"Leavin'... on a jet plane"

Okay. It's too expensive to fly right now. So, we are "Leavin'... in a Ford Escape..." It still kind of works right? We are heading to Destin, Florida for my sister in law's wedding (yay!). Unfortunately, Hurricane Gustav is putting a wrench in it all, but we are staying positive. My SIL changed her wedding from Monday to Saturday and then we will likely have to evacuate.

We are also visiting K's first love, Mac. His mama posts over on "It's all about ME". He and K met at our "school" that my friend Kelly runs. K and Mac. They are two of a kind. She doesn't understand geography yet, so all she knows is that "Mac left on a plane with his mommy, daddy, and baby Eli to live in Florida." So, she thinks that when she wakes up tomorrow in Florida, we will see him. Well, that's not exactly how it will be. She will have a great time at Aunt Nana's wedding, the first one she has ever attended. She is very excited about that, too!

Oh yeah, and my dear, dear friend Kelly is having her baby. (She posts over at "Shades of Gray") Seriously. Like any minute. I am awaiting her news from her doc's appointment. I hate that we will miss her baby girl's arrival, and cannot wait until I get to snuggle her and smell her sweet baby smell. Ahhhh... babies.

Of course, I can't post without mentioning the BRILLIANT speech by Barack Obama last night. Did you stay up and watch it? If you didn't, watch it online. It is worth it. Believe me. An historic night and an historic speech. Made me feel very inspired and patriotic. Go USA!

Well, off we go!! With a 3 year old, 11 month old, and a hurricane on the way. There are bound to be a few stories to share when I return!

New Neighbors

While NOT washing dishes this morning, I noticed this moving object in our little pond at the end of the waterfall. It was a turtle! I got K and J and went out to welcome our new friend. (K was totally disinterested, as she is with all things that crawl). Then, as I was getting ready to download pics of our new neighbor I noticed something walking near our woods. I thought it was a cat, and then looked closer and found these two babies! Their mama was just off to the left, but not in the picture. The one looking directly at the camera saw me as I quietly walked out onto the upstairs balcony to snap a picture. I quietly said, "Well, hi there beauty". And I am not kidding. She wagged her little tail. Do deer wag their tails? Well this one did! So now I call these my beauties and will have to make sure there are some scraps out there for them to eat.

It's like a friggin' petting zoo over here. I love it! Maybe I could start charging admission?

Warning: Hard hat area

One of the things we love the most about our "new" house is the big deck out back and all the old trees around. We've encountered a new situation where we dress one way when we are at home, and then have to peel off a layer to go elsewhere. There are so many trees that it easily feels ten degrees cooler here than other places.

One of the downsides is that we have a large family of squirrels who feast on all the bounty of our backyard. We have an old hickory nut tree that shades the deck. It has large, round, green hickory nuts. Our deck is LITTERED with nuts. The squirrels are up in the tree, eating all the nuts and our deck becomes their crumb catcher. Which is kind of disgusting when you think about it. Also, while foraging the nuts, they drop them below, creating a large banging on the deck, chairs, table, etc. Seriously, one dropped into the little pond and it sounded like someone did a cannonball into it.

D cleans it off with the leaf blower, only to find the "crumbs" have returned within a few hours. It is so bad that I won't let the kids out and play back there for fear they will get BONKED on the head. Those nuts are hard and have to hurt when they are dropped from the top of that tree!

Oh yeah, and Molly eats the broken nuts and then throws up later. Joy joy!

An unexpected gift

Just when we thought it was impossible to love our children just one drop more....



They slept until 8am on a Sunday morning.



Glory be! We woke up BEFORE our children this morning. I know! Can you imagine? If only they would make THIS a habit...


Thank you sweet children. Mommy and Daddy have been exhausted all week from staying up far too late into the night watching the Olympics. Today we are well rested. We know it won't last, but today, TODAY we are well rested.

It takes a village

Hey all you mamas and papas/ aunties and uncles/ grandparents/ caregivers/ etc. out there reading this blog! What is your current parenting struggle?

We all struggle...during every stage, during every milestone, heck, during every DAY!

"It takes a village"....

"We are all in this together"...

"Insert your own cheesy battle cry here"....

Let's share them with each other! For me, parenting can be so isolating. Most of my friends are parents/aunties/uncles/cousins/caregivers/etc, yet we rarely tell each other what we are REALLY struggling with. Kids are hard. Damn hard. At least mine are. And I know your's are too. What are you and your kid/kid equivalent struggling with these days?

Here are mine:

With K, still trying to get the #2 in the potty. EVERY SINGLE FRIGGIN DAY. Also have begun the wonderful world of "why?" and it's beautiful sister "the world of backtalk". Seriously. If I hear myself say "Stop talking back to me (what is a better way to phrase that? I think it confuses her)." To which I get the response ".... why?" I am gonna scream. Oh wait. Already did that.

With J, he is in the anxiety separation stage. He is doing well overall, but if mama is in the room, mama needs to be holding him. At least in his view. I mean sobs, big crocodile tears, sounds that make you think surely there must be a wasp in his diaper, and then if I pick him up... Nothing. Not even a reminent (?) of a tear. Complete calm. Sometimes I think maybe I IMAGINED the earlier tantrum it is gone so quickly

On being an Olympian...

Are you watching the Olympics? Bob Costas just did (another!) piece on Michael Phelps, swimmer extraordinaire. Michael Phelps spends FIVE hours a day in the water on a typical day. He consumes...get this...between EIGHT AND TEN THOUSAND calories per day to "try" and break the 200 pound mark. His typical breakfast consists of three fried egg and cheese sandwiches, grits, french toast and chocolate chip pancakes and I am CERTAIN I've left out at least two other foods he mentioned. For breakfast.

Heh. F**k Richard Simmons, I gotta get a pool....

Weight loss update

Hidy ho! I'm still doing it! It's been about ten days and things are going well. Not perfect, but I managed to survive two birthday celebrations, a night of pizza and pasta with friends, a fast food meal, and a minor injury this past week. I was a little "gung-ho" about the exercise piece last week and managed to strain some muscles in my middle back. I know. Go figure. Tip: Don't do this- Not exercise regularly for a long time, do minimal stretching, and then hop on an elliptical machine with some funky beat music three days in a row and see what happens. Nobody ever said I was the brightest bulb in the bunch. :)

I am back on track now and feeling good. I don't feel like I am dieting at all (b/c I am not). Just making subtle changes and I have to say, it is working! My energy is up and I am sleeping better.

Have you heard of Jennette Fulda? She wrote a book called "Half-Assed: A weight loss memoir". I stumbled upon her book at my local Barnes & Nobles a few weeks ago. It's great! She lost like 200 pounds. What a pleasant surprise to find out she is from this area (Indy). She's also been making the morning news show rounds too...so that's been exciting to see. She blogged throughout her weight loss and maintenance. And she's just a normal person.

If you've ever had "weight issues" I'll tell you, I have yet to find a paragraph in her book that I couldn't relate. Or even just self-esteem issues (who hasn't?). I added her to my blog roll over on the right.... she is "Half of me". Check it out! She rocks!

Happy Birthday K!

Three years ago, at this time, Mommy and Daddy were sleeping. Around 1:30 am, Mommy woke up with a sudden "popping" feeling and a gush of water. Mommy threw her arm over Daddy and said frantically "My water just broke!" You weren't due for another four weeks.

There were quite a few twists and turns along the way, and Mommy is not just talking about the road to the hospital. Mommy will tell you all the details another day. The most important part of this story is:

At 3:44 am, the doctor took you out of Mommy's belly. You were very, very tired, and had changed your mind about being ready to come out into this big, big world. But out you came! And after a few rubs, some pats, and lots of prayers, you took your first breath. A big girl breath, followed by a big scream! It was the best sound Mommy and Daddy had ever heard.

And now three years later, you still like to do things in your own time. You change your mind alot and definitely have a strong will. You love to sing, you love to dance. You love to play "mommy and baby". You love to read books. They are by far your favorite thing. You love making up stories. Especially about you and your friends going on adventures. Every story you read, every story you tell, they all end with happy endings.

YOU are my happy ending, sweet girl. I waited a lifetime for you. I waited another lifetime to hear your first gasp for air and your beautiful voice scream. I still listen to you breathe every night before I go to sleep. I still wake up every morning to the sound of your beautiful voice.

Thank you for being a fighter. Even when we struggle with each other, I am always, ALWAYS thankful you are a fighter. Always fight for your life. It is your's and no one else's. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Happy Birthday, K!

Love,

Mommy

Ballerina girl