little hats....

Almost 3 years ago, Jamey and I were packing up a 3 year old little girl and a 4 week old baby boy for a trip to see my brother in Georgia. He was stationed at Fort Benning at the time and was still a newlywed. We has a great time with them, and as much as I didn't want to think about it, I knew that within a few months, he would leave for at least 18 months in Iraq.
We planned a trip to Calloway Gardens to see the Christmas lights they have each year - Think Bellingrath Gardens more on a Disney World scale. It. was. freezing. My parents traveled with us and Jamey and my mom took turns snuggling a tiny 3 year old body to share some warmth. She loved it. She loved roasting her marshmallows. She loved going on the tractor ride and seeing all the lights. We sang Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer which was her absolute favorite song at the time. And all the while, I carried a tiny 8 pound bundle of precious babyness in a sling under wraps of jackets and scarves. He was very happy to be right there, to nurse as he wanted (nursing is a big passion for me for those who do not know) and he stayed snuggly warm the whole night. I nursed him throughout most of the hayride and I am pretty sure 99% of the other people on the ride had no idea of his existence. His little head in a little hat. I love baby hats.

Tonight I am packing for North Carolina. Again, we are headed to see my brother and his wife and spend Thanksgiving together. This time, thank God, he is not leaving for Iraq soon (that I know of) but they are leaving soon for a 3 year Germany placement. I try not to think about it too much. Of course, we are excited to go and visit them, but I am going to miss them being in the same country with me of course.

I was pulling out winter clothes - scarves, gloves, hats - and discovered I had not one single hat that would fit the head of my big three year old boy. And let me tell you, that was one of those moments....

He has a cold right now. He is as stuffed up as he can be. But he wants kisses before bed and I am happy to oblige. He says to me sort of but mostly to himself, "Who is my friend? Sisi, Mommy, Daddy. Dis is my friends. And Hoho - Hoho (he means Santa) is my friend when he brings me a good boy toy. And Eli. Eli is a baby. But he wants to sleep in my bed, but him can't."

Little hats that don't fit...big boys telling me wonderful stories...

Slow down, Time...slow down.

Pictures by Melia - great as usual

30th birthday and other happenings

Well, it finally happened. As Melia said, it was inevitable. I turned 30 yesterday. And it wasn't so bad really. I had a fantastic weekend at the the Grand Hotel in Point Clear. This was my birthday surprise from Jamey and it was really exactly what I wanted. We didn't have to drive 10 hours to get there, or take an airplane. The trip was short but I might as well been in another part of the country. I enjoyed my time at the spa in the quiet room. (Which by the way, while I was in the quiet room, I was asked by another girl, "What are you supposed to do in here?" "Um, I think be quiet. See the name on the door?" She was still very confused and I quickly went back to reading).

I came home Sunday around noon to a wonderful surprise Tinkerbell party put together by my family. Elizabeth made a fantastic cake and really scrumptios chocolate covered strawberries. Yummmm

But yesterday, myy actual birthday started out much differently than I expected. We had a family from our school (2 kids and their mom) in a car accident right near the school. It was bad. Three of us from Haskew rode up to the accident site just to make sure the girls were not there alone and scared. Thankfully their family lived very near and were already there. The girls were ok, but their mom was injured very badly and was taken by helicopter to USA where she will remain for a while. It was very hard and I wasn't aware of how affected I was by it until about an hour later. All I could picture was those 2 babies (ages 6 and 8) watching their mama be cut out of a mangled steel mess that used to be a car. The fireman mentioned to me as we were leaving and the helicopter was landing, that those girls may not have survived if they had both been in the front seat.

Life is so precious...

And to see those men and women, the paramedics, the officers, the firefighters all come together and work to free her from that car. They were all someone's mom or dad or sister or friend, and they came at the sound of an alarm to help this family.

Back at work, my sweet friends had a little party for me, and I really enjoyed being with them. And last night we ate spagetti and Rice Krispy treats (or as Stephen calls them - Rice Christmas treats) and I enjoyed my night with my kids.

Im glad to be 30. Now lets see what happens next....




On a side kiddo note - Ansley asked for a TV for her room for Christmas. I was telling her that she should probably ask for another present b/c she is not old enough to have a tv in her room yet.
She said, "If we had a playroom, I could put one in there." and I said, "Yes, maybe we could."
"Why don't we have a playroom?" she asked me.
"Well, we just don't have an extra room." I replied.
"But when you have a baby, where will we put it?" She asked.

Before I could answer that there is NO baby #3, Stephen said very confidently, "We give that baby to Meela" (his version of Melia). Guess Stephen's vote on the topic of baby #3 is pretty clear. :)

Stolen from a blogging friend...

Ok - usually I talk about my kids and that is about it. So tonight, this is about me. :) Here goes...

Hobbies:
1. Ok, does facebook count? i really do enjoy talking to people and knowing what they are up to these days. Maybe its b/c I am nosy, I don't know. But I have reconnected with several really good friends from high school and its like we never spent time apart. So I say, facebook haters can just get over it :)

2. reading - I love to read books, magazines, cookbooks, newspapers. Just about anything.

3. I was not cut out to be a stay at home mom. Maybe if Jamey made millions and money was no object, I might not work at all when the kids were really little but I need structure. I like using my college degrees. I like getting out and helping people. I don't feel guilty for liking my job. Now, part time would really be ideal. Time to get chores done at home but still having that time at work would be so perfect. But, since that is not a possibility, off to work I go. I have been very blessed to have loving people care for my kids as babies in their homes and I think that really helped. Stephen has a wonderful lady who keeps him at her home and he loves her. This is his "school" time and it works for us.

4. My house is perpetually messy. We get it straightened just when company is headed our way. There is no nastiness mind you. We don't live in filth. But my kids PLAY in my house. They are very much allowed to build train tracks down the hallway and under the table. To build forts out of the couch. My kids have great bedrooms and I do encourage them to play there too, but our house is where we LIVE. It is not a picture out of pottery barn (in fact I think I might give the Pottery Barn people a headache.) But oh well.


Well, I was going to try to avoid mentioning my kids - and that didn't happen. Oh well. :) They are a part of me so it is hard to leave them out of my writing.

Here's to a 2 day work week thanks to Ida and Veteran's Day.

Ready or Not...

Here comes Ida and my baby boy is now 3...

So far in the last 48 hours, Ida has done exactly what she wanted to do. When I got up this morning for work, Louisiana and Florida had declared states of emergency. Florida schools were out, Mississippi schools were out, and Baldwin County schools were out. Mobile County schools were in. And this was fine with me, bc that means we have one less day to makeup later in the year. The storm was also headed to Florida.

And now, it is headed for Mobile. Alrighty then.

Jamey and I can barely keep our eyes open. My children had nice long naps today and have enough energy for a classroom of kindergartners. But they are playing sweetly. Hopefully it lasts. It is 4 oclock in the afternoon and it is almost dark outside. Sleepy, sleepy!

And hurricane traditions continue, as I have begun eating my way through this storm. Watch tv, eat, play on the computer, read a few books with the kiddos, eat some more.

Today is also my little man's birthday! Happy Hurricane Birthday Stephen! My mom was nice enough to bring Stephen doughnuts this morning so that was a nice treat for all of us.

Here are a few pictures of today's weather and Stephen's little party that we had yesterday afternoon. He was in deep thought here about his birthday cupcakes...



Decorating cupcakes - Annabell, Leighann and Ansley playing baseball
Eli was very excited to be at the party.

Ready to party!

Dancing without any music

We took the kids to the Greekfest last night and we all had a really great time. I need to post a picture of Ansley in her wrap she bought. It is bright turquoise blue and has dozens of little gold "coins" hanging from it and when she gets going, the sound is a lot of fun.

We ate and shopped. And the highlight of the night, of course, was the dancing. Our preacher had a sermon recently entitled, "Feeling free to Dance" or something like that. It was basically encouraging us to be free in how we choose to praise and serve the Lord. No one way is right or wrong necessarily. He talked about watching his own toddler son dance freely with no worries as to who was watching or what they were thinking.


Thank is exactly what I witnessed last night, but with one more element. I saw my kids, and dozens of other very happy children, dance and leap and twirl as the band played. As the band concluded its song, the adults around the stage and dance floor began to clap, but the children ON the dance floor took no notice that the music had even finished. They continued to laugh and swing and spin and jump. The music was merely a backdrop to their joy.

That is the joy I feel at being a mother. I love watching them dance with no thoughts of insecurities or worries. They are happy and safe, but what they know is that their mommy is sitting right at the edge of the stage watching their every move. Every time they turn to look for me, so that I will acknowledge their dancing, they smile and wave and blow kisses. With hundreds of people around, this was a moment I will remember for always. Watching my babies hold hands and dance barefoot for all to see spinning until the collapse in a pile of giggles and hugs. This is life. This is life celebrated in the moment. I am blessed.

A chance to help

http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/11/03/2117976.aspx

When you have a moment, read this article and watch the video. My mom and I are doing what we can to support the girls in this orphanage. We hope you will join us!

Surely, there is something we ALL could give.

Learning the Language and A fond farewell

I absolutely LOVE listening to Stephen talk. Watching him think about the words he wants to use. I love that right now prepositions are interchangeable to him. For example:

"Fly me as an airplane mommy!" This is what he tells me each night when I tell him it is time for bed. Right now, he has decided that sleeping on the floor is better than sleeping in a bed. And as he sleeps all night there and wakes up happy, on the floor I let him sleep.

We have done really well with getting rid of all the sippy cups in the house recently. He was pretty much off of them (the kind you suck on - not the straw ones) but if he was stressed or tired, he wanted one even if it just had water in it. After a sermon from the pediatric dentist (who I love and fear at the same time) about the horrors of rotting teeth, braces and other scary monstors, I decided to throw all sippy cups away. Temptation would be kept at bay. No matter the pleading, the negotiating, the tears, the sippy cups would be gone.
What. Was. I. Thinking.

No, I am just kidding. It has not been bad. He knew the dentist said to stop sippy cups, but he has still voiced his disapproval of this banishment.

"I love you mama" he says.

"I love you too baby" I say back to him.

"I love the Wiggles, an I love Disney World. Do they have sippy cups in Disney World?"

I tell him, "No baby, no sippy cups in Disney World."

Stephen says, " Not even on the Magic Carpets?"

I reply, "No, not even there."

Stephen with a furrowed brow: "Hmm.. that is sad."


Goodbye sippy cups! You have served us well.

Halloween 2009