Not Me! Monday

Whew! It's been a long time since I've posted. Things have been super busy and I hope to get this blog updated soon!! In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading what I did not do this week.

• I am not super excited about going to see the Transiberian Orchestra on Friday.


• I did not think up a great, sexy outfit to wear to the concert and head to the mall yesterday to find it.


• I did not look through the entire store for a blue jean skirt and was not very irritated when I didn't find one.


• I did not happen to walk through the maternity section and did not see the perfect skirt on sale!!


• I most certainly did not try it on, love it, and actually buy it!!


• I am not hoping that the thigh highs and boots I am not planning to wear distract my hubby so he doesn't realize that I'm not wearing a maternity skirt!!

Head over to MckMama's blog to read more...

Please read...

and pray...

Not Me Monday!

Check out MckMama's blog for other great Not Me posts!!

• I did not get up at 4:15am this morning, get dressed to go to the gym, and realize half way there that my wedding ring was missing. I did not almost hyperventilate because I only (seriously) take it off when I dry my hair and it can't come off by itself and I had no recollection of taking it off. When I got to the gym, I was not still so freaked out and upset that I just drove through the parking lot and went back home. And I most certainly did not cry with relief when I found it under my husband in the bed. (btw, I have no idea how it came off of my hand - I am very perplexed...)
• I did not go to three stores over the weekend looking for thin, soft pants for Kaden to wear until it gets colder. Upon analyzing my disappointment over not finding what I wanted, I did not realize that I wanted said pants because they would be comfortable enough for him to sleep in and wear the next day (after his bath, of course...and only if he didn't pee through his diaper during the night, of course) thus eliminating one step in my hectic morning routine. And, I most certainly did not call my mom and admit this to her and she most certainly did not lecture me about how she always ironed my clothes and even if he was just going to daycare where he would get dirty and wrinkled anyway, it does not justify me letting him sleep in his clothes. All children should sleep in pajamas..always.

Have a great Monday!!

Everybody say "Jump, Jump"

Since Abby and Kaden's birthdays are exactly a month apart, Josh and I decided (well, actually I decided, but he agreed) that we should get them one big present. I've had my heart set on them having a trampoline for a few months so I researched them and found one that we love. Thanks to the help of Josh's parents and brother, we got it put together last Saturday. The kids LOVE it. Josh and I are having lots of fun on it too. (I made sure to get one with a forgiving 'maximum weight limit'). Here are some pictures of the inaugural jump.

Abby's first jump

(shhh...we hadn't put the safety enclosure on yet)

Kaden's first jump

I was much happier with the safety enclosure than I was expecting to be. For some reason, I've always thought they looked very redneck-ish. However, ours is totally black and doesn't stand out too much in our yard. Another bonus...once you zip the enclosure shut, you can fasten the hooks on the outside so that whoever is inside jumping can't get out. Abby and Kaden spend 30-45 minutes each time I let them jump. Woo-hoo!!

My Big Boy

Well, my baby is a baby no more... Kaden turned 2 on Sunday. I still can't believe it. Although, I can believe that he's developed this two year old attitude. Geez. What happened to my little boy who cried like you broke his heart every time you told him 'no'? He totally knows how to use his little boy charm too. Here are some pictures from his birthday. Of course, he wouldn't take a nap and fell asleep on the way to his party so he wasn't much for the singing and presents. However, bring out the cake and he was totally into it.

Sunday morning before church - wearing his "Birthday Boy" shirt.

Guest of honor

Blowing out the candles

Enjoying the cake - both of them!

NOT ME! Monday

For the last few months, I've been following MckMama and her sweet family. God has taken them on an incredible journey and I've learned so much about faith and commitment from her amazing story.

I'm so excited to participate in her Not Me Monday! Check out her blog to read about all the other things we "did not" do this week.

So, without further ado...

I did not order onion rings last week for lunch and only eat the "ring" because the onion wasn't cooked enough.

I did not get all teary-eyed while watching Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey with the kids on Saturday.

I did not spend 15 minutes this morning debating whether or not to try the corn starch/baby powder trick that so many of you didn't try last week. And, when I didn't decide to try it, it did not not occur to me that my hair is dark brown and the baby powder is white and it may not be a good combination. And I most certainly did not spend another 5 minutes frantically brushing the white powder out of my hair. (For those of you who have not tried this, do you have any tips? Even though I would never not try it again.)

Happy Monday!!

Picture Day

Today is picture day at daycare. We had a good morning so hopefully everyone was all cheerful and smiley come picture time. The last time Kaden refused to even go in the same room with the photographer. We shall see... At least I got a few decent pictures.

Birth Stories - Beware

FishMama over at Life As Mom is hosting a Birth Story Swap in celebration of her daughter's birth. Since I love hearing these stories (and all the gory details), I thought I would participate and share mine. Warning: If you don't enjoy these types of stories, stop reading NOW!!

~ Miss Abigail ~
I had a great pregnancy with Abby. I was finishing up my senior year of college and only had classes two days a week. I was able to get as much rest as I needed during my days at home (funny thing - I thought it would be that way with number 2 - ha). Everything was textbook up until her due date which was October 28 (2003). I did not want to have a Halloween baby so I was anxious to go into labor and looked for every sign that it was starting. I went for a check up on Oct 24 and my doctor said I was dilated 3cm and probably wouldn't make it through the weekend. After two embarrassing false alarms (as soon as they would hook me up at the hospital, the contractions would stop), I went back to my doctor on my due date. Still at 3cm, still no more progress. She told me to relax and come back in a week (thankfully their practice only allowed you to go one week over before intervening). I was so relieved when we made it to November 1 and she had avoided Halloween (although that may have been fitting). We decided to induce on November 5. We showed up early that morning and they got the pitocin started. I was doing pretty well. I really wanted to go as long as possible without an epidural. A few hours later, my doctor broke my water and the contractions started picking up. Along with the contractions, my blood pressure started rising. They insisted that I lay on my left side to try and lower my bp. It was so hard trying to deal with the contractions without being able to move. I started running a fever and had to have antibiotics in my IV (not fun). The nurses kept telling me that getting an epidural would lower my bp and I would be able to move around. Finally, around lunch, I agreed.

Wow, what a difference. I was able to talk, laugh, sit up, and just enjoy the company. Around 4:00, I had dilated to 7cm. We were starting to get nervous and excited. Around 6:30, I was up to 9 cm and my doc said she would be back within the hour to start pushing. Now, Miss Abigail had been low in the birth canal all day. We had been able to feel her head for hours. So, we thought we were doing great. When the doc came back at 7:30, she said that my cervix had started swelling and that i was no longer 9cm but back to 6cm. About the same time, Abby heart rate started dropping. We repositioned and she bounced back. I asked to wait a little bit before we made a decision and the doc left to go home for a while. Apparently, she was monitoring me the whole time and was back within 30 minutes. I don't quite remember exactly what happened then but I know she talked with Josh outside and then they insisted that a c-section was the best option for both of us. As soon as I said ok, everyone started frantically getting things ready and rushed me to the OR. Abigail was born at 8:24pm and weighed 8lbs, 7oz. She was 22 1/4 inches long and PERFECT. I didn't get to hold her for a few more hours but she was amazing. We were thrilled. Little did we know that that was only the beginning of her strong-willed, stubborn nature.

~ Mr. Kaden ~
Unfortunately, Kaden doesn't have a very exciting story. Based on my experience with Abby, I was encouraged to have another c-section with him. And honestly, that was ok with me. We scheduled his due date and counted the time until October 5 (2006) finally arrived. I had a pretty easy pregnancy with him too. However, I was driving an hour each way to work with a 2 1/2 year old, so I didn't get quite as much rest. We showed up at the hospital on his appointed day, and he was born at 7:49am. He weighed 6lbs, 11oz and was 20 inches long. He seemed so much smaller than Abby. He was jaundice so he had to be put in a Bili-bed for a few days at home. I wish I could say more about his story, but it really was that simple with him.

Whew...it's been a while since I've thought through those stories. It's nice to get them written down.

Perfect Picnic

Yesterday my family celebrated my grandparent's 59th anniversary at Julian Price park off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had a great time. The weather was perfect (almost a little chilly) and made me anxious/excited for the fall. We ate lots of food and the kids loved playing in the creek and exploring in the woods. Abby and Kaden are both fascinated with motorcycles so my cousin took them for a spin on his. They loved it!!

I know Kaden doesn't look happy but he did enjoy it and begged for another ride.

As a bonus, both kids were exhausted and slept GREAT last night!! All in all, it was a perfect day. Except for the fact that Kaden smashed marshmallows all over his face, hands, feet, carseat, on the way down the mountain...but we won't talk about that.

Tea Party

Last Friday, Abby's class had a "Royal Tea Party" for those headed to Kindergarten and to promote the others to the 5 year old class. She had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed her tea (lemonade) and cheesecake bites.

When will I learn?

Abby and Kaden both love art. They love to color, cut, glue, create. They totally get that from their dad. It stresses me out to be creative.

Anyway, we were at my parents' last weekend and Abby was "working" at my dad's desk. She was supposed to be laying on the bed resting...which is why the rest of us were not around (we were doing what we were supposed to be doing - NAP!!) After some time, she came prancing down the hall to debut her latest creation. Guess what she had been doing?? Any one??

Wanna know what that is? It's white-out!! She painted her arm with white-out!! And, of course, she didn't show us until it was dry. Know what gets white-out off of your skin? NOTHING!! We tried everything we could think of (except Goo B Gone, which probably would have worked). Finally, Josh decided to try WD-40. It broke it up enough that we could peel it off. Of course we were trying to get to a bridal shower for my best friends sister where I wanted to show off my beautiful, well behaved, intelligent children. Everyone loved the story (and the kids)!!

Another day, another disaster...

We were having friends over to celebrate Josh's birthday (and new job). Abby wanted to color at the kitchen table. Since I needed to straighten up, I obliged. She wanted to use the markers and once Kaden heard her say that, he wanted to color too. (He prefers markers, of course). They were sitting at the table, sharing, and coloring quietly. I went to the office to order our food.

At the exact moment I hung up and started back to the kitchen, Kaden comes walking in with marker all over his face. Purple marker...everywhere. I noticed that the marker didn't have the tip on it. That's right, he had pulled the purple tip out with his teeth (thankfully I found it later). I was ready to grab my camera when Abby said, "I told him not to mark on the couch" What?!? I ran to the living room and he had drawn all over our light beige couch with the bright purple marker. Thank the Lord for washable fabric and markers. I was able to get most of it out of the couch. Sheesh!! Needless to say, the markers have been banished.

Sunday Lunch

In order to save time (couldn't mess up naps) and my sanity (couldn't think of anything to cook), we decided to pick up Subway on the way home from church.
This is what my sweet, unpredictable Abigail ordered: Ham/Cheese sub, white bread, mayo, mustard, black olives, pickles, salt & pepper, bbq chips, and chocolate milk. Gross!! She ate the whole thing...

Great News!!!

Finally, after 4 years of searching, praying, and waiting, Josh was offered a new job this week!! Beginning September 1, he will be the Manager of Human Resource Business Systems at Baptist Hospital. We are thrilled. It's an awesome job with incredible benefits at one of the best places to work in NC. He definitely deserves it and we are so proud of him.

Long Time...No Talk

Whew!!! We've been busy...having lots of summer fun. I'll update again soon with pictures.

Hair Cuts

We decided to get Abby and Kaden's hair cut at the beach. Here are the before and after pictures. They look so grown up now...

Emerald Pointe Pictures

Emerald Pointe

We had a great time at Emerald Pointe. One of the kiddie pools had to be shut down due to some type of "accident" so Kaden didn't get to fully enjoy the slides made for his age. Abby, Josh, and I rode some of the adult slides and loved them. That's definitely where we will head first next time. I left my camera in momma's bag so I will post pictures this weekend.

Beach

We had a great time at the beach last week. We had great weather (high 80's, no rain), the kids *loved* the water (ocean and pool), and it wasn't crowded at all. I am trying to figure out how to create a slideshow but for now here are a few pics for your viewing pleasure...

Kaden's first time in the ocean

Camo day...in honor of Uncle Dave

Apparently something is after him...

"What is it?"

(for you Flo...)

At the Aquarium

Ready, set, jump!!

Abby flying her first kite

My sweet girl...

I Won!!!

I received an email yesterday saying that I had won 10 tickets to Wet-n-Wild Emerald Pointe !! Woo hoo!! Josh took Abby a few weeks ago and she LOVED it and has been begging to go back with the whole family. Guess where we're heading Saturday...

Welcome

I've decided to catch the blogging wave...