More October Fun

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

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!

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!

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..

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

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

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....