Hawai'i

I don't really know where to start . . . so much to tell about our wonderful week away. I think I wrote about 5 different intros for this blog, but nothing seems quite right. It was such an awesome week, I just can't put it into words.

I guess I'll start with . . . Aloha -- we are back from our tropical vacation.


Jim and I had such a fabulous time experiencing the islands of Kauai and Oahu on our 'parents only' trip to the Pacific. We lounged. We sipped cocktails by the pool. We ate wonderful meals. We soaked up the sun. We went for lots of long drives. We tried to sleep in . . . but the 6 hour time change didn't really allow for that much. We did all kinds of things together that we had not done in what seemed like forever. It was amazing.


To sum in up into something you can read in about a 5-7 minute blog . . .

Friday -- traveled all day, arriving in Lihue, Kauai at 4:50pm their time, 10:50pm EST. We pushed through and stayed up as late as we could . . . which was only 9:00pm. We crashed early and loved sleeping in our great big bed as long as we wanted to.

Our view from our balcony in Kauai

Saturday -- we were up very early, 5am. We drove up to the east coast of Kauai and had breakfast. Off roaded out to a few beaches, just checking the place out. Back to the hotel, a quick change into swimsuits, then out to the pool/beach for the rest of the day. Dinner about an hour's drive from Lihue, up to Hannelai. Awesome seafood dinner, then back to bed kinda early. (The time change was really pretty brutal -- that plus a day of sun really wiped us out.)

On the beach bright and early Saturday morning

Our resort beach on Saturday afternoon

Sunset in Hanneleai

Sunday -- a (self guided) tour of the west coast of Kauai, including Waimeia Canyon. We off roaded again, but this time I was really scared we were going to get stuck. The road was really bad and very steep at times. Jim swore we'd be OK, so I gritted my teeth and trusted him. In the end, we were fine . . . but even JIM will tell you he was a little worried at times. We wrapped up our west side adventures and headed back to Lihue for our helicopter tour mid afternoon. The one hour tour by air was nothing short of unbelievable (and I couldn't help but think of our little garage sale as I boarded the tiny aircraft). After our day of touring, we went back to the pool for a few hours, then just stuck around the resort for dinner.

Waimeia Canyon (crazy) Road

View from the top of Waimeia Canyon rd -- complete with rainbow

View from my seat on the helicopter, viewing the Na'Pali Coast of Kauai


Monday -- We were going to go hiking on the north end of Kauai, but we decided instead to 'beach hop' all day. The hike we passed up was amazing when we saw it from the air . . . and we really wanted to do it . . . but there just wasn't enough time to do it all. I voted for a day of beaches and shopping, and Jim was willing to oblige. We went to a few beaches and really got a kick out of watching people surf and jump off of crazy-high rocks at the edge of the ocean. Monday night was our Luau experience -- which we loved. It was a perfect mix of authentic (delicious) Hawaiian foods and amazing dancing. Our luau totally rocked.

Shipwreck Beach -- YES, we saw several people jump!

At the luau with Jim -- see how tan he got on our vacation?

Ok, seriously . . . a self portrait at the luau

Tuesday -- up early (which was still not a problem, even 3 days into the trip), the off to fly Hawaiian Airlines over to Honolulu. Moving from a 'country' island like Kauai to the big city that is Honolulu was quite a change. Honolulu reminded me a lot of LA . . . big buildings, high end shopping, and the beach right across the street from it all. We stayed in a huge and fantastic resort right at the end of Waikiki beach, which was not only a cool resort but a perfect location. On that day we arrived, an old friend of mine that now lives in Honolulu met up with Jim and I, and we walked all the way down Waikiki with her. We spent some more quality time at the pool, then we showered and had a great dinner with my friend and her family. We even managed to cram a little shopping in when we returned to the resort . . . by Tuesday we were finally adjusting to the time change and found ourselves able to stay up past 10pm.
At the end of Waikiki Beach (you know you wanted to see me in a bathing suit, admit it.)


Wednesday -- up early, off to the North Shore. We ate lunch at a shrimp truck about 2/3 of the way North. We parked ourselves on a couple of beaches and watched the most amazingly HUGE waves crash in front of us. We ate ice cream and walked through some touristy shops at the northern most town, then we went through the inner island back to our resort. We showered and then walked through the strip down Waikiki. We finally stopped for dinner well after 9pm . . . and somehow I ended up singing Karaoke after we ate.
Sunrise over Waikiki from our hotel room


Thursday -- our last day. We got up early and were some of the first in line to see the Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial. This is something that I would say is a CAN'T MISS in Honolulu -- I'm so very happy that we were able to see this on our trip. The National Parks representatives command a lot of respect for the memorial, as it is not only an "attraction" but also the final resting place for over 800 of the 11oo men that died there on Dec 7, 1941. It was really a sight to been see and experienced. Because our red eye left that afternoon, the rest of the day we spent at our resort . . . I was hoping for some last minute sun, but our daily rainfall came mid-morning, meaning that I was not really able to sit out by the pool for long. It didn't really matter . . . we just showered and headed to the airport. At this point in the trip, I was getting really ready to see the girls again. I missed them every day, and knowing we were heading home that night just made me miss them more on Thursday. At 4pm in Hawaii (10pm at home), we boarded our 9 hour flight and traveled back to Atlanta.

On the USS Arizona Memorial


I know I didn't include a whole lot of detail in my description of our week away . . . but that is because I just can't put into words how wonderful everything was. I've already used the words 'awesome' and 'amazing' and 'wonderful' waaaayyy more times than I'd like in this blog, but that is simply because I can't think of any other words to use to convey the fantastic trip we took.


We rented a Jeep Wrangler on both islands so we could enjoy Hawaii with the windows and top down all week. Jim body surfed on Shipwreck Beach in Kauai and cut up his elbow pretty good. There were chickens all over Kauai . . . a result of a 1992 hurricane that displaced the chickens from the farms and left them wild all over the island. It rained every day, but never for long and it didn't ruin a thing. I got a lot of sun -- and my Hawaiian tan is probably my favorite souvenir from the trip. I ate a lot of fish. We bought the girlst Tshirts, Leis, and two Disney Princess dolls with leis and flowers in their hair.


Not only was the place we visited so breathtaking, but just having a week together -- me and Jim -- was totally priceless. We really enjoyed being away from everything. I think we needed it -- I mean, don't we all? We need time as a couple to recharge and reconnect, and Hawaii was perfect for that.


I missed the hell out of the girls. Everything reminded us of them . . . and countless times we were sad they weren't there to experience it with us. According to my dad, that is the way we will feel when we go anywhere without them for the rest of our lives. They would have loved our resort pools and the ocean, and they would have had so much fun at the luau. But they would have hated the looong travel and the vicious jet lag from the trip . . . so they won't be making a Hawaii journey until they are much, much older. And besides -- Mommy and Daddy need a place to retreat once in a while.



Hawaii was really very cool. If you haven't gone, put it at the top of your list. We are already talking about when we can go back. It's a piece of paradise, and it was an awesome place to visit.



We returned to life just as we'd left it . . . neighborhood parties, Halloween, preschool, a trip to the pumpkin patch. The girls had a great week at home with my dad, Nana, and Papa. They went about life as usual while Mom and Dad were away with no complaints at all (from what we heard). It was so nice to be away from our life for a little while, and now that we are back I think the time away helped me appreciate our life a little more. My wonderful girls, my perfect husband. We are a long way from Hawaii, but I think our house is a little piece of paradise right here in Marietta.



I have toooooo many pictures to share, so link on over here to our Picasa album if you are interested . . . I've used the captions to narrate our trip. Enjoy. . . and Mahalo for reading!

Hawaii 2009

A Post from LAX

Hello from sunny California. Oh, didn't I mention that Jim and I were going to Hawaii for the week? That we were leaving today?

I didn't?

Well, I didn't forget to mention it . . . I guess that the week of preparation for our trip just got away from me. You know me . . . whenever we prepare for a vacation, I always get stressed and go above and beyond 'normal' vacation prep. This time was different -- no KIDS coming along, so no kid packing to be done. The girls are staying home at our house with the grandparents, so I only needed to prepare THEM for what they'd be doing this week. And clean up my house so that my mother-in-law doesn't think I'm a terrible housekeeper when she shows up. And let everyone know who needs to be where and when they need to be there . . . and get medical release forms updated (including our Will) . . . and grocery shop. And get waxed so I'd be appropriate in a bathing suit (wink wink). And throw some stuff in a bag for myself for our week away.

Like I said, I always stress myself out just getting to a vacation.

But as of last night when we put Meg and Kate to bed, Jim and I were officially ON VACATION. All the prep was done. We were up and out of the house well before the girls . . . so we did our good-byes last night. Jim and I left Atlanta early this morning, and now we are waiting our connecting flight to Kauai here at the Delta Crown Room in Los Angeles.

A WEEK IN HAWAII. Jim and me. It's going to be awesome.

All week long -- as I prepared and prepared for what would go on in Georgia while we were gone -- I kept thinking, "Am I even going to be sad to leave the girls? Will I even miss them for the first few days?" I'm just so excited to spend some true adult time with my husband . . . I wasn't sure how I'd really feel about leaving Meg and Kate. The idea of laying on the beach with a drink in my hand clouded my ability to consider how hard it might be to leave my kids behind. I thought I would be able to leave with no problems . . . even though this is the first time I've left Kate, I've never left Meg for this long, and we will be farther away from them than we've ever been before. I wondered if it might be too easy for me.

The reality: when I put them to be last night, I couldn't get enough 'good bye' hugs or kisses. I think I started missing them at naptime yesterday -- and we hadn't even left yet. I had to wake Meg up briefly this morning to say bye just one more time. I had to watch Kate sleep for just a few more minutes before we threw our bags in the car and headed to the airport. We've been gone for about 6 hours now, and I miss everything about them already.

Don't worry -- I won't spend my week worrying about my girls or wishing I was home. They are in GREAT hands with both my dad and Jim's parents. Their plans are made and all the instructions are left for everyone . . . I think that they are going to have a great week without us.

And will will have a great week without them. We don't have a lot of plans for our time in Hawaii . . . just the aforementioned helicopter tour, a hike or two, and lots of time on the beach. By 11pm tonight (EST -- about 5pm Hawaii time), we will be at our hotel in Kauai, ready to start our vacation.

Aloha . . . we are now boarding our flight to Hawaii. Next stop: Paradise!

Independence

Kate has decided that she wants to eat by herself. If she could talk, I think our meals would start with, "Leave me alone, Mom. I can do this all by myself . . . I'll just watch Meg and do what she does."

Meals are messy. They take forever. Food is everywhere . . . the high chair, on Kate, on the window, on the table. But Kate is learning to eat with utensils and feed herself . . . one heaping spoonful at a time.

Meg has decided that she wants to dress herself . . . not only the physical act of dressing, but she also wants to be an integral part in selecting what she's going to wear.

Some days are better that others.

It started with jammies . . . she wanted to pick them out, so for months we've been wearing horribly mis-matched pajamas to bed. Then she wanted to pick her clothes . . . and I have had to learn how to 'cope' with that. (There are still times mommy gets to pick out the clothing . . . and Meg just has to deal with it.) Most recently, Meg wants to actually put the clothes on herself -- and for that I am excited. It takes forever for her to dress, but it's so worth it. I dream of a day in the near future when she can just run to her room and come back all dressed and ready for the day. How lovely that will be.

Today, Meg proudly wore her Halloween shirt to preschool . . . with the neck hole so stretched out, it looked like a boat-neck Tshirt. When I asked, "Did you have trouble getting your shirt on over your head?" Meg replied, "Yeah. I haded (had-ed) to put my arms through the neck hole. It didn't work. I got all twisted, so I just took it off and started over."

My children are becoming more and more independent every day. I am one proud mommy.

I Feel Behind

There have been so many things going on that I've wanted to blog about in the past few weeks . . . but the water in the basement followed by the stomach flu have kept me from blogging the way I'd like. I've started about 5 blogs about random things . . . but I have not gotten around to finishing or posting those blogs because more important things have come up. I think of interesting, enlightening topics all the time . . . but lately they have not made it from my brain to the blog.

I feel behind.

But don't we always feel that way? About nearly everything?

It takes some getting used to, this constant feeling of never being able to keep up. Just part of being a grown up, really. This blog is only ONE thing that I feel is constantly on my list of things that I'm behind on . . . lately I've also felt behind on grocery shopping, laundry, returning emails/phone calls, and editing portraits (of my OWN family). And many, many other things as well. I always feel behind on something. That's just the way it is.

Occasionally, I might kid myself and think that I'm getting a handle on everything. And just when I think I might actually feel like I am catching up, something always happens to throw me off. For example, I had JUST thought to myself that things were getting back to 'normal' after all of my father's cancer procedures this spring when my mother dropped dead in July. I cursed myself for even thinking that I was getting caught up on my life . . . but I think that experience helped me realize that I will always live in a perpetual state of being behind. There will always be something that needs doing. That is just life.

I can harp on it, waste time, and get more behind . . . or I can just do what I can when I can, and know that everything that needs doing will eventually get done.

Oh -- and then there are the things you want to do vs. the things you have to do. You can do a thing from the 'want' list and have fun doing it . . . but then something on the 'have' list rears it's ugly head, and once again you feel like you are playing catch up. It's a game I play with myself . . . rewarding myself with 'fun' activities and paying for it later by feeling behind on other things. Don't we all play that game? I think we have to because if we never took time out to enjoy something just for ourselves, we would most certainly drive ourselves batty.

Anyway, I'm feeling behind this Sunday. I feel behind a lot. Instead of a bullet pointed list of all the stuff I wish I had blogged about in the last couple of weeks, I think I'll just post this one about always feeling behind . . . and I'll let the rest go.

Now I can cross one more thing off my list. (The 'want to' list, that is . . . I have a dishwasher full of clean dishes in the kitchen that are screaming at me from my 'have to' list.)

A Helicopter Flight in Hawaii

Today was the community Garage Sale. The big event that we'd worked for about 3 weeks to prepare for; the big garage sale that was going to rid us of all of our junk. Jim and I both have been excited about this garage sale for quite some time. It was going to be a big Saturday at the Dahlby's.

The only thing that could spoil it: Rain.

And what, of course, was the forecast for this morning? Rain.

I was just about to start asking, "Am I EVER going to catch a break?" . . . when the rain decided to hold off today and let us have our Garage Sale in peace. A big shout out to Mother Nature -- we appreciate your cooperation today.

Thanks to the good weather (and Jim's diligent selling efforts), we sold a ton of our junk . . . from shoes to spice racks to strollers. So much junk. I was astounded at some of the stuff that actually sold, it was so junky. But sell it did. From about 8:00am till noon we had very steady traffic, and the sales (and haggling) were coming left and right. It was pretty happening in our driveway as the sun came up this Saturday.

You know what else astounded me? The stuff that didn't sell. We had a nice, big TV for sale -- and we thought certainly someone would buy it for $50. Nope. And I had a bunch of very standard, cream colored curtain panels for sale that are still sitting in our garage this evening. And a nice, over sized mirror (with a gold frame, unfortunately) did not sell for a measly $15. Humph. Guess some my junk is still junk in other people's eyes, too.

Yesterday, as we prepare for our Hawaiian vacation later this week, I bought a travel book that several friends had recommended we take along with us. And in that book, we were sad to learn that a helicopter flight on Kauai is about $400 per couple. Ouch. It's one of the things we really, really want to do on our vacation . . . but the $400 price tag sure has made us think twice about how badly we really, really want to do it.

This morning I jokingly said, "Hey, if we make $400, there is our helicopter flight in Hawaii!" I didn't think for a minute we'd come close to that kind of Garage Sale profit.

I'm here to say: we will be taking a helicopter flight in Hawaii. All of our hard work paid off, and the Garage Sale was a big success. It was fun and functional -- totally worth the effort. And maybe a week from today, I'll be thinking of our Saturday morning sale as we tour one of the Hawaiian Islands by air.

Look Who is Feeling Better

Finally! Hooray! She woke up this morning and was all smiles . . . downed a piece of toast and half a banana, then went about her day.

Last night, as I rocked her all the way to sleep, hot tears stung my eyes while I said a quick prayer to help her feel better. I think it must have been answered because Kate is so much better today. Thank God.

Back to the Pediatrician

They swear it's only a virus.

Kate was so lethargic this morning, I had to take her back to the doctor. When I sat her down next to a basket of toys and she proceeded to simply lay down next to it, I knew we were not well yet.

They gave her a good exam . . . and they stand firm that only time will make her feel better. No bowel obstruction (thank goodness). No need for blood work since it is only stomach problems with no fever. Really, there is nothing anyone can do for her.

She is just pitiful today . . . the most pitiful I think she's been so far. I think this is the sickest kid I've had to date. I shipped Meg home with my dad, and Kate and I have just sat together pretty much all day long. I only have a few minutes to blog while she sleeps . . . she has had my 100% attention since she woke up this morning. As I type, her monitor is RIGHT next to me . . . I feel like I'm on 'high alert' because I literally jump every time she makes even the slightest sound.

The good news: no puking today. The bad news: now Kate is refusing to eat. She'll drink -- and she's not dehydrated -- but now she won't even eat a cracker (a typical fav of hers).

I hate this. I think I speak for every, single parent out there when I say: there is nothing in the worse in the world than having a sick child.

After Days and Days . . .

of taking care of sick children, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Ugh. It was SO bad, I had to share it.


Please, please let Kate feel better tomorrow. She ralphed 3 times this morning before I could get the Zofran in her, and that helped to at least stop the vomiting. The rest of the day she walked around like a mini ticking timebomb . . . I was just waiting for her to start up again. Thankfully, she didn't.

Another fitful night of sleep for mommy . . . I can never sleep when they are sick like this. The slightest noise wakes me up and sending me hurdling down the hall to their bedrooms. Then back to my bed, more tossing and turning, and then finally morning comes. After a week of this, I'm pretty exhausted.

And Jim is already gone. Left this morning about 1 hour after Kate's latest episode started. Being here alone with two sick kids is scary. What if I need to go to the ER again? What if they both start up? What if -- God forbid -- I get sick again? I can handle being alone . . . that I am used to . . . but when the girls are sick it's a whole different ball game. I hate it. I hate them being sick, and I hate being here by myself to combat it.

I think I can will them well , right? Tomorrow they WILL be well. They will! I won't let it be any other way! (Hey, it's worth a try.)

If you have any tricks up your sleeve that might help me get through this, do tell. I'm desperate at this point. Or, if you just have a prayer to spare, send it our way. We need it to help us kick whatever it is that has taken over our house.

It's NOT Over

Kate is still sick. Started again today at 8:30am.

UGH.

The Plague

Yep, it took over.

Took Meg down at about 4:30pm on Thursday evening, and I followed at about 8:00pm that night. Kate relapsed just a couple of hours later . . . so there was a period of time on Thursday night when all three Dahlby girls were hurling.

Thank GOD Jim was home to help. Now pray that HE doesn't get it. After all he did to take care of us, he does not deserve to endure the wrath of that awful virus.

We survived, but we are very tired and weak from our experience.

And that's it. What a miserable week we had. The good news: it's OVER. I don't think we will have a stomach flu around here again for a while, so at least we have that going for us.

Blech. Puking sucks.

We've Got a Puker

Kate and I were in the ER last night. Uncontrollable, frequent vomiting for hours. I'm really very tired and don't feel like blogging . . . we didn't return home until 12:30am . . . but I feel I should write about it. Really, I feel like I should warn you moms and dads out there in the Atlanta area . . . when you have a sick kid and you are really worried about him/her, go directly to the Emergency Room.

My poor Katy-did is doing much better today . . . but 12 hours ago, she had only finally stopped puking and was just miserable.

The whole ordeal started at 2:30pm when I heard a all-too-familiar coughing sound coming from Kate's room . . . followed by a wail, some crying, and more coughing. I knew before I entered her room what I'd find. What I didn't know was that it would continue in 15-20 minute intervals for the next 90 minutes. By 4:30pm we were at the Children's Hospital Urgent Care Center. Four LONG hours later we were at Scottish Rite, and Kate was still vomiting. Finally at 9:30pm a nurse gave her some anti-vomiting medication . . . and she stopped. We got about 5 oz of gatorade in her over the course of the next hour. By midnight it was determined that it was just a really bad bug, we were given prescriptions to help stop more vomiting should it reoccur, and we were sent home.

All in all, Kate was such a trooper. She sat pathetically in my lap for hours and wretched through each miserable episode. It was terrible. But somehow she and I endured the 7 hours together, and she is OK in the end. (I am too, by the way.) Today she ate some food and drank a lot of pedialyte . . . and now she seems to be resting comfortably in her bed. In the middle of the evening yesterday it felt like she was never going to get better . . . but I think it always feels like that when your child is sick. You want them to be well ASAP because seeing them so ill is pure torture for a parent. They are never well fast enough -- because you never want them to be sick in the first place.

Kate survived. I hope we don't ever have to have another experience like that again. Well, actually, I know we won't. If ever she is that sick again, I won't handle things the same way.

Here is the moral of my story: DO NOT GO TO URGENT CARE. Maybe if your little one has a fever or you just need some after hours antibiotics . . . maybe then it would be OK to go to an Urgent Care facility. But if you have anything else, just go STRAIGHT to the hospital. I'm not kidding.

Our timeline yesterday:

2:30pm -- vomiting begins

4:00pm -- call the pediatrician concerned about the vomiting. they say go to Urgent Care. panic ensues . . . I find someone to watch Meg . . . and Kate and I head to the doctor. (She threw up 3 times on the 20 minute ride, by the way).

4:30pm -- arrive at urgent care. see a triage nurse right away, but nothing is given to Kate to stop the vomiting (regardless of the fact that she vomited at reception AND in the triage room).

8:00pm -- FINALLY SEE A DOCTOR. I kid you not, we waited in that waiting room for THREE + HOURS before they even LOOKED at Kate. The doctor did NOTHING -- just took one look at Kate, watched her vomit green bile, and sent us back in my car down to Scottish Rite.

8:30pm -- arrive at Scottish Rite. Quickly become the squeakiest wheel in the room -- I was on their case every 10 minutes until they got us out of the waiting room. I was NOT going to let Kate continue to puke into a hand towel in yet another waiting room.

9:30pm -- get to a nurse, get meds to help Kate stop vomiting. Finally, after so many pukings that I lost count, she stops (they asked me how many times she'd puked at that point, and I totally went off on them about how looooong we had to wait). Jim arrived at they hospital to be with us at this point -- he had a flight connection in Atlanta that he was able to rearrange and turn into a layover. He met us at SR at 9:30pm, helped with Kate, then flew out again at 7am today. What a man.

10:30pm -- start giving her gatorade, 1 oz at a time

12:00 -- doctor decides that since the meds worked, it was probably just a BAD virus. The pediatrician said some kids can just be more prone to vomiting, and it looks like we might have one of those kids. In essence . . . looks like we've got a puker at the Dahlby house.

Forgive my overuse of capital letters. But when you are writing about the health of your baby, capital letters are in order, I think.

And before you think I'm one of those parents who thinks MY kid is the most important . . . take a step back and realize that I had a 15 month old with continuous and uncontrollable vomiting for SEVEN hours. I'm sorry, but we should have been seen at Urgent Care WAY before the 3 hour mark . . . they saw us puking in the lobby, for pete's sake. They wasted our time. When you have a sick kid -- as sick as Kate was last night -- there is no time to be wasted. I was PISSED when I left there. Beyond pissed.

Anyway -- for those of you reading that live in my area -- please learn from me. At Urgent Care, they really cannot do very much for your child. They will write prescriptions if you just need an antibiotic to get you through the weekend with a sick little one. They can take an x-ray of an injury, but they'll send you to the hospital if there is any treatment needed. They'll let you sit in the lobby for 3 hours and see a doctor, but if your vomiting baby needs fluids, she has to go to the hospital for that. From now on, if my pediatrician is not available or recommends more serious care, we will go directly to Scottish Rite. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

And now that I've issued my public service announcement of the week, I'm going to bed. I'm so very tired. I didn't puke, but the night still took a LOT out of me.

What a Mess

It is amazing how much of a mess you make when you really try to clean something up.

As a result of the water coming in the house last week, a great deal of our random items stored in the unfinished area of our basement were displaced. Once they were out of storage and all over our basement, Jim and I decided we should take the opportunity to really clean out our junk as we put it back into storage. The result: as we cleaned up our water-damage mess, an even bigger mess was created in an effort to go through and eliminate junk.

Jim and I spent all day Saturday rifiling through all the stuff that had collected in our basement since we'd moved to this house 2 years ago. It was a big project, but we worked together and got it done. It was actually pretty fun . . . going through stuff together, coming across random things we've missed or didn't know we had. Organizing our storage room was also accomplished as we cleaned . . . so now that storage area feels so much better and is easier to use. Instead of a dumping ground for anything that didn't land elsewhere in the house, our storage room is lined with shevles and acutally stores things nicely.

We were monitarily motivated, I'll admit . . . our neighborhood is having a garage sale in 2 weeks. What a perfect time to clean out our junk, put in in our street, and invite everyone to come weeding through it (piece by piece by piece). Hopefully we can make a little money out of this giant project we've created.

I call it our 'giant project' because, see . . . the project is not done. Sure, the storage area looks great . . . but more stuff got displaced as that room was cleaned out.

Look . . . fall decor exploded all over the dining room. Something I'll spread out around the house over the course of this week.

And all the garage sale items landed in Jim's parking spot in our garage.

All of that stuff needs to be sorted out and price-tagged. We decided to tag stuff instead of haggling all morning -- which, of course we'll do anyway -- prices are just a starting point, I guess. Anyway, that alone is another project we'll do this weekend.

All of this work leading up to the glorious morning of October 10th when Northampon hosts it's Fall Garage Sale. Come one, come all . . . tell your friends! We are the 3rd house on the right . . . you'll know us by the amount of junk-ola in the yard and the pink balloons on the mailbox.

And after that, I hope the mess really is cleaned up.

Let's Play Some Games

A recent obsession around here: games.

Meg got several for both Christmas and her 3rd birthday, and all at once they have become all the rage. We know our way around a "Candy Land" board, and the real estate on "The Ladybug Game" is also very familiar terrain around here. I find "Chutes and Ladders" to have a board that is much too confusing for Meg, we love to play "Memory", "The Tea Party Game" is always a hit, and there are even some educational games we bust out now and again. Oh, and "Uno". Can't forget our kids version of "Uno" with Winnie the Pooh characters on the cards . . . a game we affectionately now call "Pooh-no" at our house.

Those of you with younger children: beware of this phase. It's wonderful fun most of the time . . . but sometimes you just cannot imagine yourself spinning the "Chutes and Ladders" spinner even once more. It can be difficult because the games do require your undivided attention for spans that even you (the adult) might fine very looong. And you often have to fight off younger siblings that want nothing more than to walk through your game or to grab hold of your cards and fling them skyward. That part can be trying, as well.

But it always pays off in the end. Seeing Meg smile when she wins -- and teaching her to be a gracious loser at times when her luck runs out -- is totally worth it. I would play "Pooh-no" a thousand times over just her hear her shout: "I winned, Mommy!"

Top Six Things About Last Week

It was a busy week. I noted on Thursday that I was exceptionally tired, and after recapping our events . . . it's no wonder. I have a Top Six because there was just one event too many for a Top Five.

Here they are . . . The Top 6 Things About Last Week.

#6 The Wizard of Oz

My dad took Meg to see one of her absolute FAVORITE movies this week -- The Wizard of Oz. From the first time she watched it, Meg was totally hypnotized by Dorothy, her blue gingham dress, and her red shoes. We found out that 400 theaters nationwide were showing it last Wednesday night at 7pm as part of the DVD release promotion . . . and, well, Meg HAD to go. It was only fitting that Grandaddy be her date since he was the one responsible for showing the movie to her in the first place.

Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened. The movie broke. After about an hour of theater personnel trying to figure out the problem, the movie was ready to go . . . at about 8:30pm. Too late to start a 2+ hour movie for a 3 yr old, so my dad had to get a refund and bring a very sad Meg home without the satisfaction of seeing Dorothy melt the Witch.

Still it makes the top 6 for last week as one of the coolest things that almost happened . . . I mean, look what Meg wore to the theater for the occasion . . . this is a Halloween spoiler, but I can't resist.

#5 My date with Meg

I guess is was a Meg-centered week . . . they tend to be that way sometimes. Wednesday's excitement at the movies was followed on Thursday by a Mommy/Meg date night. Kate had her first solo sleepover with Grandaddy, which freed Meg and I up to:

1. Get Pedicures

2. Go to Hobby Town USA (a fun toy store)

3. Have dinner together at Chic Fil A

It was an awesome date night. I could tell that Meg was soaking up my attention 100%. I could tell she loved having me all to herself; that she was happy to be able to play with me and only me for a while. I'm glad fo her . . . she deserves a little one-on-one with The Mommy every once in awhile.

(Wait, did I just refer to myself as The Mommy?)

#4 The Rain

While it was not the best thing that could have happened this week, it certainly was monumental and worth mentioning. I heard that we got something like 22 inches of rain in 2 days. I don't know how close that is to accurate . . . all I know is that it rained. A lot.

#3 Kate is 15 months

Kate went in for her 15 month appointment on Thursday.

Weight: 22.04 pounds.

Length: 30 inches.

Head: I don't know -- who remembers that statistic, anyway? It's big enough.

Kate actually rocketed up to the 33rd percentile for her age/size, which was a big jump from the low 20's she boasted at 12 months. She's healthy and happy, and she's not due back for 3 more months. Check 15 months off the list of milestone check ups.

#2 Homecoming

I ended up going back home this weekend, and Jim and I attended my high school homecoming football game. We did not bring the girls (as much as they would have enjoyed it) . . . instead we made it a date night with an old friend of mine and her significant other. The Indians managed to give the game away in the end, but it was still a very, very fun Friday night.

#1 Sunday at the Park

Great fall weather + my family at the park = one awesome Sunday afternoon.

A Tired Week

I'm having a tired week. Each night when the girls go to bed, I just flop on the couch and veg out on TV. The water issue drained me (did I mention that Kate's ceiling has a big brown STAIN on it?), and then 3 days of cooped up kids finished me off. I'm tired. I'm just glad Meg went back to school today so she could burn off some energy.

So, I haven't got the energy to post right now. I should be working on my shoot from Saturday, anyway.

Happy almost-Friday :)


(And NO, I'm not pregnant. Shame on you if you even thought that. I promise, the lack of energy is 100% laziness, not hormonally induced.)

Bad News, Good News

Meg: Mommy, is going to rain more today?

Me: Yep, I think so. That's what the weather man said.

Meg: Dammit!

Me: (gasp) What?! What did you just say?

Meg: I said Dammit! because you said it was gonna rain again, Mommy.

The bad news: looks like I really need to watch what I say around my 3 yr old. Meg and I had a discussion this morning about words that kids say and words that mommys and daddys say.

The good news: the sun is out. Even if only temporary (which I think it is), at least it's out for a few glorious minutes.

Wet

"Rain Rain, Go Away . . ."
"It's Raining, It's Pouring . . ."
"You'd better start building your Ark . . ."
"Animals are coming, two by two . . ."


Lots of comments around here about the rain. And if you are not reading this from your own rain-soaked home somewhere in metro Atlanta . . . YES, it's true. YES we are getting as much rain as you are hearing about on your own local (or national) news program. Inches and inches and inches. It's freakin' ridiculous here. More rain than anyone can remember having in a long, long time. So much rain that flooding has started to occur all over the place.

Even right here on Talimore Circle.

It's been raining for a solid week, and today was most definitely the worst day yet. SEVEN days into some very serious rain, and today was the worst . . . so what do you think happened? The ground is so soaked and the creeks are so full . . . the water is having to find somewhere else to go.

I-575 was a total lake this afternoon. (http://www.wsbtv.com/news/21043829/detail.html)
I could not see my neighbors backyard at lunchtime . . . well, I could see it, but the entire thing was under water.
Schools let out at 1:15pm today, and they are closed tomorrow. Meg won't go to preschool or dance class b/c we follow the county school closings.
And our basement flooded.

Before you start to worry about us . . . it really could have been much worse. Our unfinished storage area had about an inch of standing water over about a 10x10 ft area. The water was just ooozing everywhere . . . into my tubs of holiday decor, into some boxes of old books . . . ugh. It was a big ole' mess that I discovered about 10 minutes after putting the girls down for afternoon naps . . . so I proceeded to shop-vac for the next 2 hours solid in an attempt to clean it up. Our unfinished storage area shares a wall with our Media Room, so some of the water had seeped through into the carpet in that room . . . but again, only minimal damage. I caught it pretty early . . . had I not, it would have been sooo much worse. I was able to get the water out of the carpet and out of the unfinished storage room, and by the time I am writing this (nearly 11pm), it has all seemed to dry pretty well.

We had 2 thunderstorms come through before lunchtime this morning. BIG rain, lots of it, wind, thunder, lightning . . . the works. Once at about 8:30am, then again sometime shortly before noon. By 1:30pm -- when I went downstairs to check on something else and found the puddles and puddles of water -- the ground around our poor house was so saturated, there was nowhere else for the water to go. So, in the basement it came.

Did I mention that Jim left this morning? That he's not coming back until Thursday night?

I'm Super Woman. I moved box after box, storage tub after storage tub, even a giant roll of extra carpet out of the storage room and into the basement hallway as I worked the Shop-Vac all over the place. I had to empty that damn thing 2 times while I was cleaning up the mess -- which as the hardest part of the whole thing. I managed to do almost all of it during nap time . . . but thank goodness my cousin came by and helped me with the girls for a few hours this afternoon. While she played Candy Land and Cootie with Meg, I somehow got the mess up . . . but left my basement in total disarray in my wake. By 5pm, the water was up, the floor was drying, and I was recovering on the couch (momentarily). I'm sore from all the work!

Oh well, at least the water is gone.

Things are wet here. And the forecast: more rain. MORE and more and more. Through the week, I think . . . hence everyone making jokes about arks and pairs of animals. The Shop Vac is sitting proudly in the storage room, waiting to be used again in the event of another massive downpour like we had this morning. I'm just hoping I don't have to oblige it.

Hope things are drier at your house.

Favorite Photo Friday -- Sesame Street Edition

Meg and Kate, September 17, 2009, Sesame Street Live! in Atlanta, GA

We had a blast at Sesame Street Live: Elmo's Green Thumb last night. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing . . . I heard that tickets were only $14.00/ea for opening night, so I couldn't resist. I knew the girls would love it. When I couldn't find anyone to go with us (Jim was working, of course), I decided that I thought they'd love it so much that I was willing to take them both all by myself. downtown. at night. in the rain.

I won't lie: I felt very brave in approaching this task.

As it turns out, it was so easy and so very much fun. The girls were on their best behavior and were very happy to be on our adventure . . . both of them acted like little angels while we were out. We were able to enjoy the night together, and the girls loved the show. It was a late show -- starting at 7pm and ending at about 8:45, but they held in there and had fun well past their bedtimes. We had a great time -- our first Ladies Night Out, if you will.

Scroll down for more pictures and a short video (starring Kate, the chatterbox) of our fun night with Elmo.

At the house, getting ready to head to the show. This event was just as much for Kate as it was for Meg . . . the both are Elmo fans.

Cheese! Waiting for the show in our seats.

Hey Ladies!

We had pretty good seats for $14.00! Of course, with the crazy fees and taxes that Ticketmaster charges, two $14.00 tickets were actually $41.70. So, I should say we had good seats for $42.00.

Kate was very much interested in the show. She wated about 90% of it in my lap, which I loved.

We got one bag of cotton candy -- Meg's choice, and it had to be a bag that was all pink, not pink mixed with blue -- and we shared it before the show and at intermission. When Meg asked for a big Elmo balloon (be forewarned -- they come out of the tunnels with them in huge bundles for all the kids to see as they turn the lights on for intermission!), I explained to her that it might be hard to get one back to our car in the rain. Her response: "That's OK. We can just have our cotton candy."

Ah -- such a good girl!

Little Tidbits

Ordered a new book this week: True Mom Confessions: Real Moms Get Real.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0425226042/ref=ox_ya_oh_product

I'm excited to get it. It's all about the awful things that moms really think . . . I'm hoping it is therapeutic for me. I need anything I can to help me feel like I'm NOT a bad mom! I'll let you know how it is.

_________________________________

My oldest daughter was in rare form when we had company last weekend. Meg, God love her, is so freakin' opinionated. At only 3 years old, the kid is a nightmare at times because she wants everything her way. I do realize that it's typical for this age . . . that she's trying to figure out what she does/does not have control over in her little world . . . but the fact that I know why she's doing it does not make it any less exhausting!

During our bbq on Sunday, one of our young guests needed to borrow some clothing. The little girl and Meg were about the same size, so it was no problem . . . we dressed the friend in Meg's blue play outfit, and she was ready to return to the party in her fresh outfit.

Immediately Meg saw her friend, newly dressed in her duds, and she was frantic.

"That's what I wanted to wear tomorrow!" Meg began . . . and she pouted and whined about it for the next 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I've been trying to get Meg to wear this particular outfit to school because it is cute and comfy -- but she would not hear of it. Until Sunday, of course.

It was ridiculous (and so embarrassing!). So ridiculous, in fact, that only the most ridiculous of suggestions would cure the problem.

"Meg, do you just want to switch outfits with Hannah?" my friend asked my child.

"Yes," Meg firmly replied.

And so -- you guessed it -- we convinced Hannah to change clothes with Meg. And they remained in their opposite outfits for the rest of the night. Just to make Meg happy. Sheesh.

They remained in their opposite outfits -- I should say -- right up until it was time to leave. As we were saying our goodbyes, Hannah decided she was not going to wear Meg's clothes home.

Maybe it was the guilt trip Meg was laying on her -- "Mommy, she's going to bring my clothes back, right? She's going to wash them and bring them back?" Yes, Meg. For the 100th time, she'll bring your clothes back.

Whatever the reason, Hannah wasn't having it. We had to find another outfit for Hannah to wear home -- the dress she'd been wearing that evening simply would not do any longer. Without hesitation, Meg tromped up to her room and selected a very pink tank top and some very pink shorts. She marched back down and presented them to her friend.

And that, my friends, is what Hannah wore home.

Good Grief. I guess this is what I have to look forward to with girls.

______________________________

Kate is talking a lot these days. In her 15 month old vocabulary is:

"All Done" both words!

"Yes"

"Dada"

"Mama"

"Ya Ya" what she calls my dad for some reason

"Uh Oh"

"Juice"

"Cracker"

"Quack"

"Dog Dog"
"Kitty"

"Up"

"Ni-Ni" for night-night (think long 'i' sound)

Nothing for "Meg" yet, but I'm hoping soon. She adores Meg . . . gets lonely when she is gone . . . so I know it is only a matter of time before something like, "May" comes out of her tiny mouth.

She's still tiny . . . Kate is tipping the scales at a whopping 21 pounds. My peanut. In comparison, Meg weighed 20lbs, 12oz at 9 months old. (I had to reference the baby book on that one.) Kate is small but mighty, that is for sure. Her gross motor skills are far more advanced that Meg's were at this age. She's practically running and is a total monkey. She might be little, but she works it to her advantage . . . she can climb in or out of just about anything.

As you would think with a second child, Kate continues to be the polar opposite of Meg. Her vocabulary is larger (though her communication skills in general are a little slower), she gets around amazingly for her age compared to her big sister, and she's about half Meg's size. It's comical how different they are, really. The ONE big thing they have in common is their appetites . . . I might be raising girls, but they eat me out of house and home like a boy!

___________

We still don't know my mom's official cause of death. The autopsy and toxicology report have not come back . . . and she died on July 9th. We are in the 3rd month of what could be a 4 month wait. It's exhausting my poor father. He's always thinking about it . . . what it could have been, what is taking so long, what will he feel like when he knows and can have closure. Pray for quick results . . . it's really agony.

_____________

Taking the girls to see Sesame Street Live! Elmo's Green Thumb tonight.

Solo. Just me and the girls. In downtown Atlanta. In the rain. Wish me luck.

_____________

Sometimes I'm overwhelmed with the way we are raising our girls. Their lifestyle, their home, their parents, each other . . . I feel like I am giving them so much more than I could have dreamed of as a child. Not to say that my childhood was miserable . . . but don't we all want better for our kids? We're doing it . . . Jim and I are doing it. Even on the bad days, we are giving Kate and Meg a wonderful life with our family. And it feels really good.

_____________

Look -- Kate is totally going to be an engineer! Her favorite toy these days: her abacus. No, I'm not kidding. The little wooden balls spin so quickly and make a lot of clicking sounds; it makes her smile like nothing else.

Surely her love of the abacus means she'll grow up loving math, right?!

Things to Look Forward To

We have such a busy fall calendar. It's ALWAYS busy this time of year . . . I think it's by far our busiest season. But when I look at the calendar, I see so very much we have to look forward to.

A week in Hawaii, just Jim and I.

The Lassiter Homecoming Parade. A Friday afternoon neighborhood event that the girls will love.

The North Georgia State Fair.

A field trip for Meg to Cagle Dairy.

A family photo session -- a gift from a friend that is totally priceless.

At least 3 birthday parties for the kids. One is a costume party in late October.

3 birthdays for good friends -- grown up friends, I mean.

Georgia Football (ok, Tech too).

Showers -- 2 baby, 1 wedding.

One wedding in early November.

Halloween.

Pumpkin Patch visit, which is already scheduled.

"Dinsoaurs!" at Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts.

Dahlbys' Thanksgiving visit.

The fall neighborhood Garage Sale.

A new baby arriving for a friend in early November.

It's going to be a very busy couple of months. I feel like it's busier than ever . . . but that's because the past 3 autumns were spent working on the weekends and missing out on all the fun stuff. Because I officially decided not to open my calendar for photo sessions this fall, I've been able to pack our schedule full of fun family and friend events. I couldn't be happier. Will I miss my photography? Sure -- but hopefully I can shoot some of our family and friends to keep up with my hobby.

We have being very busy to look forward to. A busy fall season.

Busy, but great.

She Could TRY to Be More Beautiful, But I Don't Think It Would Be Possible

I had to post this picture . . . I couldn't help myself. (click to enlarge)

Thanks, Facebook

I mentioned yesterday that we hosted a group of my old college friends for dinner last weekend, and I would now like to take a moment to thank the people that made the great gathering possible: Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/


Are you on it? Are we friends? If you don't know what I'm talking about, you must live under a rock or log on to your computer only to check your email and read my blog. Facebook is everywhere.


The Facebook craze started for me way back when I was in grad school . . . back in 2005, you had to have a college email address to open a Facebook account. I opened my account as a grad student, and I kept up with my grad student friends on the site. In the 4 years since, they've changed their model and opened their social networking site to pretty much anyone who would like to join. And join people have . . . 200 million worldwide, according to my Google search.





There are several college friends of mine that I've become reacquainted with, and I'm loving it. I love to see where people have gone, who they've married, where they are working. These were the people I lived with from 18-21 yrs old . . . these are the people who watched me awkwardly grow up from a spoiled teenager to a semi-hard working young adult. They were some of the closest friends I've had . . . though time and circumstances may have forced us to grow apart. I'm really enjoying the ability to find those friends and let them know that I've been thinking of them.


We all have friends on there that we are really, truly interested in reconnecting with. And we all have friends on there who we only 'friended' so that we could see their pictures. (C'mon. You know you do that.) And we all have friends that say, "Let's get together!" but never do. I decided to take a step and reach out beyond the keyboard . . . that there were a few 'friends' of mine from college that lived near me that I really would love to see again. So, I did it. I pulled the trigger. We all chatted on email, picked a date, and had a little party.


Four of my college sorority sisters came over for a barbecue at our house on Sunday afternoon. It was a really fun group . . . one 'sister' my year in school and three that were the pledge class below us. We all lived in the house together at one point, so we all knew each other very well . . . once upon a time. These girls and I had a lot of fun together back in the late '90s (how old are we?!).

We instantly segregated our groups -- girls in the playroom with the kids, boys in the TV room watching football. We caught up on each others lives and the lives of other sisters who we've each kept up with. We ate yummy dips and watched our kids run circles around us. It was an awesome, girly, chatty evening.


On a side note . . . another thing that was really good about Sunday's party was that it was my friends. That might sound strange . . . but it's true. These girls were all my sorority sisters. They weren't the wives of Jim's college friends (which is who we spend quite a bit of time with), and they weren't friends we'd made since we've been married. They were my friends.



We don't spend as much time with my friends as I'd like . . . but I think that is pretty common among women. We do spend a lot of time with our husband's friends/families because women are just more social. It's easier for a girl to spend time with someone she doesn't know -- at least I think it is. We women don't mind hanging out with our husband's buddies . . . people we might not know that well . . . because we'll get to know them by spending time with them. That's what girls do. Guys, on the other hand, aren't always as social . . . it's harder for them to enjoy events where they don't know anyone. So I guess we, women, don't make them do it as much. Sunday is the perfect example: the guys didn't sit around talking to each other while the girls were gabbing away. They sat together, sure . . . but they watched football and just kinda hung out. (I hope they enjoyed themselves!)

Anyway . . . another great thing was the kids being there. All of the kids played so well together . . . a Kindergartner, 3 3 yr olds, a 2 yr old, and a newbie. A great crowd made up of mostly girls. They loved sitting at Meg's Little Tykes picnic table together for dinner -- though I don't think any of them ate a bite. They gobbled up some ice cream and cupcakes for dessert, then they were off again to swing and slide and play. I think the kids may have had more fun together than the ladies did!

So, anyway, thanks to Facebook, I had a great night with my friends. The website and it's addicting time-waster accessories might suck more of my life away from me than I'd like . . . but at least it now officially has one redeeming quality in my book.



(And in case you were wondering, we were all Sigma Kappas at UGA.)

(Oh . . . and Suzanne and Keisha . . . Meg insisted on wearing her blue outfit once again today. She saw that I'd washed it yesterday, and instantly it was her 'must wear' for school today. She is something else! I've been trying to get her to wear that outfit for weeks . . . thanks to Hannah and Ms. Keisha, she finally will!)

Why I Like Mondays

Why I like Mondays: because we don't have school. It was a total, 100% conscious decision to send Meg (and Kate, in the future) to Tues/Thurs/Fri preschool so that we can have Mondays to recover from our crazy weekends. I'm glad for a gloomy Monday like today . . . no school, no plans, and we can just get ourselves together for our week. If you remember our Tuesdays are crazy . . . so that just makes lazy Monday all the more special.

This weekend is the perfect example of why I need my Mondays.

This weekend was action packed (well, for me at least). Saturday morning was spent shopping with Meg, and then I took my dad out to Athens for the UGA/South Carolina game Saturday night. The game was a total nailbiter -- with a great ending for Georgia fans. My dad had a really awesome time . . . and I'm happy he did because he was SO looking forward to it all summer. He even went out and bought us matching T-shirts for the occassion (see picture). It was a wonderful, but very looooong, day. Recovering from the 12 hour experience (2+ hour drive each way, plus a longer than usual game) was not unlike recovering from a drinking binge. I was so exhausted and dehydrated . . . I felt like I had a hangover!

No rest for the weary, though . . . we hosted 4 of my college sorority sisters and their families for a big bbq on Sunday afternoon. These girls and I have reconnected on Facebook after losing touch after we all graduated, and we always say, "We should really get together . . . " I finally pulled the trigger and organized a get-together . . . and I'm glad I did because we had a blast. It was great to see everyone and to hear how well everyone is doing. There were 7 adults and 7 kids, tons of food, and a lot of catching up and laughing about college stuff . . . it was another aweseome eveing.

So today, Monday, the girls and I are just hanging out and recovering from our events. Meg and Kate spent Saturday afternoon running around with Daddy, and they spent Sunday afternoon running around with new friends at our bbq . . . so they are both wiped out. We had a friend come over to play instead of going out to meet them in an effort to keep the day a little more relaxed. And that's about all we are up to today. Like I said, we need our Mondays.

*Sigh* Only one blessed year left of our Monday freedom. Next year Meg will be in 4 days a week, so that means we are off and running on Monday mornings. I'd better get off this computer and soak up the laziness while I still can . . .

(Below: A treat for all the Georgia fans who couldn't be there to experience this first hand on Saturday!)

Playdates

In sharp contrast to Tuesday's post of busy-ness, I'd like to take one day to address something that I fear is approaching extinction at our house in the next year or so: playdates.

We used to do playdates all the time . . . back before Meg was in preschool, dance, and had a little sister also in MMO. Back in a time when our friends also had equally unimpressive schedules and we had time for the playdates. Now it's so hard to schedule a simple get-together with friends. What is your schedule? Do you have preschool Mon/Wed or Tues/Thurs? And what day did you said you have dance? I miss the days when we could all just call each other at 9am and say, "You want to meet at the park in an hour?"

Because of my love of playdates (which I value for the socialization of my children and the sanity provided to me with a few hours of adult conversation), I made a promise to myself that I would not pack our weekly schedule with too many 'have to' events. We have preschool -- a necessity at Meg's age, a luxiury for Kate -- which takes up Tues/Thurs/Fri mornings. We have dance for Meg on Tuesday . . . which makes Tuesday hectic, but is worth it because it leaves Mon and Wed totally free. And that is it. We are free nearly every afternoon and all day on Mondays and Wednesdays.

I realized over this summer that the time when we can just be homebodies and enjoy each other is going to go by SO fast. The time for my kids to be simply kids is going to vanish before my eyes. Playdates are going to be outgrown, the library story time will no longer be offered at a time when we are free, and "Pajama Days" will be banished to only Saturday or Sunday in just a few short years. Next year, Meg is off to PreK and a four day a week school schedule (they offer 5 Day PreK, but I'm sticking to my plan of less-is-more and only sending her to the 4-Day program). Kate will go to preschool 2 mornings a week . . . and we are down to only having Friday as a 'fun day' of the week. The year after that is Kindergarten, and our life will change as we know it when that occurs. That menas there are two years left when we can just hang out with our buddies during the week, go to the park, meet at the library, etc. Two short years.

I want to keep my girls little for a little while longer. I don't want them to grow up in these busy lives when they don't have enough time to just be. I want to give them time to enjoy their toys, books, games, each other . . . and their friends.

I hope that there are others out there who share my love of playdates. If so . . . let me know, and we'll plan one for sometime very soon.

No Time Tuesday

Tuesdays are very busy.

7:00am

Wake up, dress, eat, get to preschool to drop off Meg.

Spend time running errands or doing housework. Dad arrives.

Go back to preschool to get Meg.

Lunch.

Naps.

Wake up precisely at 3:15, get dressed for dance.

Go to Dance. 45 minutes.

Pick up from dance.

Dinner -- which for the last few weeks as been out at a restaurant.

Baths.

Bed.

8:00pm.

So, I have no time to post today. Instead, I'll just show some more pictures of my darling girls in their cutest college football attire.

How Sweet it Is

Once a dawg, always a dawg. How sweet it is.

Though the bulldogs season didn't start off great, our family did have a wonderful time hanging out together to kick of the college football season this weekend.

We are a house divided. Yes, we have the license plate. I'm 100% Georgia Bulldawg, and somehow I managed to fall in love with and marry a true blue Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket. We both love our schools. And we manage to love each other in spite of it.

Our poor kids pay the price for our dividedness. They dress this way EVERY Saturday in the fall. As Jim's cousin said . . . at least now we have TWO kids so Meg no longer has to change clothes at half time.

Happy Football Season, Everyone. And GO DAWGS!

Favorite Photo Friday, Video Edition

I couldn't resist. I just can't get enough of this video (or this baby).

Have a great long weekend!

My Own Insecurities

I have an adoring husband. He knows me like nobody else. He is everything to me.

I have two beautiful girls. They are more than I could have ever dreamed of.

Money is just fine. Never an issue.

I look good. I probably look better now than I did back when I was younger.

I have a beautiful home. It's big, and I like it.

I have pretty much anything I could have hoped for in my life. I'm right where I want to be in this point in my life.




So why am I so insecure? My therapist asked me this today. I couldn't really answer him. But I agreed . . . I'm so insecure.

Between now and my next visit, I'm supposed to think about that. I think we are going to work on finding an answer. Therapy is very scary stuff.

A Stream of Consciousness

Setting: riding in the car on the way home from school. (Oh, how I LOVE your car ride conversations!)

Characters: Meg & Mommy (Kate, too -- but she's not quite adding to our conversations just yet)

Meg: Mommy . . . when you were a little girl, did you go to school like me?

Mommy: I did.

Meg: Who took you? Who drove you in the car to preschool?

Mommy: Nana Nancy did. She drove me in the car just like I drive you.

Meg: Nana Nancy? Before she went Heaven?

Mommy: Yep. She did.

Meg: Well . . . will we ever see her again?

Mommy: No, not right now, Meg. Nana Nancy is in Heaven . . . and a long, long. long time from now, you will see her again. After you grow up and get married and have babies and after your babies grow up and get married and have THEIR own babies. In a long, long time, you will get to see Nana Nancy again in Heaven.

Meg: Oh. (pause for a moment of silent reflection) Mommy, I'm going to wear very pretty dress when I get married.

Mommy: Oh YES you will! I know you will. It will be beautiful. I can't wait.

Meg: (nods and smiles excitedly) Yeah, when I grow up.

Mommy: Who do you think you will marry?

Meg: Daddy.

Mommy: (laughing) YOU can't marry Daddy! I already married Daddy!

Meg: But I'm going to marry him, too. We can both be married to him. We can share him.

Mommy: No, no. That won't work because he's to old for you. You will want to marry someone the same age as you. Daddy is the same age as me, so we can be married. You'll want to marry someone the same age as you.

Meg: Oh.

Mommy: Do you know any little boys your age that you would want to marry when you grow up? Any boys in your preschool class?

Meg: Will. And Westray. And Jack. They are all boys my age in my class. I can marry them.

Mommy: Well, you have to pick ONE boy to marry. Just one. Which one do you think you might pick?

Meg: Ummm . . . Jack. I pick Jack. Captain Jack Sparrow. In my class.

Mommy: (roaring laughter) Jack Sparrow!? In your class? I know Jack in your class . . . who calls him Jack Sparrow? Where did you hear that?

Meg: He calls himself that, Mommy.

Mommy: (with a sign and a chuckle) Okay, Meg.