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.

Rena's First Joke or the Pre-Emergent Comic

3 year old, "Mommy, what color is the sky?"

Me, "Blue."

3 year old, "No, red."

Me, "OK".

3 year old, "Mommy, which way am I pointing?"

Me, "Up."

Sidenote: Ok, I'm not really getting it at this point either and I think it's just random questioning to see if I really am all knowing. Remember, she's three.

3 year old, "Mommy blew up!" laughing at her own joke!

Gee, I can hardly wait for the 'real' knock knock jokes.

nosey neighbors, dogcatchers and the HOA

Last week was not my best week here in Georgia, to say the least. 3 letters from the HOA, 2 citations from the water department, complete with pictures and diagrams, a nasty email from a neighbor and a brewhaha over a neighborhood party involving police left me feeling a little...well a little out of control, I suppose. The HOA is my biggest pet peeve and the brewhaha over the party magnified all that I think is evil about them. The theory is they are good for property values and if everyone keeps their house looking like no one lives there, then everyone is going to want to buy your house. The reality is it often causes speculation about neighbors. Who's turning whom in to the HOA. Who's complaining about whom. What your mulch looks like and when you last watered are frequent conversations.

Anyway, I happen to live in a part of the neighborhood where most everyone is friendly and happy to see each other. We wave and speak and most of us don't really care what each other's lawn looks like. This week, we've been behaving like neighbors, which is what we really want in a neighborhood. For example, my dog got out the other day while I was gone and 2 different neighbors worked together to get him back and fix it so he couldn't get out again. One of my neighbors accidentally made too many pies and brought us one. And I noticed that my neighbors were still home when they shouldn't have been. This made me worry, so I went to check on them. They were alright, but I'm still glad I went to check. If something were to happen to me or my family, I want nosey neighbors. Those that notice something is not quite right and do something about it. Neighborhoods are a great place to live.

Joys of the Frog

I spent part of yesterday morning planting the rest of my very small garden and some left over flowers. It was cooler than it had been in days and I wanted to get as much planted as possible. I have a little plant problem. I want them all, but I don’t have time to plant many! I’ve tried to be very good and not buy a lot at one time. I still have 4 grapevines (2 from last year, 2 from this year) to plant, 2 rhododendrons, 3 hostas, some vine, and a hydrangea. Oh, I also have about 150 various bulbs. I’ve killed off 3 guara plants that, evidently, needed to be watered at least 3 times a day! I’ve started digging holes, but haven’t managed to complete the job. There are areas where the ground is as hard as cement. Seriously.

Anyway, while I was planting my garden, I stumbled upon a little frog. I called Rena over to investigate, and then Rachel and Riley made it past the evil sprinklers to check him out too. While they were all interest, it was in varying degrees. Riley, still traumatized by the sprinklers, was more interested in her milk and sympathy. Rena really liked him and was the only one to actually attempt to touch (pet) him. But the wonder on Rachel’s face says it all. She was mesmerized. I love it. That’s what makes motherhood so great. Seeing that wonder on a small child's face.

The View of the Frog

Ok, there I was, minding my own business, hanging out under a sage plant, when all of a sudden, I was lifted high into the air and then plopped down to the ground again. I attempted an escape, but the store-bought soil made a poor camouflage for this old frog. I used my second best life saving technique…absolute stillness. This seemed to work for awhile, at least on the old lady, but then children showed up. I’d heard about these creatures from my elders. These children seemed to be kinder than most. Only one of them tried to touch me. No one actually attempted a capture, thank goodness! After what seemed like a really long time, they all left and I made an escape onto a watermelon leaf. They’ll never find me here! What’s that? Rain! Thanks goodness, it’s been so long. Wait, it’s gone. Wait it’s back. It’s gone, now back, hey…!

If you are looking for a happy, feel good post, this is not it. Move on. Come back later. Right now, I have to vent.

I hate this place. I really do. I've tried. I've made the best of it. I've gotten involved, met neighbors and made friends. But I hate it here. No offense to Georgia. It's a beautiful state, really. I've met alot of really nice people. But I just don't think this is the place for me. This past week, I've received 3 letters from 'my' homeowner's association that I am not in compliance...my flower beds need mulch, my weeds need to be treated and my children's toys need to be out of view when not in use. I'm not kidding. I'm not even exaggerating. Then I got a warning letter from the county that I illegally watered my lawn. With that I was threatened with a $1000.00 fine and/or 60 days in jail. "Hey, what are you in for?" "My sod was looking a little parched." The icing on the cake was a nasty email from one of my neighbors accusing me of talking about her behind her back. Seriously, I'm almost 42 and if I've got something to say, I'll probably say it to your face. It did hurt my feelings though. So silly. On top of all of that, I've been dealing with the 'builder warrenty guy'. I realize he has a boss to answer to, but is it really that hard to do it right the first time? How about the second? He 'fixed' my front door on Friday and now it doesn't shut at all. The painters came, and despite my telling him that I wanted all of the trim scraped and repainted, they only painted where it was peeling. They'll have to come back. It seems no one is actually responsible for anything, but everyone wants to hold you responsible. And God forbid you actually get a straight, much less honest, answer from anyone.

Really, I'm ready to go home. Back to where I know where I am and where things are. Back to friends and family and comfort.

There, I feel a little better. But only a little. I'm still in Georgia.

All in a Days Work

The painters came yesterday do redo the work that should have been done right the first time. It wasn't their fault. Crappy builder. Anyway, Blair got home and was going to take the girls outside. Rena went out first and Blair hit the open button for the garage door. Now, don't ask me why, but Rena decided to hold onto the handle of the garage door. You know, the one that's there in case you lose power and have to open it manually. (That's not really a problem for me, I'm a southerner and we don't really use the garage to park in! )Blair stepped back inside for something and the next thing we know, Rena is screaming. She didn't let go of the handle and it lifted her into the air. Then she was afraid to let go because she didn't want to fall. Luckily, the outside painter came to her rescue! Bad parents that we are, we didn't even register that she was in trouble. She was scared, but otherwise fine. Later, I'll see if she'll recreate the scene for me so I can get a picture. :)

Speaking of Night-Night

Rena had Budda. (pronounced Bud-u) Rachel has her thumb and her belly button. Riley, well, she's an interesting one. Most nights, Riley doesn't get her 'lovey' until about 30 minute before she goes to sleep. I should have been taking pictures all along, but I've only managed to get a few. You see, she finds some THING that she has to go to sleep with. Oh, and don't try to take it away from her. Blair found this out the hard way. Now, these things are not your conventional bedtime lovies. My favorite one is a Melissa and Doug puzzle which has three posts that you place graduated wooden shape on. Other's have included her bath towel, books, cars, keys...well you get the picture. So, I've added a few pictures to share. In one, she has a handful of books and in the other, it's an elmo phone. She's not asleep yet.

Night-Night

I think this video says it all!



Night-Night

"The Guys" mom had a boys thing and asked me to watch her girls. We had lots of fun. We played on the playground, made pictures and hats, and ate. The 3 year olds enjoyed dressing up. You can see the little princesses are still in costume. Here they all are enjoying a little watermelon snack. That's alot of girls!