Where has the time gone?

I can't believe I haven't posted since September. I got sucked into the Facebook world, consumed by working full time, being a mom full time, running a house full time and randomly finding time to work out and be a wife. My race came and went. I did quite well. The time on the clock said 2:25:12 but my official time according my shoe chip on the website was 2:20:53- not too shabby if I do say so myself. Halloween came around also. Melanie was Dorothy and Natalie was the Lion. They were so cute and seemed to have a great time and the rain held out for us. Our neighbor, Nate, was the Tin Man...so cute. It was a great bday party for me also. Can't believe next year I will be 30. Thanksgiving was great. We were able to be with the Gilbreath's and travel to Chattanooga to spend time and see all of our family there. Though we don't travel too much with the girls the trip went well. It's still odd not to go to my dad's parents though it has been well over a year since they both passed away.

Christmas was a huge event at our house this year. Melanie was the cutest she has ever been and Natalie seems to understand it somewhat. Melanie got a dollhouse and an "American Girl Doll" (or the Target version on one) for Christmas from Santa. Natalie got a Cozy Coupe Car and an Activity Table. I have given up on my house and it has a become a kid play zone. I am busy organizing and purging. Melanie was so mature and learned so many lessons over Christmas. She learned a) you don't get all you asked for b) it is not about quantity but quality and c) that you still can be gracious when you get repeats. I swear she is the kindest kid ever and really seems to understand the lessons I teach her. She is so wonderful to her sister who just is drama drama drama and beats up on Melanie. They each had a funny Christams break story: Natalie has been potty training and was playing with a plastic grasshopper before we left for school one morning. She apparently dropped the plastic grasshopper in her pullup and the teacher found it when she took her to the bathroom and started to scream thinking it was real. I would have loved to be there!
Melanie's funny story involved Santa, AKA "Pops". My dad came to the school to be Santa again this year. He loved it and it went great. However, in Melanie's room she raised her hand to sit on his lap first and when he asked her if she was leaving milk and cookies she started laughing and said, "You're not Santa." I had to explain it all to her and that Pops was helping Santa out and wearing a Halloween costume. I told her to not tell the other kids so it is still a secret to them and she listened to me and didn't say a word. I know, she is so sweet :)

A quick update on each girl:
Natalie: 21 months, 27 lbs
Wears 24 month clothes and 7W shoes
Sleeps all night (7:45-7:00) eats most things, does not like mashed potatoes or too much meat...LOVES spicy foods, especially salsa and jalapeno cheese dip
Potty training and doing great...hopefully not too much longer
Talking much more and "others" can understand her. Her favorite things to say are "mere" when she grabs your hand to "come here", "no", "you hoo, are you?" when she is look for people and she finally talks on the phone normally without hanging up on people
She thinks all colors are "blue" and cannot label them correctly, she semi- counts to five she knows animals sounds and will point to items in the book asked about
She will sing along to songs (Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle) and likes to "recite" nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty and Baa Baa Black Sheep
Favorite toy: Lovie, she has 6 of them

Melanie:
Will be 4 in January
Wears a 4T and a 10.5 shoe
Eats everything, hates spicy
Sleeps perfectly in her big girl bed with no rails
Amazingly well behaved, gets her feelings hurt easily
Helps with chores, cleaning up, laundry, putting dishes up, etc.
Gets herself ready for school/bed (brushes teeth, gets dressed including shoes, puts dirty laundry in hamper)
Knows alphabet, letter sounds and words that start with each letter
Can count in English and Spanish
Writes her first name, knows her phone number, birthday, city, state, country, planet
Getting better at gymnastics but has not for sure picked left/right hand but leaning towards right
Loves dance class and reading books
can ride a bike with training wheels
Her favorite toys are still babies and books and art supplies

so that is what I've got...hopefully you will not have to wait until March for the next update!

Another long update

Well, as is completely obvious it has been forever since I last updated again. I am rarely home with both girls asleep and a husband at work in which I have time to update (and 9:00 at night is generally time for TV and wine- not blogs). But, with Monsoon 2009 striking last night I am surprisingly off of work and at home with the two girls napping while Clint is at his work dealing with literally 15 leaks in his store. Fabulous!

Life around here remains chaotic but it is great! Our routine is settling in quite nicely and both girls have adjusted amazingly well. I couldn't ask for anymore.

Natalie's teacher is back and has been back for a while after about 2 weeks out to deal with her father passing. Natalie loves her. There are only 3 full time kids in Natalie's class and 2 part time kids. So, there is just the one teacher from 8-5 so Natalie has developed a great relationship with her. Natalie is also pottying like a pro there. She has 1-2 accidents a day. She continues to eat like there is no tomorrow but she's getting taller (all in her torso just like Mel) so her belly isn't quite as huge (but it still is QUITE prominent!). She is saying more things and finally signs regularly for me. Her favorite two are more and help and she signs and apprx. words for them constantly. Her new fav thing to say is "One more" She'll hold up one finger and tell you one more for EVERYTHING until she gets 20 more of whatever. She needs "one more" book forever before bed. We've had to scoot her bed time WAAAAAY earlier to prevent some of the meltdowns. She is down now between 7:15-7:30. It makes life easier for EVERYONE!

Melanie is continuing to be a smart, social butterfly at school. She takes dance and an activity called PlayBall there where they learn various developmentally appropriate pre-sport skills. It is so cool to watch how they teach different things- they teach in ways I would have never thought of and they just jump into a sport b/c they claim a child's body is not developmentally ready for most sports, just certain skills of each sport and they only teach as the body shows it is ready for the next skill. Also, just part of the Legacy curriculum is a "special" of the county librarian coming in 1x per week for 1 month of each season, and a Spanish teacher coming in 1x/week every week of the school year (Ms. Lucy- I'm learning alot from her too!), and a music teacher coming in 1x/week. The ways all the various teachers teach things teaches me so much. It's so neat to see things taught in a developmental fashion in a daycare rather than in an academic fashion in a public school. It just goes to show that it is really best for the kids that can socially and cognitively handle it, a daycare is a more appropriate place for a 3-4 year old rather than a public elementary school.

I love my job these days. I got all of the kinks worked out from the first few weeks and it's been smooth sailing since then. The people I work with have been nothing but super nice to me and I've learned a lot about the GA Pre-K system, which I have to say again, I've been quite impressed with! My run is in just a couple of weeks. I think I am ready! I was in for quite an adventure when Elizabeth and I got stuck in pretty heavy rain with thunder 5 miles in this past Saturday. We ended up having to call Clint to bail us out. It was quite a funny hour.

Clint is trucking along figuring out things at work as Sherwin William's tries to weather all of the economic changes taking place in the world. But so far his company and his job all seem pretty secure so we couldn't ask for more. He is slowly settling in to the reality that he truly lives with 3 girls. These days Natalie isn't often found without a purse, sunglasses, her lovey, and a baby. Clint thinks to himself, "Dear God, her too?" I think he was secretly hoping she would be a tomboy...so far it is not looking too promising :)

Last weekend we watched the Teck's kid and the Jackson's dogs. So we had a 1,2,3, &5 year old kid and 4 dogs for the weekend. It was crazy. I don't think I will ever want 4 kids (ages 5 and under) and 4 dogs...EVER! It was a bit too much "kid planning" and a bit too little "adult planning." I told my dad I have no idea how his mom did it. Though the boys were not quite that close in age they were pretty close. I bet she was tired for many of her years of life!

The random pictures were from a family activity we did a couple of weeks ago I found in one of my teacher magazines. You make flashcards with numbers or number words on them and then you make fish (with a paperclip that is magnetic) with numbers on them. Then you make a fishing pole and go fishing for the fish that matches your flashcard. Clint and Melanie had the task of creating the fishing pole. I didn't give any instructions or show him the picture from the magazine- which was my error. He came back with a pole made out of the broom handle (quite large for the girls to handle). After quite a laugh by me I explained the whole activity and he came back with 2 poles made out a spatula, dental floss and our magnets at the end. The girls were so funny fishing. They could care less about matching to the flashcards after about 5 rounds and just wanted to fish. It was fun.

Back to School

What a busy and hectic life we've led the past 2 weeks. Life with 2 kids 3 and under and working full time is, well, a full time job! There is a balancing act that I haven't quite grasped yet...I'm working on it. The bills, house, and Clint seem to be taking a backseat to children, work, and food.

Melanie is doing so great at her new school. She is the star of the show (partly because she is constantly running her mouth for a full commentary on the show). She gives me such a detailed report when she gets picked up of who behaved well, who behaved poorly, what craft they did, what they talked about in circle, what they ate, when she saw me, etc. She has 3 main friends: her 2 girlfriends and 1 boyfriend and they are the "cool friends." They did a science experiment on Wednesday and she was so proud of it and couldn't stop talking about what happened and what each person's part was in the experiment. I love her teachers. They are super nice and full of energy.

Natalie's go of the whole school process is not quite as positive. Natalie is quite a crier and always has been. However, when you are in a classroom crying can be very trying on the people stuck in there with you. The teachers are great trying to hold and comfort her as she drags around her lovey. I spy on her constantly. It seems that most of her crying is during transitions. Her morning playground time occurs at the same time as my class. Our playgrounds are separated by a fence and I spend the whole time trying to hide from her. If she happens to see me she'll cry. Then her afternoon playground time is at the same time as Melanie's and if she sees Melanie leave she'll cry. Then her mealtimes are the same as Melanie's and she cries when Melanie leaves or if she happens to look in my classroom door and see me. Finally nap was difficult but seems to be getting better. She sleeps on a cot. Her daily report says that she is sleeping anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours. I'm sure the teachers really value this time! She apparently loves the food there. They write and "A" if the child ate all of their food and an "x" if the child ate extra. Natalie supposedly eats "Axx" for many meals! Each day her daily report paints a little better picture than the day before so I hope she's adjusting. I just feel bad that she doesn't understand when and why she gets to see Melanie and myself.

As for me, my class has many amazingly exciting new features for a job. I have a couple of students that were a bit more difficult than I was expecting for this type of classroom so I am very exhausted at the end of the day from trying to control them. However, with some trial and error hopefully we'll figure out what works best for them and myself and get everyone under control and successful. The hardest part of my job is coming home. Both girls want my undivided attention when we get home and it's hard for me to give it to them. Thankfully, Clint has changed around his schedule and he is here a few afternoons a week and he can really help out with the girls and house things.

Melanie started dance again on Thursday. She is taking this one at her school. I've learned various companies contract with childcare centers to bring their lessons to the center for children to sign up for. Melanie's school offers: Playball, Piano, and Dance. I let Melanie pick an activity and she picked dance. She really likes her teacher, Ms. Christina and I like that though I am at work I can spy and watch her in her dance class. The girls start gymnastics back on Tuesday. Clint and I are going to tag-team the gymnastics and each take one girl to gymnastics (the classes are back to back) and then take that girl to dinner so they can each have some one on one time. I feel that one on one time is the one thing they are missing with school. During the summer I could give it to them when one was napping but not so much anymore. And, this will be a good way for them to get some Clint time too. We are going to switch off girls each week.

Melanie also had some difficulties staying dry at night. She would have 1-2 accidents/month. So, Clint and I made a deal with her if she stayed dry one whole month she could sleep one night in our bed. The deal came to fruition this weekend. She had to make it through Thursday night and Friday night was the big night. She knew all week and was so excited and proud of herself. Then she came in our room Thursday around 11:30 PM crying and was so upset saying she tried, it was an accident, she really wanted to sleep in our bed. She was so truly upset. It really broke my heart. So, I gave in and let her sleep in my bed Friday night. It probably was not the best teaching of a lesson but she did go 30 nights which is quite difficult- poor baby. We re-set the chart of another month so we'll see what happens.

Natalie is still trucking along with her toilet training. Her class works very hard on it when they or the parents believe the child is ready. The main teacher in Natalie's class had to be out last week b/c her father is in the process of passing away so I am not pushing it at Natalie's school right now. I'll let everything get settled first. But at home she'll still go 3-5 times per day on the potty. Basically every time I change her she'll attempt. She really knows when she goes b/c she'll ask to wipe "/p/" for paper or "/wi/" for wipe and then will put her hand up for a high five. However, she has no concept of staying dry. But, she does know if she pooped. You can ask her if she pooped and she will correctly answer you yes or no many of the times.

We had a neighborhood end of summer festival yesterday. It was so much fun. They had food, horses, a pool party, dj, games/prizes and a giant blow up water slide. The girls had a blast and we had great family time. Melanie of course loved the horse, Lady was the horse she rode, and Natalie liked them from afar but wouldn't touch it or most certainly wouldn't get on it. Melanie had a great time dancing to the DJs music with her friend Caroline. Melanie idolizes Caroline. Caroline gave us another set of outgrown clothes the other day and it's all Melanie wants to wear. She thinks Caroline hangs the moon. It was a really fun day!

I'm absolutely loving not being in school. Sometimes (rare times) when I sit down with nothing to do I have the fleeting thought, "I should probably go work on some school work now." But then I smile and realize I'm done. I'm really glad I did it last year working at Partee with Elizabeth b/c the setting I'm in now doesn't really have access for me to use a computer or phone on a regular basis. Running is going great. I'm waking up before the family each morning to go to the gym. I LOVE this time. It is all my time with no one to bother me and no noise. I run all of my weekly runs during this time. My long runs are on Saturdays. Next weekend is an 8 mile run. That will be the longest I've ever run. Elizabeth and I are doing it together. I hope it goes well! Our race seems to be getting closer and closer and our total miles to run during the week is steadily increasing. I can't believe I'm running the distances I am. Not that I feel I have any drastic weight to loose or anything but I really thought this training would change my body more than it has. I guess it goes to prove you really do have to make sure your eating is pretty close to perfect b/c even hard core exercise can't do it all! But, boy do I love to eat out....yummmm! I wish it were free!

Okay, the end to the longest post ever (which as you see is super early Sunday morning when no one is up but the dog and the gym is closed) that I finally had time to write. I'll post 1st day of school pics later.

Is It Really Over?

pictures are:
Clint catching them playing in the backyard: they love to play throw the mulch out of Shelby's house so Natalie can get in- what mess!

Modeling the new vests Nanna got them for back to school

Playing in the rain (and catching rain on their tongues!)

Well, this time tomorrow I will be at work. I can hardly believe my first summer with two mobile kids is actually over. Clint and I were sitting together yesterday while the girls played together for almost an hour and just looked at each other and said, holy cow- think how much harder last summer was than this summer. Naps, nursing, baby food, crying, etc. Though some of that has not changed our life keeps getting easier and easier by the day as the girls become increasingly independent. Now, don't get me wrong- the drama increases daily as Natalie asserts her independence but boy what next summer will bring is exciting! I went for a LONG training at my new school last Friday. I am so excited. There are a lot of things I need to learn (Ga PRE-K is very regimented program...it seems so far that they really have their act together!) but a lot I feel I can bring to the program. I had to go through the Legacy Academy training that is create corporately. So far I have to say that Legacy is really stringent but in a good way. I have a really good feeling about sending the girls there. Melanie is less than thrilled telling me "I've already graduated school, I don't want to go to Legacy." Too bad the 2 year MMO program doesn't negate the rest of school for life :) I am keeping my fingers crossed for them to do great. It is great how detailed I know about their day since I am trained how to conduct a similar day for my students. If my girls have to go to daycare I couldn't ask for a better situation. I totally feel for all the parents out there paying full price for their kiddos to be in daycare. I paid for the first 5 weeks at 1/2 price and it is sooooo pricey. More power to you all out there!

Last week was rather uneventful. I am a volunteer coach for a special needs cheer squad this year. They had camp last week and so I did that each night and Clint and the girls came to watch the final performance on Friday. Melanie is really excited about cheering one day in life. The high school girls that help make me feel really old- I am so out of the loop!

The girls' highlight of last week was playing in the rain on Monday. Melanie has really wanted to play in the rain recently and I told her one day if it was warm enough and not thundering we could. Well, Monday was that day. They really couldn't believe it at first and just tried to catch rain on their tongue but they eventually figured it out and had a blast. I had so much fun watching them!

The girls are growing-kind of. On our home scale it seems as if Melanie has lost weight. Her legs are finally catching up with her torso and we finally went up to 4T pants though they are a little big on her. The 3T were just getting too short but fit her in the waist. Her long torso has called for a 4T top for a while. And, we just got her resized for back to school shoes and she finally broke out of a 9- she was in it for almost a year and now wears a 10. Natalie has slowed down on her weight growth and is just getting taller. Some of her 18 month clothes are long enough in the torso for her (just like her sister). However, 24 month pants are far, far too long on her. Her foot however, is in the crazy growth time that Melanie's went through. She is now in a 6 wide. Her foot is crazy wide- even wider than Melanie's was. There was 1, count em, 1 shoe in Stride Rite wide enough for her. The last style, which I thought I was going to have to re-buy to have them wide enough is now too narrow so she is wearing a clunker. It looks huge and heavy- poor thing. But it fits which I guess is the most important thing!

I GRADUATED!

Well, I am FINALLY finished. After 13 months of work I am now officially a "Specialist." I graduated and have my Specialist's in Education Administration and Supervision. Basically if I ever want to be a principal or assistant principal or have a "high up" county job I at least have the credentials to go for the job. Right now I am 100% content where I am at the level I am at and excited about job that is approaching in only 1 week- can you believe it- where did time go? What's great is I always knew after my Master's I would probably go on to further school. But now, I truly feel finished and don't feel like anymore school is looming. Clint has only not been dating/married to me not in school for 3 semester of our life. He is SO ready for me to be out of school.

Not too much new in the world of the girls. Natalie is PACI FREE. I have to give her credit. It was relatively uneventful. I decided to take it away one Tuesday morning after Clint and I had been discussing/dreading it for a couple of weeks. We took Melanie's away at 17 months and I wanted to have Natalie's gone by the time she started school. So, I just one morning didn't offer it again. From that point on, no biggie. She cried at nap, "paaaa" "paaaa" over and over- I played dumb. Then, at night she has been staying up about 1 1/2 hours later playing to wear her out but all in all no issue. She has a tiny bit self-soothing issue right now. She woke up one night around 2:30 crying, but not for anything. She didn't know how to get herself back to sleep without the paci. I rocked her for about 3 minutes and she was out. But, she has only woken up the one time. I think it was a great plan to get rid of the paci with both girls so early on b/c they can't argue or try to barter with me. They just understand oh well, it's gone.

Melanie is loving her new haircut and says she likes me to fix it in "a lean over." This means she just likes me to pull back one side out of her eyes. Clint didn't know and yesterday he told her he doesn't do lean overs. He caught her playing yesterday and she had all of the blocks around a cow and he asked what she was doing and she said building a "corral around the cow." I swear she picks up so much from TV as bad as that sounds. She told him she learned about corrals from Mickey. So, she's busted out "corral" "improvise" "hypothesis" and "produce stand" just to name a few.

Melanie's First Sleepover & Haircuts

Last week Melanie had her 1st sleepover with her BFF Caroline. She was sooooo excited. She stood by the door downstairs looking out the window waiting on Caroline's car to pull up. The girls took off upstairs and were perfect. Melanie thought it was so neat to have Caroline sitting at the dinner table with us and telling us stories. Then, after dinner we had a bit of drama. Caroline was a bit homesick, Natalie decided she wasn't so tired, and Melanie decided she didn't want to share all of the attention. But, a movie to the rescue. The girls all calmed down and were so sweet. We pulled Melanie's princess castle into her room and the girls slept in sleeping bags inside the princess castle.

This week has been preparation for back to school week. I am working on getting the girls on the schedule of their new school (which includes waking up early, napping right after lunch (11:30ish), and going to bed early). So far we are doing okay. They are not too sure why I am making a) Natalie stay up to wait for a later nap when she is tired and b) why I am making Melanie take a nap when she is not tired. But they are not fighting me too bad. And, of course I am got them some "back to school clothes" okay, maybe they were just "on a great sale clothes" but to justify them they are back to school clothes :) I met with the school last week and I am going back next week but all seems in place and I am getting more and more excited each day.

Yesterday I took the girls to get "back to school" haircuts. Natalie had 1/2 inch cut off and she screamed like her head was being cut off even though we gave her a lollipop and it took less than 3 minutes. Melanie really wanted short hair so I gave in and the back of hair is stacked and the front is kind of layered towards the front. Super cute. She was great and will probably be the cutest kid in her class :) J/K...well kind of!

I am ALMOST finished with grad school (Saturday is my last day) HOORAY HOOORAY HOORAY! I can't wait.

Running is going great. I am running short-average length runs during the week (3x) 2-4 miles and one long run on the weekend (5-6 miles) right now. Starting in August it gets harder b/c the training program sets a total number of miles to run during the week and steadily increases it to get you race ready. So far though, going well and I'm just trying to stay the course!

My Photo Album

Well, today I was able to have my girls day with Natalie b/c Melanie was at the Little Gym for a camp day (at her camp they learned about animals while doing gymnastics and a petting zoo came- what fun!). Natalie and I went to the Yellow River Game Ranch and then went to get icecream. It is amazing the behavior differences when they are together and seperate. They are amazing seperate- what a crazy plan they have worked up when they are together. Natalie's latest skill is words these days...here is her current list
1. mama 2. dada 3. no 4. more 5. bye bye 6. hi 7. ball 8. bubble 9. "b" box for juice box 10. "gn" drink (not sure how she got this sound but she uses it well) 11. a snort sound for pig 12. moo 13. nana 14. pawpaw 15. mamaw 16. pops 17. lolli for lollipop 18. pop for popcicle 19. "ni ni" for night night 20. "tada" 21. wow
She's getting better and better!
Okay the pics are from:
1 random reunion pic
Our 4th of July celebration at the Gwinnett Braves
The wedding
The Game Ranch

These are all from my camera more from other people's will appear :)

Fun Girl's Day

A sneak preview of the fun/funny wedding pics to come!

After gymnastics today the Gilbreath's wanted to take Natalie for a little bit of bonding time. I got to spend some alone time with Melanie with no agenda. We thought and thought what we wanted to do and it was decided on Ice Age 3- The Dawn of the Dinosaurs. And, to top off the fun apparently Carmike Cinemas have a "Stimulus Tuesday" where drinks and popcorn are only $1 each. So, in the spirit of healthy eating :) we each had a small popcorn and a drink (and much to Melanie's excitement it was Sprite- about her 5th ever in life- they didn't have Lemonade and she didn't seem to mind!) for lunch. She was great in the theatre- no complaints at all- she sat in my lap for a while b/c it was a concerted effort for her to keep the seat pushed down she is so tiny. I realized she was pretty much clueless about dinosaurs during the movie so we headed to Target and Borders for some dinosaur lesson reinforcements. We shopped sooooo slowly- it was amazing! We had no time frame. No one was crying, hungry, bored, no husband watching the clock at home, etc. Melanie would stay in Target all day (as would I!). We ended up getting 2 plastic dinosaurs ($1/each) and some clearance shoes for Melanie ($3 each b/c apparently in GA it is not hot anymore and the summer things are 75% off- whatever!). We played in purses (I got one- I think I am about ready to be FINISHED with diaper bags so it is a rather large purse to hold Puffs, diapers, wipes, change of clothes, toys, and oh yeah some lipstick, wallet, keys and phone), jewelry, sunglasses, shoes, baby supplies, books, EVERY toy aisle, kid clothes, dishes, just fun fun fun! But, they didn't really have any dinosaur books so we were off to Borders where it is oh so easy to get caught up and want to buy everything! We went to the kid section and we each had a task to find dinosaur books. We each found about 3 and we sat and reviewed them and each selected 1 to buy- too cute! We came home and played with our dinosaur figurines (which of course immediately became a mommy and daddy) and read dinosaur books- it's like I had a boy child for a couple of hours! All in all a great fun day!

Wow! What a Weekend!

Well, we survived. I know that is not the kindest way to talk about our best friend's wedding, but honestly that is how it feels. I feel like this wedding had a lot of "building up" planning and, well, we survived. To start with, Friday, Melanie (and by default, me) was invited to a Bridal Luncheon. Since Becca lives in Atlanta, all of the wedding festivities were in Atlanta. So, being the savvy driver that I am, I loaded up Melanie and Aileen for us to hit the road and make a road trip, well, okay, a down the road trip to Atlanta. To get 3 girls (one of which is 3 years old) ready for fanciness to be out the door by 10:00 am was a feat, but we made it, kind of, just a couple minutes off schedule. All would have been close to fine had we not gotten lost, and by gotten lost, meaning, we never even got off 285 for 85- ummm, problem. So, needless to say we were late to the luncheon by about 15 minutes. I need a GPS to be attached to my by a fanny pack for my whole life. Melanie was a little confused by the fanciness of a essentially a grown up tea party but she looked adorable (check out pics on Zach's and Grace's blog) and acted on her best behavior. Also, I got the most adorable cake/favor idea that I am going to use for Melanie's next birthday party.

Then, after a 1 hr 15 min drive to Atlanta, Aileen and I had to turn around and drive back. We then had Melanie come with us to get Aileen's jewelry for the events (by the way NY & Co had 50% off sale of the entire store last week- holy cow amazing! So we went there!) and off for girl beautification time. Melanie and I each got pedicures and Aileen got the works. Melanie was fascinated by an eyebrow wax, she didn't know they existed and wanted to know why someone needed to "cut their eyebrows." After that we frantically rushed home, so I could pack the dog's supplies/directions for our pet sitter for the weekend, and pack Natalie b/c we were dropping her off on Friday not to see her again until Sunday and I had to get me and Melanie ready for the rehearsal dinner. So, in a very quick 45 minutes we got all people and pets ready and we were off. I had to drop Natalie off at my parents for the night and deliver my dad info that he was to pass on to the babysitter he was going to have to leave her with next day. Then we continued on our 3rd hour of driving to Atlanta for the day. We went to the rehearsal which went well but not perfect for Mel, Zach and Grace (which made Rachel and I a bit nervous to say the least). Then off to Maggianos for the Rehearsal Dinner. Melanie did quite well there, it had been a VERY long day for her and it was quite late by the time we got home (11:00) and she had been in the car for over 4 hours of the day. So, we put her down and I went into list mode. I had to leave Clint a million lists of things to pack/bring b/c I had class on Saturday and I was just going to have to meet he and Melanie at the wedding.

So, Saturday morning started off VERY early (I had to wake up at 4:00 for class) but I made it to class just fine (I didn't ride with Elizabeth who is much better at directions than I am) and didn't fall asleep in class and we got out of class 15 minutes early which put me on the road a little early which I was VERY grateful for. My mom had kindly agreed to go with Clint to the hotel to get Melanie ready for pictures and make sure her hair was perfect. I made amazing time and got the hotel in less than 2 hours and we all went to the church. We got to the church right after 5:00 and Melanie looked SO CUTE!!! But, the wait began. It turned out that Mel, Zach and Grace were not actually in any of the pictures before hand. So, they just had to hang out for almost 2 hours in their fancy (but OH SO ADORABLE) clothes and not get wrinkled or eat or mess up their hair and be on "church behavior." Anyone with kids knows that this is not a cool task for kids. But, alas THEY WERE AMAZING!!!! I swear the kids could sense they were suppose to be kind of good and they were. They, yes, acted like 3 year olds but good 3 year olds! Then FINALLY it was time. The kids followed in a very attractive wedding party and did EXACTLY WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO. Rachel and I were in shock, they walked slow, quiet, and they smiled, all in all, PERFECT. (Also, they didn't try to talk to their dad's both of which were groomsmen) They sat relatively quiet for a full Catholic Mass wedding (which I was nervous about b/c we recently took Melanie to the contemporary service at our church and I only give her a B- for that). But, I give the kids an A-. They were not perfect but pretty close! TJ and Becca looked so attractive and had a very touching wedding where, now, it is official they are MARRIED!

So, then it was time for the reception. At this point I didn't care what happened and nor did Rachel. All Rachel and I wanted was a bottle of wine, and if I do say so myself she and I earned it for keeping these kids in line & organized for the past 48 hours! The kids had on cozy shoes, could eat whatever, act however, finally just be kids! It was the cutest most fun thing to watch them at the reception. They danced their tails off. Melanie requested "Put on ring on it" from the band but they didn't play it much to their dismay. Zach was quite the ladies man and Melanie was trying to cut in on Grace each time she tried to dance with him. We were all laughing, drinking, sweating, and dancing. Melanie cashed out I think around 10:15. The Gilbreath's were amazing and took her with them to spend the night at their house. Apparently she talked the whole way home and then stayed up a bit more when she got to their house but slept super late the next morning. Zach gave up not too much longer. However, Grace is going to be the life of the party. That girl danced up until the last dance (around 12:30 ish) and she really danced. It was so cute. All of us adults most definitely cut a rug. We had so much fun and you know if TJ is getting married dancing is going to be a main staple of the party- AWESOME! I have to give my parents and Clint's parents props- the reception was much easier having 6 adults to take care of Melanie rather than just me and Clint. I had so much fun with Ruth, Aileen, Tejal & Dawn we had quite the moves :)

Clint and I made it to the "after party" at the hotel where we about crashed. We hung out with Chris and Aileen for an hour or so and then I couldn't hang any longer. I had been up for almost 24 hours and was pooped.

So, Saturday morning (after a quick trip to oh so yummy and greasy Waffle House with Chris and Aileen) Clint and I played divide and conquer (since we had 2 cars up there) and made the final trip back from Atlanta to get the girls. Both got amazing reports. Natalie's babysitter had great things to say (THANK YOU Mary Evelyn!) and apparently Natalie loved Mary Evelyn's dad- too sweet! Melanie came home with a Little People flower girl set and wedding book from the Gilbreath's and all were in a great mood.

What a weekend! I will post pics at another time- I am tired of sitting at the computer. It was so fun but so crazy and I'm glad it will not be happening again any time soon!

Lazy & Busy Days of Summer

Well, we're puttin along loving summer and the freedom it brings and realizing how close to August we really are. We've had an enjoyable and fairly calm past couple of weeks. Clint and I went to TJ and Becca's Bachelor/ Bachelorette parties a couple of weekends ago. They were fun but exhausting. It was nice to get dressed up and go out on the town but I'm not going to lie- I missed Clint- but I checked he didn't miss me :) The next day we had mommy and daddy "recovery" day where we basically let the kids run wild while we laid on the couch consuming large quantities of food and water.

Natalie proceeded to get 2 new molars starting the day I picked her up from the parties. She was actually pretty pitiful with these teeth. Both of my girls have been awesome at teething and I haven't noticed any of them coming in until now but she whined around- drooled like crazy- was obsessed with her paci and lived on Motrin. It lasted about a week but it seems as if we are in the clear now.

During our free time the girls are actually kind of playing together. They love to make forts and lay on top of one another and of course play feed the baby, change the baby, put the baby to sleep. This generally lasts quite a long time (sometimes even long enough for me to fold and put away a load of laundry before I hear "moooooooom....Natalie hit me" or "aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, no, no, no" (this is generally Natalie!).

For 4th of July Clint and I were kind of stumped as to what to do since Lawrenceville was not doing fireworks this year. We decided to take the girls to the GWinnett Braves Game where they were having fireworks at the end. They were all dressed up in their America clothes and looked so cute. Then the drama started. For about the 1st 45 minutes Natalie was TERRIBLE and I thought we would have to leave. She didn't want to sit which we were fine with- we could just walk around and play. However, we tried to feed her fries which she didn't want so I put ketchup on them which she proceeded to lick off and then throw the fry and then try to smear whatever ketchup was on her hand on us, her, Melanie, anything. I was starting to loose it when she had a complete and total meltdown where she wouldn't let me hold her and she was flailing on the concrete. Then she proceeded to get sunscreen in her eye which exacerbated the problem. I ended up taking her into the women's restroom for about 10 minute and just putting water on her face. The Gilbreath's had given each girl $5 and we bought them both Dip & Dots (which Melanie LOVED) and that totally calmed Natalie down. At this point she was calm enough to walk around with and we went in their air conditioned store multiple times and Melanie eventually picked a Chipper Jones jersey to buy. She LOVES him for some unknown reason (but, hey, he is better than my old Braves love- Lonnie Smith). Eventually we took the girls to walk the whole stadium and for Melanie to jump in their bouncy things in the berm. Finally it was time for the fireworks and they had the most AMAZING fireworks. They lasted 15-20 minutes and you were so close to them without any obstructions. Melanie thought they were wonderful and Natalie liked them for about the first 10 minutes and lost interest. It was a great end to July 4th and we will try it again next year when Natalie is older and hope for the best!

On a random note, I had a summer IEP meeting for a new little fellow I will be getting in the fall. It was at his house and he was oh so cute. But the cutest part- he was obsessed with pirate tattoos and put on a pirate ship/rose tattoo on my bicep before I left the meeting. He seems awesome and makes me so excited for my new job next year- I think it is going to be such a cool experience!

The Destroyer- Hi-yah!

So Natalie's latest "skill" is to walk into a room and dump EVERY single thing out so we say that she can quickly "destroy" a room. So now on cue, we say, "Here is Natalie, the destroyer" and she will say "Hi-yah" while hitting her arms together. Too funny!

We've had Vacation Bible School this week. Melanie's teacher told me the first day when I picked her up, "Wow, she is so smart." So, maybe I'm bragging but what mom doesn't love a comment like that when they pick up their kids. At Partee about 5 years ago we began what we call a "shining star moment" where we write one great thing their kid did during the day. Even if the kid had a TERRIBLE day we searched and found that one good thing their kid did. The parents REALLY appreciated this great thing and were able to "live their kids day" for that tiny moment. I didn't realize until I was a mom how valuable finding a great part of a kids' day to brag about is. I LOVE hearing how great my kids are and I'm not going to lie- I get frustrated if a teacher at the gym, church, school, wherever, either doesn't comment or doesn't have anything good to say. I mean come on- I just trusted my child with you- come up with something good to say. Okay, that was a really long soap box- just justifying how far positive comments go and what they mean to parents. Melanie has come home with great crafts and funny stories and songs. She said her teachers "are the gray haired ladies." It is 3 grandmothers :) I've been working in the nursery with Natalie's group. She can, how can I say this nicely..."hold her own." There are definitely not any kids that mess with Natalie. She was the smallest, youngest, and only girl but she is ummmm, aggressive when she needs to be :)

Natalie had her 15 month dr appointment yesterday. She did great. It was a LOOOOONNNNNNGGGG wait (about 35 minutes) in our room without clothes on. Natalie proceeded to lick the floor, do naked forward rolls, pull books down, stick her fingers in electrical outlets, etc. But, she got a great report. She was in the 72nd% in weight, (24 lbs 11 oz) 31 inches tall (61st%) and her head actually shrunk to the 77th%. Last time it was in the 96th% so we think it was a bad last measurement. We explained her fiestiness- he was not concerned. He was happy with her eating and sleeping skills. All in all okay.

My running is progressing. I have a 17 week training program- making it through week two- a little sore but doing fine. Just praying for no injuries in the next few months and I will be fine!

Melanie comes up with the funniest words for a 3 year old. She told me yesterday, "I'm going to go draw a produce stand okay mom." What? I asked her what is a produce stand? She said, "you know the place where you sell vegetables." I asked her where she learned that and she explained Barney. She hasn't watched Barney in forever but things stick with her. She is still having her death obsession and questioning but not quite as emotionally sad for Melanie just more questioning. She asked me what made Granny die. I told her that she had a disease that made her lungs sick so she couldn't breathe. She asked me if I was sick. I told her no, that I was healthy. Then, missy pointed out, well, you have a staff infection. Yes, Melanie, I do but (hopefully) it is not going to kill me. Good grief!

Oh!!! Our high school reunion was FANTASTIC FABULOUS AMAZING FUN FUN FUN!!!! It was one of the most fun things I have done in a REALLY long time. It was great. It was a little awkward for a while when you see people that you recognize but didn't talk to in HS do you talk to them now and act fake or not talk to them. I chose not talk to them for the most part but overall AMAZING! I have to give my class props- it is a really good group of people. There were a TON of people there. I would estimate like 250. And, they were all REALLY good looking. We were quite impressed with the cuteness of everyone. We went to a post party at a guy's house who I went to 10th grade homecoming with and it was super fun. A ton of people came over and we stayed out until about 2:00. I had woken up at 4:00 am for class that day so I was so tired and called it quits at 2:00 but it was an amazing night. Thanks to Donna and Rodney for keeping the girls for a fun night out for the parents.

Holy Cow...

Well, after being bummed that I was not keeping up my running skills (and running body) as much as I thought I would I decided I needed an incentive and boy did I find it...

I signed up for a 1/2 Marathon in October.

Good grief- here I go! I ran 2x last week and 3x this week to see if I even "remembered how." I felt every step at the moment and definitely the next day but I did it and now training is completely "in session." So, here I go!

Odds and Ends

Well vacation is over :( It was wonderful but oh so very BUSY!!!! Natalie was nothing but constant. We took Melanie to climb the lighthouse and she was amazing and in great shape. I even have to give us adults props- we exercised...semi-regularly while we were down there! I ran twice and about hyperventilated when it was really hot but we did it. Melanie was so proud of the fish she caught- both a trout and a whiting. She thought she was amazing. A funny thing she said was that she told Brian that the waves were so big that she "rode" was a tsunami. Heehee- she had really been talking to my dad. Natalie had to sleep in the laundry room b/c we thought that she and Melanie could share a room but we were oh so wrong- Natalie not concerned about the laundry room at all she slept great.

A random interesting story....My cousin (my dad's youngest brother's youngest son) is good looking. Okay, judge me, whatever, he is cute. (Elizabeth you can back me up on this one- her cousin is Josh Holloway from Lost and obviously she thinks he is hot- so thinking your cousin is hot is only semi-creepy) He has moved to California to pursue his modeling/acting hotness skills. However, we just got word that he is in a boy band. WHAT? Yeah, he showed us some Micheal Jackson moves when he was a kid but I did not know he could be in a boy band. Keep your ears, but more importantly your eyes out for Josh Reed one day :)

So, I totally bribed Melanie today. She and Natalie had DESTROYED our house with toys. Any person that has a 3 year old girl knows there are pieces of things EVERYWHERE. We call her Templeton from Charlotte's Web b/c she collects things and puts them in purses and bags and likes to "pack." Well, our house was so chaotic. I set the timer for the downstairs for 10 minutes and told her whatever was left on the floor was going in toy timeout. When she heard the timer she quickly started crying, piled everything in her hands and threw it on the stairs and said it all belonged upstairs. I then bribed her to clean the playroom (which took her 2 HOURS!) with getting a pedicure. Now she can't watch the Flintstones (or any other TV) until she cleans her room. (She really wants to watch the Flintstones to better understand her vitamins) So, it has been all day of cleaning and bribing but all we have left is her room. Whew, our house is slowly being pieced together- to let you know how dirty our life had become CArnett's told Clint they would have to charge extra to clean the inside of my car b/c the leather had so many "kid" stains on it- Clint said no, came home and cleaned it himself (after they did the "normal" cleaning). These kids have made us a pigsty!

I finished my test, and think I passed but did make a 100 for sure! We'll find out in a few weeks. Anyway that is is that for now...Clint and I have our 10 year HS reunion this weekend- I'll post more vacation picks and funny HS pics soon.

The Beach So Far

Well, our trip at the beach is quickly coming to a close :( We have to leave a day early so I can take the GACE....this Grad School is almost over thank goodness! Anyway the girls are having a great time. Melanie is AMAZING! I have never seen her have such great behavior for such a long period of time. We are even taking her out for the girl's shopping day. Natalie thnks the ocean is grand. However, she gets completely worn out so she is napping a ton! But they are both little fishies swimming away and loving the sand. Here are lots of pics! More to come...