Friday, July 29, 2011

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Naked Soccer

In the past week, Maddox has really been drawn to playing with any ball....soccer, basketball, baseball, golf ball, even a bouncy ball.  He has turned into quite the kicker.


And Amelia has turned into a jumping bean.  She is flipping all over the house!  Cartwheels, rolls, and handstands...and a little beam work (on the back of the couch).



All day long I hear, "Look, " and, "Mom, watch this!"  And it just makes my days a little more exciting.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Golf Anyone?

When I was little, Mom and Dad would take us kids to Nashville every summer.  We LOVED it.  We did Opryland 2 days, stayed at the hotel and swam, went to the movies, shopped and played mini golf.   So, it seemed like the perfect place to take the kids for a long weekend.  We went to the Adventure Science Center, the zoo, and would you believe we stumbled upon Grand Ole Golf .... the exact same course I played on as a child.  As soon as I saw the sign, I knew we were going.  We were packing for home on Monday morning and I casually mentioned we should stop there on the way home.  As soon as we pulled in, I looked at the thermostat in the car and it said 93.  Should have driven right on by but I simply couldn't resist trying to recreate this memory of mine.  We got the kids out of the car and Amelia asked, " Do they have chairs on this course or do I just have to sit in the field?"  Another red flag.  I just pretended I didn't hear it.  We got our clubs, our balls and the scorecard with that adorable baby pencil.  We picked a course and off we went.  The first hole wasn't that bad.  Amelia's form was like something I have never seen and was in no mood to be corrected so you can imagine how successful she was at getting the ball into the hole.


She became frustrated and played hole 2 and 3 like this....



In her defense, Maddox was crazy.  Every time a ball was left alone for a second, he would pick it up.


Holes 4 and 5 were surrounded by water, and let's just face it, they were way to difficult for our crew so we headed on to hole number 6.  This is where it all went downhill.  I heard screaming and crying and when I turned around, Amelia had thrown her club and was lying flat on her back on the green.  Maddox was up to no good again and she couldn't take it.






Game over at hole number 6.  We were hot, crying, thirsty, tired, frustrated and just ready to go home.   I can safely say that no one had one ounce of fun...except for me.  Although it didn't go as planned, we did it and I was satisfied.  The next day I asked Amelia if she had fun on our trip.  Her reply, " I loved everything except golf."  Enough said.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The Unwanted Guest....and the Friend Who Saved the Day

Wednesday night at about 11 pm, I walked into Maddox's room to check on him before I called it a night.  The poor thing was on all fours sick as a dog.  He threw up until 6 in the morning.  To make a long story short, he was sick for 2 days and eventually ended up in the ER with a stomach virus.  We came home Friday from the hospital and were so relieved that everyone else had avoided that stupid thing.  About an hour after being home, Drew became sick and I quickly followed.  I looked around the room to see Maddox, Drew, and I lying on the floor.

Precious Amelia was literally stepping over us to play with her barbies and crayons and stuffed animals.  I stumbled to the phone and called my dear, sweet friend, Anne Milburn.  All I could think to do was to get Amelia out of the house so she wouldn't become sick.  I told Anne about how ill we were and she said, "Just tell me what to do."  I asked if Amelia could stay with her for the night and we would pick her up early in the morning.  I packed Amelia a bag and Anne came to pick her up for a girl's night.  I grabbed Maddox, put him to bed, and slept for a couple of hours.  I called Anne at 10 and could hear Amelia laughing and giggling in the background.  I headed to bed knowing Amelia was in good hands.  The phone rang at 6 in the morning.  I assumed Amelia was missing Mama.  Anne informed me that Amelia had been up since midnight vomiting.  I was devastated.  Not only was my baby sick, but poor Anne and her daughter, Remy, were exposed.   I felt so bad for Anne because I knew how evil that virus was and I knew how exhausting it was to stay up and take care of a sick little one.   I brought Amelia home and she was pitiful.

We finally all recovered on Sunday morning.  I called to thank Anne for being such a great friend.  And then....she broke the news that Remy was now sick.  She was not mad...she was not rude....she was, well, everything I probably wouldn't have been.

I have alot of good friends.  In fact, I have many great friends.  But a friend like Anne is one in a million.  She is caring, generous, understanding, thoughtful and loyal.  She protected my child and took care of her when she was sick.  I have apologized to her about a million times for getting Remy sick and last night she told me....

 "Release it.  There are way too many other things to stress about.  We don't know God's Plan.  Us being in the house sick could have kept us safe from another situation."  So ......I'm releasing the guilt and celebrating the fact that I'm so blessed to Anne in my life. 

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Fourth of July...and a little bit more

Oh how I love the 4th!  I love the weather, the fireworks and the food.  This year was no different.  Matt has always been in charge of the airshow.   With all fireworks legal, he did not disappoint.


We spent the day hanging out with good friends.  We let the kids play in the pool and eat until they were sick.





Poor Maddox couldn't stay up to see the fireworks but Amelia and Addison did!....through the sliding glass door.  They wouldn't come outside for a second.  They hated the noise.  They would only open the door to say...."That was Awesome!"  Those girls were so cute.  Later that night, Amelia had her first sleepover and loved it!!  Fourth of July 2011 equals huge success.

On another note..one day last week I thought it would be a great idea to let the kids finger paint. Oh, they did...and a little more!  It was everywhere.  If you would have told me 10 years ago that I would let my kids ever look like this, I would have told you that you were absolutely crazy.


If you have kids and if you have finger paint, let them go at it.  I have never seen such smiles.  Oh, and add a little music in the background.... and if you are lucky, you will get a special show like the one the kids gave me:)

A Fun Trip....Kinda!

The anticipation for our annual fourth of July fireworks was killing us.  So instead of being one of those families that does fireworks at noon on July 3rd because they can't wait, we decided to occupy our time at the Wildlife Center in Frankfort.  We started packing early that morning because even a "day trip" with 2 little ones is an adventure.  Drew had seen somewhere on the website that fishing was free, so he was all about it.  We loaded the car, and because Matt and Dani were visiting, room was tight.  I found myself in the very back of the Saturn with a stroller and a fishing pole.  It really wouldn't have been so bad except there was a floating hook from the fishing rod above my head.  I couldn't feel any of the air conditioning or hear any of the conversation but that really didn't matter because I was just trying to focus on not getting carsick.  After a breakfast run to McDonald's, we were off.  Everything went pretty well until we realized the dual adapter car charger was not working.  This meant we could either use the DVD player and keep Maddox happy or use the GPS and not get lost.  We had printed out directions, luckily, so we chose to keep "happy" Maddox around.  We drove and drove and drove.  What should have been a 30 minute drive turned into an hour.   Drew finally admitted that he was trying to find a bait store first and was lost.  We did the unthinkable.  We unplugged Maddox and used the GPS.  We drove in circles for about 15 minutes but, by golly, we got 6 night crawlers.  It seemed like we had driven to Michigan and evidently, Amelia thought the same because she yelled out, "Dad, it feels like we are driving to Jesus."  We finally arrived and the kids were excited. 







While we were outside looking at the animals, we noticed different trails you could take.  The path seemed very level and wide enough for a stroller so we thought we would go for it.  As soon as I looked down to see if Maddox was having fun, he fell asleep.

I can easily say it was the worst decision of the day.  The path got narrower and narrower and then it got steeper and steeper.  There were logs in the middle of the trail and steps about every 100 feet.  The only choice we had was to pick the stroller up and carry it over every obstacle.  Poor Maddox rode almost completely vertical the entire trail.

It was hot, we had very little water and no food.  (We did, however, have those stupid 6 night crawlers).  Matt and Drew were soaked with sweat and I had blisters on my hands.  You see, some of the bridges required all three of us to pick up the stroller.




It was brutal.  People were passing us on the trail and I could tell what they were thinking.  "What a bunch of amateurs!"  Get ready....1 hour and 10 minutes later, we finally made it out.  We were miserable but decided we had to see the animals that we had driven so long to see.  We hurried by the eagle, the moose, and the bison.  It was at the bison exhibit when a perfect stranger asked us if we were staying hydrated.  I almost wet my pants.  Do you know how bad you must look if someone asks you that?  We were done.  We headed for the car in need of food and water.  After a much shorter drive home, we took a nap and everyone recovered nicely.  Later that night, I went to unpack the car and there they where....a Styrofoam cup full of 6 dead night crawlers.  A great reminder of a crazy trip!

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

When it Rains it Pours

I have so much to blog about and sooo many new pictures but everything I touch these days is broken.  Started with my computer....12 days later, it is still in the shop.  No computer means no pictures which means no blog.  With no computer, I thought I would get some cleaning done but....the vaccuum is broken.  Went upstairs to wash dishes and our brand new dishwasher is, you guessed it, broken.  So no writing until I get my "stuff" fixed.  Im on Drew's computer and I'm afraid I will break it;)