Lucky Santa!

You all know how excited I am that someday, maybe, hopefully soon, I'm gonna get to be a teacher.  However if I had to have another job, I guess being Santa would be an amazing second choice.  I mean seriously?  How awesome would it be to be the one who gets to wait until four precious babies fall asleep, and then sneak up and back from the attic down the chimney with a whole bunch of things you just know they're gonna love and lay them out near the Christmas tree.  And to be able to anticipate that look of joy, that expression of pure, "holy cow did i really just get one of THOSE!?  AND A SET OF THESE TOO??"  on the faces of four little angels who probably deserved more, but who will be just as happy with the few...I tell you what.  That Santa?  Sure is lucky.  

Merry Christmas, y'all.  

Winter Dance

Last night, Caitlin had a dance put on by her school (made up of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders).  Before I get into the meat of the story can I just give you today’s dose of WTF??  When I dropped her off at the dance, there was not one, but TWO limousines.  As in, some parents had obviously paid to have a limousine take their child (a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader, remember) to a 1 1/2 hour winter dance.  REALLY?  Does this mean that by the time prom rolls around they will be showing up in helicopters?  I. Mean. Really. 
ANYWAY.  This story is really about Caitlin.  When I found out about this dance, I wanted to make sure that Caitlin was going to have fun.  (Low key fun, NOT limousine fun of course).  Turns out Caitlin and I have very different ideas about what makes a dance fun.  (I think I was projecting my 8th grade self…the age I was when I went to my first dance on her third grade self.  Not a good match.)  Here’s how it went down:
About 30 minutes before the dance, Caitlin comes downstairs with her wet hair thrown up into a tight ponytail, in tee shirt and jeans.  I cringed a bit at the hair (yes, mom.  now I understand your mortification at having The Daughter With Perpetually Unbrushed Hair) and said she was ready to go.  I was about to comment on the hair, when Matt stepped in (he was NOT the kid with perpetually unbrushed hair.  Or untucked shirt.  Much the opposite I think).
“Caitlin?  Don’t you want mommy to blow dry your hair?  I mean, it’s nice, but…”
“Hmmm.  Daddy you might be right.  I might get sick with wet hair.”  Whatever. 
So upstairs we go.  Before we do a quick blow dry I quietly plugged in the curling iron.  Just in case. 
And she let me curl her hair!  I got caught up in the victory and asked her if she wanted to wear make up!?  And take my cell phone?  And wear some perfume?  And maybe some of my earrings?  (all of which would have thrilled me at her age).
“No mom.  No make up.  And PLEASE don’t make me take your phone because I won’t be able to dance with that big thing in my pocket.  AND I don’t need perfume.  Ew.  I put some lotion on my hands here smell this-“ (She put out her hand…it had a very faint lotion-y smell)  really mom, I’m good.  CAN WE GO NOW?  I’m ready to get my dance on!"
Sigh.  I guess all she wanted to do was dance, dance, dance. 
Afterward I was pumping her for information, “did you have fun?  Who was there?  Did you see any boys?  Did you dance with any boys?” 
“What?  EW! No!!  But I sure am gonna be sore tomorrow.  I was dancing a LOT!  And the dinner was so good!  Oh!  And look at this balloon I got!”
…and that was it.   
I probably should be thankful that she is so uninterested in the social aspect of these things. That it’s still fun to just go and dance like no one’s watching.   And also thankful that she is so patient with my spastic parenting.  I’m sure these days are numbered….

Tuesday Bullets (with a few pictures)

Good Morning!

• Six.  That is the number of times the babies (Hannah and Ben but mostly Ben) got us up last night.  SIX TIMES.  This morning Matt and I were comparing notes, “So, I got Ben three times, and Hannah once.  You?”, “Well, I know I got Ben at least twice, but there could have been a sleepwalking third”.  Needless to say 6:20 came extra early this morning. 
• Hannah’s preschool Christmas program was last night and it was so hilariously cute.  All of the kids wore their Christmas pajamas and tried desperately to remember the words to 6+ Christmas carols.  No easy feat for a three year old!  At the end, they got to see Santa.  Here are a few highlights:

Hannah with Ms. Lori…the same preschool teacher Caitlin had.  They both love her!

Making an entrance…

Cradling her baby in the manger.  Since no one else appears to be cradling, I’m pretty sure she was about three steps behind. 

Talking to Santa with Ben.  Good thing he didn’t ask if they’ve been naughty…they might have had to lie to Santa which, I’m pretty sure is a no-no…

With Nana and Dee afterward…she loves her flowers!

• Potty training part 542 started yesterday.  Have I mentioned how much I hate potty training??  We went through four pairs of pants before 9am yesterday…and one incident took place at the vet.  Fortunately it is a place that is used to urine on the floor.  This morning seems to be going better…we have not had an accident yet (knock on wood). 
• We decorated our Christmas tree this weekend…it was great!  We had apple cider, and pandora provided Christmas carols (I’ve lost all of my Christmas CD’s…I’m going to blame Ben).  It is always fun to see the kids rediscover all the old ornaments. 
•  

 

 

• Ben just had an accident.  Awesome.  Gotta run and try to round up a clean pair of pants.  Y’all have a great day!

Sometimes Rainy Days Aren’t So Bad…

Today, during a break in the rain, we decided to try out our rain boots…it was a huge success:

      

The wet clothes were absolutely worth the long nap I just KNOW they will take after so much excitement!

Happy Turkey Day, Y’all!

I Don’t Know If We Could Have Possibly Crammed Any More Fun….

…into the past four days-we have been so busy!  Of course it all started last week when we won tickets/parking/money/food.

  Then, as if that wasn’t awesome enough, Nana and Dee agreed not only to babysit during the game, but also to keep the kids that night as well. (In my mind that was almost better than winning the tickets.)  Matt and I decided to splurge (whoo-hoo for credit card reward points!) and get a hotel room in downtown Athens Saturday night as well. 
Saturday morning we dropped the kiddies over at N & D’s house and headed downtown for the game.  Here we (and our 14 chins) are, ready for the game! 
We stopped at a little Italian sandwich place on the way for a pitcher and a sandwich.  (An aside: My sandwich was HUMONGOUS!  So big in fact that I decided to save half of it for the game. Those of you who go to games on a regular basis know that this was a waste of aluminum foil and a brown bag.  They made me THROW AWAY THE WHOLE DELICIOUS THING BEFORE I COULD GO IN TO THE GAME.  I debated going in.)  After our lunch we headed to the stadium.  Along with 14000 of our closest friends:

And what a game it was!  My only regret going in was that I just knew it was going to be a shutout…we were expected to win by at least 30 and while that is a good thing, it makes for a bit of a boring game.  However it turned out to be a total nail biter!  We did pull off the win but it was anything but boring!

Go DAWGS!!  I enjoyed watching the game so much and hope that Matt and I don’t have to wait another 5 years to do it again!
  
After the game we went back to our hotel room, showered and headed out for a night on the town!  We made it all the way to 8:30 before it was lights out.  Yes, we are lightweights. 
Here’s a picture one of the waitresses took…very silly.  (in my defense she said something unexpectedly hilarious just before taking the picture):

I guess Matt did not think it was as funny as I did. 
What a fun weekend!  We picked up the babies on Sunday morning, went to church and then the kids and I headed up to Grandmas house…time for round 2 of fun!  Poor Matt has to work this week so he missed out this time.  (Don’t feel too badly for him…he did get to go see a “man movie” and eat brisket.)
Once we got to Grandma’s house she had a big surprise for the kids…they were each going to get to ride Kwirky!  This was a first for both the horse and the kids…and it was awesome!!  The kids and Kwirky did beautifully:

She’s a natural! 

Matthew loved it too..he said, “it feels like a massage!!”


Pea got to ride too, but I did not get pictures…I walked beside her just in case something happened.  She loved it too and can’t wait to go again.
After riding the horse we got to ride in the golf cart which is always a huge hit with the kids.  We drove all around the neighborhood and even discovered a new playground!
The next day was filled with fun as well.  We decorated gingerbread men (I have pictures of that too, but I am afraid I left the camera card at Grandmas, so I’ll have to share those later.), rode in the golf cart and ended the day with a delicious dinner-pot roast, mashed potatoes, green beans and Lankford rolls.  I have never seen my kids eat so much…Hannah actually asked for seconds! 
Overall it has been a great four days.  As we approach Thanksgiving, I realize how fortunate I am to have such an amazing family-both my own, and the one I married into.  I have a lot to be thankful for!

I WON!! I WON!!

Last week, I was listening to a local radio station, and they mentioned this tailgating contest (drawing).  Just go online, enter, and if you win, you get two tickets to the Ga game, a parking space near the game (worth almost as much as the tickets), $50, and free food.  I jokingly asked Matt whether we would go if I won the contest. 

“Done”. He said.  Zero hesitation.

Good thing he was serious…because I WON!!!!  I’m the WINNER!!  I get the prize!!! (I don’t know if I’m more excited about the actual prize or just that I won something).

Hope y’all are having a great day too!!

Sunday Runday

 Running has always been important to Matt and me...whether we are actually doing it, or just talking about how we should be doing it...we both agree that it's a good thing.  (We also agree that it is more fun to think about than actually do.)  Caitlin and Matthew have picked up on this and probably about a year ago started asking if they could go with us.  As a child who HAD to go run (thanks, dad!) I pretty much thought they were insane, so I ignored their request.  Eventually however, I couldn't take it anymore.  I gave in.  The evil part of me thought that if I take them on a challenging run, maybe they would hate it and stop asking, because frankly, going running by myself is tough enough, and the idea of having two rugrats tagging along and slowing me down did not appeal.  So I took them on a nice two miler...one that involved two BIG hills at the end.  Two things happened: One: they loved it.  Two: they ran faster than me.  Total backfire!  However because they do like it and I know it's good for them, we have made it into our Sunday routine.  Saturday I make my day to either run alone or come up with a plausible excuse not to run. (usually the latter.  BUT!  When I do run, it's five miles! Go me!)  But Sunday is our day.  Either Matt or I usually take them on the same two mile run and they do it so well.  I think they are actually ready to go a little longer.  They have figured out how to break the run down into small pieces and it becomes manageable and they really don't complain.  I can tell when it gets tough for Matthew because he will throw his hands up and push the air in front of him (his way of 'pushing' himself.  Pretty cute.)  They are so different though...I think of them as the tortoise and the hare...Caitlin is a total tortoise, not because she is slow by any means, but because she can maintain a steady pace regardless of terrain.  Matthew is the hare because he runs in fits and starts...also regardless of terrain.  Sometimes he will sprint up hills and walk/jog down the hills.  They are both terrific runners though and I really hope to see them in Cross Country when the time comes.
Here they are...right after a run.  If they look a little too happy it's because I just bought them each a GIANT Gatorade. 

Hannah wanted to be in the picture too.  She is dying to go with us too, but is just a bit too small.  Matt will sometimes take her on a mini jog.  He says she has a bright future ahead of her :)  

They wanted to do running poses...I think they are reaching for the finish line...either that or they are super duper constipated.

Thursday

Good Morning!   Just a few things to report, so I think it will be a bullet day.

-Sports are officially over!  I am a little bit sad about this…I had a great time coaching Caitlin’s team-we had our end of the year party and the girls were so sweet!  The other coach and I agreed to work together again in the Spring, which I am excited about.  Matthew’s team ended up going completely undefeated this year and won the big trophy!  Matt even got his own trophy for being a superior first base coach.  This is the first year that Matt and I had as much fun as the kids during sports! 

-So, our dryer broke.  I am pretty sure either a belt slipped off or broke, but we will have to wait until Friday to find out.  While short term this makes me super happy (NO LAUNDRY TO FOLD!) I can’t imagine how long it will take me to catch up once it is fixed.  If you don’t hear from me for a few days it’s because I am buried under all the laundry. 

-Last night Chass was up on my lap (I know) and I found a bit of a lump on her belly.  I was a little freaked out, but thought it might be okay.  And then I started googling.  HUGE MISTAKE.  I have now convinced myself that she has cancer and have made an appointment to have it looked at this morning.  Hopefully it’s just a fatty something.  (which would totally make sense…she has plenty of fatty deposits surrounding her rear end.)

-In other pet news, turns out our cat is actually a Labrador retriever.  Last night she caught and killed a squirrel (which she was throwing up in the air and catching-EW).  Matt scooped it up and hurled it back into the woods.  This morning, I stepped out to the garage (BARE FOOTED) and nearly stepped on the very same grey squirrel.  Patti was looking at us like, ‘throw it again! throw it again!’.  Stupid cat. 

-I subbed this week which meant that Pea and Ben went to the babysitter for a full day.  Pea always complains about going to the sitters but she had a great time.  When I got there she wasn’t even that excited to see me…just kept playing with her toys.  Ben has a buddy over there that he likes to play with-she is an adorable little girl..I think he has a crush.  Overall I  am really glad to have found such a good babysitter…she is flexible and has a lot of experience in childcare.  If only I could convince her to potty train Ben!  (who has absolutely zero interest in using the potty). 

-Jokes are a big deal around here these days, especially on car rides.  Caitlin and Matthew have been trying to tell jokes for probably a year, and they have come a LOOOOONG way.  When they first started telling jokes it was like, ‘Why did the chair go to the library?”  “Because it was Tuesday!”  And then they’d die laughing.   Sunday though, we were on our way to Sunday school and Caitlin busts out with, “What is musical that you wear on your head?”.  “A HEADBAND!”  Amazing!  A joke with a punchline that actually makes sense!!  Which is nice because Hannah and Ben have now joined the game and it is painful.  Hannah’s jokes are worse that C & M’s early ones…she puts nonsense words in there and fully expects big laughter when she finishes.  Ben’s whole joke is nonsense too…he’s only got the ‘why’ part down, so it’s like, “hunuh joke:  Why sini; asjio;dfjkl;asjklf;sjak;joa;?  Cuz jfaslo;fjdskiaof;djklsd;!!!  HAHAHAH!!”  Needless to say this makes the 10 minute drive to school verrrrrrry long…

Gotta run…time to get Chass ready for her doggie appointment.  I’ll keep you posted! 

Happy Halloween

Here are our costumes:

We dyed Caitlin's hair with a hair spray...it only took three showers to wash it completely out :).

Yes, Hannah is wearing the zebra costume for the third year in a row (best $12 I ever spent).  She wore her supergirl costume for the festival at school:

Here are the n'hood starwars characters:

The kids had a ball...there were about a million people in our neighborhood which made keeping up with four dressed up kids in the dark a bit tricky.  The candy haul was unbelievable this year too...(one of the many perks of having four kids...more candy for the mommy).

Hannah is still a little sick today-I'm sure trick or treating in the cold last night probably did not help (bad mommy!)  She has a well visit tomorrow and I don't think she is going to pass muster for shots-we will see.  She has this nasty dry cough and just feels rotten.  She's taken a nap every day for almost a week which is some sort of Hannah record these days!

FOUR

Okay, why does this keep happening??  Wasn't I just here?  Doing this thing where one of my babies gets a little bigger?  Hrumph.

Yes...today The Pea turned FOUR!  She was literally JUST born!  I can't believe it.  She is officially a Big Girl.

We had a good day today, but unfortunately the poor baby was sick!  On her birthday!  This is how she spent her afternoon:

 Curled up in the chair, watching football with Daddy.  
Before she really started feeling badly, we had a little celebration with Grandma, Grandpa, Nana Dee Hailey and Zoe.  It was big fun...Hannah loved the Ariel cake:

 She also lovvvved her presents.  Matt and I decided to go with the My Little Pony theme.  It was a huge hit!

 I am so proud of my big girl.  But I gotta say...I wish she'd stop getting so big!!

Also:  GO DAWGS.  We just pulled off a beautiful win against Florida.  Happy Birthday Hannah...I don't think a proper Dawg fan could ask for a better gift :).  

This is what he does when he is tired...

He will just lay down and roll a car back and forth on the carpet.  I actually put him to bed with three or four cars and buses in his bed because this is the best way to get him to relax.

NINE

In honor of my oldest turning NINE, here are nine things to know about Caitlin.

1. She used to be shy.  Bigtime.  In preschool it took her 3 weeks to feel comfortable enough to play on the playground with the other kids.  But now?  She has become confident, poised and very un-shy.  I'm proud of this!

2. She is a reading maniac!  I usually go to the library on Monday to pick out books for the kids to read for the week...and by Wednesday, I'm going back for more books for her.  Right now she likes Beverly Cleary, all the American Girl books, and the Nancy Drew (clue crew) books.  She also likes to re-read books.

3. She still wants to be a chef in Charleston.  She and Matthew have created this huge restaurant idea that involves aquariums, slides and seafood (Matthew plans to be the fisherman to catch both the food and the aquarium animals.).

4. Her favorite food is popcorn shrimp.  Though fried catfish is a close second.  Ew.

5. She is still very fashion-savvy.  When she was little, she was always very opinionated about what she would wear (remember the hats?)  These days she is just as particular...she knows what she likes and has no problem pouting if you try to divert from what she likes.  Yesterday I had to go shopping for her church clothes without her and I was so nervous!!  I was so relieved when she actually liked what I chose.  (I did involve both sales girls in the decision which took at least half an hour).

6. She thrives on routine...one of the many ways she is like her father.  She wakes up in the morning, eats the same breakfast every day, same lunch every afternoon and follows the same afterschool regiment: get home, do the checklist (wash hands, do homework, give mom agenda, put lunchbox away and refill waterbottle).  She comes home and gets it done.  At night time I don't have to remind her to lay clothes out...it's part of her routine and so it's done.  Matthew, on the other hand is the opposite (he's more like his mom).  If something becomes too routine, he finds a way to keep it interesting.  Sometimes this is a good thing, other times it gets him in trouble :).

7. She still thinks that boys drool and insists that she is NEVER getting married.  (again, a striking contrast to her brother who has several girlfriends.  Who have no idea that they are his girlfriend.)  If you suggest that a certain boy might be"cute", she goes bananas.  Hoping I have at least another 3 years of this.

8. She is still a major rule follower.  The idea of getting in trouble at school is unthinkable.  She is the only student in her class that has never "moved her stick" (the discipline system this year).  Last year she did get in trouble ONE TIME...and it just about sent her over the edge.  She insists that she was falsely accused. Knowing how much a rule follower she is, I actually believe her.

9. She loves birthdays as much as her mama.  Especially her own. And she fully expects a fuss made.  In the weeks leading up to The Big Day, she dreamed on several occasions that either mommy or daddy had forgotten her birthday.  "It was a nightmare!", she said.   And so, we make a fuss.  We always try have a celebratory dinner at the beach, and this year she also got to have a spend the night with her best friend.  They got to stay up late, eat by themselves at the Mexican restaurant, and have their hair curled.  Later in the weekend we had a family celebration complete with cake and presents.

I could go on and on about my girl....but I'll leave it at nine.  Till next year :).  Here are a few pictures from all the fun:

 With her "bestie" before a shopping trip from Nana and Dee

 Sitting alone at the Mexican restaurant.  (We were just a table away).  They even wore matching outfits!

 Caitlin opening presents.  Wearing clip in hair feathers.  Fashion trends are so weird these days!!

 Being sung to...which embarrasses her to death!  We did it anyway.

This is the face you will get if you say something about boys or boyfriends.  Utter disgust!  Daddy is so proud.

So, We Went To the Beach…

and here are the pictures! Which I am in a hurry to post because I have some very very sweet pictures from Caitlin’s birthday celebration  (SHE IS TURNING NINE.  WHERE DID THE LAST EIGHT AND THREE QUARTER YEARS GO?) 

This year we went to Navarre Beach Florida.  One of my girlfriends who goes there every year told me the it was one of the most natural beaches around……and it really is!  However, this year was a bit more natural than we were expecting…the jellyfish were EVERYWHERE!!  But did this stop Caitlin and Matthew from getting in to collect shells?  Absolutely not!  In spite of minor stings (and a possible allergic reaction) they managed to collect a million shells and have a wonderful time in the waves. 

I would love to share some pictures of the kids with their nets collecting fish and shells and jellyfish (the latter of which they carted off to bury in the sand.  I almost felt sorry for the jiggly monsters.  Almost)  However because Ben and Hannah insisted on dragging mommy to the pool and skipping the jellyfish infested waters, I did not have much opportunity to snap pictures. 

I did however catch a few pictures during one of our early morning walks.  One of the best parts about going to the Gulf for vacation is that we get to switch time zones, which means that we never (thanks Ben!) missed a sunrise. 

Hannah and Daddy.  Side note: Matt decided (much to Caitlin’s chagrin) not to shave during vacation this time.  That’s why he looks a bit scruffy.

Hannah, Matthew, Caitlin.  Ben refused to leave mommy’s arms so he didn’t make the kid photo.

I fixed my hair for the occasion.

Mommy and TheBen.  Sunrise in the background.

 

During the week we went to the “Gulfarium”, (THANK YOU NANA AND DEE!) which had sea life shows..so much fun for the babies!

Zach the dolphin…who’s show inexplicably made me cry. ( Also not the first time.  I think it’s because growing up I always wanted to be a dolphin trainer.  Turns out I was not smart enough.  Also turns out that training kids is a very close second )

Seals Sea Lion, balancing a soccer ball on her nose

We also managed to find a playground that was just over the bridge.  It had a duck pond, a dock and two play sets.  Big fun for everyone!

My sweet girls

Matthew and Mama feeding the seagulls

 

Daddy and TheBen

He slides by himself these days

We also found a restaurant on the beach that served kids meals in bright pink frisbees  The meant lots of after-dinner fun!

Pictures at Sunset:

My shy girl-ha!

…still crazy, after all these years.