Staying Busy

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

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

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!

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...

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!