alone time

This morning, Aunt Nat, Uncle Tom, Trey and Luke were planning to go to Chattanooga for the day and visit Ruby Falls. They offered to take The Mayor with them. I was nervous but excited for The Mayor to get to spend time with his cousins. He just loves his cousins and I knew he would have fun. But I was nervous for him to be gone all day. They left by 11AM and were home by 7:30. And according to them, it was a great day. When The Mayor saw the waterfall at Ruby Falls, Aunt Nat told me he said "it's amazing". Precious.

With The Mayor gone for the day that gave me tons of alone time with my girl. We usually only have 4 hour blocks of alone time while The Mayor is in school Tuesdays and Thursdays so to have all day with her was awesome. She did wake up fussy and pulling at her ear, so I ended up taking her to the pediatrician...ear infection. But once we got some antibiotics in her and she had a great nap, she was her normal sweet and happy self.

Tomorrow is a school day for The Mayor so I get some more sweet time with my little peanut. Can't wait.

no more highchair...we have graduated to the booster chair...such a big girl!

an unexpected surprise

Uncle Tom, Aunt Nat, Trey and Luke are here!! What a great surprise! We got the call last night that their spring break plans had changed and instead of heading south to Florida, they wanted to head north to Atlanta. We couldn't be happier that they are here...especially The Mayor. His best buddy Luke is here.

We had a busy day. It was a school day for The Mayor, I cleaned the house while the kiddos napped and as soon as they woke up from their naps, the family rolled into the parking lot. Perfect timing. Dinner at a Mexican restaurant followed by frozen yogurt rounded out an awesome evening with the family. Looking forward to the week!

This week brings a lot of rain in the forecast, and normally that would make me so sad, but now we have something to look forward too!

could have gone either way

When you wake up to a cold and rainy Saturday, your day can go one of two ways. It can be a "I'm not going to do anything except crawl back into bed and hide under my covers, watch every cheesy movie on the Lifetime network and eat foods where the first ingredient is sugar...or chocolate" or it can be like our day. Everyone was in a great mood, happy, obedient, perfect. Not typical behavior when it is cold, wet and dreary. But I will take it.

After breakfast and some playtime in the basement, we decided to venture out and head to a covered playground a few miles away. Why not? The equipment will be dry and the kids can run around. I thought every other parent would have the same idea and it would be packed...there was not a soul there. We had the entire park to ourselves. It was fantastic. And then I was mad I didn't bring my camera. Because I thought it was going to be packed I didn't bring it because I didn't want to have to keep up with one more thing. Oh well, I took some pictures with the camera on my phone...so they aren't the best quality.

The Mayor, Love Bug, D and I went down the slides, ran around, let Love Bug play on the toddler slides and then D helped The Mayor climb up a 15 foot rope pyramid (and I almost had a panic attack). It was amazing to see my little 3 year old boy climbing this rope pyramid by himself. He listened to D when D told him where to place his feet and The Mayor scaled it like a monkey. He had no fear. And the few times he would slip, he caught himself, yelled at his feet (seriously, he literally said "come on feet"...hysterical), and kept on going. He got to the top and just smiled. And waved down to me and Love Bug. We were so proud.

Lunch, naps and some more playtime rounded out this surprisingly fun, rainy Saturday. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

hold them extra tight

Today is what I would classify as a bad mommy day. Short fused, overly tired, wishing I could just crawl into bed and pull the covers over my head. And after the kids were asleep and I got to sit down and attempt to forget today, I read about a young couple from Brooklyn with an 18 month old daughter. The husband, Nathan, was diagnosed with stage 3 rectal cancer and 9 days later, his wife, Elisa, was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.

It made me stop in my tracks.

I bet they would do anything to change places with me. I am healthy. My husband is healthy. My children are healthy. At least today. So I need to be thankful for what I have been blessed with and work on not letting the stupid things, the little things, the nothing things get under my skin. Because tomorrow it could all change. I mean, really change. And I would be so mad at myself for being irritated at these stupid things and for not soaking in every single moment that I have with the 3 loves of my life. Today is a gift.

my loves

back in the swing of things

With the exception of thinking it was Monday all day today, we are getting back into the swing of things. It was a school day for The Mayor, tennis practice for me and mommy/daughter time with Love Bug. This afternoon we just laid low, let Love Bug nap while The Mayor played and I tried to get the house back in order.

I have no idea what we will be doing tomorrow but I do know this momma will be going to bed early tonight. I am worn out from the weekend, and since I had to be at the gym at 5AM this morning to work out with my trainer, my eyelids are getting heavy.

But it is so nice to be back home and on our way back to normal.

vacation?

Can it still be called a vacation when you have children? Vacation, to me, means relaxing, kicking back, taking a load off. Traveling with kids is none of those things. You are doing all of your normal day-to-day things just in a different location. And, at least for my children, they are worse when they are out of their element. They are such creature of habits and l-o-v-e their own beds, that everyone and everything is just a hair off when we travel.

We left Atlanta on Thursday after The Mayor got out of school. And we weren't 5 minutes into Florida when I smelled vomit. I looked over Love Bug's carseat and she was covered. We pulled over on I-75 and D had our daughter sitting on the side of the highway cleaning her off while I shoveled vomit out of her carseat. A quick 30 second conversation trying to determine why she threw up and we decided maybe it was car sickness? So we turned her carseat forward facing, prayed to Jesus that we wouldn't get into a car accident (she is 1 and just over the 20 pound but they are now recommending they are rear facing until 2!) and went on our way. 2 miles later, I smelled a blow-out. We pulled into a truck stop, changed the nastiest diaper from Love Bug, prayed that whatever was bothering her was finally out of her system and continued on our way. We made it Orlando with no more accidents.

Friday, we piddled around town and that night we went to a local Mexican restaurant. We were there for about 10 minutes and The Mayor threw up all over himself at the table. D and our friend Rich took The Mayor into the men's room, cleaned him up and I stood outside the restroom praying that this was the end of Vomit Fest 2011. Once The Mayor was done, he was fine. He actually wanted to eat. So we put him and Love Bug on the BRATT diet for the rest of the weekend. Better safe than sorry...

In other news...not related to vomit...the reason of our trip to Orlando, besides seeing our dear friends, was to go to a Braves spring training game. D was so eager to take his son to a baseball game. And The Mayor liked being there for about 5 minutes. Both kids just weren't feeling 100% and it was HOT this weekend. And the game was at 1:00 which is Love Bug's nap time and to be honest, The Mayor could have really stood to have been napping as well. We made it to the 2nd inning before I decided I was no longer interested in torturing the kids and I took them back to our friend's house. D stayed with our friends (he did offer to come home with me but I said someone from our family should be enjoying this game!) and me and the kids were off. Love Bug was asleep before I even got out of the parking lot and 15 minutes later when we were back home, both kids were sound asleep. They slept for 2 1/2 hours and were totally like new kids when they woke up.

The rest of the weekend has been up and down. Both kids are super tired and a little overwhelmed from being out of their element, but regardless of how much a roller coaster this weekend was, it was awesome. Being able to bring the kids to see our friends and to fun experiences like the Braves game (even though they only lasted 2 innings) was fantastic. D and I love making memories with our kids. And we can always try again next year.

And who needs a vacation that is relaxing? D and I had years where it was just us and we wouldn't have it any other way now. These days are going to fly by and before I know it, The Mayor and Love Bug will be creating memories with their own families. That's when I will kick back, relax and take a load off. Until then...bring on the chaos.

D showing The Mayor the field during batting practice...and trying to catch a home run ball

they caught one!

cheering on our friend's daughter at her soccer game

one year well visit

Today was Love Bug's one year well visit. I get so excited for the well visits...I love to see how much my babes have grown since the last visit. I was especially excited to see what was going on with Love Bug since I swore she was actually getting skinnier. Seriously, her size 3 diapers that were almost too small for her a couple of months ago are now almost too big.

At one year, Miss Love Bug's stats:

head: 18 7/8 inches (>95th %tile) - my kids have huge heads...they are so smart

length: 30 1/8 inches (80th %tile)

weight: 20 pounds 3 ounces (40th %tile)

She has lost weight since her 9 month well visit. At 9 months, she weighed 20 pounds 5 ounces and was a little over 28 inches long. Miss Priss is long and lean...lucky girl.

She did great during her visit and since she had been sick and we are going out of town Thursday, I opted against the 4 immunization shots. So today was a really easy visit. When we are back in town and she is 100% well, we will go back for the shots. Yuck.

Today was super cold and super wet. Made it hard to get motivated to do anything but I did manage to tidy up the mess in the kitchen and family room to its illustrious glory from where I had cleaned for this past weekend and dinner was ready when D walked into the door. Just call me June Cleaver.

The kids are really exhausted and were ready for bed; however, since it is still light outside, The Mayor thinks he should be awake. Need to get some blackout shades for his room, ASAP.

Love Bug - 2 days old

3 months

6 months

8 months

1 year old

spring is in the air

Daylight savings time...sad that we lost an hour last night but happy that it was still sunny tonight during dinner and bedtime. I am really looking forward to all of the after dinner walks we can take as a family and playing at the playground during the evenings. I L-O-V-E this time of year.

This morning Love Bug, The Mayor and their cousins played with all of the new toys. It was so sweet to watch Love Bug and The Mayor playing side-by-side at the play kitchen. They are such little buddies. Love Bug had a blast walking behind her grocery cart and learning to ride on her Ladybug Wheely Bug. After they played, we loaded up and went to breakfast together and then back home for a little bit more play. Sadly, the family had to leave to get back to South Georgia for work and school tomorrow. We love when they come visit and hate it when they have to leave.

We enjoyed the beautiful sunshine this afternoon. I had a tennis match and D brought the kids down to watch after Love Bug woke up from her nap. The kids had a blast just being outside in the warm weather. After my match, me and the kids went to Target while D went on a run and then we played some more with the new toys. Both kids were beyond exhausted from this weekend...bedtime was a breeze.

This week will be a short week. Thursday we are loading up and heading to Orlando to visit some dear friends and catch a Braves spring training game. To say we are excited is an understatement. I can't wait to see The Mayor's face when we walk into that baseball stadium. Hopefully we can catch a home run ball :)

her new ladybug Wheely Bug (from Aunt Jen and Aunt Amy)...how cute is this toy??

The Mayor and MeMe petting Trey's guinea pig

The Mayor, Luke, Trey and Uncle Tom pyramid

the party

The party of all parties was this afternoon. Love Bug's 1st birthday. Surrounded by family and friends, we celebrated the first year of life with our sweet girl. In so many ways I feel like she should be older than 1 because I just can't imagine life without her. I feel like she has been a part of this family forever. Today it just reminded me how blessed I am to have two beautiful and healthy children.

Love Bug looked adorable (if I do say so myself) in her pillowcase ladybug dress made special for this party. She greeted her guests with a smile but really only let me, D or Meega hold her the entire party. She was tired and overwhelmed and not interested in being passed around. But she was a trooper. She loved the food and her cousin Sydney kept her entertained in her high chair.

During the gift opening portion of the party, Love Bug just sat in my lap the entire time while she watched her brother open the gifts. She loved looking at all the cards and watching her gifts fly by her while The Mayor went from gift to gift tearing into the paper and gift bags. Every dress that he pulled out he would look at and say "oh, this is so bootiful" and then throw it in the pile and move on to the next gift. Let's just say, it took no time to get through the gifts. The Mayor opened, looked at the gift and then quickly moved to the next gift. He wasn't messing around.

We moved from presents to cake. As expected, she did not like her party hat and didn't know what to think about a room full of people staring at her while singing to her. When the smash cake was put in front of her, she put the tip of her index finger in the icing and then looked at it with a look on her face that said "what the heck is this? and what am I supposed to do with it?" She cried until her daddy came to her rescue and then would only eat the icing that he put on his finger. So no cake in the hair, icing smeared all over the face pictures this year. Maybe next year.

We still had a handful of guests in the house when Love Bug went down for her nap. There was no putting it off anymore. She was down for the count before D even closed her bedroom door, and we didn't hear a peep from her for 3 hours. The Mayor wasn't too far behind. He was beyond exhausted and went down for a 3 hour nap himself. While they slept, D, Aunt Nat, Uncle Tom and myself walked to the Mexican restaurant and enjoyed some adult beverages. Much needed after the whirlwind weekend.

Tomorrow will be a relaxing day at home. No plans, no agenda. Just the way I like it.

Happy 1st birthday to the best daughter a mommy could ever ask for. I love you more than words could ever express and can not wait to see the girl you become. Looking forward to MANY more birthdays together.

cutest hiney in the world

this is how she sat while her gifts were opened

watching her brother open the gifts

doesn't like the hat...

...or the icing

will you please just let me go to sleep?

happy 1st birthday love bug

Today, Love Bug turned 1.

And the best gift ever...she woke up with no fever and not covered in vomit. The virus has finally left the building. A great birthday gift indeed.

After we dropped off The Mayor at school, I treated Love Bug to a birthday breakfast...donuts! She had her first donut today and duh, she loved it. She was a hit at the donut place today...everyone in the joint came up to say hi to her and tell me how cute she is. I couldn't agree more. After it took her 45 minutes to eat her donut (she is such a lady...eating so daintily and slowly), we went to a local bakery to pick up some cupcakes so the 4 of us could celebrate her birthday tonight.

her first donut

D came home early and we went to Mexican for birthday dinner and came home for birthday cupcakes. She didn't know what to think of her birthday cupcake. She picked the whole thing up and I had the camera waiting just hoping she was going to go mouth first into the sugary sweet but then she put it down and just looked at it...and then looked at us...clearly, she is not my daughter. I am going to have to work on her.

D put some icing on his finger and she licked it off...and she looked like she liked it. But being the lady she is, she refused to pick up the cupcake and eat it. She would only eat the icing or cake from our fingers. Oh well, she can try again Saturday with her smash cake.

I just can't believe my sweet girl is 1 year old. This year has come and gone so quickly and now my baby is gone. We are now heading into the toddler years. So bittersweet. I love seeing how much she is growing and changing and I can't wait to see the person she becomes. But I do miss that sweet, wrinkly newborn who cuddled with me for hours on end.

Happy 1st birthday Love Bug. Thank you for completing our family. We are so blessed.

this is when I thought she was going to dive in...mouth first...

...but no luck

i'm done

the storm before the calm

Love Bug is sick. She has been throwing up for several days and yesterday afternoon she started with the fevers. A trip to the doctor shows a virus...of course. It can't ever be something cut and dry and simple that a little antibiotic will clear up. Her fever got as high as 102.8 yesterday and today it was 101.8. But I just put her down for the night (she was ready for bed at 5:00 tonight...she fell asleep on me at 5:45) and her temp was down to 100.1. So that is awesome news! I hadn't given her any tylenol or motrin today, and considering fevers usually go up as the day goes on, I was pleased with a temp of 100.1 before bed with no medicine. Hopefully a great night sleep will help get this virus out of her system!

Tomorrow is the big day! I can't have my baby girl sick on her 1st birthday, and I really need her to be her sweet self on Saturday when the house is filled with family and friends celebrating the big birthday. Lots to do to prepare...

m.i.a.

I know I have been missing in action but we have been busy, busy, busy over here. The big 1st birthday is this week and I just have not had time to sit down and blog. But don't worry! Many pictures will be posted after this week of the big day!!! I can't believe my baby is almost 1. Where has the time gone?!

it's a tough life

Don't you just wish you were 3 again? I am constantly finding myself wishing I could trade places with my kids for just a week...I mean wouldn't it be awesome to have someone pick out your clothes, make you meals, bathe you, change your diaper, make you take a nap? That last part is what makes me so envious of my children. Anyway, this is how I found The Mayor after a "tough" day at school.

The Mayor got a new pet yesterday. Freddy Fish. He has been talking about fishes since he saw a huge aquarium of them in the lab at his pediatrician's office the other day, so we told him we would get a fish after his performance yesterday. He picked him out (a blue male Betta fish) and just could not wait until we got home so we could put the fish in his new fish bowl. Then The Mayor just stood here at the counter staring at the fish. He was so excited. His first pet. The Mayor chose the name Freddy Fish too.

Love Bug is teething and is not happy about it. And she is going to let you know it. I am just hoping these puppies break through before next weekend's 1st birthday event! Her two top teeth are about to come through and I can't wait to see how different she looks with 4 teeth. My little girl...just a changin'.

freddy fish

so excited

D loved the cuddle time...and yes, The Mayor is wearing his shirt from yesterday's concert. He asked to put it on again...