Thoughts From A Dixie Magnolia

Ahhhh....The Birds and the Bees

2010-06-19T17:26:00.007-04:00

Okay, just the birds really!! Every year it seems that we have a bird build a nest in one of the 2 ferns we always have on our front porch. This year I think we had 2 birds sharing one nest as you will see from the eggs in the pictures. i first checked the nest and there were 5 eggs, 2 large brown spotted ones, and 3 smaller blue ones. The next day i checked it, there was one more blue one, and the next day after that there was another blue one. So that made for 2 large eggs and 5 smaller eggs. Quite the crowded home!! Time passed and I begin to check for babies, and the first one to hatch was one of the brown eggs, so you will see pictures of that baby bird. Sadly, when I went back to check again, there were only 5 unhatched blue eggs in the nest, that baby bird was gone and so was the other brown egg. I'm thinking that unfortunately the mother of the spotted eggs was no longer around and the new mommy got rid of the foreign babies. My kids didn't really understand that but were soon awed by the other babies that were hatching. I reminded them of the verse in the Bible that says God provides daily for the birds of the air and how much more he loves us and will continue to provide for us all that we need everyday. It has been truly amazing to watch the little birds as the sat with their little beaks open, blindly waiting for their next meal. Sometimes I feel that way, just wandering around blindly, depending on someone else instead of on God. When i put my trust in Him, I can walk boldly, not blindly, in this world, trusting He will provide all I need and more, each and every day.

Finally!! A Relaxing Weekend!

2010-06-07T15:29:00.004-04:00

We finally had a very relaxing weekend this past weekend. May has definitely turned into one of the busier months for our family and we were overdue for a relaxing weekend. After Michael and Matthew came home from an overnighter, we washed the cars, played in the driveway, watered the garden, weeded the flowerbeds and than had some "free Play" in the yard. It was a great way to spend our first weekend of the summer!

Oil Spill Solution

2010-05-28T21:55:00.002-04:00

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Matthew's K-3 Graduation Program

2010-05-22T13:48:00.007-04:00

Another Cesaro boy has graduated from K-3! It was quite an evening! Matthew was so excited about his program. He kept telling us it was a secret. He was really cute about the whole thing. He helped me pick out his clothes for the program and was super excited to get all dressed up just like daddy. Everyone was actually ready to go on time and looking all spiffy. We took a few pre-program shots and then loaded up into the car. Nicky was in the way back by himself and Matthew and Michael were in the middle seat together. We arrived at the church in plenty of time, (thank goodness) and when I got the two older boys out and pulled the seat back I was greeted by a little boy covered in sunscreen. I mean all over his pants, shirt, carseat, shoes. I should have taken a picture of him before I cleaned him up. It was quite hilarious. So, Mike took Mattie to his classroom and dropped him off while i stayed behind and cleaned Nicholas and the car up. Luckily I'm pretty prepared and had a change of clothes in the car along with a huge pack of wipes. We made it in plenty of time and arrived in the sanctuary and sat with Poppa, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Steve. The program began with a 15 minute slide show of all the classes, there were some musical numbers and then the children received their diplomas. It was so cute! Followed by refreshments in the social hall. When I started thinking about it, Matthew really has accomplished a lot in this year. He mastered all of his letters, numbers, shapes, colors, recognizes his name and can spell it, learned our address, our phone number, learned how to wipe his own bottom (this is huge!!), and learned how to interact socially with others. Not to mention all he has learned about our God and our Savior this year. So he deserved to be recognized for all of those accomplishments. I must say Matthew was the best dressed little man up there, not that I am biased or anything. Here are a few pics from the program and a little video of their favorite song, "Going on a Bear Hunt" All in all it was a wonderful evening, full of happiness and not really any tears, if you can believe that!

AWANA Awards

2010-05-21T15:04:00.003-04:00

I'm only about a month behind this time! Here are the boys on AWANA awards night at church. They love it and I love it because it is teaching them to be grounded in the scriptures.

Mommy I found Something!

2010-04-10T08:33:00.002-04:00

So yesterday I went downstairs to check on the boys playing in the basement. As I came down the stairs I saw Nicky sitting on the table with his arm straight out and his finger pointing. He said "Mommy I found something" and i said "oh really" and he said "yes, my nose" We play this game where we "take the kids noses off" and throw them so I thought he was talking about that. But as I got closer i saw that he had a big boogie on the end of his finger !! I said "what is that?" and he answered "a big boogie from my nose" Oh and the look on his face was just priceless! He was so proud of himself! You would of thought he found some gold in there. Oh the joys of motherhood!!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:30:00.006-04:00

Spring has Sprung

2010-03-27T17:00:00.006-04:00

AHhhh..........Spring is in the air!! I always think about the song "Morning Has Broken" around this time of the year. Not sure if it is because of Easter or just because of all the new growth that I see every day. Though fall is my favorite time of year, one can't help but feel a sense of renewal and the opportunity to start afresh when spring rolls around and God displays his creativity once again with all of the beautiful flowers and colors that He puts on display. All for His and our own enjoyment. What a wonderful God we serve, one who would give us such beauty each and every day. As we draw closer to Good Friday, I hope you will take the time time to really take in the gift that God gave us in His son Jesus Christ. He humbled himself and became human, enduring all the emotions, physical pains and agonies that he had never felt before, putting himself in a postion to be totally dependant on a sinful mother for sustinance, not because he had to, but because He loved us so much that he wanted to. I can't really fully comprehend a love that great, but I am committed to spending my life searching for and getting to know our God. I hope that you will enjoy all of God's gifts this week, the beauty that surrounds us, the gift of His son, and his mercies new each day.

Okay, Okay........

2010-02-18T17:18:00.007-05:00

So I'm lame and haven't updated my blog in oh....2 months, well make that 3 months now!! Ha ha! Life just has a way of continuing to happen, now why is that?! here are a few pics of things that have happened over the past few months including, Christmas, Nicky's 2 yr birthday, Michael receiving the "Terrific Kids" award, 2 seperate snow/ice events and some other random shots!

Merry Christmas to All!!

2009-12-24T11:14:00.001-05:00

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A little behind

2009-12-15T17:41:00.008-05:00

well, I have to say I am a little behind on the posting. I haven't posted anything about thanksgiving and here it is a week and half till Christmas! Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving programs and from getting our Christmas Tree

Matthew Says Psalm 23

2009-11-24T12:22:00.000-05:00

Halloween Cuties!

2009-11-13T15:10:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pics from our Halloween Adventures this year. Michael and Mattie were both Ninjas and Nicky was a dog. They had fun but it rained quite a bit so we didn't get to as many houses as usual whcih was fine by us! Less candy is better since for about the next few months we will be bombarded with treats!

Dates with Dad

2009-11-07T14:34:00.004-05:00

My dad and I had the pleasure of each others company recently on 2 seperate occasions. Here are some pics from both. One was a father-daughter dance and the other was a benefit for the new breast cancer wing at Spartanburg Regional Hospital. We had a great time at both events.

Apple Pickin'

2009-10-25T19:55:00.007-04:00

The Tri Story

2009-09-08T18:11:00.011-04:00

So, The race was in Laurens, SC so Mike and I headed down after he got off work to my cousins house who happens to live in Laurens, to crash there for the night. I really was not nervous at all the day or evening before. She cooked a great meal (OK Whole Foods cooked a great meal!), we ate dinner, hung out for a while and she walked me through how things would go in the morning. We also sat down with our transition bags to make sure I had everything I would need for the race. Swim Goggles, check, Bike Helmet, check, socks & running shoes, check, hydration pack, sunglasses, visor, Carb Boom fruit chews, towel, check, check, and check. I placed my race number on my bike helmet and that was pretty much all the preparation for the night so I turned in around 9pm. Amazingly enough, I was actually able to fall right to sleep. I slept all night long and woke up at 4:20am, about 10 minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I was really amazed at how calm I was when I woke up. I got up, splashed some water on my face, pulled my hair back and put on my tri suit. Then i pulled out the trusty Bible for some comfort and read a few key passages about being anxious and read the competitors creed about 5 times and I felt pretty calm. I have heard that you should not do anything different on race day than you do on training days but............I decided to go against my better judgement and try this drink that my cousin has before her race in lieu of eating solid foods. Supposedly this is better on your system when racing. So she mixed me up some and it looked like a sickeningly sweet, milky, sludge, sounds good huh?! So I took 2 sips and thought I was going to vomit! I really felt seriously ill. At this point, i wasn't sure if I was naseaus because I was nervous or because I had drunk that horrendous concoction! In any event, I could not get anything else down and had to go on to the race on an empty stomach. Better than tossing my cookies all over I guess. So we headed out about 5:45 am for the race. At this point, I am really worried I am going to have to pull over so I can be sick, but I pop in a piece of mint gum and that seems to settle my stomach a bit. 7 minutes later we are there and people are already setting up their stuff and getting body marked. We walked through the transiton area and chose a prime spot for our bikes and other misc. things. I was a little nervous about how you set up your stuff because it seemd to me that it was very crowded and I was worried about knocking somebody elses stuff off. Once I got all of my stuff laid out, socks on top of shoes, helmet on the ground, visor and race belt behind that, it was time to go and get body marked.
This was fairly simple, you tell them your race number and pick up your chip which you strap to your left leg and then they proceed to write on you with this ginormous permanant marker. the smell in that place was enough to knock you out!! Your number goes on your right arm, left arm,the front of your right and left thigh and then your age goes on your right calf (no lying here!!) After all that was settled, and I had met a few new friends, i decided I needed to get in the pool and warm up. a couple of laps and a few last minute pointers later, it was time to exit the pool and get lined up. At this point I am getting really excited and the adrenaline is really starting to kick in. While waiting in line to get in the pool I talked to several people and everyone was so nice and so supportive, congratulating me already for doing a triathlon even though we hadn't started. It was very neat to be in that kind of an atmosphere. I have never in my life been in an athletic type racing event. I have competed before but never in this arena. It was sort of intoxicating really. So then it was my time to get in the pool and there is no huge sound or horn or anything telling you to go, just a person stadning there letting people go about every 30 seconds and all they do is say "ok go" in this very non-chalant way. Kind of anti-climactic at that point but it did keep me from just taking off.
Everyone had told me to really pace myself at first so I didn't run out of steam at the end, so I swam at a nice slow pace, actually really slow as it turned out! My swim time ended up being 6:20 which is about 20sec slower than my usual time, guess I could have pushed a little harder, but my goal was just to finish. Oh, I did pass one person in the pool, that felt like a little victory. So I jump out of the pool, OK climb out of the pool and try to "run" out to the transition area. I found my bike fine and my earlier worries of knocking peoples stuff off was not necessary because they were all gone!
I strapped on my helmet first,then I rinsed my feet off, tried desparately to pull socks onto wet feet, (try this sometime, not easy!), pulled on my tennis shoes, strapped on my hydration pack and ran my bike out through the transition gate and to the mounting point, jumped on and off I went.

The bike started out up hill and at this point I was breathing like I was in labor, I had to really concentrate on getting my breathing under control. It took me about 3 minutes to recover and really start pedaling and it was at this point that I realized how weak my legs felt. Biking is usually my best event, but not that day, I could hardly get above 15 mph. So several people passed me on the bike, but that was ok. The bike was great, although it seemed weird to be out there pretty much by myself without anyone else around. The route was clearly marked so no problems there. I just really couldn't believe how weak my legs felt. It took me 56 minutes to bike what should have taken about 45. But I didn't have to stop. So I come in from the bike into the transition and as I am hanging my bike up, taking off my hydration pack and bike helmet, I'm grabbing my race belt with number to throw on and my carb booms. Mike is standing outside of transition and tells me that my cousin, who originally talked me into doing this, has had a wreck and is out of the race. So I'm just standing there in shock and he yells, "Run!". Oh, right, I'm in a race, run!! So I start off on the run and I immediately start running too fast, I had to reign myself in a little and slow down because the entire first half of the run is uphill. So I'm going at a snails pace, or so it feels, although no one passed me on the run. I actually felt pretty good during the entire run. I ate my carb booms and grabbed one cup of water and was on the home stretch when I see Mike and my cousin up ahead on the road.
My cousin has come to push me hard the last quarter mile so here she is all bandaged up, running in her flip flops and I'm having a hard time keeping up with her! needless to say she is an awesome triathlete. I finish the run, which was also straight uphill, in 32 min, which was pretty good for me and then it is over. I cross the finish line and there is my mom waiting for me. It was totally awesome! I couldn't believe I actually finished without having to stop. Aside from the weak legs on the bike, everything went fairly smooth, including the transitions. I was really proud of myself for setting a goal and sticking with it. Mike and I were talking afterwards and I was just reminding him that I have NEVER done anything athletic, much less competitive in my life. This was the first time ever. So at 32 years old I managed my first ever athletic event and competition. Not too bad, and yes, I will be doing it again next year!!

Tri-ing it out! The Competitors Creed

2009-08-28T14:55:00.005-04:00

So, here I go, off to check out the world of Triathlons. My first Tri is tomorrow morning in Laurens SC, and although it is small, I am quite nervous. However, my brother has been a great encourager as has my cousin and her husband. I feel like I am ready but with the unknown always comes a bit of anxiety. My brother races with the FCA Endurance Team and I recently checked them out. I read their competitors creed and immedietly felt more at ease. Things just seem easier when we stop relying on ourselves, and continue to rely on Christ. So, here is the reason I am racing, summed up in the FCA Endurance Creed:

The Competitor’s Creed

I am a Christian first and last.
I am created in the likeness of
God Almighty to bring Him glory.
I am a member of Team Jesus Christ.
I wear the colors of the cross

I am a Competitor now and forever.
I am made to strive, to strain,
to stretch and to succeed
in the arena of competition.
I am a Christian Competitor
and as such, I face my challenger
with the face of Christ.

I do not trust in myself.
I do not boast in my abilities
or believe in my own strength.
I rely solely on the power of God.
I compete for the pleasure of
my Heavenly Father, the honor of Christ
and the reputation of the Holy Spirit.

My attitude on and off
the field is above reproach-
my conduct beyond criticism.
Whether I am preparing,
practicing or playing;
I submit to God’s authority
and those He has put over me.
I respect my coaches, officials,
teammates and competitors
out of respect for the Lord.

My body is the temple of Jesus Christ.
I protect it from within and without.
Nothing enters my body that
does not honor the Living God.
My sweat is an offering to my Master.
My soreness is a sacrifice to my Savior.

I give my all – all of the time.
I do not give up. I do not give in.
I do not give out. I am the Lord’s warrior –
a competitor by conviction
and a disciple of determination.
I am confident beyond reason
because my confidence lies in Christ.
The results of my efforts
must result in His glory.

LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN.
LET THE GLORY BE GOD’S.

Missing My Baby

2009-07-20T17:08:00.002-04:00

My oldest son is currently visiting with his grandparents in the beautiful mountains of Virginia. While I know he is having a grand time exploring the mountain, hiking the trails and jumping over the streams, I miss him terribly already and he just left yesterday. I thought it would be a nice break for us both and was of the mindset that it may be a little easier with only 2 boys instead of 3 but I have noticed throughout the day that I really miss my little helper and just how much he can and is willing to help me out througout the day. So I'm glad for him that he will get to do pretty much whatever he wants while he is with his grandparents but it will be a long 10 days for me! You think as your kids get older that things in general get easier but now I see that once you get past the baby phase that already at the young age of 6 does the letting go process begin. My how time flies....

Goodbye Old Friend

2009-07-02T08:29:00.007-04:00

So, I'm saying good bye to our stove. It was not really great from the beginning so no love lost really. I must say when we moved into our first home,the one we still live in, I was a little apprehensive about having a gas stove and range, but Mike would have nothing else so I had little choice since he does a lot of the cooking around here! I had visions of me blowing the house up trying to get this thing lit, but gas stoves have come a long way since the one I remember growing up with at the lake. that one required you light it with a match each time and that was a little scary to me! But the one we had was not anything like that, it had a pilot light that was on all the time and you simply had to turn the nob until the flame popped up. And after I adjusted to cooking with it, I will certainly NEVER go back to electric!! I mean when you turn on a gas burner, it is immediately hot, when you turn it off, it is immediately cool. You can turn the burner off and leave the pot sitting there and not worry about it continuing to cook. That feature I really love, especially since we don't have a lot of extra counter space to set hot pots on. However, we have been having problems with the oven part for about a year now, something with the element firing on and off rapidly. We could never get the oven to preheat without turning on one of the stove burners and even then it took forever. We usually ended up turning on the broiler and getting the oven hot enough and then switching to regular cooking to maintain the temperature. So we finally broke down and bought a new Range. We decided to go stainless since we just replaced our counter top microwave with an over the range and it is stainless. It has a convection oven which has turned out to be awesome!! It cooks in about half the time that is required and is great for bread and cookies. So, I say good bye to our first stove, a not so faithful friend in the end!

You're a Good Daddy!

2009-05-21T14:00:00.003-04:00

So Mike and I are sitting around the other day just talking and Mike asks me "Does Mattie ever tell you that you are a good mommy, because he says to me all the time 'You're a good daddy'?" Of course my answer was no, nobody ever says I'm a good mommy! I couldn't believe it, so Mike goes on to say that Mattie says it to him all the time, just randomly will say "you're a good daddy" for no particular reason. Oh, well, guess I just have to be self assured that I'm a good mommy!!

Mom I have Gum in My Eye!!

2009-05-15T14:25:00.003-04:00

Are you kidding me?! This is what I am thinking as Michael is yelling down to me that he has gum in his eye. So I yell up in my best mom voice "Get Down here right now!!" Footsteps on the stairs....Michael comes around the corner and he doesn't merely have gum on his eyelid, his entire eye is matted shut with a big wad of flourescent green gum. Again "You have got to be kidding me!" Oh, this has really happened folks, So, my first thought is, am I going to have to take my child to the dr. to get this gum out or is this something I can handle myself? And then I think "ice!" I need some ice to get it hard so it will just fall off. Now picture in your mind me trying to hold this ice on a 5 year olds eye, at first it is fine, then he starts screaming about how cold it is, which I have to admit I've never had a piece of ice on my eyelid so he may have a valid point there. Luckily, daddy was just pulling into the garage at that time and I could devote my full attention to Michael. It's really hard to get gum out with a 2 year old and a 1 year old jumping all around you trying to see what their crazy brother has done to himself. I carry him upstairs to the bathroom all the while wondering what in the world I'm going to use to get the gum out of his eyelashes. So I plop him down on the toilet and look around and decide to try to use my fingernails to gently pull the gum out of his lashes, yeah, that did NOT go over too well. His eyelid stretched out about a mile which could not have felt good. So I ended up using wet wipes (thankfully we have plenty) and a q-tip with some good old fashioned Ponds Cold Cream on it to finally get it all out of the lashes and off his face. What a mess!! I made Mike get the camera so I could document this for when he is older and doesn't believe he could have done anything like that!! Just another crazy day with the boys!!

From Mommy to Mom to Mother

2009-04-16T13:13:00.005-04:00

Yesterday afternoon, I realized that my 5 year old, soon to be six, has crossed the first of many thresholds of growing up. I know this because yesterday I realized he has started calling me "mom". Not mommy, or even momma, just "mom". No you say, why does this happen, or when does this happen. I'm not sure why it happens but it seems that it comes with getting older and the mommy or momma sounds baby-ish to them all of a sudden. And I think it happens at a different age for each child, and my 5 year old may have been calling me this for a while but yesterday was the first time I really noticed and that it really sank in that he is no longer calling me mommy. I realized it because yesterday afternoon I had 6 neighborhood kids in my backyard playing(apparently we have the only swing set/playhouse for a stretch of about 6 houses) and I had the windows open in case of any dire need. So I hear the kids outside playing and all of a sudden I hear this "mo-om" and I thought, "Whose child is that?" And so I hear it again and realize, Oh, that would be my child.......calling me "mom", not "mommy". Hmmm....when did this happen. And I have to admit I got a little sentimental about it. He has been in K-5 this year at public school so has had school all day, and although I enjoy it immensely most of the time, yesterday i found myself wishing that I had more time with him. he is already starting to enter that "don't hug me and for the love of Pete don't kiss me in public" stage so I guess a part of me is going through the process of letting go of my baby to give way to the boy he is going to be, which is exciting and sad all at the same time. when i get caught up in the craziness of everyday, I try to remind myself to enjoy this time, because it will be gone all too soon, and I am just getting the beginning glimpses of how quickly it slips away. After this happened yesterday, ironically enough I got an email this morning about this very happening. I will share it with you.

Mommy to Mom to Mother
Real Mothers don't eat quiche;

they don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils

are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,

filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough

doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what

the vacuum just sucked up.

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'

and get their answer when a little voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

Real Mothers know that a child's growth is not measured by height or years or grade...It is marked by the progression of Mommy to Mom to Mother...

The Images of Mother......

4 YEARS OF AGE - My Mommy can do anything!

8 YEARS OF AGE - My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!

12 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother doesn't really know quite everything.

14 YEARS OF AGE - Mom doesn't know that, either.

16 YEARS OF AGE - My Mother? She's clueless.

18 YEARS OF AGE - That old woman?!

25 YEARS OF AGE - Well, she might know a little bit about it!

35 YEARS OF AGE - Before we decide, let's get Mom's opinion.

45 YEARS OF AGE - Wonder what Mom thinks about it?

65 YEARS OF AGE - Wish I could talk it over with Mom.

Genetics

2009-04-15T14:33:00.008-04:00

Do you ever look at your kids and totally see yourself when you were that age? Something about the way they tilt their head, or the way they move their hands, or the expression they have? That happened to me yesterday. I was standing in the kitchen making supper and Michael and I were talking about something, not sure what, but he looked at me and tilted his head a certain way and had this look on his face and was holding his hands just so and I had this really strange sensation that I was looking at myself at that age. It was really quite twilight zone-ish. I so look forward to all of those moments, seeing what parts of me and what parts of Mike each child picked up and will carry on with them. And eventually seeing in their children what will be carried forth into future generations. Thanks to genetics, a small part of us continues to live throughout the ages. Isn't God truly amazing?!

Peter Cotton Tail

2009-04-15T14:05:00.002-04:00

I know all you parents out there probably teach your children to stay away from strangers, to never open the door for strangers, scream if a stranger tries to grab you, etc, etc. So I was thinking about this the other day and had a thought. We teach all of our kids these safety precautions and then on all major holidays, we tell them a complete stranger is going to come into our house, possibly their room, and possibly bring us gifts. The Easter Bunny, Cupid at Valentines day, a little Leprechaun at St. Patricks day, Santa Clause at Christmas, The Tooth fairy when you lose a tooth. Now my kids have seemingly never been confused about this but I realized how strange it is when a neighbor girl recently lost a tooth and was scared to death the tooth fairy was going to come into her room at night and take her tooth. Even though there was the possibility of money in the deal, she was not having any of it. I'm not sure what precautions she made her parents take to ensure said tooth fairy did not enter the house, much less her room. Does the gift giving excuse a stranger from entering our house and if so, how do we ware children against strangers who try to offer them candy (the proverbial "Do you want a piece of candy little girl?") Does this seem strange to anyone else? Just an observation!

Too Long!

2009-03-26T20:51:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted! I was talking to a friend the other day and she was scolding me for being so out of date, as she should have!! Unfortunately, that's just how it is with 3 very active little boys. Actually things here have been pretty calm and normal. We have been illness free for the past few weeks, except for a small incident with out youngest. It was a Sunday morning and we decided to be lazy and stay home from church and just enjoy the beautiful weather. Mike sent me to Dunkin Donuts to grab breakfast for the boys around 7am. When I got back, our youngest was still not awake, this was the night that the time changed and we lost an hour so I didn't really think anything of it. Well, around 8:30 am I popped my head in the nursery to check on him and he was just sucking his thumb so I didn't bother him. Well, by 9:30 he still had not made a peep so I went in to get him up. He was totally out of it, I mean, unresponsive, did not respond to my voice, was sort of limp like. I thought he may just be groggy so i changed his diaper and took him on down stairs for his oatmeal. He didn't raise his head off my chest so i just fed him while he was sitting on my lap. He barely opened his mouth to eat, but he did eat all of his oatmeal. He was still just in a daze. I showed him some toys, set him down on the floor, nothing. At this point I was really starting to get worried. I took him outstide so daddy could talk to him because that usually really gets him going. Nothing. So I call the nurse on call and she suggested I have him checked out in the next 4 hours so I left immediately for our oncall doctor. By this time he had started to perk up a little but was still not himself and fell asleep quickly after we arrived at the Dr's office. They could not really find anything wrong with him. They did some blood work and everything looked normal. Well, I thought it best if I followed up with our own Dr. and he suggested 2 things. First, he thought it may be a blood sugar issue and prescribed a blood sugar test each morning with one of those blood glucose monitors. And he also thought we may want to go the route of a pediatric neurologist. After taking his blood sugar for 2 weeks first thing in the morning, it was all over the place, we decided to nix the pediatric neurologist and stick to a pediatric endocronologist to explore further his sugar issues. The pediatric neurologist was in play because we thought there may have been an issue with seizures. But given the glucose levels, we think this is the way to go. We have an appt on Thurs April 7 with the endocronologist. So, we'll go from there. Other wise he has been totally fine and his normal little self. He has gotten his one year molars and is a bit fussy but, that's normal! So, thankfully, we have been back to normal.

Back to Normal, whatever that means

2009-03-05T20:00:00.005-05:00

So with a bit of snow still hanging around, things mostly got back to normal today. The kids went to school on time, no delays, no cancellations. I made it to the gym at 8 am which, unfortunately is becoming rare! Man, having all 3 kids at home for 2 days on my own was a greater challenge than I remember!! Since usually it is only on the weekends that all 3 are home and Mike is here to help me out, I don't think of it as being that hard, but being here with all 3 of them was quite a challenge. Nicholas by himself is a challenge right now since his is getting into everything, and I mean everything. The rocks in the fireplace, the trash in the trashcan, the toilet paper in the bathroom, the toaster, the place mats, you name it, he's in it. Whew!.....Then add to that the regular rough housing with the 2 older ones, jumping, shouting, bouncing......It was all I could do to make it through the day. So kudos to all of the moms who stay home with all of their kids all day long and home school!! I don't think I could ever do that! Thank God for public school, right?!

The Boys Enjoy the Snow

2009-03-05T19:51:00.003-05:00

Snow, Beautiful Snow!!

2009-03-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

At long last, as seasons end, we have finally received a beautiful snow. It was well worth the wait. It began last night around 5:30 and snowed for about 4 hours. It was really peaceful and beautiful. It reminded me of when I was a little girl and we had snow EVERY winter! My dad used to take us in the trailor behind the tractor "over the river and through the woods" to my grandmothers house, hokey I know but we really did!! It was wonderful. I still get excited now anytime there is a call for snow, I'm not really sure why. I think it must be the peace it seems to give me, everything is pure,..... quiet,.... different somehow. My excitement has now transferred to my kids. When I went upstairs to tell them they could get up, they had already opened the blinds in their bedroom and were both looking at the snow. It was priceless!!

So the boys enjoyed the snow and went sledding this morning, all except Nicky, he did not like the snow at all. He tried to like it, but after falling several, several times face down into the snow, he decided he had had enough and began screaming!! So, that was it for him, his first experience with snow!

I will post a few pics when I have more time!

2009-03-02T13:05:00.000-05:00

www.shape.com >> Routines

2009-02-24T16:33:00.001-05:00

www.shape.com >> Routines

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All Good Things.......

2009-02-16T13:45:00.004-05:00

Here are a few pics from our visit with Mike's sister and her family. The kids had a GREAT time with their cousins. I only wish we lived a little closer so they could visit more often but maybe Alison will choose a college in the good ole south so we can see her more often.

Visit

2009-02-15T13:52:00.002-05:00

Mike's sister Christine and her family are visiting with us right now. Alison is looking at colleges and came down this way to check out Wake Forest, Davidson, and Clemson. They are off at Clemson this afternoon so the kids are napping and I am making a red velvet cake for Alison and Mike's birthdays. Mike's bday was Wed and Alison's is today. So far the visit has been great! Alison and James are both very intelligent and extremely sweet kids and have been great with our kids, playing with them and stuff. I'll post some pics when I take some!

Murder Mystery

2009-02-09T15:03:00.004-05:00

So we went to a 30th birthday dinner for one of the guys in our community group at Southside Fellowship and we participated in a Murder Mystery over dinner. It was absolutely hysterical! And fun! i have only been to one other murder mystery and it was where professional actors played the characters and the audience participated by asking questions, making observations etc. But for this dinner, we were the characters. Each character got a book with their role and it told a little about your character and then for each "round" it listed certain clues that you must reveal during that round. It also gave you information about your character that you would not choose to reveal since it would most likely incriminate you. It was so fun! The one we did was an Asian theme so all the names were really funny and we were still figuring out who was who at the end of the night. We really love our community group and this was a great way to get to know each other even more. So, I'm thinking that I may host one of these sometime soon, the couple that hosted it said they have several others with different themes. Sounds like a party to me! Here are a few pics from the dinner.

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-09T13:41:00.003-05:00

So, now that Christmas has come and gone, for which I am glad and sad all at the same time, here we are faced with a new year and the pressure for resolutions: lose weight, spend more time with the kids, read more, blog more, love yourself more, be more organized, cook better meals, and the list goes on, and on, and on.......

So this year, I resolved not to make a resolution since they seem to be so overrated. Rather my quest for this year will be to get to know my Savior better, to follow his leading, to be a part of what he is doing in the world, to pay attention to the little nudges and whispers the Holy Spirit constantly offers us to stay in line with God's plan for our lives. I want our children to grow up knowing that we let Christ lead our lives,that we listen to what He says we should do, not what the world says. I know this will be a challenge, but one that will be well worth it for the legacy of our family.

I hope all of you that made resolutions will find a way to stick to them, and I pray that 2009 will be a year of hope, not despair; one of new beginnings: looking at the past and learning from it and then moving on, learning what a NEW NORMAL looks and feels like. So Happy New Year to everyone!

I wish I had a river I could skate away on............

2008-12-22T19:54:00.004-05:00

Here we are again, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Hmmmm.............. I used to sing that song and truly believe this is the most wonderful time of the year, and in some ways, the birth of Christ, this is the most wonderful time of the year, in other ways, the last 3 Christmas holidays have been the most stressful, angst ridden times of the year. maybe someone should write a song about that, may not be a best seller but probably one a lot of people could relate to. I hate to be so bah humbug, because I really do love Christmas, I love seeing my childrens reactions to the lights, to the Christmas story, and even the traditional Christmas movies, but at times, I do wish i had a river I could skate away on, (Joni Mitchell) I actually pulled out my Indigo Girls Live CD with that song on it just so I could belt it out!

For those of you who may be reading this and don't know, my parents seperated about 3 years ago and since then, the holidays have been quite difficult. Who goes where for this holiday, who did we spend last Thanksgiving with, how many days have we spent with this parent, yada, yada, yada. I am so sick and tired of the drama. Ok, just needed to get that out.

On a lighter note, the boys are at such wonderful ages and this Christmas will definitely be one to remember. I just love the look in their little eyes when they stare at the Christmas tree and get down on the floor and sort through the presents. Everything is so new to them, the rituals I have been doing all my life are so exciting to them, so new, so full of wonder. It is hard not to get caught up in it with them, so I just give into it and join them as they stare at the lights, or burst out in song, or as they are crawling on the floor reading the tags on all the gifts.

Vote early and vote often!

2008-11-04T12:38:00.002-05:00

Just kidding, don't vote often, we know that acorn has taken care of that for us!! So I did go and vote this morning. I arrived at the polls at 6:45am, I know most of you are impressed with that. There was already a long line but once the doors opened I only had to wait 30 minutes to cast my historic vote, I was #56 at my poll. I was actually surprised at the turnout, and a little annoyed. Not annoyed because I had to wait, but annoyed because I knew not everyone was voting the way I did. However, I do thank God that we have the right and the freedom to do this, to elect a public official. I know that no matter who wins the election and what happens in the days to come, that my God is still on His throne and He still reigns. I will however be staying up as late as possible (read 10 pm) to see how the results are going. I know at this point the votes on the west coast will just be closing down but the way I figure it, we'll be lucky to know who the president is by Christmas!! I can forsee some very troubling times ahead due to voting machine malfunction. While I was waiting to vote there was an episode with one of the machines, he got hung up after someone pressed the vote button and kept beeping. The poll manager had to reset the machine which left me wondering, did that persons vote get cast and counted? So, with all of the glitches we are sure to encounter, it probably won't matter how late I stay up. I hope everyone got out there and excersiced their freedoms today because that is what this country is all about and what we continue to fight for on a daily basis.

Just for Fun

2008-10-25T15:56:00.004-04:00

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen Counter

2. Where is your significant other? Out Getting his hair cut and running to Home Depot

3. Your hair color? Brown, no color or hightlights.

4. Your mother? At the mall.

5. Your father? No idea where he is.

6. Your favorite thing? Reading by a fire.

7. Your dream last night? Too tired to dream last night.

8. Your dream/goal? Well, my dream is to be a singer, but......I really would love to live long enough to see all of my children grown, with children of their own and possibly my great grandchildren. Also, my goal is to worship and Praise the Lord in all areas of my life.

9. The room you're in? Office.

10. Your hobby? Musical Theatre, hopefully getting back into it in the spring!

11. Your fear? Spiders, no real life fears.

12. Where do you want to be in six years? Same area, maybe a different house, but I'm pretty content where I am and with what I am doing.

13. Where were you last night? At home cooking and cleaning, DQ at 9 for Mike.

14. What you’re not? pretentious, snobby,

15. One of your wish list items? Hmmmm........Plants for my kitchen, a maid!!.

16. Where you grew up? Greer, South Carolina on a bit of land, like 20 acres, very rural when I was growing up, not so much anymore

17. The last thing you did? Cleaned up poop out of my 2 year olds pants

18. What are you wearing? A pink tank top, jeans, socks and tennis shoes.

19. Your TV? Normal, flat screen but a big body, not the big flat screens, we don't do much TV around here.

20. Your pet? One Dog, Boykin Spaniel, the South Carolina State Dog

21. Your computer? Toshiba Satellite Laptop, driving me crazy right now, it keeps shutting down for no reason.

22. Your mood? neutral.

23. Missing someone? My grandfather sometimes, me sometimes

24. Your car? 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, silver.

25. Something you’re not wearing? a bracelet? Not sure about this one

26. Favorite store? Target, Bath and Body,

27. Your summer? Love Summer.

28. Love someone? Lots of people.

29. Your favorite color? Not sure about this, I like lots of colors

30.When is the last time you laughed? This morning.

31. Last time you cried? Hmmmm.........it's been a while but i think it was after we had gone to bed, i had a little bit of a meltdown because I needed a break!

Pumkin Time Again!

2008-10-19T08:57:00.002-04:00

I am sitting here on Sunday morning, listening to great praise and worship music and truly enjoying God's Beauty. I stepped outside this morning to a beautiful, and perfect fall morning, sunny, beautiful leaves, 44 degrees. Simply Wonderous! Don't we serve an awesome God, one who sends us these gorgeous days simply to be enjoyed by us! I am truly awed each and every day by something new that I discover about our God. I think at the ripe age of 31 I am finally "getting it" about our God and Savior. All He wants is for us to worship and adore Him. Do our best to follow His teachings. So, even though I am not in church this morning, I am truly worshipping the Lord, enjoying His creation.

OK, OK!

2008-10-11T07:24:00.003-04:00

OK, so I said I was going to keep my blog updated!! For some reason, life keeps getting in the way of this! Things have been so crazy over the last month. With school getting in full swing, there have been birthday parties (at the skating rink, more details on that later) PTA meetings, snacks to make for school, a sick child, a surgery, sick in laws, yada, yada, yada!

So my newest piece of fun is the new camera that Mike got me. It is not a super duper allstar camera but I love it! It is more than just a point and click camera and has lots of options, not to mention the card we got with it will hold approx. 30,000 pictures. Of course, who takes 30,000 pics before they upload their photos? Anyway, it is a FujiFilm FinePix S700. 7.1 Megapixels which is better than the one we previously had. Also, it takes great motion shots! And with 3 boys, thats pretty much all I get are motion shots, no one wants to sit still for a picture (insert groans, faces, etc) when I ask. I have really enjoyed using it and playing with all of the different settings. It also has a full manual mode where you can do all of the aperture settings, focusing, etc. I hope I can learn enough to eventually use those.

So, back to the party at the skating rink. Michael received an invitation in his back pack to a little boys party who is in his class. The invitation stated that it would be at the Roller Sports Skating Rink in Taylors. Now this is the same rink that I used to go to as a kid when we made the honor roll. Our school would give us a free pass and we would all go on the same night. So I'm thinking, this would be neat to take my kids to the same place I used to go. Of course in my mind I'm thinking they have updated the place in the last 20 years and it's probably a lot different than I remember. I don't drive by this place on any of my daily adventures mind you so I had no idea what had or had not been done to it. So, besides the fact that Michael does not know how to skate, I'm thinking this will be a good opportunity for me to meet the other moms, make the connections, feel them out etc. The party was scheduled to start at 12pm so we pull up promptly at 12 ( I do not like to be late) and go on in. As soon as we walk in the door, all of the memories come flooding back. Mainly because the place looked EXACTLY the same, and unfortunately, smelled exactly the same. Since I had no idea what this kid looked like or who his mom was we awkwardly stared at all of the people while Michael tried to recognize someone. He finally recognized a kid from his class, although not the birthday boy so we sat and talked to them for a while. Super nice mom, can't remember her name, but the kids name is Austin. I actually had sat with him when I went and had lunch with Michael the other week. So I talked with her for a bit, all the while remembering what it used to be like when I came; the couples skate, (which I'm sad to say I never participated in) the disco ball (still there) doing the Hokey Pokey ( and not being able to skate in a circle) making requests at the booth. It was all pretty interesting and did NOT in the least make me wish for my childhood back!! But all in all it was fun, we played a few arcade games, Michael did eventually put on skates and try it, and the party was pretty awesome! Oh and the music was from the 80's which made it all worth while!

Give Me A BREAK!!!!!!

2008-09-06T08:49:00.003-04:00

Seriously? Seriously. I am so disgusted with all of this crap about Sarah Palin being a MILF, or a VPILF, or how sexy she is. Even Fox News had a stinkin hair dresser on this morning talking about how to get her hair and that women are starting to copy her hairstyle. You have got to be freaking kidding me!! Where are the issues? What does she stand for? Don't get me wrong, I love Sarah Palin and will be voting for her but if the only thing the democratic party can criticize is how beautiful she is they are going to have a long hard campaign. Yes, she is beautiful, yes she is a mom, yes her 17 year old daughter is pregnant, so what? The one good thing about this election is that it will be historical no matter who gets elected: The first black president or the first female vice president. I hope once this election is passed, we as a nation can get past the gender and race issue and really start focusing on the issues and stating what you stand for. All I have heard Obama do is rail on McCain. Why not rise above that and talk about yourself, tout your good deeds, your great beliefs?

As a mom, I am very impressed with Sarah Palin, and if anything, the fact that her daughter is pregnant has endeared her more to me because I know she must really be facing some tough family issues and that is something that all moms can relate to.

I just had to voice how disgusted I am with the whole MILF thing, I mean seriously.

Labor Day

2008-09-04T10:27:00.002-04:00

So we all headed down to the lake for Labor Day to do anything but labor. We had a great time there and the weather was perfect, warm but with a slight breeze blowing so it was not too hot. The kids were able to swim but the adults didn't feel the need to get in the water which was great! Especially since some of us don't feel as comfortable as we used to in a bathing suit! But I'm working on it! More on that later.

So, I'm wondering, just what is Labor Day? When did this holiday orginate and what is it supposed to honor? I know it celebrates the "last day of summer" although not really according to the calendar. So where did this tradition come from? Here is a simple explanation from yahoo.

"The origins of the American Labor Day can be traced back to the Knights of Labor in the United States and a parade organized by them on September 5, 1882 in New York City. They were inspired by an annual labor parade held in Toronto, Canada. In 1884 another parade was held, and the Knights passed resolutions to make this an annual event. Many other labor organizations, notably the affiliates of the International Workingmen's Association, favored a May 1 holiday. With the event of Chicago's Haymarket riots in early May of 1886, president Grover Cleveland believed that a May 1 holiday could become an opportunity to commemorate the riots. Thus, fearing that it might strengthen the socialist movement, he quickly moved in 1887 to support the position of the Knights of Labor and their date for Labor Day.

Labor Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in the United States since the 1880s. The September date has remained unchanged, even though the government was encouraged to adopt May 1 as Labor Day, the date celebrated by the majority of the world. Moving the holiday, in addition to breaking with tradition, could have been viewed as aligning the U.S. labor movements with internationalist sympathies.

Labor Day is generally regarded simply as a day of rest and, unlike May Day, political demonstrations are rare. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer. Some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school. However, of late, schools have begun well before Labor Day, as early as the 24th of July in many urban districts, including Nashville and Atlanta.

According to Howard Zinn in his research in A People's History of the United States, the original parade in 1882 organized by the Knights of Labor had a loose affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan, a main reason why the more progressive supporters of a labor parade preferred the May Day march."

So there you have it, a day of rest declared by the "labor unions" of the late 1800's. Hope you all enjoyed your day of rest, and if you had to work, well that stinks!!

Adult Stimulation!

2008-08-30T20:25:00.002-04:00

No, not that kind you sick-os!! I actually got to go out to eat to a fabulous restaurant last night with all adults!! It was quite remarkable I must say. If you are not a stay at home mom you have no idea why I am so happy to be talking to other adults, if you are a stay at home mom, you know exactly what I'm talking about!! I can go weeks at a time without ever hearing someone call me by my name, my real name, not "mom", or "mommy" or "honey". This can be quite demoralizing and can really make you crazy!! You begin to see yourself as only mom and nothing more. Being a mom is absolutely wonderful, and I am so fortunate to be able to stay at home with my precious little boys, but moms tend to put themselves absolutely last, right behind the dog and the hamster most of the time! This is not a good thing. While there are times in motherhood that you must be completely selfless, you are no good to anyone if you do not feed your own soul. Take the time to remember what gives you a spark, what really lights your fire (besides your spouse!). When we feed ourselves we are better mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc. However, doing this also brings on the mom guilt, something men don't seem to understand. We think we should be able to do it all without having to take the time for ourselves and recharge our own batteries. Why is this? What is it about our society that tells us that we can do it all and that we HAVE to do it all? Would one person run a multi-million dollar business and be able to fill all of the positions? I think not. While your household may not be a multi-million dollar business in terms of currency (far from it), you are dealing with shaping the next generation of leaders and this is quite a task and responsibility. So, let yourself have a break, know that it's ok that you can be everything to everyone. Be true to yourself and your family, don't worry about making the perfect snack for your son's K5 class because the mom who brought snack the day before you made homemade cupcakes and stenciled each child's name on them, just buy it if you have to.

All of this rambling to say, dinner was fabulous!! Other adults actually called me by my name!! Imagine that! We had stimulating conversation, about politics, economic growth, religion, theatre, wine, history..........things I forgot that I could even talk about! and more importantly, things I forgot that I love to talk about. We of course all talked about our precious children and the trials we are experiencing at present but not one time all night did anyone ask me to get them something to drink, no one was pulling on my arm as I was trying to scarf down my meal(which is what usually happens at home), and best of all, no one, not one single person there, asked me to wipe their bottom or tell me that they needed to go poopie!!! What a relief. it was truly wonderful and the food was fabulous and almost as great as the company with which it was shared. So thanks Scott for an absolutely spectacular evening that fed my body as well as my soul!!

2 Down and 1 to go!! WooHoo!!

2008-08-27T14:26:00.003-04:00

Praise the Lord! We have another child potty trained!! I really can hardly believe it myself. This must have certainly been a reprieve from the Lord since he gave us that nice little surprise we now call Nicholas!! Here is the background: My five year old was quite tough to train in the poopie department. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. The pee-pee training seems to come along quite nicely only to be followed by the sheer terror children have of going poopie on the pottie. Psychologists say it is because they think they are losing a part of themselves. Whatever, right? I don't care the psychology behind it, just give me something that will help them go!! So anyway, my now 5 year old trained easy in the pee-pee department but continued to have accident after accident in the poop dept. I thought I was going to lose my mind! To this day he still has issues with going poopie! So my 2ND child just turned 2 at the end of July. At the beginning of the month, we went and stayed a week with my mom at the family lake house. The kids were outside alot and the place is pretty secluded so we let my 5 year old go pee-pee outside. My 2 year old thought that was great and once he started seeing his older brother go potty, he decided that he wanted to go to. i didn't really think anything about it at the time, I just chalked it up to copying his brother and thought it would pass. When we came home from the lake, my 2 year old continued asking to go potty. This eventually wore off. However, my 5 year old went for a week by himself to visit my in-laws in VA and I thought, "Oh this would be a great time to start really potty training". No distractions from the older one, not as much playing in the basement etc. So I made a go at it. Amazingly, he got it. In about 4 days!! Pooping and all!! He had 3 accidents in the poop dept and about the same in the pee-pee and then he just got it. He asks to get on the potty to pee-pee and to poop. I can hardly believe it.
Now that he is going great, I have to ask myself, "What did I do so different this time?" and I think the answer that question is this: My expectations were much lower than the first time. Also, I didn't lose my patience when he had an accident. I just told him it was ok, and it was just an accident and put him on the potty and said, "Next time we need to (pee-pee, poop) on the potty ok?" I'm thinking that since I was so much more laid back about it that he did not feel stressed out about it either. This is not the norm for a 2 year old though. And if you are potty training and things are going terribly and you just can't keep your patience, take a break!! Your child may not be ready yet and there is no sense in stressing yourself out about the accidents or making your child feel bad for having an accident. Go back to diapers and try again in another month or 2. They may be ready by then.

So that's my news and advice for today. Only 1 in diapers now is certainly a huge financial gain!! You feel like you totally move into a different phase once you get through the potty training! What a relief. However, I do feel the good Lord must have given us a reprieve! Thanks God, You are so Good!! All the time!!

Failed to Mention

2008-08-25T11:05:00.004-04:00

I see in my last post, over a year ago, that I failed to mention that we had a little surprise in June of 2007, or should I say a BIG surprise. I found out that I was pregnant again! What a shocker!! And the bigger news was that I got pregnant in April! So I was about 12 weeks along when we found out. So Mattie was 9 months when I got pregnant. And since we have had another sweet little boy, Nicholas, born in January 2008. I had to quit working for my friend because things are really crazy around here!! The summer went by in a blur and now school has begun again. Our oldest started Kindergarten this year which is a blessing!! he loves it and has done just fine with the adjustment. Mattie however has had a hard time adjusting to his big brother going to school everyday and not having anyone to play with. he is getting better now though and soon he will start MMO and he will have something 3 days a week to keep him busy. Nicky will also be at MMO for one day so I will have one whole day to myself, imagine that, after five years of hardly being alone, I will have 4 whole hours to myself a week to do whatever I like!! I can hardly wait, although truth be told I will most likely be cleaning the house, grocery shopping, doing doctors visits, and catching up during this time, but if I can do all that without being interrupted, what a change that will be!!!

I just finished ready this book "I was a Really Good Mom Before I had Kids" and it was really great! Lots of good tips on how to even things out in your life and change your expectations about being a mom. It really helps to have someone put things into perspective for you. Sometimes you don't realize how much you are demanding from yourself until you actually see it in black and white. I never realized I put so much pressure on myself to be supermom, super wife, super-daughter, and super-sister. Wow!! It is a great relief to know other people are going through the same things.

I am going to try to keep up my blog now that I will have a little bit of time to myself each week. Here are a few pics of my sweet boys!

Long Time

2007-06-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

Wow! I was checking my blog and it has really been a long time since I posted! Normal stuff going on, kids growing, paying bills, quitting jobs, you know the usual! Yes I finally quit my job at the church to stay at home full time. I absolutely love it! I love keeping my house in order, being able to run to the grocery store whenever I need to, taking the kids to actually do things! It's great! I am working a little on the side about 6 hours a week for a friend in her office. I really am enjoying it! I haven't gone crazy yet! We have actually been pretty busy since school got out. We have attended 2 VBS's, gone to the lake, reapainted our house etc, etc. It was really nice to be able to celebrate Fathers day this year on the actual day and make Mike breakfast in bed and not have to fly around to get out the door! It was great!!

Our air conditioning broke last night however and for anyone who has ever lived in the south in late June, you know it is hot as blue blazes. And so last night was quite a hot and steamy night, sometimes that can be good, but not in this case. I can't believe we even got any sleep! But luckily we know somebody who fixes these things and he came out today right at lunch time and got it working again, no problem, and only charged us $125 which is amazing!! Great guy!

Tomorrow we have a little birthday party to go to at Chick Fil A in the morning and then we are headed to the lake. There is a big fireworks show on Saturday night that I hope the kids will be able to see, Michael at least.

Well thats all I have for now, I will put up a picture of the boys here too.

Matthew Gets it!

2006-12-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

After little Matthew has tried out all of his fingers, he has finally settled on sucking his thumb! Here is a too cute picture of him with his thumb in his mouth looking wide eyed! Also, he is teething now, can you believe it?! 4 months old and teething.

Monday

2006-11-13T14:05:00.000-05:00

Well today is monday and i felt like writing for some reason. Not much to talk about, just feeling reflective. My husband and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary and we have really been through a lot in a short span. We got married in 2001, October. He quit his job and moved down here to SC and we lived in a townhouse for a while. We started builing our own house shortly after that and moved in September 2002. One month later, we found out we were pregnant. Great news! One week after the baby was born, he lost his job. So we had only been in our house 9 months and then all of a sudden we have no income. We tried a few things here and there but we really needed him to get a full time job so for about a year we really struggled with finances. In the spring of 2004 we found out that one of his sister's had colon cancer and have to go through strenuous chemo treatments for about 6 months. Not too long after that, November, we found out that his parents were having serious relationship issues. then in March of 2005 we found out that my parents were having serious relationship issues, separated and got divorced, something my mom will probably never fully recover from. This was a grueling year long process, we're talking getting out of bed at 1,2 or 3 am to go over there. The divorce was final in June of this year. Then a few weeks ago, maybe mid-September, we found out another one of his sisters has cancer, this time breast cancer and had to have a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery with 4 months of chemo to follow. So there you have it, we have had quite the packed 5 years. I am truly hoping for a quiet upcoming 50 or 60 years!! But the Lord has helped us through it all and I don't think we could have made it without prayer and leaning on the Lord and each other for support. We have as strong a marriage as any one I know and we are by far the happiest in our marriage of anyone I know! So, that's all I have to say for now, just wanted to put my thoughts out there.

Pictures

2006-10-17T11:24:00.000-04:00

Well, I am going to post some pictures of our newest addition. I guess maybe I shouldn't but he is just so cute! Mike's parents just left and I should be straightening up the house but I'll do that later! So here he is, our newest cutie!

Cloth Diapering

2006-09-07T16:41:00.000-04:00

Well, it certainly has been a while since I posted here! Although I do have a good excuse, I have a 5 week old baby and a 3 year old, and a part time job so all of that keeps me pretty busy!! So, I'm here to write about my choice to cloth diaper with our 2nd child. My sister in laws sister, is that confusing?, decided to do cloth diapers with her first child and she is very environmentally friendly so when I heard that I just thought, oh well, she is just trying to be PC in sticking with her environmental beliefs. However, when I checked into it a little more, I was impressed with the advancements that have been made in the cloth diapering industry!! I was picturing the old prefolds and painful pins that we were brought up in, however much to my delight, the new cloth diapers are just like disposables in shape and fit and ease of use. I have really enjoyed using them these first few weeks and am proud of myself for trying it. Of course I did have ulterior motives. The money that we will save is astronomical not to mention if we continue with our next child the savings will double. We are saving around $2000 by using cloth. We are even using cloth wipes! Plus is it so much better for our babies skin since we have found out that he has extrememly sensitive skin. All that to say we have used an awesome site for all of our cloth diapering needs
www.cottonbabies.com It has been great dealing with them and each time we have ordered things have been shipped very quickly and if ever there was a problem they notified us immediately. Plus they have great prices and all the latest things in cloth diapering. I can't wait to try the bumgenius diapers they have, I think they will be great for our sitters and for outings and church. Also, just for mentioning them in this post, they are going to give me a $10 credit!! What more could you ask for in a company?! They really have been easy to work with and everything has been delivered as promised. We currently use the Kissaluvs fitteds, the doublers, the super soakers, the diaper liners, the cloth wipes, the diaper pail and two liners and the deo disks and we have been pleased with all of the products. The Deo Disks are great and keep our nursery smelling%

Spring?!

2006-03-01T14:42:00.000-05:00

So today is March 1 and it feels more like May 1. It is absolutely gorgeous today! It's 75 and sunny right now, could it be any better?! Michael and I went for a walk around the neighborhood this morning and then went to this new park that is always empty. It was really nice. We ran to the store for some bread and came home ate and then both took a nap! I napped in the swing downstairs it was so nice out and Michael in his bed of course. It was great!! Up from his nap we played in the back yard for a little bit and then our crazy dog got out of the fence so we rode around looking for her and when we got back of course she was back on the deck waiting for us, covered in burrs and dirt, stupid dog! Anyway, today has been really nice and tomorrow looks promising as well. Although I have to work tomorrow and that stinks! I am looking forward to next Tuesday and my OB appt because I am going to schedule a 3D sonogram to check out the babies heart and 3D sonograms are really cool! You can actually see the features of the face! I can't wait!

On the pregnancy note, I'm tired of not showing already!! This is ridiculous! I mean I want to be healthy and everything but I want people to know I'm pregnant! I'll be half done and no one will even be able to tell I'm pregnant! I know I will be regretting this later but live in the moment right?! I have only gained 4 pounds and as far as I can tell none of it is in my belly! I guess I should be glad, but I'm not!

We have church tonight and I have switched practice to Wed nights to make it easier on most people in our group. I think it will be nice for all of us because most of us come to dinner on Wed anyway and that just makes another night we have to get out. It will work great for me during the summer too because I can have practice on Wed nights and then go to the lake the-Sat if I want since I will be working Mon & Wed starting in June.

Well, I'm going for now, I have some chores I need to do before we go to church tonight!

CSI: Scary

2006-02-27T08:46:00.000-05:00

So, on Thursday night I settled down to watch one of my favorite shows, CSI, the original Las Vegas edition. So, we are watching and the story starts out as a woman reporting that her kid has been kidnapped from the park. Normal stuff. She shows the cops some pictures of him and of them together. They go back to her house and check things out and everything looks kosher. Of course they put out an amber alert for the kid and a description of a guy the mother saw hanging around the park. So this convenience store clerk spots the kid with this couple and the guy fits the description so he calls it in to the cops. cops come, pick up the kid and arrest the couple. So getting to the end, they take them all down to the station where the mom starts fawning over the child, meanwhile the couple is like "What the heck is going on and what are you doing with our son?" come to find out, the mom who had reported her kid taken from the park, had killed her son over 4 years ago and she had been cutting and pasting this kids picture form the internet in with her own and printing them out and had them all over her house. Thank goodness for DNA testing. So the moral of this story is that I am taking all the pictures of my son off this website because there are some really scary, crazy people out there and no need to put him at risk. Sorry for this inconvenience for all of those who like to see his pictures but I will just have to send them to you via email from now on. It really freaked Mike out! So just to let you know, there will be no more pictures of my son out here.

Today

2006-02-01T11:48:00.001-05:00

Well, today Mike went to the lake for the weekend to meet a friend of his he hasn't seen in a while who happens to be living in Folly Beach right now. I did get up and go to the gym this morning, the second time this week and I am proud of myself for doing so. I already have my up and coming week planned as far as when I will go to the gym and what works best for my schedule. I think that helps me out if I know way in advance and have kind of committed to myself to go. I really am enjoying it still and I hope it will help me throughout the pregnancy to have more energy and keep feeling good about myself as I gain weight. Today was the first day I have had to use a rubber band to lenthen the button on my pants. Which is a little encouraging. I was getting worried that I haven't gained any weight at all but I think this week I am starting to feel a little thickening around the belly area.

I'm going to put up some new pictures of Michael. We painted at the kitchen table in January and he loved it. here he is in his cute paint smock!

Stress

2006-02-01T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well, today I am feeling really stressed out about my job. didn't really think I would ever be stressed out about church work but here I am. So much so that I don't even want to go to church. I have to be there so much, not really but it feels like it, for my work, I don 't even care about worship anymore. Which is really sad. I'm getting more and more turned off by the politics that play a role in churches. Who is where when, why aren't you keeping office hours, you need to be accountable, keep your personal life out of the church. I am just really frustrated and am begininning to wonder if I made the right decision by taking this job. I thought it would be great and in some ways it is. I get to do what I love and have great people on my praise team. But I wonder if it is worth it with the other crapp I have to put up with. I just think people are too worried about what everyone else is doing.......well she doesn't have to be at staff meeting, well she takes off days etc. I'm just tired of it. I took the job thinking it would be flexible and it was for a while until I was reprimanded for not keeping steady office hours, I need to be AVAILABLE to other staff members. When I'm there no one even talks to me and then I have people calling me at 9 pm to ask me questions. I'm sorry but I do have a life and I do have a family. I just hate the way it is making me feel. I can't wait to be out on maternity leave but I know it will probably just be more of a pain because people will be calling me with complaints or calling to find out how the sound board works. I'm just tired of it all, I'm ready to quit but unfortunatley we can not afford for me to quit and I would never find another job that pays what this does so for now I am stuck. Well, just a vent about work, just makes it harder that it happens to be centered around the church and I have a hard time separating my faith from my job right now. It really sucks.

New Baby on the Way!

2006-01-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

I have been gone for a long time! So, we found out on Dec 13 that we have a new baby on the way! We are so excited! Michael of course spread our news before we were really ready but what can you expect from a 2 yr old right? Anyway, I am posting our first glimpse of the little guy or girl!

I had been so sick in the first few weeks, maybe from week 4-9. I mean I had to get up and eat in the middle of the night so I didnt' feel so bad in the morning but it worked so I was willing to do it. If I woke up sick in the morning that was pretty much it for the rest of the day. No matter what I did I felt really sick. But now I am feeling much better. I have not gained one pound yet and I am ending my first trimester next week. This is good in a way but kid of worrisome. But the less weight I gain, the less I have to lose afterwards right?

It has definately been different this time around with a 2 yr old to chase after. I don't get to rest nearly as much as I did before, but I haven't really minded. Michael is so great to just do his own thing so I can sit if I need to. I have been trying to keep up going to the gym although I had to be on hiatus while I was feeling so sick. But now that I am feeling better I try to go as often as possible. One of the girls whose class I go to regularly is certified in prenatal fitness so she said anytime I needed anything she would help me out. I'm sure later in my pregnancy I will need more coaching as what to do and what not to do. As I said before, I don't look much different yet so nothing is really hindering my working out.

I will keep new pics updated as much as possible.

Praise Team Party Pic

2005-12-14T16:41:00.000-05:00

Ice?

2005-12-14T16:25:00.000-05:00

Well, we are supposed to get some ice tonight, yuck. Why can't we ever get any snow? All we get is this crappy ice and everything shuts down! this really stinks! So of course like all other raving lunatics in Greer, I ran out to get the essentials just in case we can't get out tomorrow. Wal-Mart wasn't too bad and I was able to get there, get what I need and get home in less than an hour. Pretty good for me, I'm a browser!

Anyway, we have had an exciting weekend! Friday night we had our dinner party and it was great! Everyone had a wonderful time and the food Mike prepared was wonderful. We had crab lasagna which was divine! London broil and a roast turkey breast, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, cannolis, chocolate chip cookies, spritz cookies and a vegetable tray and wine for appetizers! We all ate way too much but it was great! Unfortunately I did not take any pictures! But the house was decorated beutifully with lots of candlelight and ambieance!!

Not to mention, our newest little neice was born on Friday afternoon about 1 pm and I had to run over to the hospital to see her! She is just beautiful, of course and a great size, 7 lbs 11 ozs.

So, on Saturday morning I had praise team practice from 9-11 for our program on Sunday, Heaven & Earth Rejoice. We got a ton accomplished!

Saturday night we had our praise team party at Shari's house and the food there was great as well! Seh really outdid herself! Spinach and artichoke dip, vegetable trays, swedish meatballs, spiced red wine, tequidos, it was all really great and a nice time to get together and just hang out! WE are always working so hard we barely have time to talk during practice!

We left pretty early since our program was the next morning. We had a great crowd at church, 175 at the early service, for our program. Everything just went wonderful!! I was so proud of our group and what we have accomplished in less than a year. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and the congregation just loved it. We got a standing ovation, in the presbyterian church!! It was just really awesome!

Sunday night we went to Joygift at the church and it went great, even with a last minute guest conductor, the choirs did fabulous! The music was beautiful and a great mix of solo, handbells, choir and the woodwind quartet.

Monday night then, I had a Mary Kay party for a girl on our praise team who just moved here from California and is trying to rebuild her business. it was fun! We had 7 people show up and a few outside orders so it ended up being a pretty good party.

This week so far I have just been relaxing. The house is in good condition so I have just been enjoying our decorations and keeping up with light housework. it really has been a nice few days.

So, I will post a few pictures from our praise team party and of Mike with Hannah Caroline.

A Little Crazy!

2005-12-03T20:37:00.000-05:00

Michael as an Elf!

2005-12-03T20:36:00.001-05:00

We did it!

2005-12-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

Mike working hard to cut our tree!

2005-12-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

Christmas Tree Hunting

2005-12-03T20:33:00.000-05:00

So, today we went to find our Christmas tree. i found a place on line that looked to be pretty good and we set off for Ware Place in search of May-Lan Tree Plantation. It turned out to be great! We drove up and were immediately greeted by Santa Claus with a candy cane for Michael. We hopped right on the tractor and they took us out to look at the Leland Cyprus trees, which in my opinion are the best. They last the longest, don't shed at all and still have that great piney scent!

It didn't take us long to find the perfect tree and for Mike to cut it down. They also had some farm animals to take a gander at so we did that and then had some hot apple cider and some caramel apples. We got some great homemade jelly while we were there too!

Below are some pictures from our trip today. We did get our tree up, after a few mishaps, and we are planning on decorating it tomorrow night. We pulled out all the decorations and lights from the basement and I started going through everything. While this year will be radically different than those in the past, I am looking forward to starting our very own family traditions.

I'll get some more pictures of the tree once we get it decorated.

Michael & Mommy over the Slopes

2005-11-28T08:03:00.001-05:00

Michael & Daddy

2005-11-28T08:03:00.000-05:00

Michael & Daddy walking the golf course

2005-11-28T08:02:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving in Virginia

2005-11-28T07:33:00.000-05:00

We decided to shake things up a bit and travel to Va to be with Mikes family for Thanksgivning. In the four years we have been married, we have not once spent Thanksgiving with his family. Since this year our family is in quite a shambles, we decided to visit with Mikes family instead. It was a great choice! We drove up to Charlottesville on Friday afternoon the 18th and stopped in for the night at Mike's sisters house. We would have gone on to the mountian house but the heat does not stay on there and it would have been like 20 degrees when we got there and I didn't really want to go to sleep in that!

We made the trip fine until we turend onto the road Christine lives on. Michael had fallen asleep which was fine since it was almost 8pm. then all of a sudden he sat up and threw up everywhere! He has never thrown up before so I was quite shocked. I jumped into the backseat to jerk him out of his seat and try to clean him up a little and when I got back there, he threw up again!! I didn't realize he had eaten so much! I managed to get him out of his seat and get his clothes off and wrap him up in a clean blanket for the last 5 minutes of the ride. I felt so sorry for him because he was crying and since he had never thrown up before he didn't know what was going on! Anyway, we got inside and he sat on my lap for a while and then he was fine. He got on his pajamas and started playing with Allison and James and Christines two dogs. Kids just bounce back so fast!

We had a great dinner and great night with Christine and family. We got up the next day and stayed until after michaels nap and then we headed on up to Witnergreen to the mountain house. It was very cold!! Around 25 degrees when we got there around 4! We got a fire going and started to relax! We had 4 full days there alone before any of Mikes family came up! It was wonderful. We got up and walked on the golf course in the morning, then relaxed the rest of the day, just reading and talking. The next morning we had some snow! It was so nice since we don't get much snow down here. We have neer had snow at Thanksgiving that is for sure! We drove into Waynesboro and grabbed some lunch from a deli there. Back up the mountain and nap time! Michael had developed a bad cough and congestion so he was not sleeping well at night and hence neither were we! Eventually I had to call the doctor and he was able to call in an antibiotic (Michael had developed a fever again) to a small pharmacy not far from the house. Once he got that and some cough medicine he was sleeping fine!

Mikes parents and two of his niece and nephews got there on Tuesday night around 10:30. We were already in the bed and they were very quiet and went straight to bed. The next morning was great. Michael immediately started playing with Kelly and Timmy! They were so sweet to him!

Later Wed, Mikes sitster Christine came up with her family and we all had a great time! Everyone got a long fine and we had just the right number of people there! Not too crowded but just crowded enought to make it nice! Although I would have loved to see the rest of Mikes family! I will post some pictures of our holiday week along with this.

I hope everyone had as wonderful a holiday as we did and counted their many blessing on this day.

Katie

Oh the Holidays

2005-11-16T10:17:00.000-05:00

Well, The holiday season is upon us, although you couldn't tell it by the weather. It feels like we are living in Florida! I can't stand it! How can we have chestnuts roasting on an open fire when its 80 out? So hopefully we will be having a little cooler weather moving in.

I was sick all day yesterday, something I picked up from mom I think. Sore throat and just feeling like crapp in general. I took some Nyquil last night and I feel much better today. I am going to to the Dr tomorrow just in case though. We are leaving Friday at lunch time to go away for the holidays and I do not want to be sick over our trip.

We are going to Wintergreen VA to stay at Mikes parents mountain house for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be there 4 days by ourselves and then his family will be coming on Wed. I am really looking forward to spending tme there just us. It will be a nice little mini vacation.

I'm glad we are spedning Thanksgiving with his family, it gets us out of the awkwardness of the coming holiday season, at least for a little while.

Not much else going on here. Just life. We are getting our basement finished, praise the Lord! We have it all painted, Mike and I did it ourselves. We have ordered the carpet and it should be going down the week we get back from Thanksgiving. Just in time to get Michaels toys moved down there and get our Christmas tree set up in our front room! Michael is really escited aobut having such a big playroom. We are going to mover our TV down there as well, shich will make for some really nice quite evenings during the busy holiday season.

We are having a dinner party here on the 9th and so far we have about 15 people coming! I can't wait. I love to get people together and Mike is going to do the cooking. A dinner party is so much easier than trying to do 6 or 7 appetizers and several little desserts and making sure it stays warm etc. We can have a set menu, with a set number of guests and it is much easier! Where they will all sit is another thing! We can sit 6 at our dining table, 4 at the kitchen table, 4 at a card table in the Christmas tree room and probably 4 more at a card table in the living room. That should be plenty and in close enough proximity to each other to carry on table to table conversation.

So, thats about it for now. I have to go and start gathering things for our long trip up the mountain, about 5 hours with a 2year old. He will need a lot of entertainment! I'm trying to get the laundry done and the house cleaned up so when we come back it will be all clean and I will just have to unload and do the laundry. although I am hoping to get it all done before we come home next Friday. We'll see. I am looking forward to the cooler weather and the snow!

Later for now.

2005-10-26T15:47:00.000-04:00

I don't have a title for my thoughts today. I have jus finished making cookies for Michael to take to his class tomorrow. They are so cute, they look like little witches brooms and I am going to make some witches hats to go with them. The brooms are made out of pretzel rods with sugar cookies on the end pressed to look like bristles. They are covered with Chocolate at the meeting point to help them stay on and then drizzled with butterscotch. The witches hats are fudge stripe cookies turned upside down with a hershey kiss over the hole and then outlined with orange icing. They are cute as well.

Anyway, I really love doing stuff like that, crazy I know and very 1950s of me but nonetheless, it is what I enjoy and if its what I like to do then that in itself is liberating to me!

Today is Wed so we have church tonight. We are going to be working on Big Thursday projects and I think I am going to have the youth participate in that if they would like. We do need to get started on our advent drama though so we may skip the workshop and just go straight for the drama. Just depends on how I feel.

I don't have much to share right now, I'm too tired. Micheal was up 4 times last night to blow his nose and get a tissue. I am taking him to the dr on Friday to have it checked out. He has been fighting a stopped up and or runny nose for 2 weeks now and I think it may be seasonal allergies although there hasn't been much sneezing. He slept until 8 this morning which was great and allowed me to sleep in. So, I'm going to take a short break while he is still napping!!

NFL Sunday Football

2005-10-09T19:17:00.000-04:00

Today is Football. Every Sunday from now until January. It doesn't matter what team, what time or what score. Today is all about NFL football at our house. Of course, the team of choice around here are the Philadelphia Eagles, although we don't get many of the games since we live in Panther and Falcon territory. But we all get in the spirit none the less. Here is a picture of Michael in his Eagles jersey. He even yells go Eagles with daddy. So, not much going on today. Mikes mom made it in fine from Virginia. We had agreat dinner that Mike fixed. Roast chicken, stuffing, gravy and corn. It was really good. Just another lazy Sunday afternoon, after all, isn't this the day of rest?

Cleaning

2005-10-08T18:56:00.000-04:00

So, I spent the entire day yesterday cleaning the house pretty much from top to bottom because Mikes mom is coming down tomorrow to stay the week with us. Mike thinks this is totally ridiculous (the house cleaning part) but after 20 some odd years of it being drilled into you that your house must be perfect when company comes, I just can't get away from it.

Unfortunately, life goes on and the house is dirty yet again today. I just hate cleaning. It is a never ending job that you only get to enjoy for a few hours, or minutes depending on if you have children. I did demand that last night we go out since I had just spend the better part of two hours cleaning the kitchen. We ventured out to Fatz and it was pretty good, although I ate way too much, cheese fries, bread and popcorn shrimp.

Today was a pretty lazy day. I did some ironing, made up the bed, went to Big Lots and got some snack things for Michael and came home and played with Michael in the yard a bit. it was supposed to rain to day but it turned out to be beautiful after the much needed rain we got for the past three days.

We have a really busy week this week. I hate weeks like this but it just can't be avoided sometimes. I am taking Michael to have his Halloween costume pictures redone because they ripped the negatives. That is on Monday at 10:40. Then I am meeting SB for lunch. Tuesday is school for Michael and work for me. Wed I am taking Michael to the dentist for the first time. A lady in our church has just started her own pediatric dentistry and so we are going there. Then Wed night we have church. Thursday we are going on a trip to the pumpkin patch and apple farm at Nivens apple farm. Ashley has arranged the trip and I think there will be about 20 of us going. It should be fun. Friday I don't think we have anything.

The reason I hate these weeks so bad is that I usually don't make it to the gym like I would like during these times and since we just joined a new gym, I feel guilty about it. Hopefully after this week, things will be normal schedule for a while and I can get back into the swing of a normal routine. I want to get in a regular schedule of going to classes at the gym but I haven't had time to really sit down and look at what is offered and when I can go etc.

So, next week will be pretty busy, I may not get any updates out there but I will try.

later

BRT

2005-10-04T20:42:00.000-04:00

So, I went to my first class at the gym tonight, Barbell Resistance Training. wow! It really kicked my butt!! In a good way though. The class was great and not only was it resistance training but it really got my heart pumping and my body back into the groove. I think this may quickly become one of my favorites! We worked with a barbell (5 lbs on each side) resistance bands, a stability ball, a mat and a step aerobics step. We worked all the major muscle groups and by the end of the class (45min) I was like a piece of spahettii! I could hardly lift my arms to pick up all of my equipment to put it back. I know I will be so sore tomorrow I won't even be able to brush my hair! My triceps are already sore! So anyway, I am hoping to really tone up and I think these classes will really help me. It definately boosts my self image to know I can do the resistance training and I am definitely not trying to lose any weight but i figure if I don't get toned up after baby number one, then what is it going to be like after number two or number three? Scary thought! All saggy and stuff, not what I want. Tomorrow I am going to a Pilates/Yoga class which should be challlenging and relaxing all the same. Michael really loves the play area for the kids, it is beautiful with murals on the walls and a huge area to play and they have art materials for the kids and all kinds of educational things. It really is turning out to be a great place. So, I will update tomorrow, that is if I can even type. I amtaking Michael to have his picture made tomorrow in his halloween costume (a fireman) so I will post some of those pictures tomorrow.

Here is a picture of Mike and I on a recent date! Yes, we actually went on a date!

Later

The Gym

2005-10-03T13:16:00.000-04:00

So, Mike and I joined a new gym on Friday, Pivotal Fitness, right around the corner from our house. Its really nice and I went today for my orientation and to get accustomed to the machines etc. It was great and really got me pumped up (ha ha) to get started back. I guess we joined at a weird time, but I wanted to get back in shape before the holidays hit and all the holiday eating. My rationale is that if I am in good shape by then, I will be less tempted to eat my self sick. So, I am going to try to keep in a good schedule and get to the gym as often as possible. They have some great classes too which I am really excited about. I hate doing cardio so that will help me with that part. The strength training is the part I love, I can really see quick results when I am strength training.

So the girl we met with was really nice and had some great advice. She started talking about nutrition and stuff and I just want to eat fairly healthy and enjoy myself. She said we shouldn't eat things with high fructose corn syrup and lots of sugars. Of course I know about the sugars but when I got home, everything in my closet pretty much had high fructose corn syrup in it! Well, what's a girl to do? I try to eat healthy, stay in shape, and stay sane so I'm not giving up one of my great pleasures in life....food!!

So, this week is mom and dads anniversary. Not so good. It is still hard to believe what is going on and though I don't really want to accept it, I guess part of me has because I just go on about life, day in and day out, like everything is just normal. Really for us it is, Mike and I try not to let it get in our house too much. But still, it is weird. 38 years for what?

Long Time

2005-10-02T12:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been a long time gone from my website but I got a cute picture of Michael and wanted to share it. I have taken some pictures to Millie Lewis to register Michael with them and this is one that I have to take over this week.

Nothing much going on here. Yesterday I spent the entire day making bread for our churchs world communion Sunday. It was actually pretty nice. I enjoyed making the bread and doing the kneading. I think if more people made bread we would have less stress! All that kneading sure does let you work off some steam! I made 4 different kinds of bread. Pumpernickle Rye, Arab flat bread, Italian loaf, and Challah. They all turned out great!

Mike took Michael to Home Depot with him yesterday morning and they were having a kids workshop. Mike brought home a firetruck for them to build together and Michael got a cute little home depot apron. They put it together yesterday and Michael and I are going to paint it when he gets up from his nap this afternoon.

We joined a new gym this weekend and we are going to start going tomorrow. I'm so glad! I really want to whip myself into shape in the next two months before the holidays really get going! They have great classes and a great childcare facility. i think I am really going to like it. Mike is going to get started back too which I am really glad to hear. I think excercise helsp him to keep from being so tired!

So, thats all for now, I am going to get out our fall stuff this afternoon and start some decorationg for Halloween.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-08-30T08:45:00.000-04:00

I have been watching nothing but the devastation that Hurricane Katrina has heaped on the gulf coast all morning long. I can hardly believe the wreckage that she has left behind. Not to mention the people who did not heed the mandatory evacuating who were unnecessarily killed. The counties should have instituted Marshall law and rounded everybody up and shipped them out.

Anyway, Mike and I were just talking last night about how moderate our area is. We don't really have to worry about hurricanes, no earthquakes, no real tornadoes to speak of, not a lot of snow. We really do live in a great part of the country. The mountains just a few hours a way, the beach just a few hours away. We couldn't ask to be in a better place.

I was in the mountains this past weekend with a friend from college and as we drove up the mountain it was amazing to me that only an hour and a half away from our home, we drove right into spectacular views of the blue ridge mountains, not to mention a relief from the heat. We went from 92 to 68 in a matter of and hour. It was really nice to get away and to catch up with an old friend.

As college gets farther and farther away, I am realizing how important it is for me to keep in touch with my girlfriends, my real girlfriends. Those that are just as interested in what's going on I'm my life as I am in theirs. I guess I have also come to see who my true friends are and who those are that don't have time to keep up or rather don't want to take the time. My response is that I don't have nor will I make time for those people. In any event, I am really glad I have kept up with those that I feel l closest too. These will be my lifelong friends no matter what happens, divorce, children, deaths.......These will be the people that are there for me, and I for them.

I guess Ihave finally come to the realization that you just have to let some friendships go, those where you feel you are the only one putting forth any effort, ever. I know that friendships are give and take, but I refuse to be in a friendship that is all take from me.

Slumber Party

2005-08-10T13:55:00.000-04:00

So, Michael spent the night with my mom last night and I think they had quite the slumber party! I dropped Michael off around 4 yesterday afternoon and went to run some errands and pick up Mike and we went back over there for dinner. it was great! Salmon, salad etc. We had a nice time, anyway, we left around 7:30 and mom and Michael were outside on the patio playing. So when mom dropped Michael off today she informed me that she Michael to bed in her big kingsized bed last night. Big mistake!! He squired all over that bed! In addition to that, he did not go to sleep until 10pm. Not good if you're a 2 year old. Of course he woke up at 6:30 this morning. Do the math. 8.5 hours vs the 11 he usually gets. This equals a very cranky child! In any event, he had a great time last night and didn't want to come home. No surprise there. Why would you want to come home when you can stay at mamains house and eat m&ms all day long! So that was the first get together since dad moved out. Really wierd but I guess its reality now. It really sucks!

How Ironic

2005-08-07T18:21:00.000-04:00

Today of course is Sunday. Supposed to be a day of rest and relaxation and bonding with your family and for the most part it was. Mike and I did little or nothing today. It was rainy and dreary all day so a good excuse for laying around. I think Michael was feeling the same way because he didn't really want to play he just sat on the couch with us and we watched some cartoons. He did play with his trains a bit

So today my dad officially moved out of my parents house. Not especially a good day in that respect. he is moving to Anderson so I will go next week sometime and see his new place probably. I will have to try to explain to a two year old that mamain and Poppa do not live together anymore. How do you make them understand that? It makes me mad that Michael will miss out on that. Having grandparents close by and together. It will make everything more difficult, birthdays, holidays, school occasions for our kids. Nothing good will ever come of this. It will be hard on all of us but with Gods help and guidance we will make it through, after all, in our country the divorce rate is really high and people continue with their lives.

Well, for my own little family unit, today was great! We got to lay around and just be with each other but for my extended family it was a day of tragedy and hurt and just all around strangeness. Thats all for today,

kt

2005-08-03T10:58:00.000-04:00

Here is our other child! Baby Girl! As you can see, she is pretty much queen around here and does notheing but sleep!
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Walking

2005-08-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

So, today is Wed, just an ordinary day. Woke up at 6:30, ironed Mikes pants for work, ate breakfast. Nothing too great. However I am trying to do better about my walking. Yesterday and today Michael and I walked for 45 minutes. Its not too hot in the mornings so I try to go before 9 am. It feels good to get out and do something rather than staying in doors all day. Michael likes to point out all the noises he hears while we are walking. We hear trains, horns, trucks, bugs and birds! Things have really settled down on the homefront and I am really enjoying being in a routine. I'm even getting some routine cleaning done again! Praise the Lord for that! I'm staying on top of the laundry and the dishes and the cleaning. Once school starts back I should just about have everything in order. I hope I am going to get to take Michael to the zoo soon. I think he will really enjoy it now that he is old enough to see the animals and understand a little more. We went last fall but I think he was still too young. Plus, now that he is potty trained I won't have to lug a big diaper bag with us! What freedom it is to not have to take a diaper bag every where we go! he really has done so well with it. He is finally getting the poop down and has had the pee down for a while now. I hope by the time he starts nursery school in September he will have mastered the poop without help, otherwise I don't know what I am going to do. Well, I have to go for now, gotta get a snack and get Michael dressed. More Later

2005-07-26T16:47:00.000-04:00

Of course since my topic yesterday it is definatley hotter. The mercury was reading 102 today at 3:30pm. So, yes it could get hotter!

I went out last night with a couple of friends from college and we had a great time. Just talking and catching up. Andrea was in town from Virginia and SB caught up with us after work. It was nice to chat with both.

Not too much going on here, mom comes home tomorrow and I will pick her up from the airport around 1:30. Pretty boring day here!

kt

Could it be any hotter?

2005-07-25T17:07:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't think it can get much hotter but as sure as I say that, it will be 105 tomorrow! We are sweltering down here in South Carolina. I went to the pool this morning with Michael and had on 50+ sunscreen and still got sun. I hope things will cool down soon but its not likely. Not much to report today. Mom will be home on Wednesday and will spend the night here and get back to the lake on Thursday or Friday. Just trying to stay cool in this sweltering heat.

Oh, i did find out some good news though. We had a couple visit our church from California and they have decided to move out here and start coming to our church! She is a great singer and I am hoping she will sing with our praise team when they start coming!

kt

Photomax

2005-07-24T15:17:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to put this out there for anyone who may be reading my blog. We have a great new internet business, Photomax. it is an awesome site where you can post and share your online photos totally free!!! Also, you can creat your own keepsake photo books and DVD's of all your pictures! Check out the link!

www.palmetto.myphotomaxusa.com

Katie

Praise Team

2005-07-24T11:56:00.000-04:00

Our Praise Team was awesome thigs morning, well at least I thought they were! We are really getting into the feel of a band! Ususally I can tell when we are feeling it and when we aren't and today we were really feeling it! It makes me glad to know we are giving God our best!

Lazy afternoon today, did a couple of things around the house and then sat down to watch a movie, caught up with a friend fro college. All in all a great afternoon. very relaxing.

kt

Saturday

2005-07-23T09:06:00.000-04:00

So, today is saturday, so far this morning I have managed to make breakfast and make a coconut cake for my dad's birthday on Sunday. He will be coming to dinner Sunday night. Mike is out doing some stuff for the yard and when he is done I am going to have some me time!! Won't really know what to do with myself but it will be really nice. I have a $50 gift card from my birthday i still haven't used yet. I'm going to go get my nails done and then head to the mall to see what I can find.

Michael has not gone poop on the potty since Thursday so we are still battling that. I thought that once he went a couple of times that he would have the hang of it. No such luck. yesterday he went in his pants again and today he won't even sit on the potty to try. Too much pressure maybe?

Anyway, I am looking forward to this afternoon! But I have some cleaning to do this morning before I can go so I better get to it!

Katie

Well, well, well

2005-07-23T03:11:00.000-04:00

Looks like you got your blog going. I don't think Chris keeps his updated much. Hopefully we'll keep ours up to date. One thing to be aware of is that this is completely public information so you may want to be a little cautious about what you write. There may be a way to limit who can view this, I'll take a look at the preferences and see.

New At This

2005-07-22T21:20:00.000-04:00

OK, This is my first attempt to post something on my blog, I thought since both my brothers have a blog, I needed to keep up.

Today is Friday, July 22. Mike is playing poker and I'm hanging out. Just talked to Perry for a while, good to catch up. Ok, I'm going to try to post this now.

kt