The Whirlwind Trip

If I get to leave this lovely state of Georgia, there are always a million other places I'd like to be and people I'd like to see. We need to go to Maryland to a friend's baby's Christening. Of course we drove...separately. Blair had to work and it didn't work out that we could meet anywhere and leave a car. So, I packed up all three girls (of course. What, was I only going to take 2...or 1) and the dog and headed north.

First stop, Raleigh. I love being home. I know where I am. I know where things are. Even though it's changed alot in the last 2 years, I still recognize (most of) it. I went by the school where I used to teach. God, I miss being there. I got to hang out with the kindergarten teachers and it was like old times. The girls loved playing on the playground with the other children and I enjoyed the brief time that I got to spend with my friends. I got to see one of my Aunts and got my hair cut by my favorite hairdresser of all times. My time was way too short with everyone.



My Aunt holding Riley while she sleeps.


Raleigh Nana with Riley at school.

Rachel, Daddy and Riley.





Next stop, Grandma and Grandpops. This was the longest I stayed anywhere. We got to be here 2 nights and Blair met us the second night. Rena loves her Grandmom! Everyone had a great time and once again, we just didn't have enough time.





On to Maryland. Our friends have a new house and I hadn't gotten to see their new baby. What a cutie this little girl is! They also have a son that is a doll too. They had gotten us a puppy for Christmas, so we 'took possesion' of her while we were there. Ironically, we missed the actual Christening that we had driven all the way from Georgia for. No, I don't know how we missed it. I wasn't in charge. (If I had been, we would have just been late, not absent.)





Back in the car. Next stop: Raleigh, again. It's a good stopping point. I got to meet another friend and her daughter for lunch. After lunch, Blair took the girls and headed south and I got to do a little shopping, all by myself! Then I headed south too.





It was almost good to be home. It was nice that we didn't have to work out of a bag and the girls had their toys to play with. Back to the daily grind.





We'll probably make this trip again this summer. It will be longer. In the mean time, we'll hang out here.

4 year olds rock!

Rena has become quite the little helper. The other morning while I was taking a shower, I let the little girls play in the tub. I really didn't have much of a choice, because as soon as I said "Mommy's going to take a shower" they both stripped off their clothes and got in the tub. Rena didn't want to take a bath (they had all just had one). So, she proceeded to bath her sisters. They were much more cooperative with her than they ever are with me. And she did a great job. They were clean top to bottom. She even helped get them out and dry them off! How about that!

More Snow!

It snow here again yesterday! I love the snow. It's never a guarantee, so when it actually comes AND it's the snowman/snowball making kind, it's even better.

Rena and her Daddy made a snowman and had a snowball fight yesterday. She loved it. Rachel and Riley weren't really all that impressed by the stuff. They were happy to stay inside for the most part.

Trying to get all three girls appropriately dress for the weather takes forever. I was afraid we would miss the whole snow event.

I got some pictures, to prove that it really did snow. Luckily I downloaded my pictures immediately, because while I was posting them on another site Riley broke my camera. Completely. She was taking pictures and fell. She didn't get hurt, but my camera sure did.

Now we are trying to decide how we are going to pay for a new camera. It's what I asked for for both my birthday in July and Christmas. I'm also trying to decided what I want to get.

Other than the exciting snow, I'm trying to get ready for an upcoming trip. If you think getting 3 girls ready to go outside is a big deal, try getting them ready for a 3 state tour with frequent stops! I'm looking forward to seeing our friends, but I am seriously dreading this trip.

Cause of the Drought

Being in a 50 year drought brings a unique set of circumstance. Rain is a novelty to my kids. They really haven't seen alot of it in their short lives. So despite the fact that there is snow on the ground, my kids are fascinated the the water in the gutters.

So where is all that water going?

And Rena discovers why we are in a drought. She followed the water down the street, splashing and playing like a normal kid. Then she got to the drain and said, "Mommy, that's why we are in a drought. All the water is going down there!"

She's so smart.

Sometimes I feel like we are single handedly draining Lake Lanier. I struggle between developmental play and the need for conservation. We talk alot about not wasting water because we are in a drought. Rena has really taken it all in, hasn't she.

Cruel Southern Snow

Snow! We had snow last night and it was beautiful. Perfect, snowman making, snow. Of course, it came too late for us to go out and play in it. Then it started to sleet. Then it all started to melt before dawn. Too bad, too, because I think this might be the first time Rachel and Riley have really seen snow.

Riley took advantage of the snow to do a little gardening.



Here are the three sisters all together. Riley had a difficult time making it up the 'big' hill there into the flower bed. How adorable is this shaggy-haired group? We are definitely not cut out for the great white north though. We stayed out about 20 minutes and then all collapsed into tears because our wet pants were sticking to us and our hands were cold.

Jack Hanna, she's not

Jack Hanna was on Larry King live last night. I LOVE Jack Hanna. I say it, just like that, everytime I see him or hear his name. It's like some Pavlovian response. I just can't help it. Even my husband knows I LOVE Jack Hanna. I find it endearing that he seems to be a little scared of animals (Jack, not my husband). How funny is that? He obviously loves and respects the animals and has a need to share this love with others.

I too, love animals, but limit my experience to the domestic kind. I don't feel the need to socialize with animals that can and will eat me. I'm teaching my children to love and respect animals too. All three of them have a great command of dogs and even led my in-laws dog/pony around at will over Christmas. Come! Sit! Stay! They have those down pat.

Now, if you know anything about animals, you know that you can't treat a cat the way you treat a dog. They will not stand for it. They would eat you if they could. And even the fiesty little ones give it a try sometimes. Rachel is learning this the hard way. I would like to say she learns from her mistakes with our cat, but that would not be true. She has pulled his tail and bent his head back in a exorcist pose. Even though he defended himself, he didn't go all psyco on her...until tonight. I don't know what her offense was, but she came in with a big cat scratch across her forehead. Her feelings are always as hurt by these event as her skin. She just doesn't get it yet. Poor thing.

Unfortunately, I don't think Boomer will be in a forgiving spirit anytime soon. He is on guard around her and with good reason. Maybe one day, she'll grow up to be the next Jack Hanna, but for now, she's not.

I can read!

I find this utterly fascinating!
Let me know what you think.


fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too!
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can. My Bondl firneds hvae vrey lttile torulbe!
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!

LOST!

for about 3 minutes! We just returned from Bass Pro shop, where my middle child, who's 2, was lost. My oldest is 4 and I haven't lost one yet, but my dear hubby managed to lose her. Now, this is the least likely of the 3 to go missing, so it truly scared me. I didn't realize just how much until we found her.

Here's the story. I take child #3, also known as spitfire, while hubby takes children 1 and 2. He's looking for gloves, I'm looking for crowd control! Within about 5 minutes of us separating, I'm paged to customer service. He's there with child 1 but not child 2. Where is she? I ask. She's lost. That's why I had them page you.

Now, I don't dissolve into tears or anything, but I'm not wasting time either. She's 2!!! Hubby tells me not to panic. Not really the right thing to say. So, we part ways again and start searching for her. Now despite that he told me he's let 'them' know, no one else that works there seems to be concerned. So, I stop 2 employees and tell them what's going on. They issue a code Adam. (For those of you who don't know, employee's won't let small children leave the store with anyone and they monitor who leaves while they are on the lookout in the store.) Obviously, hubby had not covered this base as he thought. Within a minute of my stopping this employee, it comes back that she is at customer service. I quickly head over there and my hubby is already there with her. Turns out she hadn't gone far and someone had found her and was returning her to customer service when my husband ran into them. As I come up, he tells me once again not to panic. Now, there are many problems with this statement. First of all, I'm not really a panicky person. Second of all, he really doesn't need to be telling me anything at that point.

Anyway, I started to cry (I'm also not the crying type) when I saw her. What a relief! Once the adrenaline had started to wear off, it dawned on me that my hubby was probably really telling HIMSELF not to panic. I also started thinking that if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn't want him to be mad at me. (Oh, yea, I was mad!)

So, all's well that ends well. I'm not mad at hubby. Lest likely to dissappear is fine, as are her sisters. And, hopefully that will be the only 'lost' story we have to face in our family!

The Visit

My Dad and 2 of my Aunts came to visit. Yeah! I was so excited that they were coming. It's the first time my Aunts had come and it's been awhile since my Dad has visited. Now, in true, old-people fashion, they didn't stay very long, despite my pleas to stay 'just one more day'. They got here at about 4:00 on Thursday and left at noon on Saturday. What's that? 44 hours? It took them 8 and 1/2 hours to get home.

Anyway, they helped out alot, even though they didn't think they did. Unfortunately, I got sick while they were here and felt like crap on friday. The girls had fun with them. It was busy, busy, busy. And loud! My goodness. I think part of the chaos feeling for those 44 hours was that everyone was on different schedules. That's also alot of people under one roof! Plus this house carries sound funny and it's hard to hear. All the sounds get jumbled together.

The only thing we did was eat! My Aunt Jewrell brought a wonderful coconut cake. There wasn't much left by the time they left. My Aunt Devilla enjoyed playing with her Grandnieces and my Dad slept. I think his sisters wore him out!

Even though it was a short visit, it at least gave me something to look forward to. I still don't quite consider this place home, so it was nice to have a bright spot, no matter how brief.

12 days of Christmas

This is one of my favorite Christmas song. I especially like the part about the lights. I laugh, out loud, everytime I hear it. I know, I'm easily entertained. I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SBpyMkkoJo

So, what do you want for Christmas?

That's a common question this time of year. With all of us having so much, there's really nothing we need. Even the girls have sooooo many toys, there is nothing they need. I spend a good deal of time bitching about all the toys we have and there current location all over the floor. However, Santa Claus will come and leave toys for the girls. So, I've been asking Rena what she wants. She's 4 and gets it. So far the only thing she has asked for is "little, big girl bikes for Wiley and Wachel"..."and candy". We've asked her this question a few times and our babysitter even asked her Friday night. Same answer. How sweet is that!

Thanksgiving

This year we decided to go to Asheville for Thanksgiving. We tried to get our whole family to meet us there, but it ended up being only Blair's parents. That was fine and we had a great time with them. Rena, in particular, LOVES her grandmother...and the feeling is mutual. We stayed in a hotel and they were across the hall from us, so Rena liked to spend time over there by herself. She was even going to spend the night with them one night, but she changed her mind at the last minute. I was secretly glad. I don't really like being away from my children.

Blair has an Uncle that lives there and we got to meet him and his wife for the first time. We had a really nice visit and they went with us to the Grove Park Inn to see the gingerbread houses. It was truly an amazing site, especially when you consider that they are completely edible. I didn't get any pictures, but I did come away with some cool ideas. I'd love to get my children and the neighborhood kids together to make some houses...it's the old teacher in me!

We also went to the Biltmore house. If you have never been it really is worth the trip. What a cool place. It's probably one of my favorite places to visit. Grandmom and I toured the house while Grandpop and Daddy watched the girls nap. It's all decked out for Christmas and it really got me in the Christmas spirit. We also took a carriage ride around the estate. This was probably my favorite part. I love being out in the woods and we got a whole different view of the house.

My big plan, and ultimate goal for this trip was to get a Christmas Card worthy picture of the girls. Not an easy task. For one thing, it takes and act of congress just to get them all dressed. Then you factor in hair that is actually brushed and 'fixed', clean faces and shoes that are actually on, and you're talking about a full days work! I had picked out the perfect outfits for them, complete with tights, shoes and headband....and then, Grandmom trumped me! She brought beautiful little red smocked Christmas dresses for the girls. They are too cute and I decided that maybe these would be the dresses I would use. Even though I had no hair paraphernalia to go with them. It didn't matter though, because it ended up being too cold to put them in either set of dresses. Not only that, but our timing was waaayyyyy off and we couldn't get everyone happy and awake and still enough to get a picture. So, I'll have to figure out another setting for our pictures.

Blair's parents ended up leaving on Saturday morning, so we had the day to ourselves. We spent most of the time lounging around the hotel room, but we did make it back to the Biltmore house to check out the winery and eat at the bistro. We had some time to kill, so we went to the barnyard. Now, I'm a farmer at heart and would spend all of my time in places like this. Seriously. They were bringing the horses in from the pasture, and we got to pet the Clydesdales. These are some humongous animals. There were 2 of them and the one we were petting was much more interested in where the other one was. He seemed a little skittish to me, but what do I know. The girls were interested in the baby chicks. We didn't get to hold them, but we liked looking at them anyway. I noticed that there were eggs in baskets on the wall. I asked the .....farmer? if they were real. Now, he probably thought I was an idiot for asking such a question, but I just couldn't believe that they would give the public access to the fresh eggs that had just been laid by the hens next door. But they do. (Evidently they have never encountered curious, and unsupervised boys). Too cool! I could have stayed there all day. Instead, we attemped to eat a nice dinner at way too late an hour.

After the farmyard, we headed to the Bistro for dinner. The girls started off pretty good. Rachel, who has never shown any real interest in coloring on paper (walls, heck yeah!, paper, not so much) colored intently until dinner arrived. Rena, who had been a perfect little lady (especially with lots of praise from Grandmom and her newly found Uncle) was also coloring and entertaining herself pretty well. Riley needed a little more attention, but she was doing pretty well too. However by the time dinner arrived, they were done. The whole time I ate my dinner, Riley was laying on the bench kicking me. Rena an Rachel spend a good deal of time under the table retrieving dropped crayons and silverware. Someone's milk was also spilled under the table and, evidently, wiped up by all three coats. We were drawing the wrong kind of attention. The women at the table behind me engaged me in conversation about raising children and remembering those days. Her grown daughters were with her...and were arguing with their mother about how far apart in age they were. Once we got up, Rachel proceeded with her standard 'wallowing on the public floor' dance that I have come to expect. Luckily, I'm bigger than them all, and at this point, if necessary, I can carry all three at the same time. I didn't have too. I only had to carry one, screaming, flailing, Rachel. She wasn't upset. She just borders on ferrel sometimes.

The next morning we were on our way back home. The girls were tired and the trip worked out perfectly. They fell asleep about 30 minute into the trip and woke up about 30 minutes before we got home. I didn't get the perfect Christmas picture, but I did have a very nice Thanksgiving.

The Great Communicator

I've known for a long time that my husband is not the greatest message taker. Greatest salesman? Yes. Greatest Dad? Yes. Greatest "Hey, your wife's not home? Tell her...". No.

Super no.

Ok, here's the deal. I'd been out the other day and when I got home there was a delicious looking apple crisp on the counter. And here's the conversation that followed:

Me: "Wow! Where'd this come from?"

Blair: "Michele brought it over."

Me: "She did? That was nice."

Blair: "She said it's for the plants.

Me: "What plants?"

Blair: "I don't know. She said, something, something, plants, something."

Well, I was stumped. I didn't remember giving her any plants, or recommending any plants. Could it have been a planter? I did just have a yard sale and got rid of lots of stuff. She had come over that morning, but I didn't remember giving her anything. Plants, plants, plants. I pondered this for days trying to figure out what plants I had given her. So finally I sent her an email. Here it is.

Hey Michele,

I want to thank you for the apple dish you brought over. It was yummy! We'll bring the dish back soon.

Blair was a little unclear on why you brought it. Our conversation went like this: (OK, you've seen this part already.)

Me: "Wow! Where'd this come from?"

Blair: "Michele brought it over."

Me: "She did? That was nice."

Blair: "She said it's for the plants.

Me: "What plants?"

Blair: "I don't know. She said, something, something, plants, something."

So, thanks again. Hope you enjoyed the...plants?

Leigh

And finally, someone who had the whole story and could make sense of the whole plant mystery. Here's her response:

You are certainly welcome…..and thank you for the laugh!

I told him that it was my 2nd installment on the flour loan…and then I specified that you loaned me a “bag” of flour so that he didn’t think I meant flower!

So he was kinda on the right track!

Ah, yes, the flour. I DO remember loaning her a bag of flour! Now it all make sense. Yippie!

Well, this was good for a laugh...but seriously guys, is it that hard to listen?

FUN!

The other day, after a nap, Rachel came to join me outside. She had a big case of bedhead. She had on no pants. She hung out with me for about 2 seconds when she heard noise coming from across the street. A bunch of the neighborhood kids were across the street playing together. Rachel took one look at them turned to me and pointed across the street, excitedly exclaimed "FUN" and headed for the party!

The Reason

For those of you who know what you know, this is why I did what I did.


Raleigh — A search for a 2-year-old girl was called off shortly after noon Tuesday when the child was found.Wake County authorities found Rachel Kelly Carr, with scratches and crying, in a wooded area about a half-mile away. She was near a pond, and authorities said the quick response from authorities made a difference.Carr was outside playing with some other children when she likely wandered off, authorities said. She was reported missing about 9:30 a.m.
Wake County sheriff's authorities and the North Carolina Highway Patrol searched by land with ground crews and search dogs and by air with the Highway Patrol helicopter.The search prompted authorities to shut down briefly roads near her home in the area of Banks Road and U.S. Highway 401 while they searched for the child.

Sing, Sing a Song

I must be doing something right. My girls are happy! Lately, they have all been singing alot. Rachel sings all the time. She sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, ABC's, a blessing Rena learned in her class, Old McDonald, Happy Birthday, you name it, she's singing it. She's pretty articulate too, so you can understand alot of what she's saying. I'm amazed that she can sing all the words to these songs. Riley sing some too. She loves musics and get into the dancing part. She's really quite timid though so alot of times she stops if you catch her. Rena sings songs she makes up and she always comes home from preschool with a song.

I hope these girls are always singing. I love hearing their sweet little voice. Even in the wee hours of the morning.

Lurking friend #1

Hey Sharon. Yes, I'm talking to you. Stop lurking and say hello. I think about you and Bob and Taylor alot. So leave me a message!

No Singa Dat!

Today has been a really long day. Not bad, just long. I woke up at 2:00am. Yep, that's right. I don't know why, I think it's perimenopause. I know, way too much info, although, that might explain alot. Anyway, Rena got up at 3:30. I don't know what her excuse is except God knows I can't be up without one of the kids being up! I got out of bed at 4:30 and showered and got ready for the day. I had a yard sale today and I needed to get things ready. Rena helped. We were really busy all day and had lots of people come by. The neighborhood kids were out in full force and my girls were busy busy busy. Rachel crashed about 11:30, but Rena and Riley were like the energizer bunnies. I finally started to crash about 3:00 and got Blair to hold down the fort...er, yardsale. I took Riley upstairs with me and we settled into bed with a book about Cinderella. She wanted to stay in bed, but she was still a little wound up. I wasn't. So I decided to sing our night time song to her.

Now, she and Rena both have told me "No singa Dat Song" when they have been really tired but didn't want to go to sleep. So today, against Riley's feeble protest, I continued to sing. It was like watching someone get hypnotized. She managed to get out "No singa dat" about 3 times as her eyelids drooped heavily and before I was half way through, she was sound asleep.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for me. After counting her breaths, replaying the yard sale deals (or robberies, should I say), going to the bathroom twice and watching 57 channels with nothing on, I decided that a nap just wasn't going to happen. Seriously! I've been up since 2! What is the deal. And now it's quarter after 9 and I'm still not really sleepy. Maybe someone needs to sing to me!

Actually, I hear wolves off in the woods behind my house howling. (Really) Maybe they'll sing me to sleep.

Boomer

About a 'mont' or 2 ago, we adopted a cat. His name was Mark and he belonged to one of our neighbors who lives across the street from us. (I really wanted a siamese cat, since my last 2 have been part siamese and had been wonderful pet. Sammy lived to be 17, quite the old man!) He has such a great personality and he's a good looking cat. The problem is, it was a slow adoption. I told Blair probably a week before I told the original cat owner. So, she still fed him for awhile and I don't think he was allowed in her house. Then another neighbor fed him and took him to the vet! Poor thing was experiencing an identity crisis. To make matters worse, anytime he did come to our house, he was pulled in 3 (OK 4) different directions. Cats LOVE that! So, he honed his hunting skills and pretty much is a cul-de-sac cat. My neighbor has seen him wrangling with a squirrel! He's eaten mice and birds and god only knows what else. I fed him a half pouch of salmon the other day and he decided to come back the next day too. But now I haven't seen him in a couple of days. Oh and now his name is Boomer

To my friends and family

Ok, I know you are checking the blog out, so leave a comment! Just click on where it says 0 comments and follow directions. If you comment, I might write more! ;) Also, don't for get to click on the pictures to make them bigger and get a better view of the girls.

Water Woes

Ah the irony. In case you don’t know, N. Georgia is in the middle of a 100 year drought. It’s all the talk down here and evidently across the southeast, if not the whole county. Those California wildfires may have stolen the spotlight for now, but it will be back on us soon. One of the big reasons is because our Guv’nr is fighting with Alabama’s Guv’nr and Florida’s Guv’nr over the release of water from Lake Lanier. Now, I’ve got no problem with letting the two states have their fair share, but check the weather channel people! We haven’t gotten any rain to share. And it’s not like water can flow uphill, so if the situation was reversed, they wouldn’t be helping us out either. Now, as far as I’m concerned, all the stupid people have had to wait for the government to tell them when and how much water they can use. They call these ‘water restrictions’. Seriously people, you don’t even need the weather channel for this one. Step outside. No rain. Where do you think the water you use comes from? And the HOA’s have made the situation worse by requiring people’s lawns to be green. (I’m not making it up!)

So here at my house, in a underwhelming effort to counter-act the single biggest water wasters on the planet (Riley and especially Rachel) I have been catching rainwater from my downspouts to water my plants. (What’s that? Applause for the environmentalist in me? Thank you, thank you very much!) Now the irony…I haven’t planted anything that needs to be watered anymore. So I just have a 10 gallon trashcan full of dirty water sitting on my back porch. Maybe I’ll can sell it to Florida!

Fall Festival

Here are some better pictures of the girls.(Don't forget you can click on them and make them bigger.) We went to a fall festival with our next door neighbor and the girls had a great time. Riley had the same stoic look on her face the whole time, but she did have fun. Rachel fell in love with the horses and I'm actually surprised we were able to get her away from them. Rena had a good time too. She participated in all the events.







Rena and Rachel started out in the bouncy thing. I thought they might stay there the whole time, but they finally moved on. Riley stayed with me most of the day. I was surprised she didn't warm up a little.







When it came time to ride the horses, all three girls were in to it. In fact, while I was digging tickets out of my pocket to pay for the ride, Rachel scaled the fence, climbed through and practically jumped into the helpers arms. She was getting on that horse. She ended up riding 3 times. Rena and Riley both rode twice.







After a little food, we played some games, fed the horses and then it was time to go. It was a simple festival and the girls had a great time.

Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween. I don't know why. It does give me a chance to stretch my creative side just a little bit. It really doesn't get enough attention!

This year, Riley was a lady bug, Rachel was a bumblebee and Rena was a princess. They were so cute I could hardly stand it!

We did get some milage out of the costumes. Our neighbor has hippotherapy at a local stable and they had a fall fundraiser we got to wear them too.

Anyway, this year Rena gets the idea of Trick or Treating. She got to see lots of her neighborhood friends along the way. Of course, everyday it Halloween around here. No matter who she goes to visit, they give her candy! Now, Rachel and Riley aren't quite old enough to get the concept. In fact, Rachel's first 3 stops were at our house! Whenever anyone else came, she took a piece of candy too! Once we finally got underway, Rachel and Riley didn't see the point of going to the next house. The first house had all the candy they needed. Blair and I finally started moving everyone along and they seemed to get the idea a little better. By the end of the night, Riley was riding in the wagon, happily consuming all the candy she had gather.

This was the first time ever that we weren't home for Halloween. I just put a big bowl of candy on the front porch and left it to the honor system. I have to say, I missed out on some of the Halloween fun. Even though I saw all of those kids as we passed them, I missed handing out the candy. Next year, Blair and I will have to take turns. Plus, it's not as fun to Trick or Treat at someone's house when they aren't there.

Well, here are some of the highlights of the evening. Sadly, I didn't get any great pictures.

Pictures of the girls

My Dad keeps asking me if I've posted anything new. He doesn't want to read about our life, I'm sure. He just wants to see pictures of his granddaughters. Well, here you go!

Bonding over food

These two crack me up. Rachel and Riley could not be more different, but going through my recent pictures, I realize that they have one thing in common. They are actually really cute when they get into the food too. They share with each other and help each other out if one has trouble opening something. They are very patient with each other. Oddly enough, Rena isn't really a part of this ritual. I think they are excited about their new-found independence.

Hmmm, wonder where they get their love of food?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uISuvTiTYJA

The girls have been swimming like little fish ever since we got back from our trip to the beach this summer. Rena has been teaching Riley and Rachel how to put their faces in the water and blow bubbles. These girls are naturals! They have done great and show NO fear of the water.

Fashion Queen

Riley is into necklaces, shoes, hats, etc. She is the accessory queen. Her are a few pictures to show her fashion sense. In the first one, she is sporting an infant sleep sack as a sort of cape. She went to Target with me dressed like this. (That's right, I don't care if they talk about me!) I must mention that it was one of those 100 degree days that we were experiencing too. Next, we are trying to decide between the summer fishing hat and the winter wool hat. The winter hat won. And lastly, little miss Hollywood is ready for some serious grass mowing. Enjoy!

I lub you

I can't believe how big my girls are getting. Rachel and Riley have turned into little girls overnight and Rena is such a big girl.

Riley has been going around the house telling everyone that she 'lub's them. She is such a sweety. She'll come hug me and say "I lub mommy" and continue on, "I lub dad-a", "I lub Way-way", "I lub Minda". Minda is how both she and Rachel say Rena. I can't figure it out. They can both make the R sound in each other's names, but Rena always comes out Minda. Anyway, you can just see it in her face how much she does really love us all...even Max gets a big hug and an "I lub Max". It's really sweet.

Rachel, meanwhile, is continuing with her independent streak, but she is sweet also and likes to cuddle with me, and me only. My lap is prime territory and whomever is there guards it vigorously. It's like a bizarre game of King of the Mountain. Rachel will snuggle in with me, but she is constantly surveying the area for potential de-throners. Her thumb securely in her mouth and her other hand on her belly button, she watches for her sisters who might want to share my lap. If they come too near, they just might get kicked. This 'game' usually goes on until I can't stand it any longer and have to get up, eliminating the lap all together!

Rena, my little social butterfly, is loving pre-school and all of her friends in the neighborhood. She is entering a period of helpfulness and I am taking full advantage of it. In the past, if I asked her to help with something, she would tell me 'no' flat out. Now, she's helping clear the table, helping with her sisters by getting them dressed and in the bathroom, actually putting things away for me. It's great. She's also very much into makeup and handbags. She will put her chapstick and what ever else she can find that passes as makeup into different bags and carry them around. They usually get left at someone elses house, but, oh well. What really cracks me up is that I rarely wear makeup and I don't usually carry a purse, or even a diaper bag. She must get that from her grandmom!

Cold Snap

Only in the south do people dress their kids in long pants and long sleeved shirts when the weather is in the 80's. Earlier this week, when the 100 degree days had finally subsided and fall showed promises of really arriving, I had my girls dressed like it was really cold outside. They didn't complain. I suppose going from 100 degrees to 80 degrees does take some getting used to, but it does crack me up that we dressed like it was cold.

We Started Preschool!!!!!!!

Preschool started! Blair and I took the girls together on their first day. We dropped Rachel and Riley off first. I was a little, ok, alot apprehensive about how Riley was going to do. I stayed with the twins, while Blair walked Rena to her room. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong room which set Rena off. She was very apprehensive anyway. They came back to the twins room crying...Rena, not Blair...and I hurried them out of there before the crying became contagious. Blair and I took Rena to her correct room where she clung to us and had to be pried off with 'one last kiss and we'll see you later'. This was hard for everyone, but at least I knew what to expect. Then Blair and I were free for a little while. This could be kind of nice!

felonious acts

Deleted, for you my friend, Teresa, so the neighbors don't have anymore reasons to come after me with torches. :)

Country come to Town

We were packed up and headed to Raleigh. Blair was going to spend Monday with us and then head off bright and early Tuesday morning. I had the girls with me, but Blair was pulling the trailer that had everything else on it. I got to the hotel first. It wasn’t the Dew Drop Inn. It was a nice place with suites and everything. Well, as soon as we got there, Rena had to use the bathroom and Rachel and Riley both need to be changed. Little did I know, but Rachel had poured her juice all over herself, so she was completely wet and needed changing. None of the girls had shoes. And Blair was about 10 minutes behind us. What’s a girl to do. So, I parked out front, left the car running with the dog in it and carried my motley crew inside the nice hotel. Straight to the bathroom we went. Out we came with 3 shoeless girls and 1 in nothing but a diaper. Mind you, we hadn’t actually checked in at this point. I’m surprised that no one was asking us to leave. The girls, after having been car-bound for 4 hours, made themselves right at home in the lobby. Luckily Blair showed up we were able to check in and get settled.

Raleigh was probably the busiest part of my trip. I was so excited to be back home and there was so much I wanted to do. First I went to get my hair cut by my favorite hairdresser, Chada. This women cuts my hair for an entire hour and it always looks great when she’s done. It always looks great the next day too. Then we met my friend Amy for a little shopping and dinner at the Kanki. Yummy. I ran into an old co-worked there and it was so nice to see someone I know!

The next day, I met one of my best friends and her daughter and we went to the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. Great museum. We had a blast, despite the fact that it was H-ot! This place has it all: A butterfly house, and insectarium, bear, lemurs, bubbles and more. It really is a cool place and if you ever get a chance, you should go. The girls had a great time and so did Sherri and I.

I stopped off at the cemetery on the way back to visit my mother’s grave and also a high school friend’s grave. It was a nice quiet spot.

Then I checked out the old ‘hood, where I stalked my old house waiting for the new people to come home from work. I really wanted a cutting from a bush that’s growing in the yard, but I didn’t have anything to cut it with. I ended up not getting it…this time.

I had forgotten what spectacular sunsets there are where I used to live. I know, I know, the sun sets here too. But these sunsets take you’re breath away. I pulled off the road and took a picture, but it just doesn’t do it justice. After admiring that for awhile, I headed back to my friend Sherri’s house for dinner and a little more playing. It was still H-ot, but we played out back on her trampoline. Riley LOVED it. I wish I had video of her running around on this thing. She was scaring me to death, but I was laughing too hard at her glee to do anything about it. Plus, we couldn’t catch her! Rena and Rachel liked it too, but Riley was the dare-devil.

The next day, I stopped by school to say hey to the people I used to work with. Plus I had been promising the girls some playground time. I got to see a few people, but I was really hoping for more. I haven’t worked there in 3 years, but it feels much longer and I miss them all terribly. Then I went to another friends house where I spent most of the time furiously emailing myself pictures from my cell phone from the last 2 ½ years. My cell phone was threatening to kill itself and take my pictures with it. I couldn’t let that happen. Winnie was a trooper though and even though we got to visit, it wasn’t nearly long enough.

Off to my cousins house for the next stop. My Aunt Devilla had called my Aunt Delores and plans were made for a trip to my cousin’s house where the girls could play and we could relax a little. I ended up having a great time and actually staying longer than I had intended. I really wanted to ‘tour’ Raleigh a little bit and see how things had changed. I did a little bit of that. I like to drive past my Grandparents old house. I’m always amazed at how small it is. This area of town has THE hottest real estate, though. These little 900 sq. ft. houses sell for well over 100,000 dollars. Well over.

Then it was time to leave again. Sherri came and helped me hook up the trailer and then it was off to the beach again. This time: Uncle Randy’s and Grandaddy’s.

Next stop: Grandma’s house

This was the longest stop on our ‘tour’ and Blair was with us the whole time. It was nice and relaxing. We spent a couple of days on the beach and a couple of days shopping. No pressure, lots of sand and r-e-l-a-x-i-n-g.

Rena had a great time following Grandma around everywhere. Rachel bonded with Grandpop and Riley enjoyed chasing the dogs around.

Grandmom and I went shopping one day and Grandmom got the girls these cute little bathing suits. Hopefully we’ll still be able to wear them next year too. It was fun to explore the little shops on the outer banks. I found these really cool blown glass pumpkins that were absolutely beautiful. They were a little more expensive than I wanted to spend, but I can’t get them off my mind. I got the business card and I’m seriously thinking about treating myself.

Blair’s parents live 8/10ths of a mile from the beach. Despite that fact, Blair and I got into an argument over whether to walk or drive to the beach. I won. We walked. Seriously, Blair wanted to move the 3 car seats from one vehicle to the other, load up all the towels, chair’s, toys and more into the vehicle, somehow attach the garden cart we’d brought to take to the beach and drive the 8/10ths of a mile. Unload the vehicle, load the garden cart and cross the dunes. Really. Men. So, instead, we did the sensible and healthier thing. We loaded the girls and the stuff in the garden cart and walked to the beach. It’s probably the longest uninterrupted time Blair and I have spent together in a while and it ended up being his favorite part of the trip. Mine too.

The girls loved playing on the beach and Rena even met a new friend that was visiting next door. The beach was great and I really wasn't ready to leave.

first stop - Maryland

The first real stop on our vacation was to Maryland to see Blair's best friend and his wife and son. "Baby" Joey turned one and we got to go to his birthday. It was alot of fun seeing everyone. "Baby" Joey's Mom is pregnant again, too! They used to visit us alot when we were in NC, but now it's just too far to go. The birthday party was great and the girls had alot of fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend any real time with Joe and Maureen.

I've been busy recuperating from our summers big adventure. We were gone for 3 glorious weeks back to NC. Most of our time was spent on the coast, but I did spend a few short days inland in Raleigh, reconnecting with friends and family. It was great. I cried evertime we left somewhere!

We started in Maryland at our Godson's 1st birthday and ended in Southport, NC with my birthday. There was lots of family, friends and surf inbetween. If my children will ever all nap at the same time, I'll post pictures of all we did.