A Day that Will Go Down in History...

Bear with me, this is a momentous day in our house!

No, Max and Abby haven't suddenly stopped fighting with each other all the time. Nor have they started cleaning up their messes without being asked a million times first.

No, Lucy has NOT decided to potty train herself :)

It's bigger than that! All 3 of our children slept through the SAME night...in their OWN beds...and...get this...they slept until 7:15!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO HOO!

This is NOT a normal occurrence in our house! For the past several weeks, months, years (the time has started to meld together) John and I have frequently played musical beds at night. It is a rare night that NO ONE comes into our room or hollers for one of us to come to their room in the middle of the night.

It is also EXTREMELY rare for one much less all 3 of our kids to sleep past 6:30. Boy, that extra 45 minutes they gifted us with this morning made a HUGE difference!

Believe me, I have done a lot of research on bedtimes and how to help your children get a better night's sleep. Nothing we have tried has worked any better than what we have been doing. Maybe it should be the KIDS reading these articles instead of me!!! :) They just don't seem to believe me when I tell them what they are "supposed" to be doing :)

Anyway, just wanted to share our historical moment...Have a great day!

Visiting and Visitors

On Wednesday, Lucy and I picked Max and Abby up from Vacation Bible School and we headed to Kiawah to visit with my sister Shea and her kids for the day. Max and Abby love any opportunity they get to play with their cousins AND the chance to get to play in the pool made the trip even more exciting! We had a great time visiting and only got slightly waterlogged :) Max wanted to know when we could go back!

Since this past Tuesday we have had some furry houseguests staying with us. My other sister Mallory was going out of town and needed someone to take care of her dogs. Marley and Sal have stayed with us before for a night or two and since Max LOVES dogs and would desperately love to have one of his own, it's a nice treat for him to have them stay here. The kids and I are taking them home today. It was fun to have them stay with us and although they aren't small dogs, they are very well behaved and no trouble. Of course, our cats would beg to differ and are looking forward to seeing them head out the door this afternoon :)

Where Do I Start?

Everytime I turn around I see something in the house or think of something that needs to be done...you know...a "project". I make lists of things I want to get done, yet I never seem to get to anything on that list. I am forever doing the day to day "chores" and either it is taking me too long to get that done or I am just too tired by the end of it but I can't seem to get to the "project" list.

For example, how embarrassing to admit but my "teacher bag" is still sitting on the floor in the office next to the desk. Um, my last day of teaching was June 2007. Yes, my bag (will all the stuff still in it) is sitting in the same spot I put it in TWO YEARS AGO! Okay, yes, I was 6 months pregnant at the time, little energy, trying to potty train Abby. That might be an excuse for a ferw months...but 2 years?

How do I get to this stuff? Lots of stuff I WANT to do versus lots of stuff I NEED to do. Well, and you've gotta throw the three kids in there too that need my attention :) They are the reason that al lot of the stuff I need to do DOESN'T get done. How early can you train a kid to scrub toilets...just kidding :)

I DO have a strong desire to get myself organized. Of course whenever I have the desire to do it, time is an issue. Whenever I have the time (middle of the night is about it), desire and exhaustion is the issue. Sometimes I want to just haul a dumpster into the front yard and start tossing things into it. It would certainly save me the time of finding a place for it :)

Okay, enough bellyaching. I'm off to do one of those things I NEED to do...pay bills...kinda necessary!

Test Results and Pics...

Isn't he a cutie?

(No, we weren't able to determine the sex of the baby but my mommy instinct tells me it is a boy).

His "good side"!

I got a call from the doctor's office today and little Baby Bailey the Fourth passed the first trimester screening! I wasn't really worried and if there was something found it would not have changed anything but it is good news to hear :) My next appointment is July 2nd.

Just as cool...I felt the baby kick once last night! I had to call my sister Shea to make sure it would be possible to feel at 14 weeks. The books say yes if it is a 2nd or more pregnancy. My sister agreed and so I KNOW it was the baby (not because my sister agreed but I had already thought it was). It was only once and in the right spot and it WASN'T GAS :)

Hodge Podge...

It's been busy around here and so I haven't really had much time to post. I have some catching up to do so this post will be a hodge podge of "stuff".

This past Saturday I spent the day at a Fundraiser Community Yard Sale. I am on the 20th Reunion Committee for my high school class. In an effort to save on the cost to our classmates for the reunion, we are holding fundraisers to help with some of the cost of the hall, caterers, etc. We held a yard sale and I was able to get rid of quite a bit of stuff (almost said junk but not quite).

Father's Day was a hot sunny day. It started out with me making a huge breakfast for John and allowing him to sleep in...yeah, I know, I'm such a good wife :) I went all out for John with breakfast and make him a sausage and cheese omelet, bacon, sausage (yes, MORE!), toast, and fruit. He also had coffee and juice. Although John is as skinny as a rail, he can also eat the rail :) The man can put away some food!

After breakfast we loaded up the car and headed to the beach. It wasn't as crowded as we expected it to be. Lucy did not care for walking on the sand too much. Max and Abby had a blast!

We got home and bathed the kiddos and made them some lunch. Once Lucy went down and I got cleaned up I took Max and Abby out to get the supplies for the special dinner I was making. What did I make? So glad you asked :)

I made hushpuppies, shrimp and grits, and a Key Lime pie for dessert. Yep, made it all myself. John was nice enough to help me peel and devein the shrimp (mainly because it was getting late and he wanted to eat before midnight :)

John has had leftover shrimp and grits for lunch the past two days and has called me from work both times to tell me how awesome it tasted! I guess I'll be making it more often :)

Max and Abby started Vacation Bible school yesterday. After I picked them up we made a spontaneous stop at Boone Hall Plantation and picked our own blackberries and blueberries. They are so yummy!

So there you have it. My hodge podge of stuff. Aren't you glad you read it all the way to the end? I still haven't heard back from the doctor yet on the first trimester screening test results. I'm going with the opinion that no news is good news.

The "tooth" about our trip to the dentist...

Can I tell you how long it took me to come up with that title? If you think it is cheesy, you should read the little poems I come up with for the kids' birthday invitations :)

Anyway, Max and Abby had an appointment with the dentist yesterday. I found out that Max is a serious teeth grinder. Which is strange because I've NEVER heard him do that before. I hear Abby doing it all the time at night but not Max. They pointed out that the tops of his teeth are flat and smooth, even his canine teeth, which are supposed to be pointed. Huh. One of his 6 year molars has broken through and the xrays revealed the other 3 are moving into position as well. I guess that would explain his unexplainable moodiness and cranky behavior at times :) He has perfect spacing between his teeth (WHICH HE DID NOT INHERIT FROM ME!) and everything looked great.

Abby, poor sweet dear little Abby, not as good. She, unfortunately, DID inherit my teeth. In a nutshell, we were told to "start saving our money". X-rays revealed that her permanent teeth are moving into position, too bad all those positions are crooked! She will more than likely follow in her mom's footsteps and be sporting braces in the future...she'll probably want to know if she can get them in pink :) The news for now isn't so hot either. Her teeth are so crowded and smashed together that she is at a much higher risk for cavities. She has some. As a matter of fact they are between the teeth, not on the top and the dentist is seriously recommending doing a root canal (it's different on baby teeth) and crowning two molars that are the worst.

Before you think we are neglecting our kids' teeth, we are not. I brush their teeth myself (I have watched them do it themselves and I know they weren't getting the job done) and they do not eat a lot of sweets. They do have some, but in moderation. I hate the idea of her having to go through this but I also don't want her to have more serious issues down the road. The dentist gave her a prescription toothpaste to use until we can get her in there. Also, the reason why we wouldn't just pull the teeth is because they are between other teeth which would shift and not leave enough room for the permanent molars to come in. If they had been the back molars it might be a different story.

The kids both did a great job at their appointment. Max was fascinated by looking at the x-rays of his teeth :) Abby even went back to get her x-rays without me...big girl. I was so proud of both of them. Even Lucy behaved herself while we were there. It's her turn next...

Our Wintry Vacation in June?!?!?!...

We are back from our weeklong vacation in beautiful Breckenridge, CO! On the way in from Denver we noticed snow on the top of the mountains and couldn't believe it.

The view on the way to Breckenridge from Denver.

Abby in the car on the way to Breckenridge

Lucy in the car on the way to Breckenridge

Max in the car on the way to Breckenridge

John's sister Caroline lives in Breckenridge and John's parents wanted to get everyone together for a family vacation/reunion so they took us all out there. They rented a beautiful mountain home for us all to stay in and we had a great time. Sleeping wasn't so great though since Lucy decided to wake up all but 2 of the 7 nights we there at 1:30ish in the morning and would LOUDLY PROTEST (read scream bloody murder) whenever we would try to put her back down. She would stay awake for about 4 hours (long enough for the sun to start coming up) then I would be able to lay her down. UGH!

Uncle Hugh found this super awesome sombrero in the house! He looks like he hiked through the mountains on his way back from a Cinco de Mayo festival!

The view from the deck of the house we stayed in...

Daddy and Abby chillin' (literally!) on the deck.

We had lots of fun daytime activities though :) We got to ride on a train up a mountain from Georgetown, CO to Silver Plume, CO. After taking a short break in Silver Plume we got back on the train and it started SNOWING! We could see the snow in the mountains before but we weren't quite expecting to be slammed with it while sitting on a open air car train. IT WAS FREEZING on the way down the mountain...especially considering we were dressed for cold but NOT for snow! It made for quite an adventure :) After we ran back to the car through the snow we stopped in the town of Georgetown for lunch at the Red Ram. It was delicious!

A family picture before we boarded the train. Before the "blizzard" :)

Max, Lucy, and me. Open air cars were not conducive to keeping my hair out of my face.

The view from the train car on the 200 foot trestle bridge.

The train right before we got snowed on. Can you see the snow coming down from the mountain above?

There was lots of hiking on the mountain trail behind the house. We visited the River Walk in Downtown Breckenridge and Lucy almost had an overly curious chipmunk jump into her lap while she was sitting in the stroller!

Max, Abby, and Lucy posing with a wooden bear in Downtown Breckenridge.

John and his sister Caroline and his brother Stewart took Max and Abby for a bike ride around the lake in Frisco. They rode for about 2 hours and boy was Max worn out at the end of the day (he was on a tandem attachment on the back of Caroline's bike and actually pedalled a good part of the way, Abby was in a cart attachment on the back of John's bike so she just got to enjoy the scenery).

Max made a new best friend while we were there. Uncle Hugh's roommate Bob came along and played Nintendo and Sega games with Max... A LOT! Max was thrilled with the attention and was sad to see him go on Thursday when Hugh, Bob, and Stewart left. He was sad to see Uncle Hugh and Uncle Stewart go as well :)

On Thursday, we took the kids to Peak 8 to play in some of the snow drifts on the ski slope. Max had played in the snow last February when he and John went out to Breck during ski season. Abby and Lucy have never seen real snow, much less been able to touch a lot of it. We had fun climbing up on the big piles of snow and Max and Abby had a blast throwing snowballs at Daddy and Aunt Caroline and "skiing" down the snow drifts while holding onto their hands :) Once we had our fill we headed back to the Riverwalk Park and enjoyed some hot chocolate that Daddy had made before we left the house. Neither John nor I realized that Max and Abby liked hot chocolate but they were chugging it :)

Thursday night was our last night so John and I got the kids in bed and we set out with Caroline to the Breckenridge Brewery for some grown up time (Jack and Charlotte stayed at the house with the kids of course).

Friday morning we had to be out of the house by 10am so we packed up and loaded up the car. We took Jack and Charlotte to Caroline's house to hang out and rest while John and Caroline and I took the kids to the Mountain Top Children's Museum in Downtown Breckenridge. The kids had a blast and I know John liked it because it was a very "science oriented" place :) We picked up Jack and Charlotte and headed out for lunch before leaving for Denver for a night in a hotel.

Max, Abby, Daddy in the "Bear Cave" at the museum.

Lucy on the fishing bridge in the museum.


Abby in the wooden helicopter getting ready to "rescue" skiers off the mountain.

Max loved the robotic construction site at the museum.

After 2 1/2 hours of sleep (Lucy didn't want to sleep) we got up and had some breakfast before catching the airport shuttle at 6am. Lucy's ears bothered her more on the return flights than they did on the way out there. By the way, it was Abby and Lucy's first time on an airplane on this trip. John and I were nervous about how Abby would react to the loud noise and speed and possible turbulence...HA! I asked her on the way to Breckenridge what her favorite part of being on the plane was and she said..."all the bumping around". She LOVED flying and did great going out and coming back! We were so proud of her :) Lucy had some trouble with her ears even though she had her pacifier in her mouth most of the time. She was able to sleep a little both ways but it wasn't the most comfortable sleep...all in all though she did pretty good for having to sit in our laps the whole time!

Abby on the plane. Love that turbulence :)

Max was thrilled to see Jeff Gordon's car on display at the Charlotte airport on the way home! Good thing I had some pictures left on the camera. The only way this could have been better is if Jeff was actually sitting in the car :)

Once we got back to Charleston and went to collect the luggage we realized that my bag had been mistagged in Denver with one of Jack and Charlotte's baggage tags and got off the plane in Charlotte. Fortunately, Jack and Charlotte got both of their bags and we were able to figure out the tag number on my bag so we could track it. I finally got it back about 10pm Sunday night!

After I had reported my bag lost we got the rest of the bags outside and John and Max took the car seats to go get the car and come pick us up. After several minutes I saw them walking back with the car seats. The battery in my car was dead. Fortunately my mom and Mallory were out shopping and came to the airport, picked us up and took us to the car so John could jump it.

We made it home at last after making a quick stop for food on the way home.

We had a wonderful trip (even with the SERIOUS lack of sleep) and are so thankful to Jack and Charlotte for treating us with this great family vacation. Thanks also to Aunt Caroline for coming up with some great ideas of things to do while we were there :)

Baby Bailey

I do have some ultrasound pics to post but I have to install the software for my scanner onto the new computer first. Anyway, the ultrasound yesterday went great! The little stinker wouldn't sit still long enough for the technician to get the measurements she needed so she had to do some other measurements then got back to the baby hoping it would be worn out enough to stay still by then. HA! She doesn't know my kids :) The little nugget looked to be pushing off with it's feet and jumping up and down in there...that's okay kiddo, do what you can while you've got the room! He (no we couldn't determine the sex this early but it is my STRONG gut instinct that it is a boy) also played with his hands, had his legs crossed "criss cross applesauce" (teacher speak), and looked to be either sucking his thumb or picking his nose at one point (hopefully the former and not the latter :)

The measurements on the baby were all normal and they pricked my finger for the bloodwork and we should get the results back in about a week.

The only thing she did tell me was that she detected a "slight subchorionic hemmorhage". She asked me if I had experienced any bleeding and I said no. She didn't think it was anything to worry about (she doesn't know me very well either!) and she said she only brought it up to me in case my doctor mentioned it. Hmmmm....

Okay, gotta run to the store to get stuff for dinner then back home to load our vacation pics on the computer so I can get some pics of Max's first t-ball game tonight...and John's debut game as an official assistant coach...not just a dad helper :)!

Not Me Monday...It's been awhile...

Not Me! Monday is a form of free therapy started by MckMama over at My Charming Kids. It's a way for us to admit our imperfections or "DUH" moments without REALLY admitting we did anything (I DID NOT do...). Take a gander at what I DID NOT do then head on over to MckMama's and read waht she and others DID NOT do either.

Lately....

~ I DID NOT get an oil change a few weeks ago then have the car start puffing smoke out from under the hood that afternoon. I DID NOT have to take it back to the shop the next day to have the radiator, thermostat, and cooling system replaced...UGH

~ That same afternoon, I was not trying to help Abby get the computer set up to play on when the computer DID NOT DIE on me! John DID NOT take it to the Geek Squad the next day opnly to find out the Mother Board (sounds like an alien space ship doesn't it?) what kaput...UGH! We DID NOT have to buy a new computer!

~ A couple of days before going out of town last week, I DID NOT accidentally drop my cell phone in the toilet! If I HAD it certainly DID NOT decide to quit on me either (I'm so NOT wondering if there is something wrong with me that mechanical/electrical things keep breaking on me). I DID NOT have to order a new phone and then wait until we got back from vacation to get it because it was delivered while we were gone.

~ I DID NOT spend all but 2 nights of our vacation sitting up with Lucy when she decided to wake up every night at about 1:30 and stay awake for about 4 hours! (John would get up too but she kept asking for Mommy so what was I supposed to do?)

Okay, for the BIG ONE!!!! Are you ready? It's a doozy people...

~ I did not find out 8 weeks ago today that I am PREGNANT!!!!! Nope, not me, I was not sure that my wacky period was due to my thyroid being out of whack again. Upon having my blood drawn and speaking to the lady about it, she DID NOT suggest I take a pregnancy test. It WAS NOT a positive and I DID NOT proceed to hyperventilate because this was a completely unplanned event (unplanned by John and I, God had it planned all along).

~ So, being of "Advanced Maternal Age" (yep, collecting retirement and SS at the ripe "old" age of 37) I am NOT going today for a "First Trimester Screening" ultrasound. I DID NOT turn 13 weeks yesterday and was not excited to begin my second trimester! John and I are NOT excited yet nervous about adding #4 to the crew. I DO NOT already think this baby is a boy.

Alright...that should be enough for now... head on over to MckMama's and read more from other people...who knows???maybe someone else is having an unplanned, pleasant surprise :)

P.S. I WILL NOT let you know how the ultrasound goes toady.

A Baby No More...

Today was a big day around here. Max finished his last day of Kindergarten! I can't believe my baby is now officially a First Grader. I think this is harder for me to accept than him going to Kindergarten because first grade is the grade that I taught for 7 years. I am having a hard time picturing my baby boy, my first born, as one of the kids I taught!

Summer is now officially here and we are on our way on our first vacation of the summer. We are heading to Colorado for a vacation with John's family. It is the first time Abby and Lucy have been on a plane so we'll see how that goes :)

Quirky

Sara over at Domestically Challenged posted on her blog about some of her quirks that make her the special person she is today :) It got me thinking that I might be a little off my rocker too about some things :) My husband, parents, and sisters would certainly agree and would probably have a few more to add to the list!

Hmmmmm....let's see...

When I change a diaper on a baby I have to fold the top part under before I put the tabs on. I just don't like the way it looks with the top flap hanging out all messy looking. John thinks I'm nuts on this one.

When I am driving at night and I am on my way home from somewhere, I always keep an eye on the car behind me. If I think they are following me for too long and I am getting close to home I will drive out of my way, away from my house until they turn off somewhere then I will go home in a different direction. I learned about doing that in some safety class and I am much more aware of someone "tailing" me since I was a private investigator.

Another "safety issue", I always have to have my keys in my hand when I walk in a parking lot. Not sure if I'd really be able to gouge someone's eyes out if I had to but at least I'm ready!

When unloading the dishwasher, I always have to unload the silverware first. When I put the glasses and cups away I have to put them upside down on the shelf.

The toilet paper HAS to come over the TOP of the roll and not under! I have changed it before at other people's houses. Not because I think they are wrong, just because it just doesn't feel right to have it the other way. If I have changed the direction of your toilet paper at your house...please don't be offended.

I HAVE to have the toilet seat and lid down in my bathrooms (when they aren't in use obviously).

Sorry Sara, but I have to have cabinet doors closed...a quirk that my mother shares as well!

I don't like it when people scrape their teeth on their forks. Gives me the heebee jeebees. The food smacking and chewing with your mouth open also bug me.

Okay, that's enough for now. Abby is bugging me to let her play on the computer.

Back in the Saddle...

Yes ladies and gentleman I am posting this from my very own computer...in my house. Unfortunately our "old" (4 in computer years is apparently ancient) computer just wasn't going to be revived so we had to bite the bullet and buy a new one yesterday. Money comes...money goes. Too bad more doesn't come than go! Stuff happens. Deal with it and move on I say...I should practice what I preach more often :)

Enough rambling. Lots to do this week before we head off on vacation. Will post later when I get a chance. Just wanted to let you know we are back in the saddle...well, online anyway :) Have a great week!