Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Pretty Quiet Week...Happy Birthday Mom:)

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!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Vacation Week and Recovery:)

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:)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

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

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:)