Bring On the Country...Music that is!

Ruby may be a rockin' and rollin' baby but her mama is a little bit country.

Yes, I admit, I love country music. Always have and more than likely I always will. If that means you can't like me anymore and will never read my blog again then...I'll miss you :)

I do love me some oldies music too. I have hijacked John's ipod that I got him for Christmas and put on quite a few "oldies but goodies". I MAY be getting my own ipod this Christmas so he can delete my songs from his ipod :)

I grew up listening to my parents play country music and 50's and 60's stuff too so it makes sense I like the stuff...I have heard it enough I know the words to it :) I was bummed one day though when I was listening to an "Oldies" station and heard an 80's song...ummmmm, excuse me? It HAD to be a mistake!!!

Well, if you have been on my blog page long enough to hear any of the music you'll notice I have "It Won't Be Like This for Long" sung by Darius Rucker. I really like his voice and the fact that he is from this area makes me a bigger fan. The fact that he went country just sealed the deal :)

Yesterday I was on FaceBook and noticed that some of my friends had posted a link to his new video for his song "Come Back Song". It is filmed here in Charleston, SC. If this video couldn't serve as a way to bring tourists to the area then I don't know what could.

Here's the link that will take you directly to the video on the CMT website...check it out!

I have to say though. If this was filmed in the summer then poor Darius had to be on the verge of melting in those jeans and long sleeve shirt!

It's All About Rockin' and Rollin'

Alternately Titled..."Doin' Things Her Own Way"

Having my 4th baby I thought I knew what I could expect. Max, Abby, and Lucy all did the same things at around the same age (give or take 2-3 weeks).

Max got teeth right before he turned 7 months. He NEVER fussed during teething and he would get teeth 2 at a time. He never cut just 1 tooth. Once he got 4 on the same day. Seriously, he never fussed and only ran a low grade fever for a couple of days about a week before his first 2 teeth came in. After that, I only knew he had more teeth when he would open his mouth and I would see them in there.

Abby came along and screamed/cried/fussed/drooled her way through every single tooth. Lucy was about the same and they both cut their first teeth between 7-8 months.

Max never really crawled but he scooted his way around (by dragging himself around the house on his belly and using his arms to move). He was FAST too! If he did get up on his hands and knees to crawl he would always drag his right leg behind him. He never did get the hang of it :)

Abby and Lucy scooted for a little while then hit the crawling stage.

They were all sitting up between 7-8 months and it didn't take long after before they would go from lying on the floor to sitting themselves up.

They were pulling up on furniture and standing between 10-11 months and they each walked on their own days before their first birthday. Abby actually walked ON her first birthday.

When Ruby came along I figured it would be similar...

HA!

The only thing she's done so far that is like the other 3 is that she was rolling over and smiling at about the same time they did and had really good head and neck control from VERY early on.

She is now at about 8 1/2 months and other than a couple of days of fever last week and the incessant drooling and chewing, I haven't seen any indication of a tooth being ready to break through those pink little gums!

She JUST started sitting up for any length of time on her own (without falling over within seconds) about a week or so ago. She has no desire when she is lying down to attempt to sit up on her own. As a matter of fact, when I do have her sitting up and she purposely falls over to lay down, she gets the biggest grin on her face like she's saying, "Ahhhhh yes, now that's more like it"!

I don't think this child will EVER scoot around the floor like her brothers and sisters did. She has no interest in draggin' herself across the floor to get what she wants. She has just decided to be different and has developed her own unique way of moving around the floor.

She rolls and then will use her foot to twist her body into a new direction and then roll a little further, then twist her body again...the process continues until she gets where she wants to go.

Now, if something is just out of her reach? She kind of rocks and rolls her body back and forth and strrrrreeeeetches her arms, torso, and legs as much as she can to reach for the object. If she still comes up short then she rocks and rolls some more then stretches again (lather rinse repeat the process) until she has it in her tiny little hands.

Well, here. I got some video of the process this morning. Watch and see for yourself. She is bucking the system and doing things her own way. Way to be your own person Ruby!

You didn't get to see it on tape but she did eventually get the paci!

So who knows? She may cut all of her teeth at once next week and just get up off the floor and walk across the room. Or, she may just be a laid back kid and figure, "Huh, what's the rush? I'll get to it eventually."

"Mr. Sandman, Bring Me..."

...the Lego set of my dreams!

Max L.O.V.E.S. Legos. His favorite website to go to is the Lego website where he plays games and searches for the best lego sets. He likes to find pictures of things others have created with Legos and will try to copy it with his own legos (future engineer maybe?)

The boy eats, sleeps, and poops legos. Well, no, that was Lucy that pooped a lego but it was a tiny one and in her defense she thought it was a Nerd (the candy) because it was that tiny and it was red and round. How do I know? I found it when I changed her pull-up one day...nice, I know ;p

One day, Max was upset because he had "accidentally" clicked on something on the Lego site and he thought he had ordered something. I reassured him for the 100th time that unless he types in our address and a credit card number, we won't have any surprise Lego deliveries (and for the 99th time I asked him why he keeps clicking on that stuff if he thinks he shouldn't...hmmmmmm).

Anyway, it was an order form for a free catalog. I went ahead and requested one for him. The day that catalog came in the mail will probably go down in history as one of the best days of his life! He carries that thing around like it's gold. He even falls asleep reading it.

"Forget a bedtime story mom, can you read me all the captions?"

Anyway, Max's passion for all things Star Wars right now fits nicely with his lego obsession. He wants all the Star Wars Lego sets as well as other "non -Star Wars" related sets.

Last year for Christmas, Santa brought him the Lego City Police Headquarters set.

It is 953 pieces of Lego action fun I tell ya! Added to the hundreds of other pieces he already had and the hundreds more he has received since then, the boy has Legos all over the place!

He wants more Legos for Christmas this year. Once I informed him that he would NOT be getting THIS set (Star Wars Death Star set)...

...featuring 3,803 pieces of Lego fun and retailing for a mere $399.99...

he decided to set his sights a little lower and is just requesting THIS...

The Lego City Fire Brigade (ONLY 2, 231 pieces and retailing at $149.99)...

AND THIS...

I mean come on! What's the point of having a Fire Brigade WITHOUT having a cool 771 piece fire truck to go with it right? It's ONLY $59.99 mom!

Oh dear sweet Max. I love you with everything that I am and I want to give you the world but I have to say...

...Keep dreaming!

Just one of those days...

You realize it is going to be just "one of those days" when:

...you got up in the morning and threw on some real clothes so you wouldn't embarrass your kids (or yourself) when you walk them to the bus stop.

...after coming home from the bus stop you go on about your morning with your 2 year old and 8 month old.

...during their morning nap you realize you have a small window of time and so you clean up, empty the dishwasher, make your grocery list, sort through your coupons, realize you are out of bathroom cleaner so you add that to your list, and make your bed.

...with moments left of nap time you put your contacts in (the wrong eyes the first time so you have to switch them) and apply your makeup and brush your hair and put the "mom ponytail" back in. As you look in the mirror to assess the final product (that's as good as it's gonna get) and get ready to put the diaper bag together, you see it in the reflection...

...the shower...

...which reminds you...you forgot to take one! At that same moment you hear it...the noise coming from the baby monitor...your 8 month old is awake and now kicking the slats on the crib...grrrrrrr!

...heck with it, you take the world's fastest shower, breaking your all time record and you're just grateful that the migraine you had last night is gone and you don't have anyone walking into the bathroom and opening the shower door to ask you if she can open the shower door when you're done with your shower ;p

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Cartoon for This Important Announcement...

Hey Everybody...guess what? I gotta tell you something cool...

Oh wait a second...I gotta see which Mous-ka-tool Mickey is going to use this time!

Oh that Donald Duck is so silly!

Oops...you still there? Okay good. Anyway, I wanted to tell you some big news.

Actually, I am showing you right now. Can you tell what it is?

Yep, I'm sitting up ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!

I'm such a big girl...

And I'm so happy about that :)

"The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round..."

***** UPDATED WITH PICTURE*****

I was able to get a quick shot of Max and Abby getting off the bus yesterday! Fortunately for me they were the first ones off. They were sweaty and tired and grouchy from the heat and overcrowding on the bus (they had to sit on the bus and wait for another one to come to take some of the kids). Abby's cheeks were flushed but she looked up at me with her tired eyes when I asked her if she liked the bus and smiled and said, "That was fun Mommy"!

"Get me off this oversized furnace!"

***Original post***
I did a very hard thing this morning. I let go of my Kindergartner before I was ready.

Max and Abby insisted yesterday that they wanted to start riding the bus to and from school starting today. I had hoped to take them and pick them up this week then let them start riding home next week then the following week they could ride in the mornings too.

They had their own ideas. Abby was so excited to ride the bus this morning and as I put her on the bus she was biting her fingers and I was sure she was going to turn around and latch on to me. Nope, she kept walking up the bus steps.

If it wasn't for Max being right behind her and assuring me that he would sit with her, walk her to her classroom, and look for her to get on the bus this afternoon then she wouldn't be going on the bus.

I guess I have to let go sometime right? Max didn't ride the bus AT ALL his Kindergarten year. Their school shares the buses with the 3-5th graders at the Intermediate school right next door...meaning they are all on the bus at the same time. I didn't want my baby being on the bus with all those big kids!

I FINALLY let him start riding it last year around October...he wouldn't stop begging! Also, the bus driver is AWESOME! Abby and Lucy would sit on the front steps last year and wave to the bus as it came by. The bus driver would always wave to the girls and would say, " Good Morning Princesses" :) Also, whenever she gave the kids on the bus a treat (Halloween, Christmas, End of the Year) she always gave Max two extras to give to the girls...such a sweet sweet lady. We have the same bus driver this year so that was a huge load off my mind!

But...I wasn't ready for Abby to want to go on the bus yet. I'm not ready to let go that much yet.

This morning when I had to let my baby girl go and watched her climb on the bus like the little Miss Independent she's always been...I cried (after she was on the bus and they drove away of course).

John saw me crying when Lucy and I walked back home and gave me a kiss before he left for work. He laughed at me and told Lucy, "Mommy's got issues" :)

Yeah, I'm a dork ;p

I can't believe I forgot my camera. If I can get one of them getting off the bus this afternoon I'll put it on here later. If it weren't for Lucy and Ruby being here I might be sitting at the bus stop all day waiting for them to come home...yep...Dork with a capital "D"!

"Gotta Go Back...Back...Back to School Again!"

Isn't it amazing how the simplest phrase "Back to School Again" can trigger a song from a movie you watched as a kid? Yeah, Grease 2...NO, my kids haven't seen it.

Anyway, on with my point...

Max and Abby didn't head off to Rydell High this morning but they did head off to Primary school.

On our way to start the day!

Max is a Big Man on Campus this year as a second grader.

Do they have a GQ for boys?

Next year he moves on to the Intermediate School (3rd - 5th grades).

He is in a "cottage" this year..."cottage" is a fancy term for "trailer" :) The funniest thing though is that the sign on the outside of his cottage to tell you what number it is says it is "Cabana 7"! WOW! He can pretend to be on vacation on a tropical island somewhere :)

Sorry Sorry Sorry this is blurry...it was from a distance and he wouldn't be still!

Abby, my first baby girl, walked into Kindergarten class excited but a little nervous/shy. She has been giddy with excitement for weeks about it and she got to meet her teachers yesterday and see her classroom, but today was real...today, mommy didn't stay with her. She held on extra tight when she hugged me and asked me to stay. I could feel the tears coming (mine...not hers) so I kissed her and told her I had to take Max to his room and that she would have a wonderful day and I'd see her after school...sigh...

"I'm ready mom...let's go already!"

Getting a little nervous...about to walk in the room...

Found her name...and PLAYDOUGH!!!!!

I took them this morning and I'll pick them up after school but they both told me they wanted to start riding the bus tomorrow ;( I had planned to take them for at least a week but they had their own ideas. Oh well...

My two oldest goofballs off to learn and grow and ...mature? Maybe just a little?

Do you think they will still let me take a picture of them on their first day of school when they go off to college? High school at least? Definitely middle school...right?

P.S. Lucy and Ruby declined the photo op this morning. I have warned Lucy that I WILL take her picture on HER first day of preschool...Sept. 8th!

What's wrong with this picture?

Nope, the picture isn't sideways...the baby is! Ruby likes to sit in her swing in the mornings and enjoy a few minutes of Mickey Mouse. I was getting breakfast ready for Abby and when I came back into the living room Ruby was in this position. Notice how her bib stayed in the right direction?

Yes, she is strapped in but I think we may be outgrowing the swing :)

Out of the mouth (and a little off the top) of Abby...

Abby made me laugh bright and early this morning. When I brought Ruby downsatirs I grabbed about 3 diapers to bring down with me so I'd have them close by during the day. Abby sat next to on the chair and asked why there were 3 diapers sitting there. I told her it was in case I had to change Ruby downstairs.

She looked at me with a serious expression on her face and said, "She only has 1 butt, why do you need 3 diapers?"

Maybe it was because Max got up (and therefore I was up) at 5:30 this morning...I thought it was funny :)

Also, after growing out her hair for a year, Abby decided it was time to get it chopped off again. We went to see Ms. Julia on Saturday and...voila!...Abby is ready to start the school year with a cute new do :)

Poor Baby :(

Ruby turned 8 months old yesterday! How is she celebrating? By running a fever. I'm thinking it is probably teething issues because she has been chewing on everything she can get her hands on...heck, she's chewing on her hands!

I can't feel anything when I rub her gums or when she bites down on my finger when I try to rub her gums :)

She won't keep her mouth open long enough for me to see anything either. She hasn't been eating too well the past couple of days and isn't finishing her bottles...oh man, I hope it isn't an ear infection ;p

Snack Time!

*** I was originally typing this post last Friday but a storm rolled in with some crazy thunder and lightning before I could upload the pictures and videos so I am finally getting around to it now. Yeah, I know what you're thinking...slacker!***

Ruby is definitely one of our kids...no doubt about it...

She had a snack today and about went bonkers over it!

After she did so well with the Cheeto the other day at Abby's party I figured she'd do okay with a healthier snack...okay, so it was Cheerios but it is still better than a Cheeto. Well, better FOR her...I mean really, what kid would say a Cheerio tastes better than a Cheeto? NOT one of mine, that's for sure.

Anyway, I broke a few up into quarters and helped her get one in her mouth and she thought it was the better than a clean diaper!

It was so cute to watch her try to chew :) I also let her try out her pincher grasp...needs some work :)

I also gave her some water in a soft spout sippy cup. She is constantly grabbing my water bottle and bringing it to her mouth to drink. I have given her some sips from mine before but since she puts her mouth over the top of the bottle and has been drooling quite a bit as of late I figured it would save me the "ewwwwwwww thanks for the slobber in my water" factor if I just gave her some in a cup.

It cracked me up (and Abby as you can hear on the video) watching her try to get the hang of the cup.

So without further ado...and because a storm is rolling in and my crazy husband wants me to sit on the back porch with him and watch it...here are some videos of Ruby's first snack!...

Under Construction

I am trying to play around with a header for the blog. Not going as well as I'd hoped so...

"Please excuse our mess as we work to make this blog better!"

The youngest crew member is calling me to get her out of the crib and feed her so the blog construction crew is taking an extended break...be back...when I get a minute :)

In the meantime. Anyone know how I can get the box to disappear from around the header? Since blogger changed the design tab I can't figure out how to get to the colors and be able to get the title box off.

More Excitement

The excitement never ends around here! I have been in high gear cleaning mode the past couple of days. Yesterday morning at 7:30 I was sitting on my kitchen counter scrubbing my blinds on my kitchen window!

After that I figured I'd go whole hog and clean my oven...or, well, let the oven clean itself but you catch my drift.

I took the racks out and looked at the bottom of the oven. It didn't look nearly as bad as it did the last time I "cleaned" it so I closed the door, flipped the latch, and pressed the "self clean" button. About 20 minutes into it Max walked in the kitchen to talk to me and said, "Mom, why is there a fire in the oven?" I was thinking he was seeing the red heating element at the bottom and was just getting ready to say this as I turned around to look in the oven...

...Uh, my oven was on fire! It wasn't huge and it was contained in the oven but there was definitely flames and they were getting bigger. I turned off the self clean and picked up my cell phone. I told the kids (all of use were still in our pj's) to go out the front door and wait in the front yard for me because had to go upstairs and get Ruby out of her crib.

As I am doing this I am calling 911. Max is freaking out in the open front door calling for me to "GET OUT OF THERE". I am trying to reassure him and talk to the dispatcher at the same time. By the time I get downstairs with Ruby I peek into the kitchen praying it wasn't coming out of the oven but the fire had put itself out. I told the dispatcher this but she said she'd send the fire dep't anyway...I agreed!

We all got outside and waited until the fire truck got there. Max, Abby, and Lucy stayed outside with one of the fire fighters while I took the other two inside. The latch on the oven door was still locked and they said it was more than likely the stuff on the bottom of the oven that had caught fire. She said it should be fine but if something didn't seem right later then to call them back.

All that before 9am...what a way to start the week!

Needless to say, I got a scrub brush and used LOTS of elbow grease to scrub the bottom and sides of the oven before I made our baked potatoes for dinner last night. When I turned the oven on to preheat it I was hoping I'd be able to just bake the potatoes and not turn them into briquettes! Anyone order potatoes flambe?

That will more than likely be the only event that Max and Abby relate to their teachers about what they did over the summer..."Uh, the fire truck had to come to our house because my mom caught the oven on fire and we got to go on the fire truck!" Great...

Checkup time!

Playing dress up one day...wearing an old pair of Nana's shoes:)

My other little Southern belle Lucy!

Carolina Girls (the best in the world) taking their babies for a stroll...

Abby had her 5 year well check today. Everything was good. She weighed in at 45 pounds and was 44" (3'8'' if it hurts your head to do the math...I already hurt my head doing it so I'll spare you the pain) tall.


Dr. S. said she is growing well and proportionally...that's always nice to hear.


He did prescribe a nasal spray to help alleviate her snoring and loud breathing at night since it is waking her up at times. I told him she was doing the same things Max did when he was little before he had his adenoids and tonsils removed. Hopefully a nasal spray will do the trick for her.


He did ask about her "wheezing" and if she was still having trouble with it. I told him she hasn't had any bad coughing/wheezing episodes in a few months so that was good. The last time I took her in for it the Dr. had suggested she might have asthma. If she does then maybe it is a winter thing that triggers it. We'll definitely explore testing if she develops the cough again.


So Abby is good to go. Before we left I made Lucy's 3 year checkup appointment and Ruby's 9 month appointment. I made them for separate days so I can have Ruby there by herself while Lucy is at school. I couldn't handle it if they were both getting shots in the same appointment!

Abby's Birthday

As it turned out, the weather was pretty unpredictable on Sunday so in the interest of not getting drenched at the park we made a last minute call and decided to have the party here at the house. John ran to Blockbuster and rented the Barbie and the Three Musketeers movie (that was the theme for the party). Including Abby there were only 6 girls anyway so I called the parents and surprised them with the opportunity to have a couple hours off and told them to drop their little one at the door and be back in two hours!

The girls played for a few minutes then they feasted on a delicious fruit bowl (courtesy of my wonderful dad who made it and my wonderful mom who suggested it and volunteered my dad to make it!) and chips and juice/water while they watched the movie.

We took a break to open presents and sing Happy Birthday and blow out candles. The girls got back into position on the floor to watch more of the movie while we served them cake and ice cream. By the time the cake was done and the movie was just about over, parents began showing up.

Besides Abby's friends, my mom and dad, my sister Mallory, and her boyfriend Dustin came along to celebrate as well.

Abby had a wonderful time and her only complaint was that it had to end!

Here are some pictures from the party and some from her actual birthday which was the 22nd.

Abby and Lucy after the party. Lucy is licking her ring pop.

Abby got a beautiful dress from "Mimi" (my sister). She had to try it on right away...she would have slept in it if I hadn't stopped her :)

What is this incredible deliciousness? Mom...you've been holding out on me!

My dad was holding Ruby and was trying to enjoy a bag of Cheetos. Ruby was doing her best to get the bag away from him so my dad decided to share. Ruby enjoyed her first Cheeto! She actually pitched a nasty fit when she ran out...she had to settle for boring old squash and applesauce.

Abby and her friends...

Please don't look at my messy kitchen...it WAS clean before the party!

My mom, Lucy...the GOOF, and my sister Mallory.

The birthday girl..."Hmmmm...what should I wish for?"

The birthday cake.

Just as I do every year, I made the birthday cake. I bought the cake topper from a bakery at the local grocery store. I was going to try to do icing roses but the day of the party is a little late to teach yourself how to do that! She liked the cake though :)

Abby on her actual birthday. My parents got her a Zhu Zhu pet... his name is Nugget...she was sooooo excited!

My parents came over for a homemade dinner for Abby's birthday. She had requested "chicken bowls" (like the kind from KFC). I make my own chicken nuggets (fresh) and I make my own mashed potatoes. We add the corn and the shredded cheese and the gravy and...voila! Funny thing is, Abby doesn't eat it in a bowl...she eats each part separately.

Blowing out her 5 candles!

I whipped up a batch of cupcakes and some yummy pink butter cream icing so Abby would have something to put candles in. Not quite the same to stick the candles in chicken nuggets :)

New shoes!

Next up for Abby? Kindergarten and soccer!

Did you notice there weren't pictures of Max from the party? He got out of the "girly" party by getting invited to go bowling with his friends :)