Mini Me

Tonight while we were sitting down for dinner, the Presidential Debates were on. Much more shocking to me this political season, other than the lies spewed from Obama's mouth, was the fact that Adam - my once politically apathetic husband - has watched ALL of the debates. So, while eating dinner, we left the debates on the TV. (I'm surprised I didn't get sick in the middle of dinner and lose it after all of the lies, lies, and more lies).

During the middle of the debates, Owen got up off of his chair, walked over to the TV, stood in front of it with his hands on his hips and says, "Yep! Yep! Yep! Noooooo! Yep! Yep! Yep!" I just about died with laughter. I turned to Adam and said, "I guess we don't need to wonder where he got that from, now do we?" Adam merely rolled his eyes.

Before Adam and I had children, I told him that I would be responsible for teaching our children about language, spelling, government, politics, and all of the other "soft sciences". Adam, being much better at math and the "hard sciences," would have the responsibility of teaching our children those. Fair split, right? I knew that a mother's influence was crucial in a child's life. I knew that I would influence my children (hopefully for the better) throughout their lives. It became crystal clear to me in that moment just how much of an influence a mother has in their children's lives. WOW!

I guess one could argue that I am teaching my children, for better or worse, about politics from an early age. I am doing my duty!

It's A Boy!

We are having an addition join the family at the end of this month. We couldn't be happier - okay I couldn't be happier. I've always wanted another boy. Adam wasn't really happy about this, but said, if it's what you want, then we can do it. This little boy was born July 23rd. All of his little parts are there and they are adorable. He was born in Texas and will barely be 3 months old by the time we get him, but we will have years and years of enjoyment with him in our family. We haven't decided on a name as of yet, but have a little bit of time to come up with one.

I've decided to post a few pics, even though we don't officially have him yet. I can hardly stand it. Isn't he absolutely beautiful?!







GOTCHA!!!! How many of you thought we were having a baby!? C'mon fess up, you know you were one of them. This kitty is the same breed as Lincoln. He's coming from the same breeder and even has the same father as Lincoln. I've narrowed the names down to three: Chevy, Theo (after Theodore Roosevelt) or Edison. Adam wants to name him Booth.

Project Man

There have been a few projects that we've wanted to do since we bought this house, almost 2 years ago. There are still projects that remain on "the list". One of those projects, however, got crossed off this weekend. We finally were able to get some used cabinets and Adam was able to install them this past weekend. I have been anxious to get these cabinets into the laundry room so I could hide all of the usual laundry room crap. It just looks finished and complete now. Plus, it created a lot more storage room in our hall closet for even more junk!







Thanks, Love for working so hard to keep me happy with these projects getting done. You're the bestest!

Maroon Effect

Each year during the college football season, Virginia Tech (Adam's Alma Mater) has an "orange effect" and a "maroon effect" home football game. During these games, the fans are asked to participate by wearing either the orange shirt or the maroon shirt.

Me, not being a big fan of the color orange, told Adam that he needed to get Owen the maroon shirt. Adam either forgot or for some reason or another didn't get around to purchasing the maroon effect shirt. That's where I stepped in and ordered one for Owen and for Adam. Now, on the day of the maroon effect game, Owen will be sporting his new shirt! Hopefully, it will be cool enough for him to wear it by then.

I know the shirt is big. The only size that they had was "youth small". So, I figure it is 100% cotton and by the time it is was and dried a few times, it won't be quite so big on him. As a side note, Owen now calls each and every kind of bird a "Hokie Bird". The VA Tech brainwashing has begun already!

Favorite Part of the Day (One of 'Em Anyway)

Each morning that we are not trying to rush out the door to get to one thing or another, I allow Owen & Caroline to watch 1 show. They have their cups of milk and usually a bowl of dry cereal with them. They hop up on the couch and sit to watch. No matter where Owen is sitting on the couch, Caroline MUST sit right next to Owen. (She gets that from me. Wherever Adam is sitting on the couch, I must sit right next to him and even sometimes manage to sit on him. Deep down he knows he LOVES it when I do this, don't you Love?)

But, in all honesty, even though they fight and scream and carry on with one another, they cannot be without the other if they are both awake. They each ask for the other as soon as they are up in the morning or from their afternoon naps. Almost like twins, but two pregnancies. Needless to say, they are completely inseparable. I love these little moments.







***Notice they won't even look at the camera to have their picture taken. They can scarce take their eyes off the show. Love it or hate it, the power of TV is definitely at work here in these pictures.

New Head Appareal

Whether it's in a dresser drawer, a secret box, or all over the house, we all have those things that remind us of good times had from many years ago. One of Adam's such places is in the bottom of his dresser drawer. Being that it may, it is the perfect thing - according to Owen & Caroline - for them to go rummaging through and find all sorts of "hidden treasures"

During one such escapade, Caroline found a bandanna, handkerchief, or whatever you may call it. Adam obliged her and tied it on her head and this is what she looked like.....

Now, if you couple the sponsor of this head dressing, along with her latest antics, then Adam and I are in for some serious trouble when she becomes a teenager.

If Adam wants to, he can defend himself by either posting a comment or a separate post as to how he came to own such paraphernalia, as I either do not know the complete story or, in all honesty, have forgotten. Either way, it is for him to explain.

Sleeping Beauty

While reformatting my camera's card, I found these pictures of Caroline that are about a month old. Apparently she was a little too sleepy to eat her lunch, of chicken nuggets and broccoli, and could barely keep her eyes open. She just popped her thumb in her mouth and that was the end of it. As she would nod off, she would wake herself back up, or the beeping of the camera focusing would wake her up. But, then, I finally got one of her asleep. She didn't even wake up as I unbuckled her and picked her up. Caroline was O-U-T! Ahhhhhhh! The joys of motherhood.

"Bye Bye Mommy!"

Owen's preschool started 4 weeks ago. It's the same program that I did for him in the Spring. It runs for 10 weeks and is 1 hour a day, twice a week. Just enough for him right now.

For the first 3 weeks the mere sight of pulling into the parking lot would start him crying and carrying on. That slowly got better and the crying and hysterics wouldn't start until I dropped him off at the classroom. That got somewhat better. Then, there was today.

We pulled into the parking lot of the recreation center, and he's not crying or carrying on. I unbuckle his seat belt and he climbs right down out of the car. I got Caroline out of the car and we all proceed to walk in together. We turned down the hallway and there's no anxiety anywhere on his face or in his behavior. We walked straight into the classroom. He sees one of his teachers, his favorite - Ms. Debra, and he ran to give her a great big hug. I signed him in talked to Ms. Debra and proceeded to walk out.

When Caroline and I get to the door I hear this little voice call out behind me:

Owen: "Bye bye Mommy!"

Me: "Bye Onie B."

Owen: "You're going home?"

Me: "No, but I'll be back."

Owen: "Okay. Bye bye Mommy! Awaaaaaaaaah! (blowing me kisses)"

Me & Caroline: "Awaaaaaaaaah!"

I couldn't believe in such a short amount of time he would be comfortable already in his class. I didn't like him hanging on me every other time I dropped him off and that was more than frustrating. Today was nice that I didn't have the battle, but it completely caught me by surprise that it left me wondering how is he going to do on the first day of kindergarten. I'll probably be a mess, and he'll be fine. Or maybe it'll be the other way around. Who knows? Just grateful, for the time being anyway, that I don't have to deal with that quite yet. Soon enough, but not yet.

Let's hope we have this same kind of a day tomorrow for his sports class. Dropping him off at that class has been even worse than this one. Here's to hoping......

Life's Little Indulgences

Early part of this summer, or maybe even late, late spring, my sister introduced me to a new spin on a beloved soft drink of mine. My sister likes regular Coke, but I like Diet Coke. I took her to our beloved soft drink place around here.....



and have ordered the new concoction ever since. My new favorite is a large Diet Coke with fresh lime and vanilla flavoring. It may sound a little weird, but it truly is too die for. I have branched out and ordered, like just today, a twist on this concoction and did whole cherries and vanilla, which is also soooooooo yummy (not to mention the treat of being able to eat the cherries afterward)! Some days I curse my sister for introducing this to me and other days I think she is a genius. It is not an uncommon thing for Adam to come home and find a large Sonic cup (or on a really bad day a "Route 44" drink cup in the trash) with the remnants of the either the limes or the cherry stems. Nine times out of 10 there's also a large juice cup in the trash too that I have gotten for the kids and then split between them. The total for these 2 drinks is $4.07, which happens to be $4.07 of total bliss, until the drink runs out any way. But then, there's the ice I can crunch and chew which is also heavenly.

It's pretty pathetic when the kids and I are on the way to the grocery store, which happens to be just up the street from Sonic, and Owen will say, "Mom, we're getting a juice?!" Most grocery days, reluctantly, I have to tell him "no", but when he does really well at school, like today, then his little reward is to go to Sonic. Okay. Okay. Okay. It's all for me, I admit it. It is my little indulgence, but at least I share it with the kids.

Every woman, especially a stay at home mom, needs an indulgence or two. This just happens to be one of my very, very, very favorite.

"Spellcheck in Dairy"

Today, my grocery day, as per usual, I stopped by the dairy section to get milk and yogurt. I just about died when I saw this sign posted on one of the doors right in front of the Yoplait yogurt. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to take a picture of it (I only had my phone with me, sorry about the quality) and blog it.




Look, again at this sign. It is in front of the Yoplait yogurt. Even I didn't notice the "Yoplat" part of this sign until I got it here to blog. I noticed only the "yogert" part. How does one work in a grocery store, make these signs on a computer and still misspell these words? Seriously, these people are able to drive a car, procreate, and vote! Where did this person learn to spell? I understand typos, we all do them, which makes the Yoplait misspelling understandable. But "yogert", seriously! The "e" and the "u" are nowhere near each other on the keyboard so a typo is ruled out. This just kills me.

Whoever made this sign obviously was not a benefactor of the No Child Left Behind Act. Maybe, just maybe, the sign has been changed by now and a corrected sign is up on the door. Let's hope, shall we?

Dancing Queen

The other day I came out from my bedroom and back into the kitchen to see my sweet Caroline standing on the kitchen table marching her feet and twirling in circle. She continued to march her little feet and spin in the opposite direction. I wish I had my camera or my video camera to capture the moment, but alas it was not at my fingertips. Not to mention, that I was scared to death that she was going to march herself right off of the table. I told this little story to my sister who replied, "hide the pole while you can!" Seriously, I hope this is not an indication of her choice for professions later in life!

Labor Day Fun

Adam and I took the kids over to California for Labor Day. We left early Friday afternoon and returned early Tuesday afternoon. It was so much fun. The days were warm, but the evenings were cool. It was very refreshing to have a cooling off in the evening time. Can't wait 'til it happens here.

Our original intention was to take the kids to the beach on Saturday. But, in my haste to pack the kids the night before, and being up until well past midnight to accomplish this task, I forgot the swim diapers. I thought I would be able to buy some over in California at the local Barf-Mart. As par for the course, all of their swim diapers were gone. Not just empty shelves where they are normally stocked, but gone! No more swim diapers over there for the rest of the year, until that season rolls around again out there. Next, I tried to find an umbrella or some other type of shade to take to the beach. If you've ever been to the beach without shade, you know that is just a miserable experience. No shade umbrellas anywhere to be found either. Strike two on that mission. I decided to cut my losses and go home from there.

Saturday was a bust for the beach. We hung out and didn't do a whole lot, except go see Batman (finally!!!!) Saturday night. That movie was un-freaking-believable! I loved it, even if it did make me jump and scream at one point in the movie. Everyone around me, including Adam, got a wonderful laugh at my expense over that one.

Monday, the weather was better and although I still had no shade or no swim diapers, Adam took Owen to the beach. I didn't want Caroline to go because she won't keep a hat on and I didn't want to take her without the shade to escape to. Yes, I've heard of sunscreen, but didn't want to totally rely on that. Owen was scared of the water, but had fun playing in the sand. Adam snapped some pictures and overall "the boys" had a great time at the beach. Meanwhile, I took Caroline on a shopping adventure with my mom and s-i-l, Kristen, to check out an outlet mall. What's a girl to do when the boys are at the beach, right?! We had fun shopping and I got a few really good deals on some shoes and a some clothing items for the kids. It was a successful shopping trip and can't wait to go again.

We left early Tuesday and arrived back here to pick Bax up and get home around 2:00. Kids did really well in the car both ways. Owen has always traveled well in the car and Caroling is getting better. She is getting better at sitting for longer periods of time in the car before the screaming starts. Maybe that has to do with the DVD player to entertain them. I swear I don't know what I would do without that. Technology is such a blessing!

Anywho. Here are some of the pics Adam snapped of Owen while at the beach. Enjoy!