bragging on my favorites

For as long as I can remember, when I tell my kids I love them I say "I love you so much".  And it melts my heart when The Mayor says "I love you so much momma".  And it is always followed by "you are my favorite boy".  And if I ask "Are you my favorite boy" he says "yes".  I do the same with Love Bug because of course she is my absolute favorite girl.

Most afternoons, The Mayor and I spend some time cuddling in the recliner while Love Bug naps.  Since The Mayor doesn't nap anymore, he is always up for a little rest time with me in the afternoon.  He will climb up in the chair with me and we will watch a program that we have on DVR.  Today he chose "How The Grinch Stole Christmas".  He sat next to me while I had my arm around him and he had his little legs pulled into his chest while he sucked his thumb watching "The Grinch".  I just took in the moment.  So quiet and cuddly...knowing this wouldn't last forever.  I kissed his head and said "I love you so much"...he said, while his thumb was still in his mouth, "I love you so much".  I kissed him again and said "you are my favorite boy".  And today, for the first time, he pulled his thumb out of his mouth and said "you are my favorite mom", then put his thumb back in and continued watching.  I just stared at him...my heart swelling with love.  I just love that sweet boy.

Love Bug is now starting to say "love you" when we tell her we love her so much.  And it is precious because she says "yove ew", the emphasis is on "ew" and it is drawn out.  She is now starting to say it unprompted...which just makes it extra special.  Don't get me wrong, it is super sweet to hear her say it even if we say "Love Bug, say I love you".  But when we tell her we love her and her immediate response is "yove ew"...whew...I just love my babies.

impromptu playdate

Today was a cold and rainy day.  And I didn't feel one ounce of guilt for having the TV on all day long either.  And just around 11:00 when the kids were getting a little bored, Meega, Bennett and my friend Carolyn and her 3 boys all came over for an impromptu playdate...the best kind.  We were all in our comfy clothes and the 3 of us enjoyed chit-chatting while the 6 kids all played quietly and nicely in the family room.  Our impromptu playdate lasted until 1:00, then my kiddos ate lunch and then Love Bug went down for a nap.  While she napped, I put a movie on for The Mayor while I tackled a project that I have been dreading.  The desk in our kitchen.

This area is a blessing and a curse all in one.  It is wonderful to have the storage and organizational opportunities, but it also becomes a "catch-all" for everything.  And that is what ours had turned into.  We had probably 2 feet worth of mail just stacked...all of it junk just waiting to be shredded.  So I tackled this area and concurred the thorn in my side.  Now the desk is clean and bare...the way we love it.

Tomorrow the highs are in the 30s and we could see some wintery mix.  So insane especially since less than a week ago we were enjoying 80 degree weather in South Georgia.  Thank goodness I just did some winter clothes shopping for the munchkins...time to break out the fleece!

Love Bug and JT

Love Bug and Bennett

making her "fish face"

The Mayor took this picture...he is becoming quite the photographer

we're home

We left South Georgia this morning at 9AM and got off at our exit at 1:00.  A quick stop to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for lunch and we were home and car unloaded by 2:30.  It feels so good to be home.  Don't get me wrong, we loved being in South Georgia for the week but I am looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.

Love Bug was ready for her crib when we got home.  She sweetly greeted every stuffed animal in her bed (we are up to 8 I think...only 2 made the trip) before she laid her head down, put her thumb in her mouth and was out like a light.  I think she napped for about 3 hours and then asked to go to sleep tonight at 7.

The Mayor enjoyed being back at home and playing with his toys.  D and I enjoyed watching the end of the Georgia game.  The Christmas lights are now in the bushes outside and the only thing left to do is get the real Christmas tree (which we will do next Sunday).

Tomorrow we will spend getting back into a normal schedule before the week gets started.  Can you believe December is this week?

the boys

the cousins

MeMe and her girl

a turkey and shopping hangover

Yesterday we had an awesome Thanksgiving.  We started the day in Valdosta cheering D on for the 5K Turkey Trot.  D rocked it.  He finished in 19:51, finished 1st in his age group and 6th overall.  The dinner that evening was amazing and the company was even better.  One of the highlights was Love Bug got to meet her great-grandmother for the very first time.  We haven't seen Nanny since The Mayor was probably Love Bug's age so it was nice having 4 generations under one roof yesterday.

The turkey and lemon pie barely had any time to settle in my tummy before D and I headed to Valdosta for Black Thursday/Friday shopping.  This was the first year D had ever gone out for Black Friday...so I tried to prepare him.  But, really, how can you prepare someone?  Especially when shopping in South Georgia.  It is a totally different experience shopping down here than in Atlanta.  In Atlanta, it is crazy, but you have Targets and other stores every few miles.  Here you only have the one Target, the one Kohls, the one whatever and people drive from 50-60 miles away to come to the one store.  But I have to say, we ended up having great luck.  We only stood in line to get into Toys'R'Us and to check out.  We stood in line for Target, but after we got all of our goods in Target, we lucked out and got into a new line that was forming and checked out 2 minutes later.  It was crazy!  I told D that never happens.  Valdosta does have two Wal-mart stores.  One is right in the middle of the other stores (we walked in and walked out...it was beyond unorganized chaos.  Surprised no riots broke out) but the other is on the way out of town.  We went there on the way back to MeMe and Big Daddy's house...hardly no one was in there.  We got everything we were looking for, walked right up to the cashier and checked out.  Jackpot!

We were back in bed by 2AM...which was late for D and early for me considering it was Black Friday...but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.  Of course, the kids have no idea about Black Friday so The Mayor was greeting me just shy of 8AM.  And now I am nursing a headache reminiscent of a hard night of drinking...

Still worth it...

MeMe dressed Love Bug in a shirt (clipped in the back) so she could play outside and not get her clothes dirty...good thing too...Love Bug was digging in the dirt...and then decided to sample the dirt...apparently, she liked it

Love Bug and Nanny "talking"

cuddle time while we learn to spell

Big Daddy got two of D's toys out of the attic from when D was a little boy...The Mayor LOVED them...a huge fire truck and a truck

christmas card 2011

I had every intention of taking the kids pictures for this year's Christmas card before we left for South Georgia, but thank you to some gray and rainy weather, it didn't happen.  Today, we dressed the kids in their Christmas outfits (which was torture in itself since it was 85 here today) and attempted to take some pictures.  And I thought a good minute on actually putting these pictures on the card...

We did manage to get some pictures that were worthy of making the cut.  I was desperate to get them done today due to an awesome deal going on that expires tonight.  I do like them but it is so hard to love them when every year our photographer has made our cards with her professional pictures.  My pictures don't hold a candle to hers.  We haven't had pictures done by her since Love Bug's 1 year photos besides the kids have changed so much since, and we are a few months away from the 2 year pictures, so I had to use my own.

The rest of the day the kids were entertained by their cousins.  It has been all The Mayor could talk about...Trey and Luke, Trey and Luke.  Well a few minutes after the photo shoot, Trey, Luke, Aunt Nat and Uncle Tom arrived!  The kids have been playing all day and we finished the night off with s'mores by the fire.

We are winding down for the night and the kids will be asleep in 10 minutes.  Thanksgiving week is turning out perfect.

enjoying a popsicle after the photo shoot (hair bow placement courtesy of Big Daddy)

D making light art with his fiery marshmallow

a thanksgiving party and the lighting of the tree

Yesterday was The Mayor's Thanksgiving party at school.  He was so cute dressed in his feather headdress and turkey shirt.  But my favorite part of the day was when he and Love Bug walked hand-in-hand out of his school.  I love the way they love each other.

Today, it was the annual Christmas Tree lighting at our neighborhood outdoor mall.  We have gone every year they have done it and this year was no exception.  The best part, however, is Meega, J and Bennett joined us this year.  We all went to dinner together, then bundled up the little ones and found our place next to the tree.  The parade started with the high school band playing and then Santa arrived on his horse drawn carriage.  The Mayor was really into it this year.  He was thrilled to see Santa!  After Santa read "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" and sang "Jingle Bells" the tree was lit.

the crew

the boys

sweet Love Bug

best seat in the house

me and my boy

so happy

After the tree lighting, the four of us headed up to Lake Lanier for The Magical Nights of Lights.  There are about a million different Christmas lights on display.  This was the first year we have gone with the kids.  Once we entered the park, we unbuckled the kids and put them in front with us.  You just have to come up with a whole new word to describe how excited The Mayor was.  Because excited just doesn't do it justice.  He would say "look, look, look, look!" and "it's amazing" and "the lights are so beautiful" and about a dozen other phrases that made me so happy we all took extra long naps and stayed up past our bedtimes for this.  We ended up at Santa's Village where we got to say hello to Santa (isn't it amazing how he was able to get from the tree lighting and up to the park so quickly!?), grabbed some hot cocoa (and coffee for D and me), bought some marshmallows and a s'mores kit and roasted marshmallows by the fire outside.

It was the perfect day.  We even started bringing up our Christmas decorations from the basement.  Since we will be gone all week next week, we decided to get most of the decorations up before we leave.  That way we can just enjoy them all when we get home.

Tomorrow is going to be crazy busy.  Putting out Christmas decorations, laundry, packing for the week and running some errands.  The day will fly by.  But that's ok...because Monday morning, we are South Georgia bound.

enjoying our s'mores by the fire

Love Bug and D eating their roasted marshmallows

enjoying some yummy hot cocoa

*a huge thank you to Meega for taking the pictures at the tree lighting...I left my camera at home so I had to use the camera on my phone while at Magical Nights of Lights.

sister loves to eat

Tonight, for dinner, Love Bug ate her weight in Goldfish, a nana (what she calls a banana), grapes, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a hotdog (no bun) and 1/4 of a chocolate chip cookie (which D brought home from a work meeting.  Shockingly, the only item listed above that she actually weren't interested in eating was the cookie...how is she my daughter??  We don't turn our noses to cookies!

Love Bug loves to eat.  She wakes up in the morning and is asking to "eat, eat"?  She finishes breakfast and 5 minutes after she is done and playing, she comes to me and asks to eat.  She wakes up from her nap and she asks to eat, she gets a snack and then asks to eat again.  I am not sure where she puts the food...she may have a tapeworm.

Her brother, on the other hand, eats maybe one meal a day.  The Mayor will ask to eat but after a bite or two he is then done.  As of now, the person who I thought would be eating us out of house and home would have been the growing boy...but instead it is our little peanut of a growing girl.

I vaguely remember The Mayor going through this phase.  And I don't worry.  I remember the pediatrician telling us that kids this age do not overeat.  They will stop when they are full.  So apparently she needs a lot of food right now to keep her going.  But it is quite humorous to hear her sweet little voice saying "eat, eat" two dozen times a day.

my beautiful loves

hold them tight

Word spread through Facebook today that a guy I went to high school with has a 3 year old son who tragically passed away yesterday.  I do not know the details yet, but it always puts things into perspective when you hear news like this.  He has 3 kids and his son who passed is his youngest.

It is so easy, especially if you are blessed to have healthy children, to totally take life for granted.  No matter how old I get or what life experiences I have been through, there is always a little bit of "that won't happen to me" that creeps in.  But the horrible and scary reality is no one is exempt.  There are no guarantees.  So it makes you appreciate what you have while you have it.  So tonight, I held my babies extra tight and gave them extra kisses.  And while The Mayor and I cuddled before bedtime and said our prayers, I made sure he knew just how much I loved him.  And since D put Love Bug down tonight, I will make sure to give her extra kisses and tell her just how much I love her when she wakes up.  I can't say it enough, they can't hear it enough and I want to live with no regrets.

So thank you Jesus for blessing me with my life.  I am not worthy but I will take it.  And I will do my best to remind myself of this daily and to appreciate it.

go dawgs

After today's awesome win, the Dawgs are now one conference game away from clinching the SEC East title...which is crazy to think considering the horrible start of their season.  What better way to cheer on today's game than to have Meega and Bennett come over.  J was in Athens watching the game live so he missed out on all the fun...ha!

The kids had a blast.  I love how close they are in age because they just play so well together.  They were absolutely adorable all bellied up to the bar eating snacks and then we pulled the train table into the family room and you would have thought we had hung the moon.  They were all squealing because they could be in the same room with us AND play with the trains.

D grilled out some hamburgers and hotdogs and I made some of our favorites appetizers.  It was a wonderfully low-key night with an awesome Georgia Bulldog win to boot.  My kind of Saturday.

Tomorrow we are heading to church and then after naps, we will be going to Mamie and PopPop's house to celebrate Mamie's birthday.  This week is the last week of school for The Mayor and the last week of work for D before we head out for Thanksgiving break.  Love this time of year!

snack time

I love how they are all drinking at the same time

Bennett watching The Mayor play his puzzle game

silly Bennett

daddy's girl

The Mayor was lying down playing his game and Bennett 

thought it would be fun to climb on him...love these boys

working hard on his puzzle game

Love Bug's "cheese" face...Go Dawgs!

Love Bug trying to give Bennett kisses

I want to remember this

Dear The Mayor and Love Bug,

I just want you to know I strive everyday to be a better mother to you both.  I am constantly a work in progress and will unfortunately disappoint you and let you down sometimes but promise to love you unconditionally.  You two are the loves of my life and I thank God every single night for blessing me with you both.  I love you both for everything that you are and everything you will strive to be, but mostly for the very simple things.  The way you smile or laugh or the way you look when sitting quietly.  I am so thankful I am able to stay home with you two.  I wouldn't want to miss this stage for the world.

I love you more than words could ever express,
Mom

Tonight was just a simple and sweet night.  After dinner, we all went upstairs to the playroom and I just sat in awe at my family.  Watching the way D watched The Mayor while they played with toys melted my heart, and hearing Love Bug's sweet voice as she fed each of us with the play food and then asked us if we wanted "more?".  We would say "yes please", she would go to the bin, pick a new food item and walk it over to us to feed us.  She would smile and say "more?", we would say "yes please" and the cycle would repeat.

My heart melted when The Mayor asked his sister if she would feed him and hearing her say "oh sure", watching her pick up the food, walk it over to The Mayor, feed him and hearing him say "awwww, thanks sweetie".

These are the moments that make all of the hard days melt away and become forgotten.  These are the moments that refresh my attitude and have me look forward to the new day I get to spend with my loves.  The simple things...this is what life is all about.  And I love it.  

the countdown begins

Um, in less than two weeks we will be in South Georgia to celebrate Thanksgiving.  THANKSGIVING. When did Thanksgiving roll around again?  And the scarier part is Christmas will be just a few weeks after that...ugh.  Time...please slow down!

This week D and I started working on the kids Christmas lists.  I gotta have a plan for Black Friday.  After Thanksgiving, Christmas and my kids' birthdays, it is my favorite holiday.

So I have been on a kick lately of changing up things around the house.  And of course my imagination far exceeds my budget.  So I make small changes where and when I can.  This week's change were the cornice boards in the kitchen.  D and I made the cornice boards in our kitchen, oh, maybe 7 years ago?  I love them but wanted to change the fabric.  So Meega and I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday with the kids and picked a fabric that I LOVE.  It has just enough green in it to match the kitchen walls and lots of colors that tie the family room in with the kitchen.  And this fabric also comes in the same pattern but with chocolate brown, blues and greens and I am dying to get some panels made in that fabric for our Master.  But that will be another day...

Meega helped me remove the old fabric and attach the new.  It went pretty quickly...the hardest part was matching the same repeat of the pattern on the 2nd cornice board, but once we figured it out, the fabric was attached in less than 10 minutes.

I removed the antique plates I had hanging over the french doors.  Those lemon plates have been hanging since we moved in...they are in memory of my mom.  Lemons make me think of my mom...she painted them and seemed to always have something with a lemon hanging in her own kitchen.  Sadly, they don't match the new cornice boards so I will have to find another use for them.

Not sure what the next project will be...but until then, we will focus on the countdown to Thanksgiving.  Less than two weeks and I will need to pack enough for me and my monkeys for a week.  Can't wait!

the old cornice boards

the new fabric!

the new cornice boards with the plates removed

how gorgeous is this fabric?!

my loves