Diaries of the Gilbreath Gals

BUSY February!

2010-02-27T10:02:00.003-05:00

In February we have had many things occur:
1- We had snow- LOTS of snow. It was pretty amazing. It all started one Friday afternoon driving home. The girls were pretty shocked by the time we got home and went to run out in it. Natalie said, "no like no" (Don't like snow). Melanie just froze. The next morning we bundled them up for a real play day in the snow. Natalie however was still not convinced. It was very cold on her hands and for a while cried and I had to hold her but she eventually came around and went for a winter walk. Melanie thought it was very cold however she put up with it and seemed to enjoy it as well.
2- Then we all got pretty sick. Natalie caught it first and was pretty ornery. But I was hoping it would just run it's course. Then unfortunately I ended up with it and was miserable- I even wondered if I had the flu. But thank goodness it was pretty short lived (about a week). Melanie also caught and it was pretty pitiful. She ran a pretty high fever for 2-3 days, the doctor said they both had a virus and it had to run it's course. On the flip side, After the sickness ran it's course Natalie ended up in a SUPER mood!
3- Melanie had her 4 year old doctor appointment. She is getting taller and skinnier. She is 40 3/4 inches tall (67th %) and 35.8 lbs (51st %). Her weight % is going down down down. Her Buddha body is disappearing! Her hearing and vision was great. The hearing test didn't go well at first but then we realized that the things on her ears were not positioned well and that was part of the problem. She had to have her finger pricked and get 4 shots- ouch! The doctor said her night wakings were problem just sleep walking and not to worry and just coax her back to the bed. He also said don't worry about her occasional "upset stomach" that it may just be nerves, food sensitivity, etc. Finally she had to pee in a cup which was quite funny. She didn't understand why/how. With lots of help by me she said, "that doesn't look like pee, it looks like apple juice." Too funny!
4- Natalie moved had the front wall of her crib taken off at 22/23 months. She is doing great with it and not coming out of her bed or anything. It was a very seamless transition thankfully. A couple nights ago Clint and I heard her whining over the monitor but not crying and we were not sure what it was so we didn't worry about it. When I went to get her the next morning I found her in the corner of her room sleeping on the carpet. She had a rash on her forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. Poor thing. She must have fallen out and not realized how to get back in in the middle of the night. Ooops!
5- Donna and I took the girls to Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland. It was really cute. Things have changed since I went last with Clint. The girls really seemed to like and Melanie enjoyed seeing the baby born. She really wanted to buy that baby and so did I but it cost $210- whoever heard of such nonsense? Instead they both picked out babies from the gift shop. Melanie has baby Devin and Natalie has baby Donna. This is the first baby that Natalie has really connected to. It's cute- she goes around talking about Baby Donna's paci, Donna's car seat, etc. She is talking more and more each day. She can kind of rote count to 10 and knows a couple of colors. She knows animal names and likes Cheetah's randomly. I can't believe her birthday is coming up so quickly and then I officially will be out of baby life and have a toddler and a preschooler!

Overall things are going amazingly well. Natalie and Melanie still fight like cats and dogs constantly and our house stays in a constant state of destruction but it's fun. Natalie recently has been in a super mood and it is really fun for us to have 2 children in a great mood! Work is going great for me and the best it can for Clint in this economy. We definitely can't complain.

Blah- literally!

2010-01-24T21:42:00.002-05:00

So, after having a piece together kind of dinner at home with the neighbors Natalie gagged on a piece of cheese. Next thing we know she is throwing up literally on Nate's head and arms- gross! Nate was okay with it all and Melanie surprisingly didn't throw up herself...we're making headway in her gag reflex! After dividing and conquering (Chris= Mel, Aileen= Nate, Clint= mess and I= Natalie) we thought we had the disaster under control. Until Natalie started projectile vomiting all of her day's worth of food. It was massive and the biggest throw up either girl has ever done. Natalie was upset I had puke everywhere and Clint was trying to quickly help clean it all up. I took Natalie straight to the bath and after about 10 minutes of cuddling she was up and off and ready to play again. I have no idea what happened but I stripped her bed of all "non essentials" tonight just in case. What an eventful end to a very uneventful day!

4 Loose Teeth!

2010-01-24T15:40:00.001-05:00

Melanie had her 3rd dentist appointment this past week. She did great and has perfect teeth. I also found out she has 4 loose teeth! Dr. Pafford said it will be a few months before any fall out but holy cow! She just turned 4. Her teeth came in super fast so her teeth maturity must be on the fast track. She still had too much of a gag reflex for x-rays but they said they'll try again next time. Where is the time going?

Happy Birthday Princess

2010-01-18T14:18:00.003-05:00

Yes, Melanie is now 4. She had a wonderful celebration of her life. On Wednesday, her birthday she had a school celebration in which we brought in a cookie cake and Clint and I got to spend a few minutes in her class. Later that afternoon she got to open presents at home and go to Mexican with our friends. She was NOT fond of having whip cream put on her nose or having Happy Birthday sung to her. She told me she didn't do that when she was 3 so she didn't know about it but she would be kinder to the workers when she was 5 :) We culminated her birthday with a princess party. Her good friend from gymnastics, Kylie came. As did her BFF Caroline and Drew, Sarah, and Nate. Instead of cake Melanie decided on decorate your own cupcakes, top your own icecream sundaes and Mamaw had Cathy's beauty salon when she painted all of the girl's fingernails. Memaw (Clint's grandmother) is sick and in the hospital so Donna and Rodney had to go to Mississippi to take care of her. Melanie was mature and seemed to understand in her own way why there were not there and I think is actually excited that she will get to celebrate her birthday one more time when they come back to town. Clint and I have a hard time realizing that we have actually have a kid (or 2) and that one of them is FOUR! How can that be? I still can picture Clint and I in HS flirting with one another and who would have ever thought that 15 years down the road we would have this amazing family to show for it. Although it seems unreal that in about 7 weeks I'll be writing about my baby turning 2, Mel turning 4 is still crazy!

Where has the time gone?

2009-12-31T13:47:00.002-05:00

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

2009-09-21T13:22:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-16T06:08:00.002-04:00

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?

2009-08-03T11:31:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-07-26T09:36:00.003-04:00

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

2009-07-21T07:09:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-15T16:51:00.004-04:00

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

2009-07-14T21:31:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-07-13T10:44:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-08T15:34:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-06-24T16:43:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-06-18T17:25:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-17T18:08:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-11T10:59:00.006-04:00

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...

13 years...and counting

2009-06-05T21:50:00.002-04:00

Well, today Clint and I have been married for 5 YEARS!!! Can you believe it? Our first date was in the 10th grade. Clint was 15 and I was 16- that was 13 years ago!!!! I drove on our first date and we went to Stone Mountain Festival Movie Theater and dinner. Holy Cow has time flown by. We celebrated in quite the romantic way- PACKING! BLAH! Our car is so full Clint literally had to make a hole in the back stuff to see out his rearview...what will we ever do when we move? Anyway enjoy the walk down memory lane :) These are random fun times in our relationship. If I didn't have my camera packed (or if I had a real scanner) I would post some OLD SCHOOL pics of me and Clint from highschool- maybe for a fun summer project another day.

Catch you after the trip!

When Yogurt Explodes

2009-06-05T12:07:00.003-04:00

The girls got new sunglasses yesterday in preparation for the beach. Needless to say...they love them!

Also the other day the girls had some fun playing with rain boots. I have a classic pic of Melanie naked except for the rain boots so they keep making it around with the camera!

Enjoy the oh so funny video of what happens when you leave a 14 month old alone with 1/4 of her yogurt left. (Lately the girls have been taking FOREVER to eat and I don't have the patience to just sit at the table and watch.) So, I was checking to see if I had sold anymore textbooks (I had a HUGE collection from Undergrad, Master's and Specialist's). In less than 1 week I have made $130 on random OLD textbooks! When I looked in on her this is what I saw....

If you stay quiet...

2009-06-03T11:54:00.002-04:00

Not too much has been going on. We're enjoying lazy days of summer filling them with gym time, playgrounds, and getting ready for the beach. We took a breakfast play date with our friends Elizabeth and Sarah to McDonald's b/c breakfast never interferes with anyone's nap. Natalie is quite the daredevil at the playground. She has no fear and attempts it all- even stuff that I decide is much to big and scary for her...no worries she is climbing up it in an instant.

I'm continuing to battle my stupid staff infection. About a month ago I had this thing appear on my face that (sorry for yuck description) got raised, hard, red, and full of ooze. The dr put me on 1 week of topical and oral antibiotics and then this week (appx 1 month later) it reappeared- gross! Right around vacation time. Last time I wasn't sure what it was and it got large enough that I had to wear a bandaid on my face for a week but this time hopefully I caught it early enough. I had our first teenage babysitter come watch the girls for an hour. The dr put me on 1 month of topical and oral antibiotic to hopefully kill the stubborn thing. The sweet teenager did great with the girls. I know Melanie kept her in line :)

Natalie has had yucky, runny, numerous poops for a few days so I also tried to nip that in bud before vacation and the phone advice nurse after listening to my description decided it seemed like some type of virus and I didn't need to worry unless she was having 8+ runny poops a day or if it lasted more than 10 days. Believe me...if either of those scenarios occurred I would most definitely be calling back.

But, the sweetest thing is Melanie's latest conversations. I've realized that if I shut up long enough to listen to her she asks very intelligent sweet questions. She has been very curious about death lately and what makes people die and what happens when you die. The only really examples she has of death are my dad's parents and Brian's and Dawn's cat, Gator. She doesn't remember Clint's grandmother so she doesn't bring her up. She is really obsessed with how unhealthy smoking is and that it can make you sick. She wants to know what kind of sickness you get from smoking and I told her cancer. Well, the smart little girl I have said, "did papa smoke because he had cancer?" I had to explain that there are different kinds of cancer and that all cancer is not caused by smoking. She wanted to know what happens to be people's bodies when they die. I didn't think it would be okay to go into cremation or anything so I just said that bodies are buried and explained tombstones and that people go to where people and pets are buried to talk to them and remember them. She said that she wants to go to my grandparent's graves to talk to them and that could she talk them at night and in church. I told her yes. So then she asked if we could talk to my grandmother right then (we were in her bed). I said yes. And, sweet Melanie began telling my granny about when it snowed this past winter how she built a snowman and then asked me to tell a story. The next night she said that she remembered eating raisins at Granny's house and asked if she could tell Granny something else. I told her of course. Then she started telling Granny the story about her preschool graduation and what she sang there. It was really sweet and I was completely getting choked up. Lately, even at dinner, she will hear something that sparks a memory or a question, and she will talk about Gator and my grandparents at least once a day. She gets nervous about me and Clint one day having to die and I try to assure her that we are healthy and young and will be around for a very long time to take care of her and Natalie. Then she asks when she dies can she see Granny, Papa, and Gator again. We tell her yes, and she just says, "ok, goodnight." It is all so sweet and innocent. It is pretty amazing to me that she is even curious. She is such a different child than Natalie and some other 3 year olds I know. She definitely wears her emotions on her sleeve and is very inquisitive. Though that can make for some serious tantrums at times it makes for a very caring girl at others. My lesson I took out of it all is I need to slow down and give her the time to really talk to me because she obviously has a lot to say.

Melanie's New Bike

2009-05-27T11:45:00.003-04:00

I got Melanie a new bike yesterday after thinking she looked rather foolish scooting around on her radio flyer trike. She did okay yesterday on round 1 (the videos). Today I took her out to a large area of flat ground and she did much better. She gets a little tripped up on the fact that the bike breaks and she likes to ride and look around at the scenery and I'm having to teach her that importance of looking forward. But overall cute and good.

When the kids are away...the parents will play!

2009-05-26T15:51:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday night we all sent the kiddos away to throw TJ and Becca a couples shower. Though it started out a bit slow it really picked up and was great fun. It was over at Chris and Aileen's house and between supplying folks with free food, beer, wine, cake and music...the party got going. We had an inpromptu dance party that really livened things up. Super fun. Enjoy the silly pics...like I said "when the kids are away...the parents will play!"

By the way...complete props to Katie, Tajel, Aileen, Ruth, & Kelly for some amazing dance skills! And yes, Clint you too :)

Strawberry Patch

2009-05-25T21:04:00.004-04:00

Last week I took the girls to pick strawberries in Loganville and HOLY COW were they the most delicious strawberries I have EVER eaten. Natalie was eating them straight from the vine. Melanie, was actually picking them well and putting them in the bucket. It is only $10 for an entire gallon of strawberries. What a bargain. So yummy but soooo messy. The strawberries are literally so juicy you have to bite into them over the sink so Natalie was covered in strawberry juice!

INK Museum

2009-05-25T20:34:00.005-04:00

Well, last Monday Clint had the day off so we decided to make it a VERY BUSY day. We started off with a couples "date" to the gym. Rarely do we get to go to the gym together but when we have time we take advantage of it. We even had a built in babysitter of the gym daycare...how romantic :) Then we decided for a little family time and took the girls to Gainsville to the INK Museum. For those of you that don't know...it is AWESOME!!!!! It is completely interactive and HUGE! We started off in an art room (it was Nurse's Week) so the girls got to make cards for kids in a hospital. Then they had a "baby" play room complete with a nursing area for mom's and everything. Then, the rest of the facility was real life "things" made into kid rooms. There was a post office, grocery store, library, salon, diner, bank (complete with a working ATM machine Melanie loved), vet, dentist office, dr office, radiology office, a REAL airplane, a REAL fire truck, a REAL police car, a school, an indoor playground, model train and semi-real train, and a health station. It was so AWESOME. We could stay so long. It was $8 for people over 2 years and you can come and go all day as you please and bring your lunch. It was so neat. I posted a million pics b/c I loved it so much. Even Natalie enjoyed playing with all of the stuff. There were hardly any people there and the girls just ran around and played. We ended the day with a quick trip to Discover Mills for Clint some new shirts, Chili's and a ride on the Carousel. I used to love spinning things...no longer! Clint & I were both feeling sick. It was Natalie's first time. We tried not paying for her and letting her watch but she had nothing to do with that so she rode to.

Melanie's Preschool Graduation

2009-05-25T11:04:00.004-04:00

Melanie had her graduation from her 2 year old preschool class last week. It was very cute and Melanie really had been practicing and was ready to show off her skills. However, this year I did not get teary eyed...probably because I was trying my best to keep Natalie content. Lord, I go through more puffs these days trying to keep Natalie quiet and still. I don't feel too guilty giving her puffs...I mean come on they are basically calorie free. Again, videos will be posted later...I have to gear up to try to figure out posting from my new video camera but the pics are cute. I didn't post the pics from her on the stage b/c it did not turn out good on the camera.

Gymnastics Performance

2009-05-25T10:33:00.005-04:00

Melanie and Natalie both had their final gymnastic performance for the season. Melanie had a legit performance where she had routines on the floor, beam and bars. She did really well and this past week has finally mastered her forward roll. She has been in gymnastics for 2 1/2 years but finally she did it. Natalie is showing off her forward roll in one of the pics. She wants to copy Melanie so bad. Natalie is also showing off her foot and the stamp on it in one of the pics. She loves getting stamps these days and will show them to complete strangers. Natalie generally doesn't have a paci in gymnastics but recently she is all about her sleep and sleeps a TON. She is going down between 7:30-8:00 and sleeping until 8:00-9:00 and then still taking a very long 1 1/2-3 hr morning nap and a 1 1/2-2 1/2 hour afternoon nap. Gymnastics is cutting into her nap time so she was getting fussy and the paci semi-calmed her down. The stamp really did the trick! Melanie will be taking a dance/gymnastics combo this summer and Natalie will continue in plain gymnastics. We had a week off and start our new classes later this week. The classes are pretty much at the same time so the girls don't have so much wait time dealing with their sisters classes this summer...thank goodness!

Swim Lessons

2009-05-25T10:23:00.003-04:00

Melanie has completed swim lessons. Yes, she got better but there is still MUCH room for improvement. If she fell in I still think she would sink. I hope to continue them this summer. She is much braver though and will jump straight in the water and go all the way under and just wait for you to pull her out and she will try to swim to the edge. I was a bad mom and didn't realize when the last day of swim lessons was and I got the girls coated in sunscreen and had Donna meet me at the swim lessons to watch Melanie. Then hmmm, the parking lot was pretty empty and the pool was locked. Turned out the last lesson we had gone to was just that, the last lesson...ever. Whoops! Donna ended up coming to our neighborhood pool where I jumped in with Melanie to show off Melanie's skills. Of course Natalie wanted in and her little legs got going like a frogs and she was off. Though she can't talk nearly as good as Melanie could she definately has some natural athletic abilities and I think she will swim even better than Melanie early on. I am working on my new video camera...hopefully I can get a few video clips posted later of Melanie swimming.

Relay for Life

2009-05-25T10:13:00.002-04:00

Okay, it's been a while. I have a lot to update.
A couple of weeks ago we went to Gwinnett County's Relay for Life. Natalie had her first taste of cotton candy while Melanie proceeded to eat A TON of it. Melanie got her face painted and Natalie won prizes pulling ducks out of water. We had a good time being around my co-workers and other people from around Gwinnett County that we've gotten to know over the years. The survivor walk is always a tear jerker. To watch the young people battling cancer and those walking in honor of people that have died of cancer is always so emotional to watch- especially this year since my grandfather passed away from cancer less than a year ago. Another sad story from this year, my boss, who participates in the survivor walk as a 6 year survivor fell later on in the night and broke her arm in mutiple places and ended up having to have surgery. It was a rough way for her to end the night. Melanie kind of understood what the whole "festival" was about and Natalie just really enjoyed the food!

Not Me Monday

2009-05-11T12:14:00.004-04:00

Okay...
I have a lot to report:
Relay for Life
Mother's Day and much more but time is of the essence right now so I will get to it at a later date...crazy work schedule currently....

My "Not Me Monday" (check out the original link www.mycharmingkids.net) for the week....
No, I do not have a grandmother, mother and multiple aunts and uncles who are all on Facebook but not me. Also, I do not have a mother who calls me with updates on my friends that she has learned about on Facebook while I sit apparently in the dark ages. Nope, not me.

So...I guess I am going to have to bite the bullet and join the Facebook craze. I mean come on, I can't have a mom and grandmother more tech savvy and cool than me! (J/K...love you both!)

Not Me Monday

2009-05-04T12:59:00.006-04:00

This is too funny. A blog I have been following (www.mycharmingkids.net) has what she calls a "Not Me Monday" in which she says something funny that she WOULD NOT EVER do that she did the past week. It is a time for us all to fess up about our mommy blunders and LAUGH!

So, here goes my first "Not Me Monday."

I did not let my 3 year old go into the Target bathroom while I stood propping the door open with my 1 year old and cart of goods to pee by herself. And, I most certainly did not send her back into the bathroom to get her pretzel piece from God knows where when she came out crying that she did not have her pretzel anymore. And finally there is NO WAY I would just look the other way when she began to eat this piece of pretzel. Nope, not me!

Welcome to Not Me Mondays :) PLEASE leave me a note of your funny blunder or click to McMamma's blog and find out the details to leave an "official" Not Me Monday post on your blog. Even if you don't normally post I would love a laugh at what crazy thing is part of your every day life!

Busy Busy Bees

2009-04-27T20:59:00.002-04:00

Funny day last Thursday so I am going to report...
We started off with the gym and then gymnastics. All was going well for both girls. Natalie loves gymnastics even more now that she can walk. Then we met my parents for lunch at Moe's. It was just normal fun. Then I overheard my dad and Melanie talking and pestering one another...ends up:
Jerry (in a joking fashion): "I'm going to slap you"
Melanie: "If you slap me then I'll put you on the orange bus."
This caused my dad immediate confusion. I had to explain that we've explained to Melanie after some of her questioning that the orange bus is for people who make bad choices and the police have to watch them. So, apparently she didn't find Pops' joke funny and decided he needed to go on the orange bus. We left lunch and I took Natalie to her first movie and Melanie to her first 2009 movie: Earth. Well, let me just say it is NOT great. There were only about 6 other people in the theater which was great. I decided to just sit the girls in the hallway so they could move around and wiggle and not disturb anyone. So, if people are not embarrassed, this was the way to go. Yes, we paid $15 to sit on the floor but the ease of letting the girls move was great. However, the movie was so blah that it didn't matter. We left with about 20 minutes left. I recommend it for a 3rd grade science teacher to show in their class. Then maybe it would be cool. Just for example, it showed a pride of lions killing a mommy elephant. Quality...yes the circle of life but- really, in a kids movie?
Then we went to swim lessons where Natalie moves CONSTANTLY- it is so much effort on my part to contain her in the pool area.
FINALLY home....I was worn out!

Then Saturday and Sunday we took a quick trip to Chattanooga to see some family. We haven't gone since about August so we were due to go. It was a great, though quick trip. Melanie seems to really understand who everyone is and enjoyed spending time with my mom's mom. I think Natalie took to Dee, my mom's sister. Natalie also loved my aunt's dogs...especially her 6 month puppy- Ben! She kept pointing say "dog" "woof" "woof" I attempted a Smilebox but some pics ended up too zoomed in so yes, some look a little strange. My attempt is that, an attempt. ENJOY!

One last funny story- my mother-in-law took the girls to the Game Ranch today and a deer jumped up on her back with his legs across her shoulders. Donna said Melanie was more freaked out than she was...I can't even imagine!

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Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Day in the life of the Gilbreath Gals

2009-04-21T21:28:00.009-04:00

Natalie went for her first haircut today. It didn't start off well (as you can see from the pics). She was rather upset. But, I remembered from Melanie's first haircut there that she got her 1st lollipop so I asked for one for Natalie and the mood of the haircut dramatically changed (as you can tell). They didn't really cut much hair off at all- just enough to even it out and create a nice little bag of hair for me to take home. Then we went to the park for a fun day. We followed the park with a swim lesson. Clint was lucky enough to get off of work early and come with me to the swim lesson. The kids typically sit on the stairs until their turn. Clint was holding Natalie and I was feeding her puffs (keeping her from the edge of the pool is quite a task these days). The next thing I know I hear Clint gasp and I look over and Melanie has fallen off the stairs and the teacher is quickly trying to get back from far down the pool with another kid in tow and I was much quicker and had to run to the edge of the pool and yank Melanie back to safety. Good grief...completely why she is in swim lessons to begin with! Oh, also a quick funny line from Melanie...we came out of the gym this morning and it had started to rain and Melanie said "Oh crud muffin!" Too cute. I laughed and she said, is this okay for kids and grownups to say? I assured her, yes, that is okay for kids and grownups to say :) This is a typical day in the life of me staying home.

Fun with FotoFlexer

2009-04-20T19:50:00.000-04:00

Warm Weather Fun

2009-04-20T09:59:00.007-04:00

Brian & Dawn
How fun- most of my highschool group...just missing Ruth and Craig!
The boy party: Jeff, TJ & Clint
Clint and TJ Chris, Aileen & TJ
Me with 2 work friends: Carrie and Amanda
A large group of my friends went to the Jimmy Buffett Concert last Thursday night. I had a great time and it was so fun to be out with a group of grownups- many that I haven't partied with in a while! Most of us took off work on Friday...but our poor babysitter still had to work- so she taught all day Thurday- stayed at our house until 12:45 (with both of the girls and baby Nate from next door...doesn't that sound exhausting!) and then had to teach all day Friday. We REALLY APPRECIATE you Ms. Mary Evelyn!!!!! Last night it was pretty warm so I decided to let Natalie have a run with her first whole popcicle by herself. She actually did really well and didn't make much of a mess. However, she still falls some walking so the popcicle ended up being quite dirty by the end. She loved it none the less!

Domestic Divas

2009-04-14T13:48:00.004-04:00

This was Melanie playing Baby Alive and Natalie being jealous so she played "feed the baby" also. Also attached is a video from right before Easter of Melanie "cooking" our Easter craft.

Easter Fun

2009-04-13T17:09:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Pics and Videos

2009-04-11T18:06:00.009-04:00

Not too much going on... Really enjoyed spring break week and hanging out with Clint some extra time. LOVED my mommy night out! Melanie has enjoyed all of the pre-Easter festivities including our neighborhood hunt. Enjoy the cute videos and pics (fancy dress is her trying on her flower girl dress for TJs wedding).

Go Girls Go!

2009-04-03T14:54:00.002-04:00

Well, I have a swimmer and a walker...kind of.
Melanie started swim lessons this week and it is so cute. She is one of 4 kids- she is the only 3 year old and the other 3 are 4 years old (I think...they are way bigger than her). She was very hesitant the first day (I am not in with her) but did much better the second day. Her teacher is wonderful...a high school girl named Ms. Rachel who is so patient and calm.

And...finally Natalie started walking. I'll have to post a video when I get a chance. She is going appx. 10 steps or so now. She still falls and still crawls but can get from point A to point B. However, no video tonight b/c...

I am going on a date!!!!!!!!! WAHOOOOOOOO!!! It has been almost 2 years since Clint and I had a whole night out to ourselves. We are spending the night away and everything. It was very spur of the moment but I almost lost my mind in kid world yesterday and I begged to get a way and our wonderful parents each agreed to take a girl so Clint and I could get away. I couldn't be more happy. I am going to come back a rested, happy girl. It will be nice to act like me instead of me, the mom, for a night. I can't wait. We have dinner reservations in town and then hitting the town and got a hotel reservation. what fun! I have new outfit I've wanted to wear but nowhere to wear it to...breaking it tonight. YIPEEE!!

Fun Times

2009-03-24T13:14:00.005-04:00

We went to the park on Sunday b/c it was such a beautiful day. Shelby got to swim (boy what a difference 1 year makes...she doesn't run off anymore after swimming). Natalie and Melanie enjoyed the playground and Clint and I got our exercise walking around Tribble Mill. I also took the girls for the annual picture day at Portrait Innovations. They did great and I of course bought a ton of photos. I will try to post some of them. Remember, the picture girl edits/crops them so you are seeing the raw picture. Natalie had her 1 year dr. appointment today. She did great. Her head is in the 96th% (remember it was so tiny when she was born) and her height shot up. Last time (3 months ago) she was in the 49th%. She has gained 3 inches and shot up to the 89th%. Her weight stayed on the big side 23lbs 11 ounces and was in the 84th%. Boy I have some big old girls! We had to have a talk about Natalie's biting (it is happening alot!). Also, I asked for any advice with her pooping in the tub almost every night (even if she poops in the potty before hand)...well he had none. Oh, well, we'll just keep cleaning. She did great and only 2 shots. (They used to give 4 at this appointment but now they split it up and she will go back in 3 months for the other two- I like it better this way!) We got a reprimand b/c we don't brush her teeth enough (well, 2x per day seems a bit silly at this point but we'll shoot for it), and she doesn't say words that "outsiders" would understand besides "mama" and "dada." She is quite different than Melanie in her talking for sure. She doesn't even want to sign- she would prefer to scream. Again, we're working on it. But, she got props for table food, no bottle or sippy cup(well only sometimes) (she prefers a straw cup), she is SOOOOOO close to walking and took a couple of steps and sleeping well. So, some things great, some areas to improve. All in all a happy appointment. Melanie and I have been doing lots of crafts together. I will post the pics when today's dries. She is really fun to do things like that with now- it was a long time coming but fun. I got the job I was hoping for!!! I will be working at a great childcare facility in Lawrenceville that is NAEYC accredited and has low child:staff ratios. They seemed very kind and my tour/interview with them left me smiling and happy for my girls. Not only do I think they will have such fun I really think they will learn alot. They get Spanish, music, science from "specials teachers" and can sign up for Karate, Dance, and PlayBall. There are 3 GA PRE-K classes there (I was concerned b/c I don't want to one day have to teach my girls) but all looks great. I can't wait to start. The video is Melanie's latest learning activity...she is too cute!

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-19T06:26:00.004-04:00

Well, I decided to let the girls (Melanie) have a little fun with St. Patrick's Day. We made green blueberry muffins with green sprinkles, made a little craft project by making gold coins and a "pot" for the the gold and ended the night with green rice to accompany our roast. Melanie had lots of fun with it all and when I told her she had to wear green or the Leprechaun would pinch her she said, "Is he in or attic?" Overall quite a fun day! Is anyone else having issues with Cutest Blog on the Block? I can't find all of the cute choices we used to use....

My Baby is 1 :(

2009-03-09T14:50:00.003-04:00

I can hardly believe that Natalie is one year old today! It seems like I was just pregnant. Now, I am not pregnant, I don't have an infant, I have the beginning (okay very beginnings) of a runners body (well, at least the flat chest!), and I have a toddler...I can't even believe it! Natalie came into the world at 12:05 AM on March 9th last year (it was a Sunday) and daylight savings time had just gone into effect (making the staff question exactly what time she was born). She was the product of a relatively easy pregnancy and an extremely easy labor and delivery (though not as easy as Melanie...). She has been a delight this first year, though not without it's difficulties. She was not the easiest of sleepers at times (there were many nights I thought I would lose my mind nursing constantly...or driving aimlessly through pouring rain in the middle of the night- it's a wonder we survived!). There were days where she was an infant needing constant care and holding but, oh yeah, there was a 2 year old I was suppose to be caring for...and a job (at the time 2), graduate school, a life, and a husband (poor husband-on the BACK BACK BACK burner!). However, we managed it all and we all survived and though Natalie is into EVERYTHING these days and is in CONSTANT motion things get easier and easier. Melanie is almost self-sufficient and actually quite a big help when she wants to be. Natalie is now drinking out of a straw, eating all table foods and can get to whatever she wants without my assistance. She also, believe it or not, goes to the bathroom on the toilet on a semi-regular basis now (appx. 4 times/day!). So overall, life is amazingly wonderful and I couldn't ask for it to be any different. I nursed Natalie for the last time last night (the 24th month of my life devoted to nursing!) and got teary eyed. It is a hard thought that I will never (well at least not on purpose) nurse again. It was a stressful task. It was EXTREMELY time consuming and required a lot of diligence on my part. I have nursed in almost every conceivable place and if I didn't nurse there I pumped there (driving down the road, in parking lots, on airplanes, in bathrooms, in closets, etc.) I think more people have seen my boobs or the side of my boobs than ever wished to. However, I can take pride in knowing that my minimal amount of sleep at times (well, nursing babies only sleep 1-2 hours at a time at first b/c they are constantly nursing) has really paid off and created brilliant, healthy babies. Natalie's birthday party was super fun. It was a small gathering of close friends and family and we enjoyed company and children. Natalie started to get tired part of the way through and we hurried through presents (at a record speed) and then onto cake. Like predicted Natalie was THRILLED with her cake and dove right in. She ate until I had to take it away. She was too funny. The cake was beautifully decorated from Publix by the same lady that made Melanie's. Natalie then went down for a nap while the rest of the kids played and the parents, ate, drank, and enjoyed everyone's company. It was an amazing day between my race and the party and I am just in a happy place right now. I couldn't ask for anything more and I'm so proud of my family. Well, enough of the gushiest post I possibly have ever done...just a little sentimental at the end of my mom to a tiny baby days. Some of these are just random pics from the past week at our house celebrating Natalie's first year. The cake pics without a hat were taken today, actually on Natalie's bday where she literally ate all the cake we gave her in two bites/fist fulls.

My RACE!

2009-03-09T12:54:00.003-04:00

I had my race on Saturday morning. I was so excited. I had trained just as my program had called for, I was healthy all week...I was ready! It was not a huge race (maybe 100 people). We started out running through a very hilly neighborhood around Central Gwinnett. We made laps in the neighborhood about 3 times which was kind of silly. But, I didn't know how silly the course would actually get. I ended up running laps around buildings, parking lots, workmen areas, etc. Also there were no mile markers so I had no clue how I was doing. I was getting kind of sentimental towards the end b/c I was thinking this weekend last year I was in labor. I was telling myself if I can do labor I can run this race, however I was pushing less time than the race :) Then as I round the corner for the finish line I see Clint and my girls and I was so happy. In one year I had become a mother for a 2nd time and set a physical goal and completed it... in one hour and 1 minute!!! (It was 10.5 K) Then to top it all off...I won my age group! Wahoo!! Like I said, it was a small race but still, wahoo!

In the pics Clint took all of the action shots including my friend Elizabeth, who I coerced into running with me, finishing.

Snow Day

2009-03-09T12:52:00.002-04:00

Well, the girls throughly enjoyed the snow. Natalie was so funny just looking out the window and pointing. She didn't know what she was seeing but knew it was great! Melanie, on the other hand had listened to the news and knew it was suppose to snow. So when an attempt at sleet started to fall she insisted in playing in it. Well, it was basically rain but we gave in and let her. (Enjoy the video of us laughing at her). Later on the real snow came and the girls loved it. We made a snowman, Melanie made snow angels, yes, it was REAL snow and lots of it. It was a nice 1-2 day adventure.

New Teeth= More Effective Biting!

2009-02-28T09:53:00.003-05:00

Well, Natalie is in the process of growing 2 more top teeth. I looked in her mouth the other day and there they were. She seems to be doing fine with them. Both of my girls were pretty easy as far as teething is concerned. Natalie is so busy and daring and feisty. FEISTY is the #1 word I use to describe her these days. She knows what she wants and will make sure she gets it! It's really cute, you know she understands alot now. We can sing some songs and she attempts to do the hand motions and she plays with some toys correctly now (rather than just trying to eat them all). Smarter and smarter by the day!

We went to the circus about a week ago. It was the circus of the senses which is a one hour long circus for people with disabilities. It has sign language interpreters, braille programs, a short circus with no intermission, etc. Anyway we normally take our classes at Partee but Gwinnett County has said no longer so we give our kids free tickets to go with their families and there were some extra tickets so Clint and I took the girls. It was the Big Apple Circus at Stone Mountain that puts it on so all seats were great seats. It is the perfect circus for little ones. Their attention span was perfect for it. Natalie actually enjoyed it and clapped at appropriate times and her little eyes followed the show all around. Melanie is actually understanding it better and better each year. It was a really fun family night.

Melanie finally had her 3 year old dr. appointment on Tuesday. She did great. She was a bit weirded out by taking her clothes off and that changed her personality for the whole thing. They wanted her to put on a typical gown and sheet to cover you lower half and called it a princess gown. Melanie threw it on the floor and told the doctor it wasn't a princess gown it was a napkin and she wasn't going to wear it. She told the doctor her favorite food was steak- whatever silly girl. But she got a super check up- no shots needed. She weighed 32lbs (60th %) and was 38 inches tall (70th %) so right where she has always been- growing great! The only small reprimand we got is that she doesn't wear a bike helmet- probably b/c she can only ride 5 feet- but knowing her she would probably fall at her 5 ft flat ride. The camera is in Clint's car so I will put new pics soon but all in all life is great.

Oh! My job interview is Wednesday (Elizabeth and I are going to interview/observe many different classes)- wish us luck! It is going to be an odd type of interview b/c I am also going to be examining all of the sites as a potential customer also b/c I am checking them out for the girls as well as for possible work. I'm so excited!

Okay, okay

2009-02-16T12:23:00.009-05:00

Natalie's first shaving cream adventure- enjoy the video at the bottom... Two pics from the first dentist appointment- watch the video at the end also! So I am so far behind in blogging world. Natalie is the busiest child on the planet and I rarely have a chance to sit down at the computer without jumping up to relieve her of her latest feat. She is growing so fast. She can say "mama, dada, ball, an appx. of bubble, appx. of nana, appx. of pops and an appx. of dog/puppy." She is cruising from one piece of furniture to another and will sometimes try to stand unassisted. She has NO fear. She started gymnastics and will attempt anything with any adult. She just goes and goes. Oddly enough she is a fairly regular nighttime pooper. It normally occurs right around bath time. So we have caught her around that time and sit her on the toilet and if she has to go she will (about 10x now) and if she doesn't have to she will cry to let you know that she wants off. No, I have no intentions of attempting any type of potty training in the near future but we are pretty impressed she is making some type of connection. She continues to love food and is not picky in the least. She has dropped the bottle and is using sippy cups throughout the day. I am slowly weaning her from nursing. We are down to 2x/day. In 3 weeks I will have been pregnant or nursing 44 months of the last 48 months!!!! AAAHHHHH- I am so ready for my body to be all about me and my hormones be dictated by a normal 28 year old not for creation of life or sustaining of life. But, I have very healthy, smart girls so I definitely think it was all worth it! I can hardly believe that Natalie will be 1 in few short weeks. It is pretty amazing to know we have had her hear on earth for a whole year!! Boy time flies! Melanie is as feisty as ever and knows how to pitch a fit at the drop of a hat. She knows fits are for the dining room or her room room so I just have to point and off she marches in all out hysteria. She is super smart and really cute but boy does she have a temper that can grate on my last nerve. She can be quite demanding and whiny about her way or the highway! I clench my fist and bite my tongue as much as I can (multiple times/day!). Our neighborhood has built an amazing playground for the kids. It is just like a park playground. Melanie has shown off how grownup she is by running from our house to the front of the playground to play. I am pretty amazed her stamina can keep up that long. She continues to love school and gymnastics and does great in both. Her gymnastics class is for big kids (3-4) year olds and the moms just sit outside. She is getting better at following directions and staying with the group. The first time or two she did a lot of wandering! She goes for her 3 year old appointment next week so we can update about that some time soon. She has moved to a big girl car seat b/c Natalie outgrew her carrier. Melanie now is in a highback booster using a regular seat belt and Natalie looks tiny in the "big car seat." However, she weighed a ton so there was no way I could carry the other seat anymore. Melanie had her 1st dentist appointment a few weeks ago. She was amazing and had great teeth. She sat through it all without every crying or whining. I was so proud of her. As for me and Clint we are continuing though our daily grind. I have applied for a new job next year. We will see what happens and if any new positions become available. I would like to teach a collaborative preschool class which would be in a daycare and I would have appx. 6 students with special needs integrated in with 14 GA PreK students. I think it seems like such a neat opportunity and I would have students with such different abilities and needs than I do now so I would be fun to kind of mix it up. It will prevent me from getting burned out of my current job. I would still be considered an employee of Gwinnett Schools I would just co-teach with GA PreK teacher and a daycare hired teacher assistant. What fun...keep your fingers crossed for me. Also, running is going amazingly well. Yesterday I ran my longest run yet- 6.4 miles (all outside...not on the treadmill!) in 65 minutes. I was quite impressed with myself if I do say so. Clint is doing really well on his exercise routine also. He got a little sidelined when he went out of town a few weeks ago. He was in Dallas for work and slipped on some ice and fell forward. It hurt him pretty bad and he went to the dr for some Xrays etc. but nothing was broken so he was given some pain meds and told to wait it out Anyway,enough of the updates. Here are a ton of pics and videos- enjoy! Can I just mention in the midst of this Natalie pulled over a potted plant that I will now clean up and I have broken up no fewer than 3 feuds between them...gee...you wonder why the lack of posts?

Is He About to have a Picking Party?

2009-01-21T12:21:00.002-05:00

So, Melanie is now in big gymnastics where I do not go in with her. She is getting better at it each week. But, the first week she picked her nose for 3/4 of the class and at the end I had to tell her that it was not okay to pick the whole time and if she really needed to pick she could go the bathroom or wait until it was over and I would let her have a picking party....

So, the inauguration was yesterday. I thought it was all pretty cool and watched much of it (though I was bummed that at the gym Regis and Kelly wasn't on to run to...pre-inauguration stuff wasn't nearly as exciting). I was trying to get Melanie to watch a bit of it and she was asking pretty cool questions, so I was thinking, there was a chance she had a tiny bit of understanding of what was happening. She asked if Hillary Clinton was the new president ("Is she the new president?") when she and Bill walked in and I explained, no, a boy was the president. She asked why and I explained more people wanted a boy than a girl (hey, she just turned 3, there is only so much explaining that can be done). So then she asked about some of the later men that they showed, asking who they were ("Is that Obama?"). I explained no, and that he would come out later. Then when he came out and people were cheering and he was hugging and shaking hands she asked, "Is he about to have a picking party?" WHAT????!!!! That doesn't even make any sense. So, it goes to show that a 3 year old actually has no clue what is going on as the world of politics is concerned.

One other funny (well, kind of) story...Melanie smothers Natalie, hugging her too tight, getting on top of her, pushing toys at her, etc. Yesterday, Natalie was in the highchair and Melanie was smothering her with a hug and Natalie finally snapped and bit Melanie. Natalie bites me all the time and cries hysterically when she gets in trouble but payback is a, well, you know, for Melanie. We've warned her a lot and she doesn't listen, maybe she will now. Then she was concerned that Natalie got her shirt wet with slobber. Good grief!

Random Pics

2009-01-19T12:35:00.006-05:00

Hello, so I know I have been a bit lagging lately.

Natalie had a dr appt a few weeks back as a check up on an ear infection. She gained 1.5 lbs in 3 weeks! AHHHH! The girl loves to eat! She is SOOOO BUSY! Much more busy than Melanie. She does not love to cuddle- she just wants to go, go, go. She has crawled all the way to the top of the stairs. She is too funny. She nods yes and no, likes to play along to songs I sing, and can say mama and dada. She knows "Shelby" and "Melanie" b/c she will go to them or point to them if we ask where they are. She gets into EVERYTHING! Nothing in this house is off limits anymore.

Melanie had a wonderful birthday party and is amazingly a 3 year old. She still have some fits (I guess that doesn't change overnight...) but is so smart, fun, and independent. She now can get her own water from the refrigerator using the water "stem" That is what she calls it...we don't know why.

Clint and I are continuing on our healthy life regimen. We are learning what we can and refuse to do (exp. maybe Mexican isn't the healthiest but no way are we stopping that!). Clint had a little extra encouragement when his dad had mild heart attack on New Year's Eve. He was in Mississippi visiting family but all has turned out okay and he is home and recovering and Clint is motivated to stay healthy. I attempted a super healthy dinner last night that was SO GROSS! It was a shrimp & pasta creation that we ended up tossing. We were both trying to like but trying not to gag so we are continuing to learn. I am continuing to train for my race in March. I am up to 3 miles...getting there slowly but surely. And, I finished my 1st semester of classes and I'm beginning on my 2nd, again, getting there slowly but surely.

The crazy pics are from a fun New Year's Eve Party at Chris and A's. Needless to say...the night is a little more fun after a bottle of wine. We had pack and plays set up all across their house finding space for 3 babies and Melanie. You do what you have to for a night out with adults!

My Mom's 3rd Bday Pics

2009-01-19T12:31:00.001-05:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

My Baby is 3!

2009-01-14T12:56:00.000-05:00

Well, Melanie had a very busy birthday weekend. Friday, I took off work and went to her school and decorated cookies with her classmates. It was fun to see them all working together. If I do say so myself, Melanie is SUPER smart! On Saturday we had her "friend" party and had a GIANT party at Little Gym with 15 of her little friends. It was chaotic but such fun! She loved her princess cake and all of the excitement and attention on herself. Then, last night we had a family dinner and made chicken pot pie (Her request) and then gave her the giant princess castle we bought her. (It was on clearance after the holidays on amazon.com). It is HUGE! 5 ft tall and 4ft across. It was fun. It came with dress up clothes, a wand, a tierra, and a frog :) My parents gave her a dance cam so you can watch yourself dance on the TV and Clint's parents gave her a kids Dance Dance Revolution (too funny). She is not quite coordinated enough yet but she will get there. I will post all of the pics at a later date. I cannot believe I have a 3 year old and that this was the 3rd party we have thrown for her. Time has flown by. Though she has definitely tested our patience and made us take a lot of deep breaths she is getting easier and easier by the day. She is so smart and will talk to you about absolutely anything and takes care of so much by herself (picking up her toys, putting away her laundry, helping to pack her lunch and school bag, etc.) It is amazing what my little angel can do.

Happy Birthday Melanie- Mommy and Daddy love you!

Mamaw's fun Book

2009-01-11T16:01:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Holidays...a bit late

2009-01-08T16:18:00.006-05:00

Here is a round of Christmas Eve and Christmas pics that I am just now getting to.

Wow! lots of updates

2008-12-30T13:07:00.002-05:00

I've realized when I am not working I am much less reliant on technology so I have been around the computer very little this break. But here we go...

Christmas Eve
We had my parents over for Christmas Eve/ My Dad's Birthday Party. All was going well and our friends Amy and Caroline dropped by to give us cookies. While they were here Natalie decided to climb up on a box of a foot spa Ruth gave me. The box was maybe 6 inches off the floor. Somehow she managed to fall off and start screaming. I was not too worried...really- what could have happened. So as I am cuddling her Clint notices there is blood steadily streaming from her mouth. GREAT! So I am trying to get her calmed down all the while trying not to care that her special Christmas Eve outfit I got her is getting an enormous blood stain on it. So then Melanie realizes drama is occurring and comes over to see the blood and becomes hysterical. So, Amy takes Melanie away to calm her down and Clint and get Natalie calmed down to see where the blood is coming from. It was from inside her mouth- around where one of her top teeth was coming in. So we give her some Motrin, a paci and Clint holds her until she falls asleep. Meanwhile I frantically try to finish cleaning the house, preparing the food (or snacks) for my family and getting myself ready. (The girls were both ready). My parents were due to arrive between 6:30 and 7:00 and wouldn't you know it that around 6:30 when I still don't have makeup on and the snacks are not all prepared that Melanie decides to go in the bathroom stand there and pee in her Christmas Eve outfit I had purchased for her. So, I made her strip down and clean up the bathroom as I finished getting everything ready and then had to put her in a back up outfit (Natalie on the other hand just wore her blood-stained clothes). So eventually everyone was put together, the food was put together, my parents arrived and the Christmas fun began. The girls loved eating an amazing Banana Split Cake my mom made and Melanie really enjoyed opening up one present that night (and taking over Natalie's as well). Natalie got a walk behind hippo/fisher price see through block thing and guess what, she can walk behind and push it across the room- WOW! So all in all it was wonderful and turned out to be a calm, happy night. Melanie was really excited to lay out the cookies that she made with me and decorated with Clint and reindeer food (thanks Becca- the trail mix worked out great! and was a tasty treat for the "reindeer" that ate it that night).

Christmas Morning
Well, as with life with little ones it could not be drama free. Natalie was up from about 2:30 am on (I think her Motrin wore off) and Melanie woke up after peeing in her bed so her Christmas morning pjs were a bust (why do I even bother?). However, after that drama the girls had an awesome time with presents. The funniest part was Natalie. She ONLY wanted Melanie's opened presents...she did not care about opening them or anything made for her...ONLY Melanie's. Oh, I also made pancakes, bacon and fruit that morning and Natalie ate an entire pancake and tons of fruit (it was the beginning of her current amazing eating streak- she is eating way more than Melanie at meals right now- no baby food only our table food). Melanie's favorite gift was an Animal Hospital from the Parent's line at Target. Natalie didn't really have a favorite- she liked the cars TJ and Becca had given her earlier in the week (also from the Parent's line at Target) and Melanie was still pretty obsessed with Candy Land game TJ and BEcca had given her (though she does not like to lose and prays at night that she will win and daddy will lose :) hee hee). Clint and I only did stocking stuffers for each other- his favorite gift was an MP3 player (great for his new work out regiment) and my favorite was a set of earpieces for working out (I am training for a 10K in March). THe funniest was a car Atlas I gave Clint. He used to always say he needed an updated one but never bought it for himself so I thought I was pretty smart and bought it. He wasn't overly thrilled and I asked if he already bought it for himself and he said no, he got an GPS. Oh yeah, I guess I forgot that detail :)

Christmas Afternoon
We went over to Clint's parents for a great lunch and massive present openings. The girls got so spoiled. Melanie got a Hot Wheel that she was not initially thrilled with b/c she is not so great at steering and pedaling. But, after some outside practice she really came around and did great and grew to like it. Natalie got a cute push behind baby stroller and showed off her walking skills again. Melanie's favorite present was a real digital camera that uncle Brian gave her. She took over 100 pics. Natalie fell asleep during the festivities. My favorite present was a new digital camera that Rodney and Donna got me and Clint- wahoo! Wait until you all see the quality of the movies it takes. One funny point is that it has a setting where it will automatically take pics when it senses a smile- it will take them constantly for normal people but only once has it taken one for Melanie- apparently her weird smile doesn't even register :)

Christmas Evening
Finally to end the day we went to my parents for Christmas Snacks and more presents. I got an AMAZING wooden jewelry box with a glass top with my initials etched in from my parents. IT is huge but already full. Natalie got a Fisher Price Crawl through Home thing that she and Melanie both love. Then to top off the night Melanie got the much coveted Baby Alive. We kept it to the last present of the night. She had said that she was sad that she didn't get a Baby Alive. Then, she was so excited...until we opened it and turned it on. I wished I had a video of it. As soon as we pressed the button and it said, "Hello, I love you Mommy." Melanie freaked out and wouldn't touch it. She eventually came around and loves it and will tell you that her daddy thinks it is creepy. It eats, drinks, poops, pees, goes potty, plays peekaboo, sings and Lord knows what else. But, it was the hit of the night.

We have settled down and started organizing our house to fit all of the new toys, clothes, and things. It was amazing and such a fun, busy Christmas. I especially happy Clint had 8 days off to spend with our family. I wouldn't have changed anything (even the crazy drama of all of the outfits- no worries- our main Christmas outfits had no problems). It all made for fun Christmas memories. Enjoy all of the videos and pics to come.

Quick Natalie update:
She is so busy learning new things...cruising on furniture, walking behind toys, shaking her head no, nodding her had in the song "If You're Happy and You Know It," making kissing noises and then kissing you with an open mouth and actually kind of playing with toys- what fun!

Melanie's Sweet Story

2008-12-22T07:56:00.006-05:00

Sweaters my parapro's mother in law knitted for the girls...no they are not too happy right then

check out all of my donations for the pj drive!

One of Melanie's favorite shows is Jon & Kate + 8. Recently they had an episode where the kids got to go to KMart and each pick 3 toys to throw in the cart to take up to St. Jude to give to kids that did not have any toys for Christmas. Melanie really watched the show and was paying attention. She also has kind of understood donations of food and clothes to the Lilburn Co-Op and the PJ drive that I held. (Which, by the way I collect 49 pairs of pjs and 18 books- THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!) Well, we were donating some toys for Toys for Tots at Publix last week so she understood that they had a donation box. After we put our items in the box we went to shop for groceries. Publix has this giant toy display you have to walk past before you can get to the groceries. Melanie gets excited and says "Look, mom!" I knew exactly what she was looking at and I say, what is it? And she says, "Look, mom, a Sleeping Beauty Barbie." I tell her, "Yes, it's beautiful." Then she says, "I know.." And, I think I know what she is talking about, and say, "What do you know?" She says, "We should buy the Sleeping Beauty Barbie and give it to kids that don't have Sleeping Beauty Barbies for Christmas like on Jon + 8 (that is what she calls it)." Of course I had to agree to that plan. She never once asked for it for herself, it was always for other kids. Then she said, the Barbie can be for a girl but we need to get a boy something and she picked out a bean bag Tigger. Too sweet.

Last week was a whirlwind of activity. Both girls getting sick then better. Melanie did have to miss her last mommy and me gymnastics class :( I can't believe she is too old for them anymore. She will start classes without me in January and Natalie will start mommy and me... I can't believe she is big enough! Then Melanie had she Christmas performance at school. I had to miss it but my mom, Clint, his parents, and brother all made it so she had a great audience. She sang 3 Christmas songs and was a sheep :) I got to watch the video Clint took and it was so cute. Santa came to my work and the kids had a great time (look closely at the pics to figure out the resemblance to anyone!). We had our gift exchange/dinner with Chris, Aileen, Nate, TJ, and Becca. The girls have so many gifts already between that exchange and all of the gifts people have been so kind to mail us. Melanie also got a package from Santa on the front porch on Saturday and was so excited. He sent her a humidifier to make sure she is getting good sleep this time before Christmas (we were having problems with her waking up coughing and were having to decide which sick baby got the humidifier so Santa was kind enough to bring anther one...a Pooh one). I also finsihed my last class for this semester so I am 1/3 of the way through my Specialist's Program. Wahoo! It wasn't too bad- I am the queen of procrastination in it. I started and finished a paper on Friday that was due on Saturday morning. Not too bad. I've learned to think and type fast so I can move on to laundry, dinner, work, whatever. It was nice b/c Clint was off so I was able to have him watch the girls while I wrote the paper. Oh, since I am updating on everyone, Clint is now the master plumber. We've had 2 toilets leak constantly all of a sudden and Clint figured out how to completely take them apart and replace all of the inner "workings" and now we have no problem. Maybe this can be his side job :)

Quite the Eventful Weekend

2008-12-15T22:46:00.002-05:00

Well, as a mom you have to make choices (and sometimes listen to your gut). Saturday morning Natalie woke up and the skin around her eye looked a bit red and swollen. I thought possibly pink eye. So,I called the nurse answering service and I began a 2 hour run around with them trying to finally talk to someone who would either tell me to come in or not. However, by the time I finally got someone who told me "it is your choice" it was 8:30 and Melanie had plans for breakfast with Santa around 9:30. So, I had to make the choice of letting Melanie see Santa as planned or telling her that plan was off b/c it was a possibility that the redness around her sister's eye was pink eye (like my gut told me). I also had a really big weekend planned so we went with maybe it was just drainage from Natalie's 3 week cold and we decided to not worry about it.

We went to see Santa at church and he was wonderful! He was so kind and spent a lot of time with the girls. Neither girl cried though Natalie wasn't overly excited. Melanie told him she wanted a Baby Alive for Christmas. She completed some crafts, ate pancakes, took pretty good pictures and we were on our way home to begin the long line of plans.

I REALLY needed a girls day out. I haven't been away from the girls (and not at work) in almost 2 months. So, I had plans to get my hair cut and colored and then meet Ruth at TEN at the Avenue for a deluxe, amazing pedicure (for those of you who have never been there you get a hour long spa pedicure in complete silence with a massage and this eye mask, and ahhhhh goodness!) So I went about my plans and Clint tried calling various clinics to see if any of them took babies- (the answer is no, only Children's Healthcare of Atlanta satellite offices). Then when we returned we went to TJs Christmas Party while the Gilbreath's kindly watched the girls for us to have a "date night." The nurses Clint talked to pretty much chalked it up to her cold and told us not to worry.

THEN, Sunday morning arrived. Melanie and Natalie woke up with eyes glued shut with gunk and they were all red, swollen, and pitiful. Clint had plans for his much needed guy day away to play golf. So, I was left with the sick girls. Though none of the clinics would see Natalie they would see Melanie (you had to be 18 months). So, I took her to one of the weird clinics in CVS. They were really nice. I wouldn't go for a real illness but something like pink eye which I could diagnose I feel comfortable with their care. Melanie most definitely had pink eye (it was really obvious as pus is oozing out of her eye and stuck in her eye lashes) and was put on eye drops. However, I couldn't make Natalie just suffer so I broke a rule, yes me, broke a rule. I read up and studied and the eye drops were fine as long as you: a) were over 2 months, b) were not pregnant, and c) didn't put them directly on sperm- WHAT? So, since those ideas didn't apply to Natalie and I never touched the droppper to the eye I gave Natalie 3 doses of them also.

By this morning, Melanie seemed on the path to improvement, and Natalie wasn't gunky but the skin around her eye was BRIGHT red and swollen and I was sure that I should have followed the rules and not shared antibiotics around my children and that I was causing Natalie to go blind. So, I called her dr office and brought her in this morning to get her own prescription for pink eye drops. Well, it turns our her 3 week cold finally moved to her ears and she had an ear infection full on in one ear and developing in the other ear, pink eye in both eyes and she is getting 4 teeth in all at once. Poor thing. So she is in on antibiotics, eye drops and Motrin as needed. As the evening wore on they are doing so much better. Their eyes are dramatically improved. Smarty pants Melanie was listening at the dr when I asked her about how to get Melanie and Natalie to open their eyes for the drops she said it was fine if their eyes stayed shut and I squeeze in the corner b/c they will blink and open and it will get in. So, at home I go to put Melanie's drops in and tell her to please open her eyes for me and she replies, "The doctor says I don't have to open my eyes. She said I could leave my eyes shut." That little twerp!

I'm sad b/c I think Melanie will probably not be well enough for her gymnastics show tomorrow (though technically she will have been on antibiotics long enough I don't want anyone else to get it). I just hope she is fine by Wednesday and Friday for her school holiday party and the play that she is in- she is a sheep :)

Mississippi Pics/ Thanksgiving Pics and Tree Pic

2008-12-11T11:04:00.005-05:00

The girls with my cousin

Natalie's 9 month Dr. Appointment

2008-12-10T12:28:00.003-05:00

Yes, I know I am behind on pictures- they are all on my home computer...I will get to it.

However, quick update on Miss Natalie. She had her 9 month dr appointment yesterday. She was so happy (aside from the shot) but great otherwise. She weighs 19 lbs 10 oz (65th%) is 27 inches long (49th%) and her head is in the 90th%. I don't know if you all remember but her head was TINY when she was born (either the 11th% or the 14th% I can't remember which girl had which head). I am thankful for being able to deliver tiny head babies but that means a lot of growing is in store and boy do they grow! She has had a pretty bad cough (for going on 3 weeks) and a really runny nose. She was doing all of her coughing for him but he was not concerned. I got the great response of you guessed it, a humidifier. That is why I hardly ever take my girls to the dr...they always prescribe a humidifier. However, the doctor was concerned about her dry skin. I didn't think it was as dry as he did but she also has some eczema that we were aware of. He wants us to not clean her in the tub (just let her play in the water) and to coat her in aquaphor or eucerin when she gets out. We tried it last night and she was like a greased pig. It was quite funny. Overall she was great...even while he was picking around in her ears. He was fine with her chunky belly (she is still nursing about 4 times per day but other than that eats mostly all table foods...no baby foods any more). Yesterday at Moes she had a bowl of black beans and a Ritz dipped in guacamole :) All in all life is great and that are happy with her. She is crawling, trying to pull to stand, and can say dada and wave hi and bye. She likes to take blocks out but will not put them in for anything and loves to drop things over the side of her highchair. A super happy baby that LOVES her mommy!

My Smarty Pants Kiddo

2008-12-05T08:35:00.002-05:00

Well, I know I often brag about Natalie these days, but for the past week Melanie deserves the praise. Here are her latest stories...

Tuesday I was sitting at Moes with Melanie and Natalie when Melanie had the neatest conversation with me:
Melanie: Mommy, today we went to Lauren's, gymnastics and lunch. What are we doing next?
Me: We are going to vote.
Mel: Why do we vote?
Me: To decide who is going to be the boss.
Mel: Are we voting for you, mommy?
Me: No, not for me.
Mel: Are we voting for Daddy?
Me: No we are not voting for Daddy?
Mel: What about Pops then?
Me: No, we are voting for who is going to be the boss of the whole country, of our state, Georgia.
Mel: Oh, then we need to vote for God then.

SO CUTE!

Then, yesterday I was holding Natalie while she napped. (She is not sleeping the best right now b/c a cold when through our family and she has a pretty yucky lingering cough.) It was time for Melanie's nap but I didn't want to wake Natalie up. I asked Melanie if she would just go take a nap and she said, "what about my story?" I convinced her to sit next to me on the couch while I read to her and then I asked her to go upstairs and take a nap. Can you believe it...she did! She went right on upstairs without complaint and took a 2 1/2 hour nap! What a good girl.

I will post about Thanksgiving, our trip to Mississippi and pics later.

Lots of Pics!

2008-11-25T20:57:00.007-05:00

Aileen helped me so much the other day...the dreaded Christmas Card day. I really attempted to get good shots. What you are seeing is the best of about 100 pics between 2 photographers (me and Aileen) lots of tears, some cheerios and sweat. Enjoy all of the latest! Sorry the video is so blurry- our camera is seeing it's final days...maybe I can get a new one for Christmas!

"Dada, Dada, Dada"

2008-11-19T14:59:00.002-05:00

Blah, blah, blah....
Why oh why does the little child that you carry for 10 months, get so fat for, get stretch marks for, go through Labor and Delivery for, produce milk for decide to go around smiling and saying "dada, dada, dada?"

Oh well, it is super cute. Both of my girlies had "dada" as their first words. We will be sitting around the dinner table and I will say, "Natalie, say mama" and she will look at Clint and say "dada." That stinker!

She is continuing to crawl and scream at the top of her lungs if we (i.e. ME) go out of sight. She is a bit overly attached to my hip at this moment. However, cute and as fat as ever. We love her so much. She is wearing 12 month and some 12-18 month clothes- GOOD GRIEF! Right now she has a small temp and a runny nose but she will survive. Just a quick update on my littlest baby.

Oh, by the way-
I am hosting a charity PJ and book drive for children in foster homes or shelters. You must donate NEW pjs or NEW books. If you would like to help out just give them to me the next time you see me or contact me for info on our open house/drop in to bring them by. If you would like to help many little kiddos would greatly appreciate it. Details on the charity can be found at www.thepajamaprogram.org

THANKS- and realize you are making a difference in someone's life each and every day by the actions and choices you make. Right here around the holidays help make a positive choice!

Let the Games Begin!

2008-11-12T17:41:00.003-05:00

Well, as soon I posted last night's blog Natalie started crawling. Watch the video- it is not perfect but she is getting from point A to point B. I think Melanie has mixed feelings about it all. ENJOY!

These shoes are made for crawlin...

2008-11-11T17:20:00.007-05:00

Check out those kicks!

Melanie's loony faces!

Melanie and Nate

So I took Natalie to get her 1st official pair of shoes today. She got fitted at Stride Rite (yes, I know a little pricey but Melanie's first few pairs and her tennis shoes always come from there b/c they size her and fit her well so Natalie does not get left out of the process). She wears a 2 1/2 on one side and 3 1/4 on the other so 3 1/2 it is. Oh, and of course a WIDE! They are kind of high tops to hold in all of her fat. Melanie's first were Robeez which I loved but Natalie's foot and cankles are too fat for that so we got this other kind. They are still the shoe you can bend in half but are oh so cute. She is trying her hardest to crawl and can crawl backwards but hasn't mastered the forward crawl. She loves all food we've given her. The only "real" food is bananas, crackers and cheese but she loves it all!

There haven't been any posts in a while b/c a nasty stomach bug hit Clint, Natalie, Me, Clint's mom, our neighbors, and all of Clint's store. So far Melanie has been in the clear. Yuck! Good thing is it is short lived (no more than 24 hours) so the end is in sight!

Happy shout out for my BFF Ruth- she just signed on a new house in Lawrenceville. We are getting closer and closer together- WAHOO!

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-02T12:11:00.023-05:00

After a big night of trick or treating with our friend Glenda the good witch My little ladybug ;) Checking out the inside of a pumpkin for the first time Painting a pumpkin Daddy's girls Melanie on a horse Natalie's first experience at the pumpkin patch Well coordinated Elizabeth and Jeremy Kelly and Dills Amy and baby Nate The ladies of Cooper Woods Chris and Aileen's new baby, Nate Hmmm, maybe this was after I had a bit to drink :) Amy was our female costume winner :) Well, I guess I owe you all a bunch of pics. We've had a great end to October, enjoying fall festivals and various other things. My mom, Clint's mom, Melanie, and myself all went to see Disney on Ice. Melanie loved it! I highly reccommend it to folks over 2 years old- it was much more fun to her than the circus, zoo, and aquarium. My birthday party was another success- hooray to Toga Parties- cheap and easy. Moe's catered the party and I highly reccommend that plan also- inexpensive and super easy! Halloween was a blast. The girls enjoyed (kind-of) carving the pumpkin and they were cute ladybugs. I had a wonderful time on my birthday- the girls made me a pumpkin craft and Clint got me a new winter coat. Overall a great 2 weeks.

I'm addicted...

2008-10-19T20:56:00.011-04:00

Natalie looks just like my cousin, Jessica, in this pic when Jessica was a baby.

TO EBAY!!!!

I have never had quite an addiction like e-bay. Diet Coke compares but I love e-bay! I have won some girls clothing lots for dirt cheep prices and when I've received them many of them have been of great quality! I won a Gap/Old Navy lot of clothes (10 pieces + 2 pairs of socks) for $17 and then a set of 12 pieces of clothes for .01- yes, 1 penny! (Granted s/h was $6- but still what a deal. All of the clothes are Melanie's size so they will be passed down to Natalie and then consigned so I totally feel I am getting my $ worth- I am all about deals/coupons these days...maybe border line obsessive! Anyway that is why I have been off of the blog world b/c I am on the ebay world.

For all of you that are wondering- no rat...we don't know where Templeton wondered off to but he is currently gone.

Enjoy the pics they are all from my mom (who is not addicted to ebay and has time to deal with pictures.)

Totally Random

2008-10-09T07:16:00.002-04:00

Scroll over the colors to learn about me...I'm sure you are greatly intrigued :)

These days I piddle on the computer to relax...

Killing a Rat...Priceless

2008-10-02T21:55:00.004-04:00

If anyone is keeping score...Rat 3 Gilbreath's 0

New Grill....$250 (voted-no)
Professional "wildlife removal"..... $215 (voted-no)
Rat Poison....$8 (voted-yes)
Emergency Vet Appointment....$280
Vitamin K Tablets....appx. $50
Follow Up Visit....$80
Borrowed Rat Trap....$0
Dead Rat....priceless

So, the menacing little creature I guess still lurks...we haven't killed it or seen it since. However, we realized we couldn't pay for the professional wildlife removal. So, Clint got some rat poison. He was going to put it on the outside of the fence where the hole is for the rat. I was inside on the phone/computer and he was outside with the door shut doing his thing. At some point Melanie opened up the door and let Shelby out. Clint had rested the poison on the chair as he was situating it all. (It comes in blocks like a KitKat and you break off bars to put places.) Melanie starts yelling, "Daddy, Daddy, no Shelby." At this point Clint and I both know what has happened and I quickly hang up on my mom and run after the dog. She looks at Clint and I chasing her and immediately swallows the rat poison. Wonderful, lovely, this is turning out just dandy. I rush over to Aileen's and tell her to please watch the girls the dog just ate rat poison. I grab my shoes and Clint grabs his keys and attempts to put Shelby on her leash. I am quickly calling her vet (it is 5:55) and they inform the dr. is gone to go to the emergency vet. Thankfully, a brand new emergency vet has just been built by our house. We call ahead and rush her up there. We had no idea how long it takes for rat poison to kill a dog and we don't really know what to think in the car at this point. We get there and get her checked in within 15 minutes of her eating the poison. The finally after 3 attempts get her to vomit and she vomits up 2 completely whole bars of poison. So, Clint and I had waited the 30-45 minutes for her to finally vomit and they sent us home. Shelby had to stay until the nausea wore off and they pumped her full of charcoal to adhere to any remaining poison in her body and then she can pass it out. However, the charcoal will adhere to anything in her system so no food or water. She came home late in the night and was SO thirsty. We had to pour out her bowls and close the toilets. She was licking all around our bathtub drains poor baby. Then she laid her head on our bed and cried. Well, we couldn't sleep with that so then we had to put the shock collar on her. We never even had to beep her (which you do before you press the shock button and that normally stops the behavior on its own) and she just laid on her bed until the morning. Boy it was a sad night for her. This morning she was sooooo thirsty and just drank and drank. Now she is on Vitamin K 3x a day for 2-3 weeks. Whatever, DRAMA!!! But we love her and it's worth it. So, moral of the story- no poison if you have pets or kids- EVER!

You are invited to a cookout...

2008-10-01T05:28:00.004-04:00

So our day was super. We ran a ton of errands and got so many great deals at various stores. I checked on my consignment account and made $32 later redeemed some gift certificates. Melanie had gymnastics- she doesn't even need me there anymore. Natalie is starting to enjoy the commotion of gymnastics and wants to be on the ground to wallow around. We headed to Target to replace all bath toys. Now that Natalie is in the bath with Melanie I was much more conscience of the toys in the bath b/c Natalie puts them in her mouth. Well, the toys were pretty gross and needed to be replaced. So, I took my consignment money and bought the girls all new bath toys and came home and threw away all of the old ones. Melanie and I made Halloween cupcakes complete with spiders on the top. We invited Chris and Aileen over for dinner and dessert and then headed for the tub where Melanie was super excited to play with all of her new things. So, you're thinking great, why is she posting...well the day DID NOT end average!

We have been searching for a creature in our backyard. The other day Clint and I noticed a large (about one foot by one foot and about 6 inches tall) mound of dirt on the other side of our fence. We were like what in the world? Who threw a mound of dirt in our yard. Then we started thinking is this from a creature? We have some pavers that our grill sits on right on the other side of the fence. So we got pretty nervous and went and got Chris and began to move and lift up the pavers. I was providing the scary music in the background and Melanie was hiding under her slide. So the boys got the pavers up and realized yes, something dug under our fence, under the pavers and under our back porch/slab. There was a nice little burrow. So, we couldn't figure out what it was so Clint put a brick to block the hole and re-set up our backyard area. Then a couple of days later we re-enacted the whole scene and the little twerp of a critter just went around the brick and was continuing to hide under our house. So Clint took lots of gravel/dirt and filled in it's hole and re-set up the porch area. THEN, LAST NIGHT IT GOT CREEPY! We let Shelby out to go to the bathroom around 10:00. She was circling and whining about the paver/grill area. I told Clint the creature is back and it is there now! So, being funny we were like, "Shelby was it? Go get it." Well, with permission Shelby jumped on the idea. She started circling, crying, scratching, she new the thing was in there. Then she became mighty fixated on the grill, not the pavers/ground. I was thinking, no way, the creature is in the grill!!! So we brought Shelby in, got a flashlight, called Chris so I could give him a play by play on the phone and Clint dramatically lifted off the grill cover and you could hear the creature thrashing around in the grill. It was SO GROSS! I was standing up on the couch armrest inside looking out knowing for sure a bear was going to jump out of the grill and eat me and Clint. Then Clint has the guts to open the grill and the thing got kind of quiet so Clint shined a flashlight in the grill and under the grates was a creature!!!! SO GROSS!!!!! It was HUGE (or at least seemed huge!). It was 6-8 inches long with a LONG tail and beady eyes and little ears. We assume it is a RAT- DISGUSTING!!!! So, I am freaking out (I so don't do creatures) and we are talking on the phone inside trying to figure out what to do when the nasty little creature jumps out and on the edge of the grill and runs in the backyard. I freak out and run to the computer to research what it looks like and I think most probably it is a rat and I read about them and they are full of disease and ticks and fleas and grossness. Clint just wants to set a trap. I want to call in a professional. So I submit a request to our termite people on line b/c they do "wildlife removal." Not to mention the fact that during all of this Clint was attacked by killer ants straight from the rain forest and we have black widows all around that area. So what the heck? I live in creature infestation land. I told Clint I will stop shopping for a month if a professional can rid us of all of our nuisances. All night I felt as if a nasty rat were crawling over me and under my sheets. So, that was the end to our average day...anyone in the mood to come grill out at our house? :)

Simple Days of Fall

2008-09-29T17:51:00.010-04:00

what fun shaving cream is! Enjoying some sensory stimulation! Melanie beginnig to clean the table off Melanie realizing her feet are wet Mealanie doing a splash in the water dance. Today I spent most of the day home with the girls. We played in shaving cream, with toys, enjoyed our meals and then went piddling at a consignment store. All in all a great, relaxing girl day. Enjoy the pics and movies!
This was her happy dance after she realized I was letting her splash in the water.

She loves re-enacting stories. The Three Little Pigs is her latest.

Sweet Natalie with a bit of "Reed!"

2008-09-28T23:31:00.005-04:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family name history - Family tree diagram

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

2008-09-28T17:18:00.009-04:00

Me and Clint at the wedding

Me and my mom

My mom and dad at the wedding

AFter the bird exhibit

Last year Melanie fell after this picture- this year no drama!

Melanie at the zoo

Daddy and Melanie at the circus

Mommy and Melanie at the circus

Melanie so thrilled to be dressing up at the circus!

We went to the zoo Saturday morning. It was educator appreciate day so I was free and Clint was 1/2 price so as a family it was $9. Yet again, I think there is a reason why 2 year olds are free. Yes, Melanie enjoyed herself, however, she was not nearly as in to the zoo as I expected her to be. Her favorite was the zebra. Clint, Natalie and I loved the gorillas. The gorillas were really active and Natalie thought it was neat to watch them move around. By the way, Natalie can wave (using her whole arm). It is so cute! Last night Clint and I had a much needed date night. My childhood friend, Trey, got married. It was so nice to see all of the old neighborhood gang together.

Sleep...when?

2008-09-21T22:07:00.008-04:00

Well, Natalie slept through the night for a week. Then it was over...we'll keep trying. We worked Friday, went to the circus Friday night, I had college yesterday, then a GA party at our house last night and church this morning, then to the Gilbreath's for Rodney's bday party and I was exhausted. Melanie and I came home and guess what we did...took a 2 hour nap together. I don't know the last time I took a 2 hour nap but it was WONDERFUL. I think it was the highlight of my weekend. (However, I had to go to the grocery store after dinner to get everything done b/c I was suppose to go when we got home from the Gilbreath's but it was SO WORTH IT!!!) The circus was neat but I think we will hold off for a few more years. Melanie completely lost interst and really only liked the animal acts, not the people acts. She has no understanding that if you fall off a tightrope you would get really hurt. But it was really fun to spend an evening just the three of us. All of the cute new pics are from my mom. She took them while she had Natalie and Melanie was at school.

Melanie reading

2008-09-15T17:43:00.002-04:00

Well, I was not too good at pointing to the words and filming and I ran out of time for the video on my card but you get the idea. I will put book #2 up later "Ride on a _____________"

Not to brag, but...

2008-09-15T14:43:00.008-04:00

Okay...maybe to brag :) We've have been pushing letters/letter sounds pretty hard with a few of my students in my class. I began to think...gee...if I can teach a student with special needs the basics of reading surely I can teach Melanie. So, I bought some beginning reader books (mostly focusing on sight words) and she has picked it up like a pro. I need to post a video...I'll get right on it...some day. Anyway, her first book is "I see a __________" and whatever the picture is, is what you fill in the blank. So, cute and so fun. Now, she reads me a book at night and I read her a book. Also, no more pullups at bedtime. So far so good. We'll see how long the success lasts. I finished her last pack and refuse to buy more so it was a little tough love, throwing her to the sharks. She has lived up to the expectations. She continues to loves school and provide me with a super detailed report. I LOVE IT! We went to the Teck's to watch the GA game and Melanie stayed upstairs with the other kids (ages 4-7) all night without us. She only came down to eat. It is so nice to just send her to play and not worry about her putting things in her mouth, choking, not sharing etc.

Natalie is as cute and sweet as ever. She Loves LOVES LOVES to eat. She is nursing 4-5 times per day and still eating stage 2 foods. And guess what...a little tough love for her too and she sleeps through the night. I had a feeling she was just in a routine of waking up around 2:00 am to eat and I didn't really feel like she was starving otherwise. So, I didn't get up to her crying for a few nights in a row and she cried a VERY long time but after the 2-3 nights of crying she sleeps through the night. WAHOO! I think the hardest baby stages are now all behind us. All fun from here!

We are taking Melanie to the circus at the Gwinnett Arena Friday night. Aileen is watching Natalie. We are excited for a little just Melanie time. She deserves it. Enjoy the pics!

Recent Pics

2008-09-06T12:50:00.009-04:00

Natalie's first game day

Yes, Melanie is goofy but GOOOOO DAWGS!

Natalie's pigtail :)

I had gone in for a few minutes and then I spied them playing so well together

The famous closed eye pose of Melanie

Kind of silly face but still cute

Natalie playing

Sisterly love.

Leslie's ultimate weight loss story :) Melanie is in my pants with me. They are pants I bought about 4 weeks after I had Natalie.

Great First Day

2008-09-03T18:09:00.010-04:00

Melanie had a wonderful first day of school and came home telling us about it in great detail. She said who arrived on time and who was late, what songs they sang (Hazel and Jesus Loves Me), where the teachers keep supplies (cabinet), that one of her friends cried b/c she wanted to walk around with her juice rather than stay at the table, that she used the potty 1x and her friend used it 2x, that she played house with one friend, and that a friend from last year who didn't make good choices was making better choices this year. She said that their color is blue and the shape is a circle like a pancake. She said her friend told her she should wear flip flops instead of tennis shoes so she could be like her. HOW CUTE!!! What a fun and busy day for a 2 year old. I love hearing about her day. Enjoy the pics from her first day and labor day.

Just another day...

2008-08-30T08:54:00.010-04:00

It didn't turn out so well but she was sticking her head up into the penguin exhibit

They were watching the sharks

Nothing overly exciting has been going on in our house. We told Melanie we were taking her to the zoo last Monday and then we woke up to rain. She was so sad. So instead we went to the Aquarium. It only costs 100x more than the zoo but it was really neat and none of us had seen it yet. Melanie is finished being mean to Natalie. I think she just needed to check some boundaries there for a couple of days. She starts school next week. We went for registration yesterday and I think she will do very well.

Summer Fun and Sibling Rivalry

2008-08-23T07:55:00.014-04:00

G-E-O-R-G-I-A a little preseason warm up

Clint's parents played dressup with Natalie

Natalie showing us how good she can sit

Natalie's tripod sit

Her magic wand

Melanie on "Snickers"

No more infant carrier!

Girls at the festival

Natalie playing

Last weekend I had to go to college so Chris and Clint had man's day They spent the all day Saturday taking the girls to neighborhood festival to ride horses, get Melanie's face painted, see a clown, cook out and go swimming. Then TJ had a proposal party/bday party for Becca and I was going to be late so they packed up the girls and took them to that party to. So, yes, TJ did propose to Becca and of course she said yes...my permanent 3rd wheel is taken for :) College went great. I really like the people and the professors. The work is time consuming but seems "do-able."

The latest drama involves...you guessed it...the drama queen herself...Melanie. This week she bit Natalie 2x! Once mid hug she bit her stomach and then mid kiss she bit her cheek. They both occurred at Clint's parents house. THe first time I tried to not come down too hard on her b/c Clint's parents had already reprimanded her. The second time Clint and I both gave her quite the lecture. SHe has had a star chart at our house as an incentive for good behavior and now she has one at the grandparent's house too. Since everyone got her in trouble she has seemed to straighten up...let's hope it is not temporary!

We are going to a party for one of her gymnastics friends today and hopefully the zoo on Monday I will complete another post to let you know of the fun.

We've Created a Porker :)

2008-08-12T21:09:00.005-04:00

Well I've been back to work and though I work "part time" right now it is not seeming much like it. Last week I worked full time and this week I am working 4 days so...pretty much like a full time job. Guess what...Natalie got her first tooth about 1 week ago and I think is working on #2. I picked her up from my parents last Friday and they went on and on about how she didn't have a great day, wouldn't eat....I just couldn't believe my angel was bad. But, come to find out her top right tooth came in. Random tooth, yes, but her excuse none the less. Melanie never fussed b/c of teeth, but then again she was always fussing just b/c of life so who know whether her teeth ever hurt or not. Natalie took some Tylenol for about a day and is back to her normal slobbery self. She eats all the time!!! She eat about 2 jars of stage 1 food and 2 helpings of rice cereal with 5 nursing sessions/bottles per day. HOLY COW the girl eats. She looks super chunky too! We've also started to give the girls a bath together in the big tub. I've moved Natalie into the big tub before I moved Melanie but it is just easier. Natalie can't sit by herself so I but a small amount of water to cover the bottom and Natalie just stays in the tub on her belly and plays with Melanie. As for Melanie's development she can drink out of an open cup- no more sippy cups for her. I was thinking that in my class I don't let my 3 year olds with special needs use sippy cups so I guess it is time to transition Melanie out. She is doing great but is sad that she can't take her cups in the den anymore. She asked me, "mom, when I am big can I drink wine in the den like you?" Sure Melanie, drink all the white wine in the den when you're a grown up that you want :). Her other obsession right now is the alphabet. She can tell you an item that starts with each letter of the alphabet and if you tell her a word she is pretty good at telling you what letter it starts with. She also likes to identify written letters and tell you rhyming words. All of these prereading skills just started to kick in and we are running with them. I will post a video of her new skills when I get around to filming them. My quick brag for the moment...I have found time to read 1 1/2 of my grad school books- it is amazing how you find time that you didn't know existed when you have to (a little reading while you pump goes a long way!). We had a baby shower for Chris and Aileen at our house Saturday night and they girls stayed with grandparents. It was my first night without Natalie but Clint's parents said she did great...I was missing her a bit but I'm happy she did so well. The pics are from my mom when she had Melanie spending the night.

Can You Believe Summer is Over?

2008-08-01T06:31:00.030-04:00

Liking some rice cereal More shots of day 1 bananas Natalie day 1- bananas...she loves them! We've moved on to green beans- she hates them, and sweet potatoes and pears which she also likes Natalie enjoyed her nap on Melanie's mattress One view of our den/bedroom for a week Shelby missing her normal bed Daddy and the girls cuddling in the den with no air Mommy and the girls cuddling in the den with no air I'm obsessed with my nursing coverup- I wish I had one with Melanie! Jessica, Michelle, and Clint Melanie and Logan playing Pretty blue eyes! Mommy and Natalie My dad and his oldest brother My parents and my uncle and his wife Jessica and Natalie Mamaw and her girls Pops and Melanie Mamaw and Natalie Me, my cousin Jessica, and the girls My cousin's oldest son, Logan Everyone working :) Melanie and Cole working on the fence My cousin's youngest son, Cole

I haven't posted in a while b/c I have been without my camera and wanted to wait on pics. Well, we survived not having air for 6 days!!!! It was not too fun sleeping in the den but I did enjoy staying up late and talking to Melanie...that part I kind of missed. I can say we learned more about her than we already knew...for example did you know she wants 4 kids and Natalie wants 2- but Natalie is going to have a boy and girl and Pops gets to hold the boy :) Natalie slept through the night during the heat...she hasn't slept through the night before or air got fixed or since our air has been fixed but it was nice bonus for our week of no air.

We also went to Chattanooga for my grandfather's funeral. We ended up going a day early and spending some time with my extended family. It was nice and a great time for them to all see Natalie. The funeral was really touching and so many people came out. My favorite thing his preacher said is that we might all wonder why he had to suffer the last 3 weeks when he practically died the first night before we all got there and he said that he could picture my grandfather talking to God and God saying, "Johnny, you either die tonight without seeing your family one more time or you can see everyone but you might have to suffer some at the end." and my grandfather picking to see us. I think that line stuck with me more than anything. He had a military burial which I had never seen before and it was amazing. They presented the flag to my uncle and had a 21 gun salute. All in all a very touching trip.

We played with my friend, Elizabeth's, daughter, Sarah a couple of days as we traded off child care. She turned 1 in June. It's hard to realize this little girl who can do so much is closer in age to Natalie than Melanie...it just shows that it is not too long before Natalie is doing so much. But, it also shows that 2 little little kids is not too easy! None of the kids did anything wrong or bad but 3 kids under the age of 2 1/2 is a bit difficult at times! I was sure glad when Clint got home from work b/c I realized I hadn't even made it to the bathroom. Elizabeth said she got through the afternoon on her day with the girls and realized she hadn't eaten and was starving :)

I also started graduate school this past weekend. Elizabeth is going to do the program with me. I am getting my Specialist's degree in Administration. We had to drive up to Ducktown, TN which is just past Blue Ridge. We got a bit lost and caught in a military funeral in Cumming but we made it and completely figured out our way on the way back. Our book list has 13 books...hmmm, when I am going to read them all I'm not too sure but I guess I have until December to get it all done!

This week I have been getting prepared to head back to Partee. I need to primp (get my hair cut and colored and get my toes done) but I have no idea when I will have time for those luxuries so maybe I will look a little patootie on the first day back but oh well. I am for sure going to get some new clothes b/c my work clothes are from either right before or right after Melanie so some of them are way out of style. I took the girls up to work in my room with the lady I coteach with and her 1 1/2 year old and 3 year old. So, needless to say we got as much done with 4 kids there as we could but they were making bigger messes than we were cleaning!s