Boo on the flu

Well, it finally happened. I have the flu. I didn't feel great last night when I went to bed but couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. I slept something terrible last night and then this morning woke up with a fever and aches. After some ibuprofen I felt a lot better but not 100%. After a very uncomfortable nose swab at the doctor's office it was confirmed. God bless that man because he wrote a prescription for everyone in this house for tamiflu. So now we're all taking it and hopefully the girls won't get it. I don't feel terrible but it's just the worst to not feel like you can do it all. I did love the several naps I got today though!

A Few Shots

This weekend flew by! Yesterday we did a whole lot of nothing and I managed to get a two hour nap! That was a first in several months. Last night my friend Kayci and I went out to eat and a trip to Target with out kids. Jay had Mark over with their kids and made Lowcountry Boil. I had a bowl for lunch today and it was YUM! We had church today and this afternoon Katie Jo helped Jay cut the grass. It was a wonderfully relaxing weekend that has ended too soon.

Katie Jo is once again hiding from me since she didn't want her picture taken. I couldn't resist documenting this outfit though.
I love how everything else in motion in this picture except for the one thing that was actually moving!
I couldn't have a picture of KJ without her face having crud on it!
This was her saying, "Come on, Mommy. Come on. Let's find Daddy."
Can you believe this? I looked over and found our azalea's already blooming. What a lovely site.

Week in Review

What a week it has been. There are so few things to tell but so many things that happened. It's been one of those hectic weeks filled with ups and downs. As I sit here on this Friday nite I am hoarse but am so thankful to be healthy. It seems everyone around us has dealt with colds, flu or worse. We have been blessed. I posted about our disastrous trip to the mall and thankfully since then we've had more better days than not. On Wednesday I took the girls to the library. I am going to make an effort to do this more often. Katie Jo enjoyed picking out books and we came home with several. We picked a special "Library" basket to keep them in in her room and believe it or not she has been careful they always get put back in it. We found a great book about piggies having manners and it has been very helpful in some sticky situations this week. Yesterday when I picked Katie Jo up at school her teacher informed me she had sat on the potty twice and tinkled. I was very excited. We may be on our way to "underware land." Last night I went to Bunko and it was a much needed break to laugh and be carefree. It has been rainy here the last couple of days so today we were getting cabin fever and decided to head over to Chic fil A for lunch and some time on the playground. Hopefully things will be sunnier tomorrow all around. I did read an article in the paper this week about a local student who scored a 2400 on the SAT. After I asked Jay how in the world 1600 turned into 2400 and was informed there is now a writing section I read the caption and realized I taught this child. He was in my fourth grade class. I didn't even recognize him and was so shocked at how much he's grown. He is still only a junior but has hopes to attend Duke. So cool!

Here is Katie Jo and me one night before bed when we were having a tickle fight. This was when she didn't want to have her picture taken.
Little Georgia never cares if I take her picture.

Katie Jo is showing off. She loves to climb into the crib and throw all the animals out. It's kind of like a reverse Noah's Ark.
Mommy and her two girls.
Not the greatest picture of the two of them, but they can't all be Lebowitz caliber.
This is a picture of the big girl after her potty efforts at school.
She's such a helper. She was dying to help me vacuum. There will be a day when I have to beg her to do it so I might as well document this now.

AHHHHHHH!

That's all I can say to describe how I feel, AHHHHHHH! What a day! Where to even begin? First, let me give the disclaimer that I love Katie Jo with all my heart and she can be so funny and say such cute things, BUT after a day like today I might have sold her to a band of gypsies. What should have been a nice day at the mall with friends turned into a nightmare. And poor Georgia was so sweet and quiet. On the way home we even made the comment that you forget she's even there. Isn't that sad when one child takes so much of your attention that the other gets left behind? And the scary thing is that KJ used to be that sweet laid back baby. What would I do with two? Never leave the house. I am thinking it's high time to purchase the "Strong Willed Child" by Dr. Dobson. I gotta do something because my toddler is driving me crazy. At home she is fine and we can usually redirect her if she starts to throw a fit. I also can ignore her and not worry about stares. In public? No way. And it really wouldn't matter what I had to bribe her with either. She's one of those. I had a complete arsenal of treats with me today in preparation but it didn't matter. First off, she doesn't want to ride in the stroller. Fine, she's old enough to walk. No! She won't stay with me. We could be in Dillard's and I will let her out and the next thing I know she's crossed the mall and is in Belk's (this didn't happen, but I'm trying to prove a point). So what do you do? Leave her in the stroller? Let her flail about as she practically cuts herself off at the waist from the strap? Or let her walk and watch her disappear through the racks? Oh yeah, I have Georgia with me and my purse is attached to the stroller. It's like "Sophie's Choice." Which child do you sacrifice? So there you have it. I've got a real doozie on my hands and I can't understand why she does these things because she doesn't get away with it. I won't have it. For Pete’s sake, discipline was my strong point in teaching. I know, I know. This is not a classroom and KJ is not my student, but it's my responsibility to direct her and correct her and by God I'm doing that. Don't you love how I am having a conversation with you? That child knows no fear and the more tired she is the wilder she gets. I'm so embarrassed by her behavior sometimes and I feel like it makes me look like a terrible parent. Back around Christmas time I asked for Georgia to get a full night's sleep and low and behold it happened (although just a handful of times since then). Now I have a new prayer.
Dear Lord,
Let me have patience with my child and remember she's not yet three and doesn't understand why she has to sit still, ride along, not scream, not run, stay with me, or can't push Georgia's stroller without some assistance. Help me to not go insane when people tell me it's a phase since this is what I tell myself in order to make it to the next day. Please give me the wisdom to know how to handle each situation as if it's the first time and not the umpteenth time I've had to ask her to please hold my hand in the parking lot because there are moving cars that can smash you flat. I love my child Lord, and I want to see things through her eyes instead of telling to look me in the eye so I can explain what she's done wrong and how she needs to fix it.
Amen
God Bless and Good Night!

Weekend News

The past few weekends have been so nice here in the Lowcountry and this one was the most relaxing yet. We spent Friday night on a family date at McDonald's. Katie Jo met up with her friend Reilly Kaye and her family and they had a great time playing. Saturday I went out in the a.m. after a terrific breakfast of pancakes, compliments of my husband. Then we got a ton of chores done while the girls napped in the afternoon. Afterwards, Georgia and I took a long walk around the neighborhood and then KJ woke up and we played inside. Saturday night Jay and I went to the SEWE (southeastern wildlife expo) soiree and had a great time with some friends of ours. I even ate fried gator tail! Today we had the most excellent weather. After church and naps the girls and I played and then went back for evening activities at church. It has been a great weekend and we got so much accomplished. For once, I feel stress free and not too overwhelmed at trying to get so much done this week! As I type the baby is asleep and Katie Jo is helping Jay in garage with a project he needed help with. Life is good!

Myself and Jay

Myself and Patience

J

Jay with Matt and ScottWe found a new use for the jump rope!Katie Jo had to try it out.

Yes, those are Georgia's little feet sticking up along with her noodle.

Valentine wrap up

We had a great Valentines Day. Katie Jo had a party at preschool. This was the first year she took in Valentine cards and I think she was excited to give them out. She was really excited to get them from her classmates and enjoyed going through all the goodies once we were home. When she woke up from her nap we made our Valentine brew and decorated the cupcakes. We had a special dinner provided from Dominos and then dove into the cupcakes. Jay and I gave them two new books each and so we finished the day by reading them before bed.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentines Day from all us here in the Lowcountry! We hope you have great day filled with love, laughter, and lots of chocolate.

So far this week

Are these two just so sweet? I wonder who she is trying to emulate?

Such a cool cat!
This was a family photo KJ drew yesterday. The big one is Daddy. The small one beside it is Mommy. The blob to Daddy's left is Katie Jo and notice how she goes around the whole family. This is very symbolic since Katie Jo can be all-encompassing. Then the little shape she's working on was Georgia. I thought it was a pretty good family picture!

The next cadetette?

Playing Outdoors

Only Ten?

I secretly love reading list about other people and have seen several lately on other blogs. I decided to list ten things about myself as a Mother that people might not know. I know at least one person will enjoy reading this. I included a parting shot at the end as a reward for reading the whole list.

1. I sing to the girls all the time. Jay does too, but I have the lesser voice for it. They don't seem to mind and I especially love making up words to familiar tunes.

2. I can't do hair. People compliment Katie Jo's hair cut and I completly agree that it's to die for but I have to admit I keep it short enough so that I don't have to do anything with it. Give me a blow dryer and a rolling brush and I can create magic, but creating a straight line down the back of her head isn't going to happen.

3. I go yard selling. I would get up at 7am on a Saturday after a sleepless night with Georgia when I wouldn't take a call from the president on a regular day. My friend Kayci is the Queen of yard sales and between the two of us we can hunt down some major deals. I love finding clothes and toys. It's amazing what people will sell for such menial prices. It's truly addicting.

4. On that note I also love to ebay. I buy the girls' high end clothes on ebay. I really love the special occasion stuff since the child you're buying it from probably only wore it once. The best deal was three pairs of Angel shoes for $20 (regularly $60-70) and the girl was local so she dropped them off at my house and I didn't have to pay shipping.

5. I make bows. Again, my friend Kayci and I started a little bow business called Bossy Bows. It's been on hiatus since Georgia was born but we'll start up again in the spring. We call ourselves the "carnies" since we only sell at school carnivals! Saddly Katie Jo doesn't wear bows so I'm not a very good salesperson.

6. I'm not very creative. I hear people say how they made this craft or that art project with their child and I think "What? Who has time for all this?" You would think someone like myself who was a former teacher and in first grade for heaven's sake would do all these wonderful projects with her own children. Nope. There's always tomorrow though.

7. I am so about reading with the girls. I'd say between Jay and I, we read 15 books a day. Katie Jo has to have several read to her before her nap and bed time. I also try to read to both the girls and now that Georgia sits up I can put them in front of me and read just like a teacher. Katie Jo even will take Georgia's little board books and picture walk through them. She'll look at a page, say the words to describe the picture, and then turn the book around so Georgia and I can see the picture. I love it!

8. I am super organized with the girls stuff. I am a fanatic about keeping their clothes organized. They're all in rubbermaid containers marked by size. I also have their toys organized by type and Georgia's toys are in separate "baby" baskets. Now don't confuse this with cleanliness because Lord knows they may all have a bin or basket but they're not always in them! I do have a new moto this year I am going to try and stick by, "Everything has a home. If you can't find it a home then give it away."

9. I'm all about routines. This is such a teacher thing too. I loved the daily comfort of knowing what came next in the classroom and it makes for such smooth sailing. If anything ever came up like a fire drill or assembly then you'd "monitor and adjust," but there was still a routine to follow once you got back to normal. This so carries over for me in being at home. We go and do with the best of them but I try to stick to a routine so the girls know what's coming next.

10. I'm a slave to good sleep habits. I have a wonderful book I found when Katie Jo was 3 months old and have adopted it as my one book to suggest to any mother. It is "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." The author doesn't subscribe to one child rearing method but to the natural rythms of children's sleep patterns. Any problems I've had related to sleep I have always found a solution to in this book. I believe a well rested child is a happy child. I'm pretty rigid when it comes to bed times, especially for Georgia and I try to not interfere with her getting a good night's sleep. Her sleeping through the night? Now that's a whole other post, but she wakes up with a smile on her face and that's all that matters.

Now here's the super cute photo you've been waiting on.