we needed to get that baby delivered before it became one! This is the same problem I had with the boys, so I knew it was go time. We scheduled delivery for 8am the next morning.

After phone calls, text messages and emails being made/sent out- Pop and Daddy brought the boys and joined us at the hospital. We ate dinner and then the boys headed home with Bebe and Pop for the night....Brad didn't want to risk missing anything;)

At 5am the nurse started getting me ready...around 7, Gramp, Granny, Abigail and Rachel made it after getting just a few hours of sleep at the hotel. Around 745 they came and got me and Brad and I walked, literally walked, about 100 feet to the operating room and got ready to meet our new little boy!! They had a little bit of trouble getting my spinal in, due to the hardware in my back, but after a few tries and going in from the side he got it!! Just a few minutes later @ 8:14 little Reece Morgan was born. He screamed immediately (thank you Lord) and they said, "Wow, he's a wiggly thing!" Seems par for the course:)

Mom and Dad waiting

Direct from the OR- we didn't have any pics of the boys like this!!

Headed back to the room with Mom!

Our new addition

Big Brothers!!

Our sweet Reece Morgan

Our Family of 5!

We are alive and well...surviving one day at a time!! Feeling so blessed to have 3 healthy boys!

Welcome to the Family!

2011-07-22T10:35:00.001-05:00

Storytime Blue Baby Announcements

Find 100's of cute birth announcements at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

June!!!!

2011-07-06T10:51:00.027-05:00

June was busy and full....just like the beginning of summer should be! I had to work until June 2nd....so that was a tad annoying, but I had alot to do to prepare for being off...so it was busy everyday! I even stayed late on that last day to finish stuff up!

We began the first weekend in June with a pool party with some of Brad's extended family. We try to get together at Christmas and in the summer. It's always fun. We had a good turn out- and we had missed the summer get together one year due to moving so we were glad to be a part of it this year! There are lots of kids and the boys really enjoy pool time, so they rocked and rolled all day long!! No hint of a nap in sight! Here are some pictures from the long, hot, but fun day!!

Hot Tub with Pop!!

Even bowed up you can still see those ribs!!

Floating with Daddy

Sunday morning we packed up and got ready to head to the beach for the week! Usually we go to the beach later in the summer, but due to some other big event that will be taking place in July, everyone was willing to get it done early this year. Bebe, Pop, the boys and I headed out Sunday midday...Pop drove us- so I could put my feet up- the Tahoe was packed down. After a stop at Steak-n-Shake, which took almost 2 hours, we made it to Navarre Beach, Florida early evening. We have never been to Navarre, but it was fabulous! We spent the week on the beach- playing, looking for shells, building castles, riding in the boat, swimming, eating, and tried to fit in a little bit of rest! Thursday afternoon, Leah, Guncle and Kerrigan joined us- and Thursday night Brad finally joined us! He's got limited vacation time again since he changed jobs, but we were glad he got to come at all!

Some highlights from the week:
Carson and Parker getting CARS 2 cars, just for finishing dinner- hmmmm, was Pop a part of this trip?!?!

The boys being flipped out of the boat as a huge wave came in- Parker bruised face, both screaming/crying/covered in sand, people offering to help a 32 week preggo mom- apparently I looked like I needed help since they were crying! Parker was taking a nap well after the crash and it was almost impossible to wake him up!

Carson getting into hats...he got 2 new ones while we were there and I think he still wears one most days!! PS...both of his new hats are really for grown men, but he doesn't care....he wears them anyway...no matter how big they are!!

Both boys really started to embrace pool time....Parker putting his face in and floating around in a ring, while Carson is all over the place- arm floaties, rings, sometimes with nothing...wanting to "swim" to everyone!

Lovin' the Beach!!!

Under the Umbrella with BeBe....looking for snacks I'm sure!

Parker spent ALOT of time at this bar.....he's in NO RUSH to eat a planned meal!!

Carson LOVED the boat....inside or out!

Hunting shells with Pop!

Family Photo Shoot @ the Beach

When we got back from the beach, I had my 33 week appointment with the doctor and....dun, dun, dun.....my blood pressure was up, just a little, but it was up. She told me to start "resting when I could", which is not done easily in this girl's world;) I quit doing softball that week, and rested more than normal, but that weekend was busy....we had family pictures taken, bought a new car, and celebrated Kerrigan's birthday!! We bought a GMC Acadia, which I LOVE...but haven't driven it much! The boys really had a good time at KJ's party- I sat with my swollen feet up and took pictures! Happy Birthday Kerrigan!!

After the busy weekend.....dun, dun, dun.....my blood pressure was through the roof and I went to see the on-call doctor. He sent me for lab tests and after the all clear I was put on strict bedrest at home. I knew that I had to take it seriously, so I spent the rest of the month on my left side in my bed, on the couch, and on the floor, just to change up the scenery!! The boys did well, and we had offers from pretty much everyone we know to help out with anything and everything we needed. Family and friends brought food, played with the boys, went shopping for us.....we are truly blessed to have such an amazing support system! I did sneak in a trip to my friend Monica's house, which is just around the corner, for a shower from our Sunday school class- and a few other friends too! My friend Nora and I are due 2 weeks apart, so we celebrated the upcoming arrival of 2 sweet little boys together! I don't have any pictures from the shower because everyone made me stay on the couch with my feet up! Brad even went afterward to pick up the gifts! It was a good distraction from my "jail time"....and so sweet of our friends to do it for us!

Family Pictures by Angie:)

Kerrigan's Birthday Party

Our Month of May

2011-06-25T14:25:00.025-05:00

Our month of May was another exhausting one. Our community endured some pretty devastating weather on April 27th. The morning brought severe winds and storms...although there were no tornadoes that morning, we had wide spread power outages and damage to trees, houses and property. I attempted to get the boys to school and report to work, only to find their school closed when I got there and my school system closing at 10am due to only a few schools having power. After driving for almost 2 hours (normally about 30 minutes), being turned around several times because of huge trees covering every path. I made it to work, with the boys in tow....and only had about an hour until closing!! Many tornadoes ripped though town later that night, a few of them just missing us directly. Many people in our community and surrounding areas, including people I work with, lost homes and loved ones that day. It was definitely a day we'll never forget.

The first weekend of May, Brad became part of the United Methodist Disaster Response Team- which allowed him to be part of the first responder team. He worked the next several weekends on tornado recovery. My school system missed another 3-4 days of school as we tried to help clean up and wrap our minds around what had happened. We ended up NOT having to make those days up, as the President and the Governor declared our county a federal disaster area.

We enjoyed Mother's Day with church and lunch at the Bright Star with BeBe, Leah, Guncle and Kerrigan. It was Leah's first mother's day....so it was extra special for her! My boys got me Dunkin Donuts for breakfast (In case you don't know, this girl LOVES donuts....even when I'm not preggo!!) and a trip to the spa! Can't wait to use that!

Next up was Rachel's graduation from UT. The actual ceremony was mid-week and since I was trying to save up my sick days, we headed up to Knoxville the weekend after to help her celebrate! We enjoyed hanging out with her! Granny and Gramp took the boys on a trip to Toys R Us....Brad and I were informed that this was a trip just for them and that we weren't allowed to go! Ummmmmmm, no problem at allllllll!!! They came home with a few new things....and were very excited! Chuggington trains seem to be the latest infatuation....I was letting them pretend their Thomas trains were Chuggington trains, but you know Grandparents....they don't think like that!!

Playing our new game with Granny

The following weekend was BeBe's birthday, so we celebrated with a trip to Costa's on Saturday and followed up with lunch and pool time on Sunday! Happy Birthday BeBe!!

We are so glad that Pop got the pool ready!!

Lovin' the hot tub!

Ummmm....Carson, did you forget something??

The boys finished up the "regular school year" with a trip to the zoo. Daddy took the day off and took them this year- and they had a blast. He was sending me picture messages so that I didn't feel left out:) It's fun getting to see them with their friends from school. I mean, we hear all the stories, but to see them interacting with them is just plain fun. Please notice the "binonculars" around their necks in some of the pics. They made them at school and were so proud. Brad said they used them the whole time!!

We're ready!!

The new Africa exhibit was awesome!!

Thank you Grant for being the only one looking at the camera!!

Please Parker.....Don't jump in!!

I had my first pre-baby baby shower at work. My sweet friends Tracey and Daphne organized it....and we got some sweet stuff for our lil guy! It's wonderful to work with people that are also some of my dearest friends. It was fun opening all that little stuff again!! I did catch some flack for not having a name picked out yet....we have some girls that like to monogram and they wanted to know his name!! Ummmmm, Brad?!?!?!?!

I also started coaching a 14 and Under Viper softball team the last few weekends of the month....so we spent Memorial Day weekend at the softball field....just like old times! It's something I sure do miss....but my legs and ankles did NOT thank me for being out in the 90 degree heat at 30 weeks pregnant! I was helping out while I was able....and enjoyed coaching again. Of course, it was short lived-but I was glad to be a part of it while I could!

April- I will catch up....eventually!!

2011-06-24T21:53:00.007-05:00

One important note that was left off the March update.....the boys got bunkbeds!!! Lord help us not visit the ER anytime soon! Carson is the top bunk and Parker on the bottom (which is the safest option for all of us!!) They passed on their "little boy" beds to their little brother and slept in their "big boy" beds all night the first night! They LOVE them!!!

April began with a trip to Arkansas.....yet another state on the boys' traveling list!! We headed to Little Rock for my Uncle Mike and Aunt Tina's 25th wedding anniversary and renewal of vows. Uncle Mike is one of my mom's brothers, one of the twins, from which the twin curse, I mean blessing, comes from:)

The weekend was filled with family and good times. My sister and her family came (minus Tyler, who was playing baseball that weekend), my Aunt Sherry, Uncle Roger and cousin Kim from Illinois and my mom and one of her cousins also came. It was a beautiful day- and it was fun to be part of their 2nd big day!

Some memories from the weekend include, Kim and I taking the boys to a church playground for some sliding and monkey bar work, Carson yodling- at breakfast, in the car, even on the toilet- "Yodellaheeehoooo!- Can someeeeoneeeee wiiiiipeeee myyyyy bottttttoooommmmmmm?" (Kim's favorite), swinging on an outdoor porch swing with a set of triplets and running back and forth between our room and Kim's room, which was right across the hallway. They thought they were big time to go "by themselves" to Kim's room:)

We got lots of questions about Arkansas....I guess since we'd never been before. Most of the way there we heard... Is this Arkansas? Is the Funky French Fry in Arkansas? Do they have chocolate milk in Arkansas? Where are we going to sleep? We stayed at a Best Western close to my aunt and uncle's house.....and now everytime they see a sign for one, they will say, "Hey!! We stayed there when we were in Arkansas!!"

We were at Golden Corral for breakfast Sunday morning, as I put pancakes on his plate, Parker said, "We get syrup, right?? Because we are on vacation!" Carson said, "Yes Bubba, when you stay in a hotel that means it's vacation!" Yes, Gramp....I realize you think that limiting the intake of syrup is child abuse;)

Here are some pics with the family

Uncle Mike....one of the twins that are responsible for passing the trend!!

Aunt Sherry, Uncle Roger and Kim

We went to the Funky Fish Fry, a fund raiser for the boys' school and the Autism Society. They call it the Funky French Fry....I love that. April also brought a trip to Chattanooga for Emma Kate's 4th birthday, St. Jude Trike-a-Thon @ school, and Easter- including egg hunts at school and church and egg dying with the Harbarger's....wow....that's a busy month!

Funky Fish Fry

Emma's Birthday- hangin with Granny and Gramp

With JenJen in the foam pit!!

Trike a Thon for St. Jude!!

Watching our Friends Ride

Church Egg Hunt

Clearly we love our friend Harrison!!

Countin' the stash

Dying Eggs with the Harbargers

Sweet Easter Sunday Pictures- Gosh these kiddos are cute!!

March was a Busy One!

2011-04-05T14:20:00.017-05:00

So I posted this back in like April and then it disappeared from blogger. When I got back on to blog about our summer....here it is!!! Weird....very weird.

The first main event of the month was our trip to the doctor for the 20 week ultrasound....and contrary to all popular belief we found out that we'll be having ANOTHER little BOY!!! Lord help me, I'm so outnumbered!! We are so grateful that he is healthy and right on track- what would I do with a little girl anyway?!?! Not her hair or make-up, that's for sure! The only objection I had was that Brad and I were closer to agreeing on a girl name than on a boy name, so he still remains unnamed--and probably will until he's born!

Brad has many rules for the name- no P's or C's (the boys already get called the wrong name all the time!), no -er or -son ending (some on Brad, that's a little picky) and lastly, he wants it to have 6 letters since Carson and Parker both have 6 letters! You can see why he's still referred to as Baby C, Baby Douglas, or little boy:)

We took a quick Spring Break trip to Destin with BeBe and Pop- an extended weekend was all daddy could get with his new job, but we figured that something was better than nothing so we packed up and headed that way! As we pulled into the parking lot of Aunt Pokey's condo this is what we heard from the backseat--
I can seeeeeeeeeee theeeeeeeeeeee condoooooooooo!! Look mama, there it is!!! It's the condo- we're here, we're here!!! Are we here? Are we at the condo? Geez, who knew that just seeing the condo upon arrival would be the most exciting moment?!?!

We got sunburned the first day and were miserable the rest of the time- the adults that is:) Apparently, I am good at remembering to cover the boys, but not myself:( The boys really enjoyed making "moats", crashing each others sand castles,running in and out of the water and, of course, eating snacks and lunch on the beach!

The boys went to The track for the first time....but I'm sure not the last. Their highlight was seeing Grant, their main man from preschool! They were so excited to see him at the beach!! Daddy's favorite part was beating mommy in the go-karts....but I must say that I was a little apprehensive as I drove around that track preggo!! Pop provided ice cream and donuts on the same night and the next day we did some shopping at the outlets, where Pop again gave the boys their share of snacks!! I guess you have to make shopping appealing to males;)

Here are some pictures from the beach:

Burying brothers in the sand.....they thought this was soooo funny:)

Sweet boys....still for one second.....

We also enjoyed a weekend in Chattanooga watching Tyler play ball and visiting with Granny and Gramp. We celebrated my and Leah's birthdays with dinner out with the Birmingham family. Brad and I also celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary. It landed on a Sunday this year, so we dropped the boys at church for kids club and headed out to dinner at The Tavern @ the Summit. It was "yummo!" as Carson would say!

January/February.....the boys are 4!!!

2011-03-25T09:12:00.000-05:00

Ok....so after thinking about trying to post for January and again for February....I looked at the calendar and saw...it's MARCH!!! Geez....enough is enough...I'm combining posts so that I can catch up!

January consisted mostly of recovery from the holidays and preparation for the boys' birthday....oh yea, and growing arms, legs, lungs....things like that for baby Douglas:) We got some snow, or should I say ice, that kept the boys and I off work and schoool for 4 days! We didn't get much at our house, but other parts of our area got enough to keep school closed for awhile! After about 2 days, I was totally over it and the boys were saying, "I just want to put on real clothes!!"- such a change from the norm!

Fun in the Snow

We also did our bi-annual get together with the Coffey Clan (Brad's extended family from the Birmingham area). It was a fun time, with Dirty Santa for the adults and gift exchange with the kiddos. I did make Parker cry by pointing out that Aunt Sherrie "stole" a gift from us.....never to be returned...it was a short lived cry- but a fun memory for us all:) I hope Parker won't hold it against her forever!

Carson entertaining himself with Lele's cell phone

Parker playin' cars with Trey

I did take a quick weekend trip to St. Petersburg, FL to hang with my friend Jessica and her family for the weekend. Her dad, Paul, is battling brain cancer and they were holding a benefit for him that weekend. I flew down Saturday morning and came back Monday morning. The trip was short and sweet, but well worth it. The benefit for Paul was a huge success and I was glad to see Jessica and spend some time with her....no matter how short it was:) Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures that weekend- maybe Jessica was better than I was- I'll see if I can get some pics from her!

February brought the boys' birthday- they are 4! They really are growing up and becoming BIG boys right before our eyes. I mean don't get me wrong, I can believe they are 4! Yes, time flew sometimes, but othertimes it didn't go fast enough;) We enjoyed school/work the day of their actual birthday- they took a cookie cake to school to share with their friends- and got to wear the birthday hats all day too! School actually let out early that day due to freezing rain/icy roads- another bonus for all of us in education! We still went to dinner at Sumo (to see the big FIRE!!) with Pop, Bebe, Lele, Guncle and Kerrigan. The boys always love eating there....and the fact Pop bought them a WHOLE cake EACH Pop was an added bonus!

We did their party the following Saturday at Parties on the Move, an indoor bouncing wonderland. My parents and Jen and the kids were all in town and the boys got a very special last minute visitor- GGMA!! The boys were so excited to have her with us for the weekend (and so was I)! We had so many great friends come to the party- and the boys got so much loot that we are still hiding some of it from them! They had lots of fun bouncing with their friends, eating pizza, ice cream and some really yummy Lightning McQueen and Sally cakes! (Once again provided by my friend Monica- thanks girl!) They stayed busy the whole time- I think I only saw them for a few minutes while they ate!

Parker and Stella- wonder what they are looking at?

Our BFFs from school- Grant and Stella

Carson jumping

Time for Presents!!

Double the Presents, Double the fun!!

Pizza Time!

Time for singing and cake!

Carson's Sally Cake!

Parker's Lightning Cake

One little guy with his Grandmas- posing separately:)

Boy 2 with his Grandmas

This is what we got when they posed together!

We headed up to Chattanooga later in the month to try and celebrate Granny Brenda's birthday and watch Tyler play some ball. Granny was sick and having lots of trouble with her gallbladder that weekend, so we didn't get to celebrate that weekend- but we did get to watch Tyler play ball.

It's been another busy few months for the Douglas family....and a fun filled March is ahead- actually, it's almost over as I am finishing this post that I started early in the month!! Geez....am I ever going to get ahead???

December- Christmas and other fun stuff!!

2011-02-13T22:21:00.003-06:00

We had a fun-filled Christmas season that was busy, busy, busy!

The boys participated in their first church Christmas sing. They practiced for weeks on end and listened to the CD every single day on the way to school....yes, mommy knew all the songs too! They got to dress up like little German boys....and they were very excited--until it was actually time to get up on stage and sing in front of all those people! Right before they were going on stage to sing, I took the boys to the bathroom- just to be safe:) Carson was standing behind the door in the bathroom and a couple girls ran through the door, slamming the door into Carson's head! At first, he was crying and totally hysterical, but I got him calmed down enough to at least go on stage. We are still convinced he had a concussion! Needless to say, he did not perform well...he just kind of stood there with a blank stare....cried, sat down, and of course, put the lip out! Here are some pics from the night!

Church Christmas Program

We need a break! (They weren't supposed to be sitting!)

Poor Guy:(

The next performance of the year was at their school. Last year, we had a bit of stage fright, crying and refusing to sing....so the fact that they stayed in their chairs and participated even the little bit they did was a huge success!!

Mitchell's Place Christmas Program

We finished up the Christmas season with lots of fun times with friends and family. We started Christmas Eve with dinner at the Bright Star with Brad's family and then attended the Christmas Eve service at church. Some good friends, Eddie, Terra, Carley, Collin and JoNell were able to meet us there. Everyone came back to our house afterwards for some desserts and visiting. After putting out milk and cookies the boys headed to bed....and Brad and I weren't far behind....just waiting on Santa;)

Christmas brought a morning visit from Bebe and Pop. We went to their house later for lunch and presents with Aaron, Leah and Kerrigan. We headed home when Granny and Gramp made their way down from Memphis. They stayed a few hours, followed by a visit from Doug and Lori and then we ended the day with a visit from Grandma Sue!!! Parker couldn't quite stay awake for her arrival...nearly 9pm I think. The poor guy was asleep in the chair! Carson kept right on tickin' though!

Here are some pictures from our busy day!!

Puzzles with Terra and JoJo

Reading with BeBe

Playing Ball with Guncle

Leaving Milk and Cookies for Santa....Carson was soooo happy about this picture!

Christmas Morning!!

Handy Manny's Big Construction Set

Princess Presto ACTION FIGURE!! I promise, it's an action figure...

Just Playin'

Ring Pops!!

Carson in the Kitchen

Our Power Wheels Police Car!

Blow Drying Kerrigan's Hair, with her present from us!

Pop needs some help opening his gifts

Pillow Pets!!

Singin' with Doug

And here was our present to everyone for Christmas--

We're BOTH going to be.....BIG BROTHERS!!

Surprise to most....some of the reactions we got....
What?? You're going on Big Brother?
Yes, Carson is much taller than Parker....
They are each other's big brother...
Such a cute picture....wait....are you????
Are you s**ttin' me?
Are you kidding?? When???

Baby Douglas #3 will be joining us July 30th!

The Rest of November:)

2011-01-25T20:53:00.018-06:00

Well, I guess we've been busy....or is it exhausted? Or Exhausted from being busy?!?! We've been movin' and shakin' just like usual! I'm going to combine the highlights of November on this post and then create one for December and I guess one for January after that.....hmmmm, let's check my memory!

November brought a few trips....let's start with a trip to visit our sweet friends The Thompson's down in Mobile, AL. We just went down for the weekend to catch up before they welcomed their newest addition Zachary! The boys loved playing with Henry and, of course, we loved just having an opportunity to hang with some of our dearest friends. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Hold on Tight!!

Henry's Swing is awesome!

The Trampoline with our buddy Henry

Our next trip came as a surprise...as soon as we got home from Mobile, I headed to Knoxville for Dad's heart surgery. He had a defibrillator/pacemaker combo unit put in. It was a very quick process, like found out Friday to come in Monday....and it was a quick trip too....up Sunday night and back to Birmingham on Monday night. Dad did well with surgery and he has recovered nicely. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.....months ago!!

A few weeks later we celebrated Thanksgiving in Knoxville with my Dad's side of the family. We were hoping that Granny would be able to come down and join us, but unfortunately she was not feeling well and could not make the trip down. We enjoyed the day with Dad, Brenda, Jordan, Becca, Rachel, Jen and her family, ate way too much, played some games, you know, typical Thanksgiving day! We spent the rest of the weekend shopping, playing, watching football and experienced our first festival of trees Knoxville style! The boys had a great time playing, golfing, carousel riding...who knew the festival of trees had so much to offer two 3 year olds!! Here are some pictures from that trip...

Tree Festival Crafts

Do we have a future in golf?

Future Graeme McDowell!

Decorating with Cookies with Gramp

Working to Play

Leaf Pile!!!!

The men at work!

The Fam

Hangin' with the Cousins!

Parker LOVES him some Tyler

Brad did start his new job this month and it's been absolutely wonderful so far! He's home for dinner, like a normal dinner time, and has only been out of town one night this month! We're so grateful for this opportunity and certainly feel blessed to be a full family of four again!! November was filled with trips and fun.....December brought Christmas and some other big events! More to come just around the corner.....I think:)

Halloween and other Fall Fun

2010-11-11T07:39:00.000-06:00

Daddy survived his mission trip to Costa Rice and we all survived Halloween so I'd say life is pretty good!

Halloween weekend brought a halloween parade and Fall Festival at school, Brad's return from Costa Rica, Trunk or Treat at the church and trick-or-treating around our neighborhood! Wow 3 days of Halloween is a lot to ask of parents! The boys were absolutely the cutest mouse and cheese I've ever seen. I found it funny that people would say, "Parker is cheese?" Then I would realize that Carson was hiding. I guess cheese alone is NOT a good costume...I always got a much better response when the mouse was nearby. And for those wondering, the boys said that I could dress as the mouse trap and daddy could be the garbage can where you put the trap. You'd think we've had a mouse problem or something! I elected to dress as Carson and Parker's mommy.....with the extra 20 lbs I can't seem to lose as my costume! Brad dressed as a missionary that hadn't shaved in 8 days.....WOW....that was a sight to see!

Outside of Fall Festival

Trying to get a good pic of them together!!

Painting Pumpkins!!

More Painting Pumpkins

Yes, Parker let them paint his face!!

Brad's week of not shaving.....

Trick-or-Treating....where's Guncle?!?!

Sweet cousins:)

A sweet little mouse and cheese

Last week Brad started a new job. He seems to like it...just trying to learn all the new stuff. He is beating me home from work some days and has only been out of town overnight one night! Go us! It's been fabulous....and seems to be much more give and take- so far so good! I think I'll start creating honey-do lists to give him extra stuff to fill his time! We don't want him to get too comfortable with too much down time!!

We've been staying busy. Carson got new "inserts" for his shoes (another new pair....3rd in about 6 months!!) We are so glad that he won't be wearing his "jumping boots" for awhile. We're trying these glorified Dr. Scholl's inserts for a few months to see if they will keep his heels down like the AFO's did. Keep your fingers crossed!! We are having the outside of our house painted, so that's made for a messy week around the house. At least it's outside and not in!!

The boys are busy looking through catalogs picking out things they want for their "birthday". I think they have picked out so much stuff that they know they reached the Christmas limit and have moved on! Today in the car Parker was flipping through a magazine and all of a sudden Carson started saying, "Ooo, ooo, ooo!! I TOTALLY want that for my birthday!" Parker replied, "Well, that's TOTALLY for girls, so you can't get it. Sorry bubba!!" It was absolutely hilarious! I love that they use the word TOTALLY- appropriately and with so much inflection- it makes me so proud;)

Here is a sample of their story telling, which is one of our favorite activities right now! They make me smile every single day.

More October Fun

2010-10-26T21:10:00.000-05:00

Last week, the boys got to stay the night at Bebe and Pop's house. Mommy had an inservice at work and Mitchell's Place was closed, so they agreed to keep the wild ones overnight and Friday while we were at work. The boys had a good time....and while Bebe and Pop didn't get much sleep, they survived!!

We went to Boo at the Zoo and Pop came along for the fun. The boys loved the train ride, the backwards/black-lighted carousel and ended the night with a hayride through the "spooky" forrest. They played the carnival games and got their pictures taken in all the little "put your head in the hole" pumpkins, scarecrows, etc. They wondered the whole night why they didn't have their costumes on....but I told them a pumpkin shirt was enough, not that their costumes weren't ready yet;)

Last week was Brad's last week at CSBeatty. He will be starting a new job when he gets back from Costa Rica. He had this past Thursday and Friday off....and had some good quality time with the boys.....including taking them and picking them up from school, taking them to the doctor for flu shots and then staying home with them Friday after Parker ran a fever all night:( Darn flu shots!! He was a bit puny, but I think they had a pretty fun day anyway.

Friday night we had a send off "Fall Festival" with the Harbarger's. We started with carving pumpkins....which the kids loved and the adults loathed....followed by grilled hotdogs, a hayride and the finishing touch of some firepit s'mores:) The kids had a great time and so did we. We are blessed to have such wonderful friends:) And by the way, the boys look like this as they sit in front of their pumpkins each night admiring "their" work:)

Saturday morning Brad left for Costa Rica for his mission trip. He'll spend the next week traveling with about 13 other guys in some untraveled parts of Costa Rica. They will be giving shoes to the children there....cute little Chuck Taylors:) It should be a fabulous experience and they'll be saving souls along the way- what could be better? Well, the driving for 9 hours in a jeep, followed by canoeing, sleeping in a tent, eating rice and beans and not showering the whole week.....that won't be better, I know that!!

We went to the Moore's house for a Halloween party and had a great time catching up with some good friends. The boys decorated cookies, played on the blow-up slide, ate LOTS of yummy treats, played with their friend Madeline, and then found a kitchen set in the basement that I could barely pull them away from! I must say, the boys were the cutest mouse and cheese that I've ever seen:) Here is a sneak peak of their Halloween costumes....

Some fun Fall pictures

We've been helping our friend Jonell recover from knee surgery this weekend. My anxiety about the boys totally tackling her and her laying on the floor not being able to get up was unwarranted....they did a great job of being careful around her "boo-boo":) We're hoping for a speedy recovery!

On another health note, my best roomie Jessica got some serious health news about her dad this week. Pauly has been diagnosed with a grade 3 brain tumor. He'll be getting some treatment options this week, so please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. These are great people who mean a whole lot to me- and I'm hating that I'm not closer to them- but thinking about all of them each and everyday. Kick this thing in the butt Pauly- you stubborn ol' thing!!

The funny things they say and other fun stuff

2010-10-12T22:20:00.006-05:00

The music is playing....C- "Dance Aunt Sherry!" Aunt Sherry begins to dance a little. C-"You gotta move your hips too! (While modeling appropriate hip movements!)

I bought some new cherry smelling shampoo. I asked Carson to smell Parker's hair to see what he thought it smelled like....he got really close, sniffed it and said, "I think it smells like chocolate monkeys mama!" hmmmmm....not quite what I was thinking, but ok...

We had a visit from our friends Mick and AJ, along with Mick's mom Carolyn, who was visiting from Oregon. We missed the mama, Emily, who was away taking good care of her mom, who has been sick and continues to be in our prayers.

We are now loving to play army men- and shoot "stuff", since we don't shoot people:) Thanks Pop for buying the boys their first tank, it's provided some interesting conversations between the boys! P to C-- "Get your men out of here or I'll run them over with this big bad tank!" C to P- "It can't get me....cuz I'm bigger than that big bad tank!"

We attended our first homecoming parade. This was exciting for me...one of the first things we've done that mirrored something I did growing up. I love raising my kids in a small town:) Here is a glimpse of what my friends and I got to witness

Some Halloween Decorating Stories:

After dropping a ceramic pumpkin on the sidewalk while decorating for Halloween- P- "Mommy, I think maybe that was fragile. Maybe I shouldn't hold the things that are fragile."

I hung a witch on the door for Halloween one night while the boys were in the bath tub. Parker, as always, finds a reason to get out of bed. He comes into our room and says, "Mommy, I think I saw a witch." I told him that Brad was outside taking out the trash and that everything was fine and he should go back to bed. He does, but comes back and tells me again--"Mommy, I'm pretty sure it's a witch....not daddy." I sent him back to bed again....he got about 3 steps up and turned around to find me standing at the bottom of the stairs. He points to the door and says, "I see a shadow of a witch right there on the door. I don't think it's daddy. It's definitely a witch!" Smart little kid....at least it wasn't me that was taking out the trash....Brad might have said something he would regret later;)

The boys are really into singing and dancing right now. They love to listen to Brad's "I-pot" in the car and can sing oldies like "Fire" and new ones like "Magic" and "Shooting Stars" and, of course, the songs that we sing at vacation bible school are a huge favorite. They love to pretend play the guitar and keyboard, and Carson loves to sing in his microphone....I'll never tell him that it's really just his fist:) Here is a video of Carson and Parker playing the guitar at Cracker Barrel.....agents, please don't start calling...they'll be stars soon enough!!

September is Over!

2010-10-02T15:20:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess things don't ever slow down....but we wouldn't really know what to do if it did, so we're just rollin' with it, ya know? Since my last post we've had several fun events....and lots of regular stuff too:)

We attended the chruch picnic at Tannehill State Park. It was good times with friends, good food grilled by a team of buddies (Brad did more talking than grilling though), and a near brawl between two grown men (too bad I missed it while I was at the playground). The boys had a blast playing on this huge playground set and hanging out with the big kids- you know, 5-7 year olds:) All was well and good until Carson fell down a climbing monkey bar type thing, that he had successfully climbed about 15 times....and continued to cry the rest of the night. We were both pretty worried, but the good news was that when my friend Kathy asked if a cookie might make it feel better, he cried and said, "Yes, I think maybe a cookie would make it feel better." I got him one and broke it in half to give Parker some. Carson said he wanted the whole thing. I told him he was a twin and should be used to sharing. He said, "But mama, Parker didn't fall." Good point you smart little thing!

Carson hangin' with the girls...

Parker hangin' with the older women- is this the beginning of trying to one up?

We've celebrated Brad's birthday with a fantastic dinner at IHOP....yes, IHOP....Brad is a strange guy. The boys love it, so they were happy, but the adults....well, let's just say we won't be counting the days til Brad's next birthday! Every year on Brad's birthday weekend, the UAB softball program holds the annual alumni game and Blazer bash- so we spent the weekend with old friends. The boys even played in the game this year-- left field with mommy. I am happy to report that I caught a fly ball with the help of my little guys! They thought it was the greatest thing to be out there chasing balls (mostly foul ones:))

We also headed north to Knoxville to visit with Gramp and Granny and their crew--and catch a little UAB/Tennessee football while we were there too. The game was well, frustrating with those 5 missed field goals, but at least they kept it close....story of our lives at UAB:( Parker and Carson stayed with Granny and Gramp while we went to the game. They ate cookies, played at the park, ate brownies, played at the house...you get the picture:) While we were up there, we also took a trip to the Knoxville Zoo with Aunt Rachel. The boys had a blast....and it was better than ours in Birmingham- so we'll be back! We also celebrated Dad and Jordan's birthdays- which are actually today, so Happy Birthday Gramp and Uncle Jordan!

Best $10 I ever spent:)

Petting Zoo

Brush, brush, brush

Milking the cow

The boys and me

There were only a few glitches like when Parker broke a glass dish, complete with blood (just a small cut on his arm)- apparently he wasn't as aware of his surroundings when he was performing his acrobatics. Or when he also received a cut on his eyelid and his forehead when I tried to catch him as he tried to jump from the couch to the coffee table- as opposed to the coffee table to the couch like he tries at home. Carson also had a rough few nights of coughing...and sore throat...one night was up all night- even sleeping with Gramp in the recliner for awhile. We all survived and they say they'll even consider letting us come back some day:)

This week we also had a visit from Grandma Sue and Aunt Sherry. It was kind of a whirlwind trip, but we enjoyed the visit- and the boys enjoyed staying home from school, eating syrup in their own home, lunch at Chick-fil-a complete with ice cream, and dinner out both nights (I enjoyed this too!) They were required to play with playdoh, cars, trains, and stuffed animals, do puzzles, read books, and play pretend instruments while in the car! Whewwwww!! I bet they were ready to make the next stop on their trip!

Brad's been in and out working in Georgia, and will be going on his mission trip at the end of the month. Work and pitching lessons are keeping me busy when I'm not chasing these boys-We're gearing up for another busy month- bring on October!

September is Here!

2010-09-09T22:31:00.001-05:00

This past weekend we loaded up and headed to Chattanooga for Tyler's 16th birthday celebration. He doesn't actually turn 16 until September 11th, but he's headed to Atlanta for the Cardinals game that day, so we had to celebrate early! We went up early and took the boys to the Aquarium. They had a blast. We may have enjoyed it more if we had found the sharks first. Both boys kept saying, "Where do they keep the sharks?" They would look in the tank and then say, "Not in that one. When can we see the sharks?" Oh well, maybe they will enjoy the rest of it on our next trip!

The Ray Tank (Is Daddy going to be nice to a ray?)

Checkin out the snakes

I got a book!

They did enjoy the gift shop and since it was our first trip we let them pick a prize. We came out with 1 snowglobe, which lasted about 2 hours before it was dropped and broken, followed by a complete meltdown with real tears. He was devastated:( and 1 shark "chomper", which is still chomping people daily:)

Our Visit to the Gift Shop- Carson- Snowglobe, Parker- Shark Chomper

We were pleasantly surprised to find that my Granny had set up a surprise for all of us by riding down with my mom for the weekend. We were all floored, so they pulled it off beautifully...I got a little suspicious that something was going on at one point, but didn't even think about that! We enjoyed the weekend with family, swimming, playing cards, eating and just hanging out. Makes me wish we all lived a bit closer, but I guess that's what makes these weekends so special!

Swimming with Abigail

Swimming with Gramp

Weekend Partners in Crime

Labor Day we had a "block party" with the neighbors. Good times, good BBQ (thanks Guy), and a last visit of the summer from the one and only ice cream man. The boys (along with their triplet) all chose bubble gum popsicles. They were in heaven. We talked and ate while the kids ate and played....I guess some of us played a little bit too. I promise you next time I'll have on tennis shoes so I can win at tug of war. I mean, really, my neighbor had an unfair advantage:)

Look what I picked? Wait, we all got bubblegum!

The last ice cream hoorah of the summer.

Brad has spent a few days in Georgia this week....but he's been home much more often, so we aren't going to complain about a few nights;)

Funny happenings:

The boys and I are cleaning up the playroom. As we finish putting almost everything back in it's appropriate place Parker says, "Well mama, I think this has been a huge excess." I said, "You mean success?" Parker, "Yes, mama a huge excess."

Pop got the boys some new chipmunks- stuffed ones, you know, Alvin, Simon and Theodore. He also got Brittany, one of the chipettes...any guesses as to who is sleeping with his new girlfriend this week??

A few thoughts:
I talked with my friend today and in a 10 minute conversation- which is pretty long for us (she has 2 toddlers too)- I heard her say, "Quit licking me." "Get your shoe out of your mouth", "Let's go- we need to get out of here" and "Wipe your own bottom, now, just do it." It was a sweet reminder that we are all in this together! Go us! Strength in numbers, we will survive the toddler years!

The boys are continually cracking us up and most definitely keeping us on our toes. Although, they are getting little attitudes, like when I tell them to do something and I hear "Ugggghhhhhhhh" Or when I try to remind them to say "yes ma'am" and someone says "No, ma'am." (FYI...this is grounds for June/Brittany/George/Lightning McQueen removal immediately, along with any other mini torture I think of at the time. Needless to say, I have a plethora of toys on top of my refrigerator right now.)

Regardless, we are totally blessed and are trying to "cherish every moment"- even the ones when we consider changing our names and saying, "Why do these children keep following us around and calling us mommy and daddy?" I soooo love being their mommy. As Carson was headed outside with Brad the other day, in just a t-shirt and underwear, he ran back in, grabbed his rainbow sunglasses, put them on and said, "Mama, do I have these on right?" I looked at Brad and said, "I feel sorry for the people that don't get to see all of this." They make me smile EVERY SINGLE DAY:)

Slowin' Down..

2010-08-31T22:31:00.001-05:00

Let me clarify that slowin' down for us is not really that slow:)

We've been getting back in the routine....staying home at night, getting to bed eariler (reason for lack of blog posts....they only happen late at night.), really just getting used to being up moving early every morning.

Since my last post, we celebrated Pop's birthday with dinner at "the place that makes the big fire" or as the adults call it, Sumo, followed by ice cream at Treat Yourself....come on Yogurt Mountain-Hoover...we're eagerly awaiting your opening! Happy Birthday Pop! Hope you are enjoying the BIG skeleton...and robot claws! (The boys picked out presents this year- so if your day is coming be warned!)

We're playing outside quite a bit now...since it's finally under 90 degrees! I think we'd had like 50 days straight of 90 degrees or more- so we've been avoiding anything outside! The boys are finally getting into baseball (thank you Lord- Brad was about to have a breakdown). We get out the bats and gloves and Daddy plays all time pitcher. One night we even had the neighbors' kids over and played a "game" in our driveway, complete with a sidewalk chalk drawn field. Good times for sure!

Carson up to bat

Parker "playing" centerfield

Wyatt (our triplet) in the bleachers

We've had a couple weeks of catching up with friends...including The Thompson's, Zach, Ellen and little Henry, who just moved back to Alabama after a 2 year stint in Orlando. We've missed them and are so glad to have them closer!

The boys are really enjoying having our friend Wyatt over to play. This past weekend he stayed for lunch and naptime too! It's cute to see them all together....and makes me think that maybe we could have handled triplets......naaaaaaaaahhh!!!

Here are some cute pictures of the boys all carrying a pizza across the street to Wyatt's house....they were saying, "Pizza delivery!, Pizza delivery!" Wyatt then got his piece of pizza and brought it back to our house to eat with the boys-they have a great time together and are so blessed to be building friendships already!

The boys are enjoying school and say they are having fun and still like being butterflies. It has been such a smooth transition- which is such a sign of how they are growing up! We are finally getting over the exhaustion of back to school days so hopefully I'll get better about blogging again!

Carson's story of the week:
He continues to "mock" me when I try to discipline him. Ever since the "butterball" incident (see previous blog post if you missed out on that story) he will repeat EVERYTHING I say, right after I say it. Me- "Carson, stop it." C- "Stop it!" Me- "Dont' back talk me" C- "Don't back talk me!".....oh, buddy, will he make it to 4??

Parker's story of the week:
Wyatt, our little neighbor from across the street comes over to visit. He has on only a pair of Lightning McQueen underwear. Parker immediately pulls his pants down, outside on the sidewalk, and shows his underwear to Wyatt. He turned like he was going to "moon" the neighbor's house, pulled his pants down and said, "Look, I got Mater!" One of my proudest moments yet....it keeps getting better:)

School, Work....back to Reality

2010-08-15T22:00:00.001-05:00

Wheeewwww....

Just days after a clear bill of health from Dr. Brasfield (the pulmonologist), we got back to our "normal", coughing, waking up during the night, snoring and breathing treatments:( Poor guys...I guess the trip to the doctor's office gave us some good ol' germs that we'd been missing! They just started feeling better in the last few days....at least it was a short stint this time.

Last weekend of summer brought us a fun little trip to Alabama Adventure with the boys. We went last summer with the Aranda clan, and that's the last time we went, so the boys were immediately looking for Jake and Ashlyn. Once they realized it was just us, they settled in and actually had a great time! They really enjoyed it this time...slides, lazy river, kiddie area and the rides at the main park, slushies, funnel cake..WOW. They stayed all day...10:30- til 5! Carson took a short nap under the umbrella, but Parker just kept going strong. We are considering season passes for next year--I never thought I'd be saying that!

Fun on the slides

Time for a snack

Swimming

Was that fun, or not?

Someone was sleepy

Monday the boys officially became "Butterflies". I just kept thinking about the first week of school last year....and the crying and holding on to my leg, being pried away from me each morning...so we began talking about our new teachers and new classroom a week or so prior. You know me and my belief in social stories! They both said they didn't want to be Butterflies, so I had a good bit of anxiety about them changing classes. Well, we walked in with them saying they didn't want to go to the new class. They saw one of their friends, Matthew, in the hallway and they all 3 walked in without a hitch! They looked at me and said, "Bye Mama!" Matthew's mom and I got out of there as quickly as we could...we didn't want them to change their minds!

First Day of Butterflies (3K)- WOW...they look happy:)

They have had a great week and come home with stickers all over their shirts (and legs, right Parker?) everyday! When they make all green choices during the classroom activities, they earn a token to put in the treasure chest, which then spits out stickers! They come home saying they like school and their new teachers, so I am relieved!

I'm back to work and Brad's in town, so we've been adjusting to all of that this week too. It's chaos for sure, but it's semi-organized and we're glad to have the opportunity to live it TOGETHER:)

We had a fun time at a Birthday Party for their little friend Emma yesterday. It was at Parties on the Move...an indoor place with blow-up moonwalks, slides, etc. They loved it and had the best time! As they were eating pizza and then cake, they looked back to me and said, "Mommy this is so much fun!" "Yea, mama, we like it here!" If only little kid birthdays were everyday, right?!?

A funny story for each boy from the week:

Carson was playing with the train track and broke it apart. I told him to stop and he said, "No! I won't stop!" It was loud and snappy toward his mama. I snapped my fingers and said in my loud snappy voice, "Hey! You don't talk to your mama like that!" He immediately made a mad face and said, "Hey! You don't talk to your butterball like that!" I'd been calling the boys Butterball and TatorTot quite a bit lately....and asking, "Are you my little TatorTot? "Are you my Butterball?" Needless to say, I cracked up laughing at him....and now he's saying it everytime I tell him not to talk mean to me!

Parker was hiding under the rug and some grass gets on the floor. The next thing I know, he's in the laundry room getting the swivel sweeper. He says, "Mama, I spilled some grass on the floor, but I'm gonna clean it up with this broom, ok?" Umm, yea...anytime you want to clean up a mess, please, be my guest!

Some more fun pictures from summer

Got Milk?

Carson is a Rockstar

Swimming at Letson Farms

Back to School

2010-08-05T23:21:00.001-05:00

Last Friday afternoon was graduation at Mitchell's Place. The boys' teacher had asked that they come back for the entertainment portion of the graduation. Their class came in and sang, "Hip, Hop Alphabet". They looked super cute...and you could tell that they hadn't been in school all month...but at least they didn't cry the whole time like they did at the Christmas program!

This is pretty much what they looked like the whole time:( Please notice the dollar sign "bling" they wore. So cute.

After graduation, the 3 of us (Daddy in GA) headed to the mall to make a return. We ended up buying some clothes, riding the carosel, eating dinner at the food court, and having some dessert at the pretzel store. It was quite a night, but they were great. When we arrived home, what do we hear? Mama, is that the....ICE CREAM TRUCK?!?!?!? Can we get some?? Huh, Huh?? Summer is almost over, right?? Why not? And so we experienced our first trip to ice cream truck. They both got a sour bomb pop...they chose by color--they were green, orange and purple....our favorite colors.

If I don't eat it fast it might melt in this 100 degree weather!

Savoring every last drop!

The weekend was totally uneventful and low-key....just the way we like it. Not that we show that very often, but we do like a little down time now and then!

Brad was out of town all week and didn't return home until late Friday night. He got up with the boys Saturday morning, after a bit of tapping shoulders and 2 boys crawling all over him:) When I got up I escaped for much of the day....started with a mani/pedi and finished with some back to school shopping! I was so very proud of myself for saving $360 that day! Don't ask how much I had to spend to save $360....you'll ruin the fun (like Brad ALWAYS does....boooo!) I got the boys some clothes and pjs, me some shoes, Brad, well.....oops, I didn't get him anything.

That night we met up with BeBe/Pop, LeLe/Guncle/KJ, and Aaron's parents to eat at Sumo, one of those japanese restaurants that, quote from the boys, "Make a big fire!" It was per request of the boys....they LOVE that place. The chef was great with them...both boys tried to catch food thrown from his spatula, and after lots of food thrown across the table- I'm happy to report that Leah and I were the only winning battery of the night...me throwing and Leah catching....go us! Parker kept asking for more fire....should we be worried?

Sunday we hung out with the guys from the Foundry and then headed to BeBe and Pop's house to eat and swim, along with Aaron's parents who were in town from Ohio. Parker and Carson were both "jumping in", well, Parker jumps, Carson kinda falls:) They kept saying, "Hey everybody, watch this!" and "Mrs. Paula, watch this!" They are getting more comfortable in the pool all the time...such a wonderful change from last year! It was a bittersweet Sunday....my last of the summer:(

Monday was our last day of summer celebration...the boys got to run the show. They played, inside and out, we went to Publix for a cookie (and some groceries), ate lunch at "chips and salsa"- I offered McDonalds and Chick-fil-A....they wanted chips and salsa....home for a nap...then swimming at BeBe and Pop's house. They were great all day:)

We had a visit to the pulmonologist this week, who was surprised and proud to get a "no major breathing events" report for the last few months! They are only on medicine once a day and haven't needed ANY breathing treatments for nearly 2 months..they have FINALLY been well for a good stretch! Knock, knock.....
She decided to increase their daily steroid medication for the fall just to get their little lungs a boost for back to school germs, snot, slobber, you know.....we may look at weaning them off some of the medication if they do well!

Today was my first day back to work and the boys enjoyed a fun day with Ms. Angie here at home. She'll be staying with them again tomorrow, as they don't start school until Monday. We're so lucky to have Angie-the boys absolutely adore her and look forward to her coming. I couldn't get out the door fast enough for them! We'll have a big transition come Monday when the boys move-up and become "Butterflies" at school. We've talked about it quite a bit and I keep telling them, it's the same friends, just new teachers....please start praying for a smooth transition, I know we are!!

Some end of summer pictures of my sweet boys....

Sorry, can't help it....at ANY moment I look up and see this.....

And then turn and see this.....

Ok....now those sweet ones I was talking about....

Pretty Quiet Week...Happy Birthday Mom:)

2010-07-27T22:28:00.010-05:00

Let's see....we've actually had a pretty quiet week.

We headed down to Calera to see my friend Tracey who was recovering from surgery. She was up for some pool lounging, so we met her at the pool. I unload the boys out of the car, Parker first, and as I get Carson I out, I see Parker pants down, peeing in the parking lot. These little redneck boys just don't know when to ask for a bathroom anymore....wonder what they will do once it starts getting cold again?!?! We had a good time swimming with Tracey, her sister Kim and nephew Ian. The boys were asleep before we got out of the subdivision:)

We enjoyed a trip to the McWane Center with my friend Cj and her little girl Emma. We saw the IMAX movie Animalopolis. It started out good...and the boys were interested...but after about 30 minutes they were done. The kids played for quite awhile and we finished with a trip to the Mellow Mushroom...yummy! I can always count on Cj to go to the Mushroom with me! After eating, Cj showed off her new pimped out minivan....and actually made me want one! I can just see how much easier my life would have been (with 1 carseat on each arm) with automatic opening doors!! The boys LOVED it! Now, if I can only convince Brad.....

Our weekend was filled with catching up with friends and a little bit of shopping. We were actually looking for "big boy" beds for the boys. We are leaning toward bunk beds. Let the fighting over who gets the "top" bunk begin. We really just went to see if they could even get up and down the ladder. I took Parker to be a bottom bunk guy...he likes "hiding" and putting the covers over his head before he goes to sleep and I thought he'd like the darkness that the top provides, but instead his daring side won out and he wants the top. Any bets on how long until he jumps off? Carson loved that he could get up and down the stairs "all by himself"...he kept saying "Don't help me, I can do it!" We didn't purchase yet...they said we could tell Santa that they wanted that bed. (can you tell I'm using that to get out of Target these days??) We're not sure what will happen, but they agreed that they would take turns on who got the top. We'll see how that goes. I see Boardmaker calendars and countdowns in my future.

Parker upped his game this week- trying to outsmart his mama. I told the boys to finish their breakfast while I finished getting ready. They both had 1 piece of waffle and a few blueberries left. Pretty soon, Carson comes into my room and tells me he is finished. I believe him and go on getting ready. A few minutes later, Parker comes in saying he is finished.

Me- "Did you eat everything?
P- "Yes"
Me- "So your plate is empty?"
P- Shakes his head yes.
Me- Are you telling the truth? Your plate will be empty if I look at it?"
P- "Yes, mama, wanna see?"

When I get out to the kitchen, all of his blueberries are in his cup. Yep, plate was empty, but he didn't eat EVERYTHING!! That little smarty pants thought he'd pulled it off....for that I made sure he ate every last one of those blueberries though!

A conversation I heard in the car this week:

P- "Mama, I see a lake."
C- "What's awake?"
P- "I see a lake."
C- "What's awake, Parker? Is it a bear?"
C- "Is there a bear Mama? Insert screaming here "The bear is awake, oh no!! It's gonna eat us up and we'll be gone for ever and ever!!!"
P- "It's a lake Carson, and I don't think it can eat us."

Brad headed back to Georgia this week. We've had him home for a few weeks (minus the 2 nights last week), so I guess I can't complain too much. We've just been hangin' at the house...which has been a nice change. We met LeLe, Guncle and Kerrigan last night at Habaneros for dinner....and then to the cookie store for dessert:) We just can't get out of Habaneros without visiting that place!

Happy Birthday to my Mom who will....dare I say it....turn 60 tomorrow! We love you and hope you have a fantastic day!

Vacation Week and Recovery:)

2010-07-23T00:32:00.001-05:00

We returned home from Illinois via the Atlanta Airport with Granny as our houseguest! She was heading up to spend some time with Jen and Dad, but we were excited to have her for a night:) She had not seen our new house and, of course, the boys wanted to show her all their toys! She spent the night with us and we met with Jen, Troy and the kids in Gadsen the next day for dinner to make the drop-off. Here are a few pictures of GGma with her great-grandchildren...

GGma...Look at our stuff!!

Playin' Checkers with GGma at Cracker Barrel...

GGma with the Greats...

Granny with the girls...

Sunday night after dinner we began our first Vacation Bible School. The boys weren't too sure the first night, but as the week went on they enjoyed it more and more. The boys really liked singing songs and dancing and learned to play duck-duck-goose...thanks Monica! The last 2 nights we took our neighbor Wyatt with us for the ride...it was kinda like having triplets!

Wednesday we had the pleasure of babysitting little Kerrigan while Leah went to the doctor. She slept most of the time, but when she woke up, the boys were sure to entertain her. They gave her lots of hugs and kisses (with their mom saying gentle, careful, easy...about 100 times each) and taught her about all the farm animals. They held up each one, about a centimeter from her nose, and named the animal and told her what sound it made. LeLe and Guncle...that tutoring session was free, but I'm going to start charging!

Thursday morning we boarded a plane in route to Anna Maria Island, Florida for our long awaited trip with the Aranda family. WoooHooo! The boys did great on the flight. Brad sat in one row with Parker and Carson and I sat behind them. We did some passing back and forth of many items and snacks, but got more compliments as we got off the plane! Go us again! When we arrived in Tampa, we weren't able to get our bags due to a lightning delay- so Brad waited near baggage claim while the boys and I ventured out to get some food!

I guess I was feeling confident after being in an airport last weekend--but this time I didn't have GGma or Brad. We headed up the escalator...to find that we had to go up another one. We then found a Burger King:( Oh well, it's food, right? As we waited in line, Parker did his acrobatics on the poles in the line...and Carson kept asking if we could get ketchup, louder and louder and louder...like 1000 times at least. Ok, maybe 10, but it feels like 1000 when you are trying to get my other child to quit doing flips- oh yea, and EVERYONE is staring at you. Come on people- it's two 3 year olds- give me a break! Or maybe they were just staring because they are so cute......yea, that's it:)

As we load up with the food and drinks...we head back to baggage claim. The boys were unable to help me carry anything....So picture this...I balance their bottle of milk (which they totally could have carried) on top of the Diet Coke that Brad and I will share (I was thinking ahead) and have the bag of food in the other hand. I figure I should stay between them, so I have Carson step on the escalator first, then me, and I am SURE that Parker will step right on behind me....WRONG. He freezes and immediately starts screaming, "Mama....don't leave me!!!" I tell Carson to sit down, he does (THANK GOD!), I set the drinks on the next step and then run back up to get Parker. Good thing we are the only people on the escalator because those things are quicker then you think! We end up getting back to Brad, who now has our bags, unscathed. Geez....can these escalators please give me a break!!

Soon after we finish eating, Mike Aranda, our limo driver, picks us up and we head to the island! We spent the rest of the evening getting set up at our vacation house. Jess and I headed to the store...$68 on groceries (thanks to all the stuff she brought from home!) and $98 on adult beverages....we had our priorities straight. We took the kids swimming in the pool in the backyard...that thing was HOT....and then grilled some steaks and spent some time catching up.

Our vacation was fabulous:) The kids played well together...yes there were some reminders to share and be nice, but that's everyday anyway! We spent time on Mike's boat- and even found a little island to spend the day on. We played on the beach and at the house, ate, drank, played games, including golf (Thanks Hokansons!) and spades...remember Brad, hearts, clubs, diamonds, spades....all the 2's count;). It was a great time with friends...lots of relaxing and laughing. Can't wait 'til next year!

Chillaxin at the Vacation House

Kids Eating...they have syrup in Florida!!

Beach time!!

We've spent this week unpacking and getting back into the routine....Brad was home most of the week...just a couple of nights in Georgia. We had an appointment with the physical therapist about Carson's AFOs. He is better, but not off those toes, so she recommended a few more months in them before looking at something like casting...so we'll be annoyed for a little while longer.

Cute story (NOW, I can say that)...Monday afternoon the boys refused to take a nap (imagine that, after being on vacation). I had pitching lessons and needed to leave by 3:00 to get them over to Bebe and Pop's house. From 1:00 until about 2:30 they just kept talking and getting up. I couldn't get them to close their eyes....I tried everything I could think of, but nothing was working. Finally I put them in separate rooms....still nothing...they both ended up in trouble, sitting in the corner, in separate rooms-which is where they fell asleep at 2:40...really? Come on guys! I couldn't help but take these pictures...

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend:)

Gearing up for July...wait....it's July!

2010-07-14T01:12:00.000-05:00

So this will be a 2 part post....so get ready for some reading. I started to update just before the 4th of July weekend. Here is what I had written:

My high school friend Brett had brain surgery to remove a brain tumor this week. It went well, but they were not able to get all of the tumor. Further tests are being run and treatment options are being discussed. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.

We had our last 2 days of swimming lessons this week. The boys have definitely made progress over the last 3 weeks and while they aren't Michael Phelps yet, they do actually like the water now:) We'll probably do another session of lessons once school starts back....we have some traveling to do!

Both nights after swimming lessons we went out to eat with Pop....BeBe was out of town for work, so we figured the abandoned folks should stick together! I'm not sure if Pop will want to do it again though....

Wednesday night, Parker had a ROUGH night. He told Pop that he didn't like him anymore because he was mean. He refused to eat...pizza! When I got up to take Carson to the bathroom, Parker ran from the table in the restaurant to the bathroom door--screaming and crying like crazy! I heard the screams from the bathroom and then realized, "Holy $*#!...that's my kid!" I briefly thought about letting him scream, but then knew I had to own him and brought him in the bathroom where I could at least muffle the screams. After we finished eating, we ran into some friends, Lynn, Farah, Eric and their boys. Parker gave them the same treatment- and screamed, "Roll my window up RIGHT NOW!!!'' as I tried to get him to wave goodbye. Sorry guys...at least you know it wasn't personal!

To follow up on that dinner disaster... Parker fell asleep as we pulled in the neighborhood....got out of car and staggered to the patio furniture, where he slept for about 5 minutes as I unloaded the car.

Poor guy. I tried to just put him in bed and then put a pull-up on him as he slept, but it completely backfired. He woke up screaming...."Mama!! I want my love-love!! Now!! I want it!!" As I tried to get Carson dressed in the other room (hoping he would just go back to sleep), he walked down stairs screaming-came back upstairs where I was and told me that he was out of bed because he wanted me to hold him! What?!?!?!? Poor Carson just laid down in bed and covered up and said, "Mama, can we take a bath in the morning?"

This week we got to eat lunch with some old friends, the Pfitzers. Loved seeing them:) Kat was one of my softball pitchers from a few years ago...and now plays competitive volleyball...and she's a senior! Geez...I'm getting old!

We spent the weekend in Chattanooga watching Tyler play ball and to celebrate an early birthday with my mom. We spent Friday and Saturday at the ballpark. After the games finished up on Saturday, we headed to Jen's where the boys slept about 4 hours! Catching up I guess! When everyone woke up, we got ready and went out to eat dinner downtown and watch fireworks. The kids really enjoyed it. We also got to meet Tyler's girlfriend this weekend- hopefully our crazy crew didn't scare her off!

Coloring, not watching the ball games:)

We spent the 4th hanging out...eating and swimming at BeBe and Pop's house. Brad and Aaron got the pool volleyball set out (not sure who won?!) and we all ate some homemade ice cream. The fireworks display that night was quite impressive in our neighborhood. I had bought some sparklers for the boys...which Carson loved and kept wanting to do more and more and more! Parker...not so much. I guess they scared him:( We ended up on the sidewalk watching the neighbors shoot off their "party packs" and some big time-like major fireworks...so big that the debris was hitting us all the way on our sidewalk!

Sparklers!!

Ok....now that I'm caught up from what I was going to post from 2 weeks ago...here's what we've been up to this past week!

Monday the boys and I packed up and headed to Illinois with mom. Mom drove the whole way...while I climbed in the back to help potty (in water bottles:) ), get blankets, change movies, pick up dropped crayons, break up fights...you get the picture. 12 hours, 5 movies and 176 "Are we there yets?" later...we arrived at mom's around midnight. The boys stayed asleep as I transferred them inside (thank you LORD!) and actually stayed asleep all night!

We had a great, relaxing week (relative to what may be relaxing to you...3 year old twin boys only allow so much relaxation after all!) We got to hang out with mom and Granny/GGma. The boys enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool, blow bubbles, play tee ball (Parker may be a lefty!!) and baggo, riding tricycles and they could actually reach the pedals! The boys also found they could open the refrigerator in the garage and get a "drink." They are completely crazy over Lipton Green Tea! It was absolutely incredible how they would chug that stuff down...and stalk anyone who had one. It was definitely the find of the week for them!

We also got to hang out at my friend Holly's house and the boys really took to her parents, Paul and Theresa. I think they used the potty 20 times! Theresa decided that they really liked the guest towels and that's why they kept going...we don't have those here in Alabama Theresa! I made them use the hand towel on the rack! The boys keep talking about jumping all over Holly and how she and Paul colored with them:) It's so incredible to be able to see your children play in the same house you played in when you were little..and to share time with such important people. I am so grateful to have such true friends in Holly and her fam-even living hundreds of miles away...when I'm with them, I feel like I never left:*)

We wrapped up the week with some dinner at Moncial's with our cousin Kim, Aunt Sherry and Uncle Roger (Mom and Granny too!)--Carson had his moment of terror that night...also refusing to eat....pizza. What's up with that?!?! These are NOT MY children refusing pizza! After several trips to the bathroom and the loss of BIG JUNE....gasp...I know....I had to do it....he was absolutely horrible that night!...we survived the outing. The pizza was fantastic....but, geez...10 hours is a long way to drive for pizza!

Parker loves "that sticky stuff" --Salt Water Taffy

Teachin' GGma about the Aquadoodle

Teaching Grandma Sue about the Aquadoodle

GGma...We pee-peed in your bushes again!

Coloring with Grandma Sue

Playing with toys at GGma's house--notice all the CARS!!

Saturday morning we headed to the airport and Granny came along to help. We arrived in plenty of time (I'm always nervous about that). As we head through security, the 47 CARS cars that Parker chose to bring, gets scanned and re-scanned. The lady finally asks if it's mine...and tells me that there is so much metal in the bag that they can't see anything else in there. I think, "metal?..I wonder what she's talking about?" Then I think...CARS!! I'm carrying about 10 pounds of them, of course that's the problem! They re-run the bag of cars and my carry-on bag and determine that it is, in fact, safe for all that metal to be on the plane:) We then proceed up the escalator, where Parker almost rolls down the steps. He slipped and was laying with his head pointed down, feet up. I caught him with my leg and one arm...the other arm is holding the bag with all those dang cars! He's yelling, "Mama help!" Granny's saying, "Oh my God Meggie...get him." Carson is saying, "We're going up, up, up, mama!" Finally I get the bags set down on the stair and get Parker on his feet.....weeeew...crisis averted!

The boys were fantastic on the flight and we even got a, "I didn't even know they were there" comment! Go us! With Granny's help we made it through the Atlanta airport, on the tram, and to baggage claim where we met.....drum roll please....DADDY, who by the way had been home all week for the first time in MONTHS! Tell me how that works!?!?! Granny held on to Carson and I kept hold on Parker and we made it home! Thanks GGma for all your help!

Gearing up for another fun week....our annual Aranda/Douglas adventure sets sail this year to Anna Maria Island, Florida...stay tuned for all the fun details:)

A Week at Home...for better or worse

2010-06-28T22:26:00.000-05:00

Monday I had sweet boys all day. We played cars, played outside, rode bikes, ate lunch together and then they wanted to build a house, so we got all the pillows, blankets and even the cushions off the couch. WOW, that was a big house, which, of course, lasted about 4 minutes at a time and was rebuilt about 12 times. After they took a nap, we all went swimming at Bebe and Pop's because my pitching lessons were cancelled:) The boys are really doing well....Carson went under water several times and Parker was getting in the pool by himself!

Tuesday the boys headed back to school. They BOTH woke up GRUMPY as all get out. They BOTH wet their pants at school...now I knew we were setting up for a historic day. We had swimming lessons again, and given how the rest of the day was going, I wasn't surprised that Carson cried the whole time saying it was making him too sleepy, hungry etc. Parker did great and actually got promoted for a short time:) He got moved back with the little kids because he couldn't (or was it wouldn't ?) hang on to the wall the whole time:( Later, Parker took his turn....I asked him to share his bike with one of the neighbor kids...he ignored me...and tried to go back across the street. I removed him from the bike and told him to walk back across the street and sit on the porch. He screamed and cried like crazy for several minutes. I'm trying to ignore him until I look over and he's ripping the flowers out of the flower pot on our front porch and throwing them on the ground....really?!? I'm beginning to wonder, will we make it through the 3s???

Swimming Lessons:)

The rest of the week was filled with 3 year old boy stuff...playing in the sprinkler, "washing" the car and mailbox with a paintbrush and a paint roller....and water...ha, I got your attention, huh?? This week was rough...and I started a new parenting technique...taking toys and putting them on top of the fridge....yea, it's been working wonderfully....I have so many toys I had to take them off the top of the fridge and put them in a rubbermaid container. CLEARLY I need different techniques to contain 3 year old twins and get them to follow directions and play nicely together....oh, and whining, when does it stooooooooppppppppppp?!?!?!?!

Fun in the Sprinkler!

I'm done with the sprinkler....this hose is in my way!!

A cute little note from the "week of terror".... One afternoon, it was thundering and threatening rain. The boys wanted to go outside and play, but I told them they should take a nap and maybe when they woke up it would be finished raining. Carson was walking around the house with a pencil and a dice popper, pointing them out the window yelling, "STOP raining!!, Don't rain!!" Finally, he said, "I'ma take a nap, but Mama, I'm gonna change the weather when I wake up!" Yea, good luck with that James Spann.

Sunday we had the 4th of July Celebration and children's parade....it's supposed to be a "wagon" parade, but the boys decided that they were too big to ride in a wagon. Carson wanted to ride in his Cozy Coupe and Parker wanted his trike (you know, the one that he STILL can't reach the pedals because he's such a peanut, so he pushes with his feet instead). We stopped by the dollar store and picked up some decorations...and while Brad and the boys napped (Brad NEVER naps, which is what makes it blog worthy)....I decorated the vehicles and when everyone woke up, we were off to church. We had a great time and the boys had a blast....their buds Sarah and Harrison kept up with them most of the night- even taking them to the bathroom for us! They even liked the fireworks this year! Parker named colors and said, "WOW!" the whole time , while Carson said, "The princess is dying in that big puff of smoke!" It was by far the best fireworks show I've seen in a while! Here are some pictures from the night...

Brownies and cookies on the same plate!!

Flirting with Sarah

Parade!

Waiting on the Fireworks!

Monday starts much like last week....apparently my sweet boys like Mondays:) I got more hugs and kisses today than I got all last week. I think it was a set up though....early afternoon I'm eating lunch and watching TV while the boys were down for a nap. Brad walks in the door. My greeting to him was, "Where are you going and when are you leaving?" His response, "Back to Macon, leaving tonight." Whatever....we got him for almost a whole extra day this week....WOW.

Let's Keep Runnin'

2010-06-21T21:31:00.010-05:00

Ok, so I guess this summer is not going to let up!

Last Tuesday we welcomed sweet little Kerrigan Grace Jordan to the family. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing well:) We are so grateful that she is healthy and came without complications for baby or mama. Carson and Parker weren't sure what to make of her at first, but now that they realize that she's a little human, just like them, they love her to death. Carson "held" her...don't worry I didn't ever let go of her...and Parker had George (his fav) give her kisses. We spent some time at the hospital Tuesday and Wednesday nights, which got the boys curious. Parker said, "Why do we need to go to the hospital again? Is LeLe and Kerrigan sick?" Unfortunately, Brad was stuck in Georgia and didn't get to come home....but he met his new niece Friday night when he rolled back into town (for 36 hours).

Swimming lessons have for sure been a crazy time for all. Tuesday, while Leah was pushing, the boys spent 45 minutes of their 1 hour swimming lesson screaming and crying like crazy. It was absolutely pitiful. The head instructor asked me to step into the hallway so they could try to get them to relax and participate without thinking that I would save them:( It was hard to watch for sure....but it paid off. Thursday before we went in, I told the boys that if they wanted me to be able to watch them they couldn't cry and fuss....if they pitched a fit, the teacher would make me leave. Well, initially they cried a little bit, but did very well the rest of the time. Unfortunately for the instructors, they became THOSE kids....the ones that won't sit on the side or wait their turn...whooops. We have seen lots of improvement and are very excited about their willingness to be in the water and try some new stuff:) I realize they are 3 and tomorrow may be a complete disaster....trying to remain positive....to be continued:)

Friday we helped "set-up" for a big yard sale at the church. From 4:30-10:00 we worked on putting "stuff" out for bargain shoppers to find. I had spent much of the week going though stuff and unpacking boxes from last summer's move, so I was happy to get all the JUNK out of my garage! The boys hung all night....and didn't get to bed until after 11pm! They "helped" by playing with all the toys that were donated:) They were so nasty dirty when we got home I had to clorox them (right Gramp?!). I know we got some germs that night! Saturday, we did some shopping, spent some time with Kerrigan, and got to meet our friend Jonell's parents who were in town from Texas. The weekend brought Brad home...which was nice for us all. He has been gone from the house almost a month now....and it looks like it too! We're doin' the best we can to keep up..

Sunday was Father's Day....and although I didn't get to see my daddy, we had a good day. The boys brought Brad breakfast in bed. It was hilarious....but they were pumped:) No, I didn't cook....it was Dunkin' Donuts and milk for our daddy! We spent the afternoon eating and swimming at BeBe and Pop's house....then back to the church to pack up all the "treasures" that nobody took home. Brad wanted Pizza Hut for his father's day dinner (really??), so we ate and then sent Brad back to Georgia:(

Parker has the BEST bed head:)

The fireworks started after Brad left....we had a throw down fight over the slide...complete with a bite (from Parker to Carson). It was pretty bad...Carson screaming, crying- bruised and skin broken. Why Parker, why?? Parker says, "I did that because I wanted to!" What?!?! You wanted to bite him? "No mama, I wanted to him to get off the slide." WOW....what do you say to that!?!? Carson was fine after several minutes...but would occasionally remember that Parker bit him- which would bring more tears and showing me the boo-boo, oh, and telling Parker that he lost George for biting and that mama was so sad:( Rough way to end the weekend...who knew I would ever look forward to a Monday!!

Keep on Movin'- It's summertime!

2010-06-14T13:43:00.020-05:00

Well, we continued our summer schedule of movin' and shakin'. The boys started swimming lessons last Tuesday. We had plenty of tears and whining, but they really did make some progress. Parker stayed in the corner with his mama, but did start putting his face in the water:) Carson stayed with Mr. Nick the entire time and floated on his back, put his face in the water and even moved to the deep water a couple times. We are going with a little girl, Cate, that lives in our neighborhood, hoping she will be a good, brave swimming influence on our non-swimmers. We have 6 more classes....please pray for cooperation- it might be the longest 6 hours of our lives:)

Wednesday, while the boys were at school, I worked in the garage getting things organized. We have done very little since we moved in last summer in the way of organizing- and I'm ready to have some more room and know where things are! Long about the time I'm dripping in sweat, finding some baby stuff for Leah, I get a phone call from school..because Parker was "sick." He was pretty pitiful when I got there...and told me that he couldn't stop at Dairy Queen because he was going to throw-up again:( Neither boy napped the rest of the afternoon....and no more throwing up, so what was looking to be a very productive day ended up...well, a day at home hangin' with the boys.

After a long night of packing for our weekend in Atlanta with Tyler's baseball team, Thursday morning came and it was time for haircuts! Boy did they need it. I got them both a "summer cut." Mainly so they could walk outside without their hair being soaking wet in like a minute. As always, they looked super-cute and all grown-up when they finished.

We then got in the car and headed for Atlanta to watch Tyler's baseball game. I left in plenty of time to get there by game time, but unfortunately Burnt Hickory Rd. had another idea. For anyone traveling in the Marietta area, there are actually 3 Burnt Hickory Roads, and none of them connect:( We were only about 30 minutes late, but it took peeing on the side of the road, calls to daddy (he should know Atlanta/Macon area well by now!!), and lots of deep breaths. At one point Parker said, "Mommy, why do you keep saying, *sigh*?" I just laughed and say,"we're lost buddy and mommy is frustrated." He said, "I don't like being lost." I kept thinking- neither do I....and I'm very lucky that I'm only sighing and not dog-cussing this GPS!
From that point on, everytime we got in the car Parker would ask, "Are we gonna get lost this time mama?" Haha..thanks for the reminder Parker

Trying on the helmets like the big boys

Wait...this isn't a helmet!!

Did I mention that it was HOT!! Parker found a place to cool off!

Carson learning about Sunflower seeds:)

The HOT weekend was filled with ballgames and fun with Tyler. He definitely has "rockstar" status with the boys. We had to take turns sitting by him in the car and at restaurants. Tyler's team went 2-2 and the boys started learning to throw and catch like Tyler. Did I mention that it was HOT!!!! We did get some shopping in, and ate ALOT:) On Saturday, we took the boys to the Atlanta Children's Museum, while Tyler spent the day at Six Flags with his buddies.

Moon Sand at the Atlanta Children's Museum

We had some interesting times in the car....with all the heat, comes lots of fluid....with lots of fluid and bladders the size of a dime this is what you end up with, "Mama, Do I get to pee-pee on the road or in a bottle?" "Mama, how do you get my weinie in that bottle?" Fun times had by all:)

Now it's Monday and we're home, unpacking, trying to relax:) We will have swimming lessons again this week, so say a prayer for us:) We also found out today that baby Kerrigan is set to arrive sometime tomorrow! Leah is being induced in the morning, so we'll have a new niece/cousin soon! Please keep Leah, Aaron and little Kerrigan in your thoughts and prayers....

Oh, and Brad is in Georgia, AGAIN this week--it's just not really news anymore, which is why I forgot to say it until now:( We did get him for the weekend in Atlanta....so we're grateful for that! Hopefully he'll be home for the weekend to meet his new niece!

Summer Starts with a Bang!

2010-06-06T23:41:00.011-05:00

Thursday I took the boys down to the pool at the clubhouse in our neighborhood. It was just the 3 of us (plus the sign in lady) and the boys did great. They were willing to get in the big pool and "swim", which was a big step:) We played "Touch the numbers (depth #'s on the side of pool), held on to the stairs and practiced kicking, and they practiced blowing bubbles and putting their faces in the water. Good pool progress for sure!

Saturday was our bi-annual get together with Brad's extended family. We missed it last year because it was moving day. He, of course, had to stay in Georgia, so it was just me and the boys. The boys had a blast....swimming and eating mostly. They made more progress in the pool swimming with Pop and Guncle:) I think they ate a whole watermelon! Here are some pics....

Here's how much fun they had.....

Let it be noted that Parker really did walk in the house and pass out on the stairs. When I went to get the camera, Carson said, "Wait, I'm sleepy too. Take my picture sleeping on the stairs" We are all about the "Monkey see, monkey do" at this house!

Sunday brought Foundry Sunday at church, followed by a quick shopping trip at Learning Express (which was especially fun since we got our train table taken away this week because we ripped all the track out, complete with nails daddy had used to keep it down) then we went to our friend Olivia's birthday party, and finished the night eating dinner with Pop, BeBe and Leah. The party was at Skates 280...a local skating rink. I wasn't sure how the boys would do, but they really liked it and had a great time. A special thank you to Lyn-Z (Olivia's grandma) for helping us around the rink the first time...giving mom a little confidence to go out there on her own the next time.

While Olivia was opening her presents, the boys found something fun to do.....I call it the hamster in the wheel game:) Parker LOVED it...and Carson didn't mind not having to take many turns in the wheel:)

I'll end this post with one of those, WHAT?!?! Did that really just happen moments......Parker says, "I think some te-tee is coming out of my weiner...is it mama? Yes Parker you are peeing your pants...(insert loud voice here) GO TO THE BATHROOM!!! He WALKS to the bathroom. I say, "Why did you not go to the bathroom? (Yes, I'm upset....but not yelling anymore) He says, "I'm sorry mama, next time I'll go to the potty." What the heck happened here?? He decided to give a play by play instead of actually going to the bathroom?? Strange, very strange.

Staying Busy

2010-05-31T22:12:00.019-05:00

The pictures from the fight.....Parker 1, Gramp 0

Last Thursday I had the honor of taking a personal day from work to take the boys to the zoo with their class from Mitchell's Place. This time we rode the carousel and also got to see a sea lion training show. The boys were hot and tired, but really enjoyed sharing this trip with their buddies, Jack, Grant, Matthew and, of course, Cali. This time mom wised up and brought along the wagon, since it was up to me to get both boys around that zoo--yes, daddy is in Georgia again:(. I pulled the empty wagon for the first hour or so and eventually pulled Parker and some of the other friends- Carson wanted to walk the whole time....not sure what that's all about....but some of his buddies were glad to get a ride:)

Friday night headed out to the ballpark for the Viper Memorial Day Tournament. Got to see a few innings and then the boys got to experience their first lightning delay at a ballpark..
"Mama, is the game over?" "When will they start playing again?" "Do we get to go to the place where they have food while we are waiting?" "Are there anymore snacks?" "Is it done lightning yet?" --- really, we could only take so much...then we had to head back to the car to go home. We did get to visit with some of our softball friends, so all was not lost...

Saturday brought a birthday party for a little friend Matthew from Mitchell's Place. It was at a place called "Pump it Up"- which is a huge warehouse filled with moonwalks, slides, etc. The boys had meltdowns upon arriving, but soon changed to fearless and climbed to the top of the slides, sliding down backwards and upside down, and jumping non-stop, climbing through obstacle courses, the whole bit. They were completely exhausted when we left! We then headed to Carley's graduation party. The boys were great and kept asking when it was time for cake and presents....oh, and why there wasn't any ice cream- they can't discriminate between bday and graduation parties I guess. They got their cake and on the way home at 10PM, we hear Parker say, "I think we ate too much cake. Too much cake makes me sleepy." Carson confirmed, "Yea, too much cake makes me kinda sick...I ate too much too. Mama, is it time for us to go night, night? We ate too much cake!"

Happy Graduation to Carley- it took a little longer than she wouldn't have liked and it wasn't the path any of us would have chosen, but she persevered and overcame the toughest odds. I'm so proud of her and glad to know her and her sweet family.

Sunday we headed to BeBe and Pop's house to eat and swim. While playing in the pool, Aaron was squirting Carson with a water gun (in response to him being squirted most of the time in the pool). Carson told him to stop...a few times and when Aaron didn't stop Carson finally got mad and said, "Stop it Aaron, Stop it right now!" For anyone that doesn't know, the boys always call him "Guncle", never Aaron...it was like a mom pulling out the middle name when you're in trouble. Hilarious!

Sunday night and Monday brought a visit from our friends the Breedloves- minus their daddy who was busy searching for a house in Virginia. We enjoyed our visit with them. The kids played outside and inside, we all took a trip to the McWane Center and ate some Full Moon BBQ. Carson and Emily seem to be becoming an item now...Kayla and I even witnessed them laying in bed together pretending to take a nap! We're gonna have to keep an eye on them;) Chad's next assignment will be at Langley AFB in Virginia- so we'll definitely miss having them so close-- but who can hate having friends that you have to visit in the Hamptons, right?!?!?

Usually when the boys play in the bathtub, they pretend to make cakes and drinks, pretend they are at the beach (asking each other for sunscreen, playing in the ocean)....but tonight we had a first. I'm getting pajamas out when I hear, "Hey, tattoo man, what kind of tattoos do you have?" They proceed to take turns being the "tattoo man" and give each other tattoos. Luckily they were mostly Little Einsteins and Handy Manny....but who knows what they will choose next! As they were getting out of the bathtub, Carson piled a drum, a cup and a drum stick on the side of the tub and said, "Mama, don't move those ok? They are my tattoo tools and I'll need them again tomorrow."

The boys and I will be jumping into summer this week....I'm done with school and the boys are only going on Tuesdays and Wednesdays this summer....Daddy is in GA again this week, so we'll have to stir up some trouble by ourselves 'til the weekend gets here!!

Abusing Visitors, Morning Fun

2010-05-20T07:39:00.012-05:00

Dad and Brenda came in town for a visit. After about 5 minutes of being there, Dad gets on the floor to wrestle with the boys. They are both crawling all over him when Parker decides to flip over. The back of his head collides with Dad's eye....followed by a loud crack (we think something is broken), screaming and Dad saying, "I think I'm bleeding!" Parker was fine in about 5 mintues....Dad....well, the score remains Parker 1, Dad 0.

Our weekend with Gramp and Granny included, breakfast at McDonalds, just for the boys (BOTH days!)- playing playdoh, trains, cars, everything! Birthday dinner at Joe's (Happy Birthday BeBe!), working in the yard (is that yard done yet??), carosel ride and a pretzel at the Galleria and a dinner date for mommy and daddy. Parker says to me as we are leaving, "Mama, you go to the store and I'm gonna wait here with Granny and Gramp, ok?" Our dinner date included a trip to Home Depot (we are so romantic) to buy MORE plants and flowers follwed by dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, one of Daddy's favs!

It's amazing some of the stuff that happens in the morning in the hour and a half that we are home before leaving for work/school:

Eating breakfast one morning....apple cinnamon oatmeal...Parker keeps spinning on the bar stool and putting his feet on Carson. Carson doesn't like it and keeps telling him to stop. Eventually I intervene and tell Parker to stop- he does and I leave the room to finish getting ready. In a few minutes I hear this,
Carson to Parker "Now Buddy, what did mommmy tell you?"
P to C, "I don't remember." As he continues to rub his feet on Carson
C to P, "Stop it bubba...get your feet off me like mommy said!"
Carson is such a good little helper:)

Another day, Carson ate his french toast into the letter "L" and asked Parker, "What letter is this?" Smart boy Parker's reply was, "It's an L. How'd you do that?"

Brad had to spend another few nights in Georgia this week (which is my poor excuse for a lapse in posting). It was supposed to be his week at home, but he was "called to duty" once again:(

One more funny conversation from the week:
There was a wreck on the opposite side of the interstate this week as I was taking the boys to school. They noticed the flashing lights and "LOTS of traffic" and asked what happened. I told them the truck was on fire.
P- "Mama, remember when BeBe and Pop's house was on fire?"
Me- Yea buddy I do.
C- I think they needed to use a fire ex-tingit-ter
P- Yea, from now on when we go there I think we should take a fire ex-tingit-ter with us.....just in case

I will post some pics and other news from the weekend early next week- I'm done with school on Tuesday!!!

Sick boys, Yard Work, Daddy's Home...for now

2010-05-18T21:04:00.011-05:00

Doctor's appointment left Carson with a "bilateral patchy x-ray" indicating a lower respiratory infection- which put Carson on his 2nd round of antibiotics and prednisone in the last month or so....poor guy:( He had a rough weekend, but seemed to turn it around yesterday (as we finished up the meds). Parker had some rough days through the weekend, lots of coughing and congestion, but seems on the mend too! We are hopeful for a good week!

Friday I took the boys to the car wash, the big time car wash where you get out and let them do it for you:) which is the first time EVER for my poor Explorer....they were so amazed by the cars driving themselves through the wash. They had fun watching all the cars move through, picking up towels for the people that dried off the cars...and were super pumped up that I let them get a purple (like June) Powerade from the vending machine. When my car was nice and shiny, as I'm buckling Carson in, Parker climbs into the front seat and walks all over the seats with his wet, dirty shoes:( The lady was really sweet and wiped them all down again...I was quickly reminded why I don't spend that much money on a car wash more than once every 3 years! We finished up the night buying a baby gift at the mall and then headed to Jason's Deli with our friend Jonell.

Friday night brought one of our funniest stories yet. At around 3am, Brad and I wake up to the boys screaming and crying. This is unusual- they usually just come downstairs and wake us up. Brad went up to see what was going on- and they told him a bumble bee was in their room and it was going to sting them! There was no bee....someone had a dream, woke the other one up and then convinced him that there was a bee in the room! They were terrified-seriously terrified. One of those times I'm sure we won't forget!

Saturday brought a LONG, HARD day of yard work. The boys helped off and on...and really were good all day- even though they were both feeling puny. Carson enjoyed cutting the bushes with a pair of scissors and would have done it all day if we let him. He just clipped away right next to Brad with the hedge clippers. Please don't call child services...he was closely monitored and Parker helped plant flowers and dig with his shovel. They were both on the porch playing trains after about an hour...but we thought they were troopers! By request of Parker, we ate at Habaneros that night and invited LeLe and Guncle to join us...they have to get used to this not eating alone stuff sometime:)

Sunday Daddy and Doug installed a flood light for the backyard that shines on the playset just right. This should help provide us with hours more playtime each night! Thanks Doug for helping with that project! The boys will appreciate me not telling them that we have to go inside because it's too dark!

Brad is home this week....through Wednesday at least. He got a call this morning that he needs to cover Thursday and Friday in Macon- so we'll be shipping him back later this week:( At least he was home for a few days!

Funny quotes from the week:

Parker-

"Mama, you're the best boogie cleaner ever"
I start that typical parent counting to get him moving..."1...." He says, "2,3... I'm going"

Carson-

"Mama, wake up...the sun is coming up....mama.....MAAAAMAAAA!!! I said the sun is coming up!" Sorry son, this happens almost daily and I'd rather look at it later in the day...

He comes downstairs at 11pm..."I just wanted someone to lay next to me"- sweet boy was asleep before he got back upstairs.

Best CVS trip ever this week.....saved $58....spent $2.42....2 packs of toilet paper, case of water, tampons, band-aids, 2 compacts of make-up, and face wash. I love coupons and extra bucks!! Call me cheap if you want....I think it's FREE MONEY!!!!

I got my first letter from my pen pal in Mongolia today....Mungee, a housewife and mother of 2 will surely be part of my blog at some point- but I better get to writing....it takes 2-3 weeks to get something there! Holli-I'm staying on top of it, I promise!

A teacher I work with is in need of a miracle...her husband was in a terrible car accident and showing little/no brain activity- please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers....we've witnessed miracles and could use another one now!

WILD ANIMALS....Zoo or Douglas House? Both!

2010-05-09T18:24:00.018-05:00

Another week with Brad in Georgia and the boys have been wild ALL week. We went to eat with Pop to celebrate Cinco De Mayo on Wednesday, visited with Ms. Angie at McAlister's on Thursday night and then ate with LeLe and Guncle at the Railroad Cafe (super country like experience, right Leah??) on Friday night....I'm pulling the "it's just the 3 of us lets just eat out" card often this week!

Saturday was an action packed day for us. We got up early and went to a ball game for one of my pitchers, Jayley. Her team was playing for the 8 and under park championship. The boys were great and got to play on this great playground on our way out, so everyone was happy. Mr. Jon (Jayley's dad) gave the boys a sprite after the game too, so they were extra hyped up!

Brad and I decided that since it was a beautiful day we should use our zoo membership that Gramp and Granny gave the boys for their birthday. They had a blast.....even though the lion's cage was being renovated, the gorillas had moved to Utah and the tigers were sleeping:( We did get to ride a camel-$15 bucks for 2 minutes of pure happiness- at least that's what they said. You see, all riders must ride before the hump. It looks like Parker is getting smashed, but in reality, he is the only one enjoying the ride. Every time we went over a bump, Parker's head would fly back into Carson's face. He would say, "Stop hitting me! He's head butting me!" Then I attempt to hold them far enough apart so that they won't bump heads- and try to keep my balance so we don't all fall off! It was an experience....one that not everyone can say they've had- we're so lucky!!

Train Ride!!

Parker's cool shades

Us riding a camel....WOW...that was an experience to remember!

We then went shopping while the boys slept in the car....which consisted of me walking into a store and picking out 2 watches, followed by Brad going in and purchasing one of them, getting it wrapped and then bringing it back out to the car- where I am now entertaining both boys in the front seat of the car:) I open the present and then go back into the store to get my new watch sized- while Brad and the boys walk to a vending machine to find something to drink! This is how you do Mother's Day when you live in different states during the week.....it works for us:)
While Brad was in the store, I told the boys that we were going to eat with some friends when daddy got done. This is a moment I hope I never forget.....Parker looked at me and said, "I'm gonna sit by Eddie, "Capish?" Really, did my 3 year old just say "capish"? I laughed out loud for several minutes:)
After eating with our friends we got the opportunity to meet one of the guys that was one of the first responders at Carley's accident. He is one of the heroes that helped save her life. Carley and her family got to meet some of his family and thank them for his service. They are such a true testament to people staying grateful to those who helped them and counting their blessings. A great reminder to us all.

Sunday was Mother's day....go, go, go for us. We did plant some flowers in the front of the house....with the boys' help (making it super easy and fast), wink, wink. Then we shipped Brad back to Georgia :(

Some funny/sweet comments from the week:
Parker-
"Sweet dreams, mama, I love you."
"We've never been to the zoo before....well, except for with GGma, but that was far away in another town"
"Mama, oh no, there is poo-poo in my pants!...Get it out!!!"

Carson-
"Daddy, I didn't know you worked at the zoo!" (as he saw a pic of the state of Georgia on the ground at the zoo)
"Mama, I think I forgot that I had to poo-poo, and now it's on the floor" (in the morning before work/school)

We're clearly having some potty trouble and some sleeping trouble too......since Sunday night.....

Sunday-
Carson wakes up coughing like crazy and needs a breathing treatment (2am)
Parker wets the bed (3am) for the first time in a month...look at me getting cocky like my kid doesn't need pull-ups

Monday-
Parker strikes again (2am)...he will wear a pull-up tomorrow night!
Carson panting like a dog....coughing like crazy.....breathing treatment (4am)

Tuesday-
Carson needs breathing treatment again at 3am:(

Wednesday- MAMA NEEDS SLEEP!!!

Doctor for Carson tomorrow (not fun)....Gone Fishin' for Jefferson County Schools Thursday and Friday (fun, hot, but fun).....Brad comes home on Friday (yea, sleep is in my future!!!)

Another CRAZY week...

2010-05-04T21:21:00.012-05:00

Does anyone see a pattern here? I thought 2 weeks ago was crazy, but it didn't really hold a torch to this past week!

Saturday April 24th brought us a rainy, tornadoey (I will add that word to wikipedia later) day. We started the day by going to cousin Trey's Birthday party. He is the same age as the boys, so it's always fun to get them together! He had a Thomas party, so the boys stayed close to the train table the whole time! Later that night we hosted a couple's shower for Leah and Aaron. The boys packed some toys and went with Doug and Lori for the evening. They got a trip to Chick-Fil-A, complete with playtime and then off to the Vining house for some new puzzles, crayons and coloring books. They ended up having a sleep over too and got rave reviews from the sitters! Our boys are growing up!

The shower was fun. Aaron was a sport, wearing his "new daddy" tool belt the whole time. I actually attempted to make Leah some sugar-free cupcakes (without a sifter- which may have been my problem). Two rounds laster, they tasted more like bread than cupcakes- but at least they were sweet! The parents-to-be got some good gear to help them prepare for Kerrigan's arrival. We had diaper relay races and dirty diaper challenges....fun times for all:)

The following week brought us some visitors. We were able to spend some time with Aaron's parents, brother Dave and nephew Gavan. For anyone that doesn't know, Aaron is an identical twin, so we were interested to see how the boys would react. They really just went with the flow and didn't seem confused at all! The boys LOVED having Gavan over....and even willingly shared their toys with him! Here is our final, and most successful, attempt at a picture of the 3 of them together....

Last Thursday was ENT day. It was much easier for me this time! I had a daddy come along for the fun! We got a good report for Parker...his tubes look great and we got some ear plugs for bath and pool time. So far he doesn't mind them too much- but wants them out immediately when he's done and can get them out himself, so I have a feeling we'll be going through several pairs! Dr. Goodson thinks that Carson's ears are OK right now. He put him on an antibiotic for the next month and if we can make it through "ear season" then we should be in the clear. If we get another infection then we'll be headed back to the operating room:( We're praying for infection free ears!

After the doctor's appointment, we packed the car and headed for Illinois for GGpa's funeral. We drove half way...with the boys awake almost the whole time....and got to Paducah, KY around 11pm. Parker had been asleep about an hour and a half, so he was asking for breakfast! Needless to say, sleep was sparse that night, but we survived!

Friday morning, we loaded back up and headed for GGma's house. After several more hours of driving, we met up with my dad and Brenda and ate some MONCIAL'S PIZZA. If you are from Illinois, you totally understand why that's in all caps! WhoooHooo! We checked into our second hotel of the weekend and spent some time with GGma. After dinner, we got a quick visit with mom and then headed to bed. The funeral was Saturday morning and then we headed back to GGma's house for some good food and time with family. GGpa is missed by all....we loved him dearly.

I'll save you the wet details of our trip back to Alabama, but it was filled with many hours on the road (all driven by Brad:)), lots of rain and tornadoes, peeing in all kinds of interesting places (side of the road, parking lots of adult book stores, exit ramps, corn fields), ANOTHER hotel, eating and swimming with Jen, Troy and the kids, flooding in Nashville, detours, changing into a dress at a BP station and finally a stop in at Leah's baby tea.

About an hour after we got the car unpacked (while it was raining), Brad hit the road for Macon (another 4 hours for Brad to drive, poor guy)....and that's where we stand.....exhausted and trying to make it through the week...we're counting our blessings and thankful for our crazy lives.....we aren't EVER bored...that's for sure!

Whatta Week

2010-04-21T21:02:00.016-05:00

This past week has been absolutely CRAZY!! Saturday morning we headed to Chattanooga for my niece Emma's birthday party. The boys had a blast and rode the carousel at least 5 times! We hung out at Jen and Troy's and then headed to Tyler's baseball game. He started at catcher and had a couple of hits....makin' Aunt Meg proud. Keep up the hard work man! Our evening ended with Lupi's pizza (good call Troy) and some.....drum roll please......Baskin Robbins!! It was a long day, but good times, good food and QT with the fam makes it worth it:)

Wait, is Tyler grown?

Abigail, try to hang on to that wild man!

Jen with the birthday girl

Look at that lefty:)

Carson riding with the birthday girl

Monday morning we got an early wake up call and was at the hospital at 4:45am! That was early! BeBe stayed the night and took care of getting Carson ready and to school:) Parker had a great time in the waiting room, playing and climbing on everything.....but it all ended when they started the pre-op stuff (temp, bp, o2 stats). He calmed down once we were in the room and watching SpongeBob (thank goodness for cartoons, right?). After several rounds of questions....love that they were cautious, but do you really think I would forget to tell you if my family had a history of MD, seizures, or heart defects? Anyway, after a very short discussion about his ability to separate from his mama, we decided to give him Versed, to relieve his anxiety, or as Brad and I saw, make him drunk! He couldn't walk and when asked what an animal was in the Noah's Ark picture on the wall his response was, "It's rough....and tough.....I don't know mama." as he fell back and became dead weight. He went back with the nurse, no problem (since he was drunk!). It made it SOOOOOOOOO much easier on all parties involved:)

The doctor came out after about 30 minutes and told us that Parker's ears were "nasty" and his adenoids were filled with a "buttermilk looking" substance and pus....wow, thanks, I could have just stuck with "nasty" period! He suspects that we will see a completely different child now- with less nose, throat and breathing problems! Yea Parker! After about 30 more minutes he came back to us....coughing like crazy and super fussy (a side effect from the Versed that gave us an easy hand-off...there's ALWAYS a price, huh??). He wanted the IV out and kept telling us "My hand is not sick, it's my ears and my nose! Take it out!!" He drank some juice and ate a green popcicle and we were on our way home after about 45 minutes.

Parker post surgery

When we returned home, we all took a short nap, and then HE (Not mom and dad. We could have used a longer nap!) was ready to go and has been running strong ever since!

Tuesday I kept both boys home from school. Parker had to stay home one more day, even though he was WIDE OPEN all day, and Carson woke up snotty and coughing. I made Carson a doctor's appointment, which produced another referral to the ENT. He has yet another ear infection....or is it still has an ear infection? Who knows, but he's wheezing too:( I just wish we would have looked at Carson's chart last time so that we could have done it all at once! So after several hours of pouting (me, not Carson), I'm over it- and just hanging on until next Thursday's appointment to see what the ENT says....

Last night, I realized that Brad would be getting the boys ready for school for the first time in 7 weeks....so I ran through the list of morning meds.....these poor guys--
Carson- QVAR, Nasonex, Abuterol, Zyrtec, Singular, Azithromycin and Orapred (the last 3 are new from yesterday)
Parker- QVAR, Nasonex, Abuterol, Singular, Amoxicillin
Can I just say that I have made a great friend, sweet Kayla, that works at the CVS down the road. She knows me by name. "Hey Ms. Douglas, How are you? Which boy are you filling for today?" Really? I should get her a gift for taking such good care of me! Last month I made $28 in extra bucks from filling so many prescriptions!!

Today I got to go canoeing with the adapted PE department at work. It was fun. I was helping get the kids in and out of the canoes. I actually was ankle deep in muddy water in tennis shoes- yes folks, that is dedication....you know I wouldn't ruin a pair of shoes for just anyone;) One particular student was having a hard time getting in the boat, so I was "modeling" what he should do and I stepped in the canoe. He followed along and eventually sat down in the canoe. As I took my foot out of the canoe, he grabbed it and held it with a death grip. After a balancing act, in mud I might add, holding on to my last principal's shoulder and someone prying his fingers off my shoe I (and the principal) was spared from being drenched in mud and water. We all had a good time and I was able to catch up with some of the people I worked with at my last school.

We are gearing up for a couples shower at our house for Leah and Aaron this weekend. Leah has officially made it to 30 weeks- which was when I was delivering (30 wks +5 days actually)- so we're happy to be hosting a shower for a baby that's not here yet! It's a couples shower, and we all know how fun guys and babies can be, so Aaron, consider yourself warned. It's gonna be fun!
Please continue to keep my granny and our family in your thoughts and prayers- we'll be heading to Illinois late next week for the services for GGpa.

Tough Week

2010-04-15T20:45:00.021-05:00

Since my last post my Grandpa JR, better known as GGpa passed away. Dad went to Texas to be with Granny for a few days and we will be traveling to Illinois sometime in the next few weeks for the memorial service. I've posted a few pictures from the last time we were all together....Carson and Parker couldn't get enough of this Little Einstein sticker book (although GGma could....it was driving her crazy, but she'd never tell them no!)....GGpa sat and watched everytime that book was taken out. Parker must have shown him those tools 50 times, naming them each time, determined to teach GGpa about Handy Manny. We also had a marathon Phase 10 game that brought lots of laughs and good times for all. All I'll elaborate on is that I'd be willing to bet Phase 10 was not the first game he wanted to play when he got to heaven! He'll be greatly missed by all....We love you GGpa!

We did dodge the virus from last week....it ended up only getting Parker--he did ran 102 fever that night, but was good to go Tuesday morning when Ms. Angie came to keep them. I didn't get to sleep, but at least it ended there! We went to watch Spain Park play Hoover in softball and the boys got to play with my friend Cj's little girl Emma....who they love. They also learned a new "game" from her daddy...."Give me a pound....lock it down.....break the pickle.....tickle, tickle!" Thanks Kevin....they are doing it all the time now! It's fun to watch them do it though....it never gets old to them- they crack up everytime!

We had a fun weekend. My mom was in town for Emma's birthday, so she and the kids came down for the day on Saturday. We stayed moving the whole time they were here. We went to a fundraiser for Mitchell's Place/Autism Society of Alabama called the Funky Fish Fry. The little kids probably enjoyed it the most....moonwalks,live music (Parker mostly, once he figured out where the music was coming from), and making slime....although Brad and Tyler did tear up some catfish! Tyler was bummed that he didn't get carded for a wrist band....too bad son...you're only 15! The boys kept calling it the "Funky French Fry" which just made me smile:) We also shopped at the mall, ate at WIngs and then finished the night with some ice cream at Treat Yourself. We love having visitors!

Our weekend finished up with the completion of the Rocky Mountain Retreat....Brad worked most of the day Saturday and even passed up on Indy Race tickets and pit passes (thanks to cousin Andy for the offer!) to finish it on Sunday. Also, thanks Doug for helping with the roof- I was done helping after that side bar whacked me up side the head! The boys love it....We're sure to be Play Central this summer. The boys love having their friends come over to play! Yesterday my friend Monica and her kids came by to play....and the boys went nuts- running around, screaming, jumping off slides and climbing fences! The Harbarger's are more than just our lawn service, they are rockstars! (They aren't our lawn service either, but they did mow our grass this week because they wonderful friends that take care of us) Thanks guys:)

Sorry for the dark pictures....I'm too tired to re-take them tonight!!

I took Parker to the pulmonologist this week and he was cleared for surgery. We report to Children's Hospital Monday morning at 530AM....what's up with having to be up THAT early when I'm off work?!?!?! I know we'll be thankful, since he won't be able to eat or drink after midnight- although he's not much of a breakfast eater anyway! Brad is going to get to be home, which we are extremely grateful for....

Happy Birthday to my niece Emma, who turned 3 this week. We are headed to Chattanooga this weekend for her party and get the 2 for 1 special because we'll get to catch Tyler's ball game too!

I'll close with a funny story of the week....
Carson says he has to potty....he proceeds to go into the bathroom where he sees a bug in the toilet. He immediately starts screaming, crying....literally shaking. I run in there where he says, "It's a bug mama, get it!" I proceed to tell him that it's dead because it drown in the water and he continues to scream, cry and shake. I'm later telling Brad that he had a "complete meltdown" when he saw a bug in the toilet. The next night Carson says, "Hey mama, last night I had a complete meltdown when I saw that bug in the potty, right?" Really?? Did I teach my 3 year old the term "complete meltdown"? It's just been that kind of week I guess!

Airshow, Easter, Daddy still in GA

2010-04-05T21:49:00.012-05:00

We've been staying busy since my last post. Last weekend, was our anniversary (6 years). Happy Anniversary to us! We headed down to Montgomery for the Air show with our friends Chad and Kayla and their two girls. The boys had a great time. We had beautiful weather and great company:) According to Parker, we saw "helicockters and fire (in a beavis and butthead type voice)." They enjoyed all the tricks and the parachuters....and the playground on the base while the adults watched the Thunderbirds. I've never been to an airshow so I was impressed! We spent some time playing and the boys roasted marshmallows and ate smores for the first time! They loved it! Thanks to Chad for the great fire (using an old Christmas tree, which was a bit disturbing for all of us) and Kayla for a good dinner! We ended our weekend with a lunch for Leah's birthday and then Brad packed up and headed back to Georgia for the week.

Last week was pretty uneventful (stay tuned, we are paying for that already this week). Tuesday morning before school, we had a visit from Granny and Gramp who were headed to the beach. The boys were pumped up, and even got some candy from their Easter basket before school! We went to the Mountain Brook vs. Thompson softball game on Wednesday to see a couple of my pitchers play- and they won! The boys were covered in dirt from head to toe when we left, but they had fun. Friday the boys had an Easter egg hunt at school. Carson is quite the hunter and Parker kind of hung back and waited for Carson to spot them and then try to race him to it! It was funny to watch- and they both had a great time!

This weekend started off with a bang by us buying the boys a new "playground" as they call it. We have been planning on getting one, and intended for it to be their birthday present, but with Brad out of town so much we just haven't gotten around to it. We also intended to hire someone to set it up....but 6 boxes and about 472 screws, nuts and blots later here it is...Phase I of the Rocky Mountain Retreat...we still need a roof and some swings, but Brad's goal was for it to be "playable" before he left and that it is! The boys told him it was "awesome."

We had a nice Easter. The boys woke up to their baskets-which they eagerly went through and then told us that "we already have THIS car (it really was a different one, but too close to tell for the boys I guess), I don't think we need another one. Ha! We played with play-doh, ate candy for breakfast and then headed out for church. We ate lunch with Brad's parents and then headed back home to finish Phase I of the playset. It was a long day-with the weather being so pretty it's hard to get the boys to come inside- I've always liked "springing forward" for daylight savings time, but this year with 2, 3 year olds, I'm already re-evaluating my stand on that!

Grandpa JR was put in the hospital this weekend. Having some trouble with his heart. He remains there tonight and will begin a new drug to help his heart function. Keeping him and Granny in our thoughts and prayers....it's been very hard on them and us because we are so far away.

This week is already proving to be filled with good story telling. Around 11, I got a call from Mitchell's Place (the boys' preschool) that Parker was throwing up:( When I got there to pick him up he was pitiful. Meanwhile, Carson was be-boppin down the hall asking why Pop didn't pick them up! One of their teacher's handed me a bag with some towels in it....a puke bag for the road? It must have been bad! Special thanks to Ms. Bry- we used it (at least the towels). We made it to the driveway, where I mistakenly got overly confident that we had made it. I stopped to tell my neighbor that he was sick and he got "that look." By the time I could get him out he had already done it again- and then again once he was on the driveway. This provided me with a great learning opportunity. 1- You're not home til you're out of the carseat. You can spray off a driveway- you have to completely dismantle a car seat 2- Love my Britax carseat....but reassembling it was a pain in my rear. I did figure it out eventually, but realized that Brad has pretty much done the reassembly every other time! He slept for over 3 hours, but now he seems to be feeling a little better, but they will stay with Ms. Angie tomorrow just to make sure we're good to go!

Spring Break, Daddy Back to GA, Doctors Visits....

2010-03-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

So the first and second part of my title is my excuse for a lack of a post for.....what....almost 3 weeks?? Geez....that's bad. Let's see what I can remember...

Brad did get to come home for a quick trip to the beach. The weather was kinda cool and windy, but we did get a couple hours on the beach each day, so we really can't complain. We did some shopping, SOME, right Brad? The Destin Outlets were not hurt by the economy thanks to me. The boys needed summer clothes and shoes....and the fall/winter stuff was on clearance....and if you know me you know I love a deal! I'm buying for twins....I need to save when I can....and plan ahead too! There will be no pictures posted from the beach, because we didn't take any. In the packing craze....after 2 weeks of Brad being gone and 1 night to pack, I was literally just throwing stuff in bags.....and somehow brought a camera with no battery:( and it only takes the battery that came with the camera. Whoops....that stinks.

The boys had a good time and kept us laughing. On the trip down, Carson got his first experience of going potty on the side of the road (potty training will be the death of me). He had to go...and we were in the middle of nowhere! He was a trooper for sure! One night, I asked what they wanted for supper and Parker said, "Mama, I think I want something AMAZING....." like I EVER give them something amazing for supper. They asked to eat at Habaneros and Cracker Barrel almost everyday.....and we lied, saying they didn't have Cracker Barrel at the beach. We were caught the next day, when they spotted one....who knew?!?! My highlight of the week was when sweet Parker looked at me and said, "I think you're Supermom." I can't even remember what the context was....it was sweet though, I remember that:)

I turned 31 since my last post....wow, officially on my way to 40. Had a good day....until around 5 when Brad left for GA AGAIN. I mean really, should we be looking for a house over there or what?!?!? They do have the HOPE grant that would put both of my kids through college....hmmmmmmm....just kidding. Hopefully he'll be back here soon....the news is a couple more weeks and then alternating weeks 'til the end of May.

Monday morning we started out with a bang...and Carson had a PT appointment at 730 AM before school. Really, what was I thinking?? Ms. Peggy put some more padding in his jumping boots and said that he "looked good", but it might take us up to 6 months to "fix" the problem:(

So here comes the funny part of this post. I mean, I'm no Kate Gosselin (thank GOD), but a video camera following me this past Tuesday would have been entertainment for all:) I pick the boys up from school early, which means they had to be woken from a nap, to take Parker to the ENT and then both boys to the pulmonologist (lung dr, Dr. B).

We go to the ENT, where I fill out several pages of new patient paper work while everyone is commenting on how cute they are, asking if they are twins, and telling me I have my hands full....yes, that's all true, thank you for noticing, but you talking to me doesn't help me make my hands less full by getting rid of this clipboard full of papers! As I am finishing up the last page, someone has to go to the bathroom (at this point I actually begin thinking that pull-ups are an investment that make your life easier!). We take the papers to the front desk and head to the bathroom, where I proceed to whack Carson in the face with the toilet seat (he may leave it down forever now....my apology to his future wife). He leaned down to pull his pants down as I raised the seat.....complete meltdown to follow- I multi-task and ask Parker to use the potty while I console Carson- yea me! Carson is fine...a small scratch on his eye- but quits crying relatively quickly.

We head back to the waiting room where the boys have a small wrestling match while we wait....are they still cute, people!?!? We head back to the room and Carson is Mr. Personality until the doctor starts looking at Parker. Carson goes into a complete meltdown, i put him in the corner, while I try to listen to the ENT tell me that Parker needs to have tubes put in his ears and have his adenoids taken out. Carson eventually stops crying in the corner and tells me that he's ready to be nice. I tell him to apologize to the Dr., which he does, which leads the ENT to tell me that I have my hands full....really?!?!...thanks for the reminder from 10 minutes ago in your waiting room!
We move into the surgery scheduling room where I am filling out all the consent for the surgery (which is going to be in about 3 weeks, we think)- and Parker declares that he needs to poo-poo. I try to hold him off, several times, just trying to get through all the paperwork, and finally he says, "Mama, I have to go NOW or poo-poo will come out of my bootie!" BAHAHAHA.....the nurse tells me to go ahead....and we do....and we successfully make it to the bathroom. I ask twice if they are sure that Parker shouldn't have his surgery at the main hospital (as opposed to the satellite outpatient center), due to his asthma, and after checking with the doctor, the surgery is scheduled for April 15th at Children's South (hang on for a reschedule later in this post)....and we head to the parking deck.
Upon arriving to the parking deck, Carson says, "Mama, where is Scuba June?" For those of you who don't know...This was pretty much Carson's only request this past Christmas....and Santa was the only person able to find Scuba June....on eBay for about 3x regular price. I proceed to empty the diaper bag, my purse and my pockets, with no luck....so back to the Dr. office we go. We look everywhere and can't find it. I filled out a missing persons report and asked the nurse to keep her eye out...and we headed back to the car. As we walk, Carson has the lip out and is crying, and Parker is saying, "Sorwee bubba, you lost her and she's gone for ebber and ebber (ever and ever). As we reach the end of the hall, the sweet nurse says, "Mom, mom, wait....I think we found her!" Wheew!! Small miracles....gotta love it!

Now we head to Dr. B (pulmonologist) for a check-up. As we pull off the interstate, Parker tells me that he has to pee and that he might pee his pants. At this point I am absolutely positive that my next child will not EVER be potty trained. I will leave that child in pull-ups FOREVER!! I talk to him as we sit in traffic, trying to brainwash him to stay dry and hold on as long as he can. This story ends up with both boys peeing off the side of the parking deck at St. Vincent's hospital- absolutely Alabama, you might be a redneck if- I am just happy we made it and that I won't be washing carseats later that night! Both boys declare that they are watering the plants because they need water to grow during Spring time! Guess they are getting my money's worth at Mitchell's Place:) BAHAHAHAHA.....what a day
During the appointment Dr. B says that there is no way they will do surgery on Parker at Children's South (the satellite outpatient center), due to his high-risk breathing history, and that we'll need to reschedule at the main hospital, just in case of complications. We are awaiting a new date....and hopefully I will post again before the surgery:)

Brad is heading home tomorrow night and we'll celebrate our anniversary and Leah's birthday this weekend. We are taking the boys to Montgomery for the Air Show at Maxwell Air Force Base- and visiting our friends The Breedloves- we're really looking forward to that...and maybe we'll get some pictures to post!

Just Living

2010-03-07T20:30:00.000-06:00

I'm already slacking on the posts.....geez, even once a week is too much for me:(

We've been staying busy....took a trip up to Chattanooga last weekend to watch Abigail cheer, celebrate Brenda's birthday and then finished it off with freezing our butts off at Tyler's baseball game. We had a great time and were glad to see everyone!

Brad left last Sunday night to work in Macon- we still haven't seen him:( Apparently, the dirt in Macon is wet and so they have to dry it.....hmmmmm, watching dirt dry. I bet Brad's having a blast! He is supposed to be coming home this Friday so that we can go to the beach!! Let's hope that works out.....for him I mean:)

Last Wednesday, Carson had a physical therapy evaluation for his "toe walking." We have officially aged out of early intervention, so his early intervention therapist referred us to a new therapist at Children's Hospital. Ms. Peggy was very nice and recommended that we try "the most conservative" option first. This consists of Carson wearing AFOs for a month. These are little plastic leg braces that go over his socks and under his pants. We call them his "jumping boots." He doesn't love them, at all, but is tolerating them well. Our biggest hurdle right now is that he has to wear shoes while they are on- or the hardwood floors in our house become an ice skating rink. Trying to get him to keep his shoes on while we are home continues to be a struggle, but warm weather is coming, so we're hoping that won't be such a problem once he can just stay outside and play! He is supposed to wear them "all waking hours", but I've been letting him take them off around 630 or 700, which is about an hour early. 12 hours a day is pretty good I think! He says, "Sorry, Parker, only I get jumping boots. Not you. Mama didn't get you any, sooorwee bubba." Which is followed by Parker saying, "Why didn't you get me any jumping boots, mama?" Twins make EVERYTHING more interesting, that's for sure!

This weekend was pretty low key....we caught some softball games at the Spain Park Tournament, ate out with friends and family....and played. Tonight, the boys were turning each other and me into things. Some of my favorites included, when Parker said, "Carson, I turn you into a "boobie bop and mommy, I turn you into a princess." I got the good end of that deal for sure! We missed our daddy. The boys kept asking, "What's today?" and "Where are we going?" It's almost like they couldn't figure out what was going on....I don't think Brad's been gone all week plus the weekend before (plus another 5 days too, but that might be discussed in my next post!). After dinner tonight, which was quite a battle for Parker, he hopped down and said, "Mama, let's go snuggle." and Carson said, "Yea, good idea Parker, let's go snuggle with mama." Love, love, love those boys.

We are fairly healthy. Parker and I are still coughing....Carson seems to be over the hump....except for that nasty runny nose, which I have decided is just par for the course:( Today I asked Parker what was wrong and he told me, "Mama, I can't breathe. I think I need some mask medicine (breathing treatment). That poor kid....at 3 years old he knows when he needs his medicine:(

Hanging on...5 more days til Spring Break....supposedly headed to the beach- thanks Aunt Pokey and Uncle Terry:) We'll see what happens with work for Daddy. Even if plans get axed, I'll be off from work, the boys off from school....that's a mini vacation in itself!

Another interesting week

2010-02-24T21:10:00.000-06:00

It's been a great week! Carson (and Parker too....but his good potty skills are getting to be, dare I say it, old news) seems to be catching on this week. He's starting to tell us when he has to "poo-poo" in the potty!!! He told us when the vacuum salesman was here (no, he didn't take the hint and leave), and at the Spain Park vs. Mtn. Brook softball game!! Go Carson! Our biggest news might have come today when he told his teachers at school that he needed to go and actually did!! He got M&Ms from his teachers and a Curious George puzzle from mommy and daddy:)

We had some beautiful weather over the weekend- we all played outside, well, daddy worked in the yard while the rest of us played. Brad and I were working on setting up the stomp rocket (Tracey, was that for Brad or the boys??) and I hear, "Momma, look at me!!" I will never underestimate the power of those words again. Up until Saturday, that would have meant either, I did a puzzle, stacked a tower of blocks, or put on my shoes all by myself. This particular day it meant, we finally know how to ride in these Little Tykes Cozy Coupes (little plastic Fred Flintstone type cars if you don't know) and we are going to spice it up. We look over and Parker is on top of the car, yes, completely laying over the roof, all appendages off the ground, while Carson's feet are running as fast as they can go! Are you kidding me? For anyone reading this blog, please expect an entry about a broken bone- or at the very least a visit to the ER sometime very soon....I know we won't be surprised at all!

Angie also took us out for a little photo session in the pretty weather, of course, with 2, 3-year olds, it's hard to get everyone looking and happy at the same time! We tried though! They loved the lake- especially the rocks they got to throw and the sticks they were jousting with!

The boys are learning about teeth and the dentist at school this week. They are very excited to talk about things that are good and bad for your teeth. Yesterday, I gave them both a pack of graham crackers (Scooby Doo) and Carson said, "Mommy, we can't eat these cookies because they have TOO MUCH SUGAR!!" He yelled the "too much sugar" part and I almost ran my car off the road! Seriously, what 3 year old tells you he can't eat something because it has too much sugar? He then proceeded to tell me that cookies (my poor deprived children think graham crackers are cookies when they come from me:)) go on the "sad tooth"- only milk, cheese and water go on the "happy tooth." At least they are paying attention at school, right?

Last night, we went to the first game at the new softball field at UAB. It was freezing, compared to the 67 degrees from the weekend, the boys were red nosed and we only had 3 gloves for 4 hands....poor Parker:( This morning he told me, "Remember mama, at the softball field, you told me to put my hand in my pocket so it wouldn't get cold?" He had on one glove, with the bare hand in his pocket most of the night- I told him he was cool like Michael Jackson. If only he could know just how cool that was back in the day. Cold temperatures aside, It was great to see some old friends and be a part of such a big day! It only took 10 years, yes we started the program in 2000, and we (yes, girls, I'm talking to you) are officially old, but at least it happened and it's something that UAB can be proud of.

I've been sick much of this past week-got a shot, antibiotics, decongestant, and some killer cough medicine- and then felt worse for 2 days in a row:( Feeling better today, so hopefully I'm on the upswing too! The 3 of us (thought to self, why isn't Brad sick too?) will finish our antibiotics tomorrow- so hopefully we'll be well for the weekend!

WOW...snow and potty success all in a weekend?

2010-02-16T22:15:00.000-06:00

Lots of news to report this week! Wednesday, Carson was sent home from school with a fever....but didn't have it by the time he got home:), but :( at the same time. The boys missed their Valentine's Day party at school the next day, that dang 24 hour rule sucks! The boys stayed home with Angie and had a fun day though, so I don't think they were too disappointed!

Friday, we were blessed with another SNOW DAY (I won't be saying that in June when I'm still at work)!! And this time we actually got some snow! The boys weren't too sure as you can see from the picture, but they ended up liking it after they realized they could knock down and break everything I tried to make! They also liked throwing the snow at each other and at me! Carson kept saying, "Snowballlllll fight!!" It was cute:)

Saturday was a big day. Carson finally pooped in the potty!!! I caught him "thinking" in the play room and I asked if he had to go and he said, "Yes!" and ran to the bathroom! It was fabulous...didn't carry over to Sunday, but at least we had some progress, right??

Sunday and Monday brought more fever for Carson. We already had an appointment for our 3 year old well child visit and for the 2nd well child visit in a row, we left the doctor's office with ear infections and prescriptions for antibiotics:( Carson had just finished his antibiotic on Friday, so bring on the poopy pants:( 20 out of 22 days on antibiotics is sure to bring some fun- and to think we have just finally come around to the idea of pooping in the potty.

We're having LOTS of fit throwing, whining, fighting over toys, yelling, "NO!" at anyone and everyone- but that's everyday, so I won't bore you with that....how about if I blog about that when it DOESN'T happen!! The person who coined the term, "Terrible Twos" clearly had not made it to the 3's yet! The boys are "wrestling" and "tickling" each other quite a bit now and laugh hysterically while they roll all over the floor (Can I spray down some floor cleaner when they start that? Or is that abuse of some sort?) so that's cute to watch. Of course, someone always wants to quit before the other one does, which turns into either, fit throwing or whining from previous sentence:(

I finally had my appointment with the neurologist- and she thinks putting me on a daily blood pressure medicine will help reduce the number of migraines I'm having each month. Right now I'm at about 8-9 a month, so I'll try anything! She says that migraines can be stress induced and asked if I had alot of stress in my life......I referred her to this blog:)

Happy Birthday!

2010-02-09T22:33:00.001-06:00

Well, our little boys are officially 3! The past week has been full of fun....where to begin...I'll start the day after my last post:) Tuesday as Brad went to pick up the cookies I ordered from a bakery for the boys to take to school (yes, I copped out and ordered instead of baking). The bakery is a whole 2 miles from his office. Well, the cookies cost us $199.00- WOW those are good cookies- 15 mph over the speed limit in a 25 mph zone= ticket. whooops:(
The birthday boys woke up soooooo happy on their birthday, which was a nice change from the grumpy old men we've been dealing with every morning. I fed them a donut, with chocolate icing for breakfast- at that point they may well have voted me mom of the year- they usually get oatmeal or pancakes (with no syrup, which is child abuse according to their Gramp).
They had a great day at school, yes even Carson, made all "green" choices at school and got to leave early to head to the doctor's office. They had been coughing like 2 pack a day smokers, or 30 week preemies, smokers sounds more interesting for 3 year olds though:). We left the doc with 2 scripts for prednisone and one for an antibiotic (note: this did give us a ray of hope that at least some of the behavior problems we were dealing with was because of illness). 2 boys on steriods?? on their birthday party weekend?? that should make for some fun times:(
From the doc we headed to the toy store to play with the toys- then to the bakery to pick out an after dinner treat:) Carson picked a HUGE chocolate chip cookie with M&Ms and Parker a pink and purple flower cookie- weird I know, but it was his birthday! They really enjoyed Sumo and the big fire- of course, we did have Parker almost knock himself out by running from the open side of the table to the closed side- he forgot to duck, or else didn't see that it was closed:( Poor guy!
Friday, Parker informed my friend Monica, who baked all day to create the perfect BOLT cake (complete with Penny), that the cake was not cool:( Really, after she worked all day, you are gonna say it's not cool?? It was the 'roids Monica, I swear (see above premenition)
Saturday brought the BOLT party- lots of friends and family came to celebrate their special day, I think someone counted over 50 people! Thanks so much to all who were able to come:) We are blessed to be surrounded by such great people! We bought the boys a Step2 roller coaster- which was a huge hit! The kids were out playing on it in the beautiful, cloudy, dreary, 40 degree weather! Parker cried much of the time and wanted me to hold him:( He said there were too many people and that they needed to go back to their own house!! (see above reference about steriods) They both ended up having a great time and got lots of great gifts- thanks everyone! Where am I going to put more stuff you ask?? I ask too! We are still working on putting stuff away- but tomorrow is garbage day so the mess will be gone soon!
This week has started off well behaviorally (less whining then we have had), knock, knock on some wood, I know:), and coughing is easing up some. Carson is STILL struggling on finding the potty to do his business- he says he poops in his pants because he likes it- really? He likes it?
Thanks to my friend Kayla for sharing her year long battle with this problem (not the liking it, I don't think her kids are as weird as mine, just the refusing to do it in the potty part)- we're 6 weeks in, let the count down begin:( Pooping in the potty tips are welcome at ANY time......geez it's gonna be the death of Carson, I mean death of me!
WOW- we made it 3 years- what a blessing these little guys are to us:) We do remember what life was like before them (ALOT more sleep and time to do "stuff"), but wouldn't trade life with them for anything. Happy Birthday Carson and Parker!

Bring on the 3s

2010-02-01T21:59:00.000-06:00

Well, Friday I come home to a note from the teacher....yes one of THOSE notes. It said, "Carson had a very active day, but was in a good mood. Really, I thought? When is he NOT active? Anyway, there was an arrow to the back of the note, which is never a good sign. It continued with, "Carson was removed from the classroom for getting into a physical fight with another student." As I arrived home, he met me at the door saying, "Mommy, I had a bad day at school, did you see my note?" I mean shouldn't he have been hiding or something? He admitted that he did get into a fight with another child, but that he wanted that food that Grant had and just wanted it.

You remember, we have twins, right? The same day, Parker's note, yes the teacher can write small, says, "Parker was removed from sensory time because he tore up one of the sensory toys and was later removed from circle time for pinching a friend." Parker tried to lie and say he didn't do those things, which I'm still deciding is better or worse than Carson's broadcasting his bad day:)

My Lasik surgery went well, I'm 20/15 with no contacts! Yea me:) We're gearing up for Wednesday when the boys will be 3- Carson says that he wants to eat at the place "where they make that big fire" This is better known as Sumo, one of those japanese restaurants where they cook in front of you. Shouldn't 3 year olds be picking things like Chick-fil-A or McDonalds? Maybe I should start cooking so they will want to choose my food for birthday dinner, nah.............:)

A few things to make you laugh

2010-01-27T22:13:00.000-06:00

A few things that have happened in the last few days....hope they make you laugh, because that's all we can do to keep our sanity:)

Carson tells Ms. Terra that he's been being "bad." (honesty is the best policy, right??) When she tells him that she wants him to be good he says, no kidding, "Good girls like bad boys." God help us.....and those good girls too!

Parker refuses to talk to GGma on the phone (my Granny for anyone reading this that doesn't know). After I get off the phone I asked why he wouldn't talk to GG. He told me, "Actually mommy, it's GGma, you didn't say it right so I couldn't talk to her." Sorry Granny, who knew I had to say it "correctly" for him to be able to talk to you. I'll try to get that right next time!

Carson finally tells us that he has to poop in the potty:) Progress. As he runs to the potty, completely naked, (they were about to take a bath) he poops all over the carpet. I was not feeling well and was asleep on the couch...thanks Brad for not waking me up on this one!!
Later, after Brad is on the road, I wake up to Parker standing next to our bed staring at me. I tried to ignore him so that he would go back to bed, but he just kept on staring, like 10 minutes. I ask him what's wrong and he says that he doesn't want to sleep in his bed. When I ask why he says, "Well, mama, I can't sleep in it because it's all wet." He somehow has managed to pee around the diaper and all over his pjs and bed. I promise you the diaper was completely dry....strange things like this happen at our house all the time.....i'm still puzzled.

Brad is working in Georgia this week and I'm getting pumped up for my Lasik eye surgery this weekend! Our boys will be 3 next week....I wonder if I'll say, "I can't believe they are already 3?" I didn't say it at 1 or at 2. My normal response to that has been, "Each week I feel every bit of 168 hours older....come stay with us for a week....you'll feel 7 days older too, I promise:)

One of those days........

2010-01-20T23:36:00.000-06:00

Tough day at work, tough day at school, tough night at home, Brad in Georgia.....geez....is it Friday yet? Oh, did I mention that Parker is still awake at 9:30???

We are starting a new autism unit with a new teacher...lots of materials to make, training to do, materials to make, observations to complete, materials to make....velcro, picture symbols and laminating oh my!

Apparently Carson had a rough potty day at school. When Pop picked him up he had on no shoes or socks....I guess they don't let him wear them wet:( Note to self, send rain boots tomorrow...

So once they are home from school, Carson decides to pee his pants while sitting in the corner....he was sent there for hitting his brother- Grandma Sue, that farm puzzle you got them for Christmas was the object of desire.

After baths, which Parker is now taking beautifully, praise GOD, we did medicine, complete with 15 minutes of nebulizer treatments and they went to bed without a problem, or so I thought:( I am outside talking to my neighbor across the street when she says, "Is that one of the boys on your porch??" Sure enough, there is Parker on the porch. Are you kidding me? So I tell him to go back inside and go to bed, and he does- I thought....He ends up back outside and sits in the rocking chair, complete with Curious George stuffed animal, Nurse GTO car and a lovey....just waiting for me to come back...he's so sweet at night when he won't go to bed. He's been back down stairs 2 more times....once to take off his wet socks (he tried to leave the porch, but quickly went back- it looked similar to a shock collar on a dog) and then because he forgot to give me hugs and kisses (awwwwwwww, I know)....finally I don't hear any footsteps upstairs....success:)

I talked to Brad a little while ago....he's in Atlanta, watching basketball and eating at Buffalo Wild Wings and then heading back to the Country Inn and Suites.....good for him.

3 day Weekend

2010-01-19T01:22:00.000-06:00

Heading back to work tomorrow after a 3 day weekend:( Today we had absolutely beautiful weather after a weekend filled with rain and wind. The boys and I played outside, well, they played, I worked in the garage. Our garage continues to be a complete disaster since our move last June. We have TOO MUCH STUFF!! As Brad carried box after box of little people clothes outside, he declared that we have enough clothes to dress an army- it would have to be an army composed of little people under 3 feet tall, but we could dress them!
Parker is staying dry all day and the last 3 nights too! Yea Parker! We took him to Target yesterday to pick out a "prize" for filling his sticker potty chart. He chose "Sarge" a jeep from the movie Cars. We were hoping this would also encourage Carson to fill his sticker chart, but we're not there yet, as he still chooses to fill his pants instead:( Our Skype call with Holli (in Cambodia now) was cut short due to his timing....sorry girl, we're trying.
Parker has been known as our handful for quite sometime, but Carson is giving him a run for the title lately. Today he spilled some milk on the table, accidently (I think), and politely asked for a napkin. We cleaned it up and then he picked up his cup and said, "Can i spill it again, mama?", followed by, "Can I?", "Huh, Can I?" "Can I mama?" Yes, he survived....and did not spill it again. I'm afraid tomorrow I might not be so lucky......Bring on the 3s, we can handle it.....I think.

I posted some pictures from Christmas at www.thedouglasboys.shutterfly.com

Dry all day!!!

2010-01-15T20:42:00.000-06:00

Carson and Parker both had a perfect potty day!! They did ask to use the bathroom about 5 times each, (well really total...they both need to leave the table when the other one does) in a 40 minute meal at San Antonio Grill (mexican), which we gladly attended to....anything for dry pants:) For anyone who missed my facebook post, as Carson sat on the potty today he said, "Mama, I can't go poo poo in the potty because my muscles aren't big enough." This was as he flexed his right arm to "prove" that to me. I told him they were plenty big enough and he needed to keep trying:)
Looking forward to a restful weekend, maybe they will sleep til 630 or so. During the week, we have to WAKE THEM UP at 6AM to get ready for school, but they ALWAYS wake up earlier on the weekends....conspiracy for sure.

New Year's Eve.....

2010-01-15T15:42:00.000-06:00

And for those wondering.....they slept all night.....in the tent:)

Baby Steps

2010-01-14T20:54:00.000-06:00

Well, Parker took a bath tonight, without jumping out of the bathtub, or running away and hiding for the first time in weeks....maybe months! He even cried as I undressed him saying, " I'm going to be bad, I just can't be good and take a bath, I just can't mama." Poor guy. There were many tears shed, but he only got out once and I convinced him that it was a good idea to just suck it up tonight.
You see, he has developed a true hate for bath time, complete with full-out tantrum almost every night:( Guess what big boy...you're taking a bath- even if you ask to sit in the corner instead of taking a bath, say you aren't dirty and don't need a bath or, my personal favorite, jump out of the tub, slip out of my hands and run and hide, I will find you, put you back in the tub, and make you squeaky clean:) (or daddy will if he comes home from work before 9pm)
Carson had a good potty day at school and even came home in the same clothes that we left in:) Today he saved the pooping in his pants for his mama:( Sat on the potty for at least 20 minutes, complete with red ring on his butt, then said he couldn't go. Went to the play room, running around, me reminding him to tell me if he had to go....10 minutes later.....well, you know. Apparently, he does not care about that makes Thomas the Train feel:(
We'll keep trying....that's all we can do. Baby steps is still progress, right?

Just noticing that all of our news is in the bathroom right now.....life of 2 almost 3 year olds I guess.

Going to Attempt This

2010-01-13T22:02:00.000-06:00

Well, I am going to attempt to enter this blogging world. It's been on my mind as Carson and Parker continually crack us up- and drive us crazy all in a typical day:) I keep thinking how much I would love to have written so many things down over the past 3 years....but was just too "busy", or was it that I was valuing sleep?
We are potty training and it's full of good times. Parker continues to do well....has pretty much caught right on....but Carson is a whole other story. Today, Mitchell's Place (the boys' "school") officially asked for suggestions and incentives to get him to quit pooping in his pants:( Problematically, he is as excited when Parker uses the potty as he is for himself....is that a twin thing?
Ok....so bear with me as I try to be committed to keep up with our lives on this blog:) I'm only 3 years late, but better late then never, right?

Just to recap/ catch everyone up:
0-6 weeks- boys in NICU
6 weeks- 1 year- Brad tried to keep up on www.caringbridge.com/visit/carsonandparkerdouglas
1 year-now- I attempted to start a site www.thedouglasboys.site.shutterfly.com

Lots of love, fun, tears, trips, doctor's visits and a little sleep on the side:)