Disney Day 1

We are only about 6 months behind in life and the blog.

We traveled to Disney World on Thanksgiving Day in 2015.  Our sis and bro in law hosted our early dinner so that we could load up and head out early!  After dinner and no nap we loaded everyone up and I drove.  It works better if I drive since Daryk drives like a grandpa....

We had a tiny break in wrestling season from Thanksgiving Thursday-Sunday and that was the ONLY 4 day stretch that we had off all season!  I booked that trip to see THE MOUSE as soon as I realized we had the funds and the time off!

So I drove.  So we could get there at a decent hour.  Pretty sure we pulled into the scary $30 a night outside door hotel around midnight with plans to get up at 7 the next day.  The scary hotel with outside doors had a HUGE room.  After check in and unloading, we crammed sleep in and then we got up early the next morning, courtesy of our real life alarm clocks in the form of PRESCHOOLERS, and grabbed breakfast at the hotel before we hit the parks!

Traveling with this dude means the never ending hunt for the ORANGE Mountain Dew.  He is always thrilled to find it and buy as many as possible for the trip!  It isn't sold in the metro  Atlanta area, so we always stock up when we travel.  

At some point we stopped for dinner at a Cracker Barrell, because they were open on Turkey Day and changed the kids into their jammies.  If Chick-fil-A isn't open, we shoot for the CB since they have a space to walk around and good food!  Plus, their bathrooms are usually pretty clean!  

Sleepy babies as we pulled into the hotel and checked in!  

Day 2:  Coming soon!

Amber

In case you wanted to know what 15 years of friendship looks like...

2 years in a college dorm.

3 marriages--2 are mine.

4 cities... those are hers....

5 kids--3 for me and 2 for her.

a handful of forgotten messages and a couple of random thoughts.

a few road trips to see concerts and boys that we shouldn't have....

during college... not recently.

And finally, a reunion in NC while traveling.

Funny, God has awesome plans that are so much better than our own.

Shortly after our visit Amber called me and couldn't speak because she was so distraught.

Come to find out, her mom was really sick and she needed to come to GA to be with her immediately.  I offered our home for her and her family as long as they needed it.  She came and stayed with us for a whole week.  I got to cook and entertain the children and help.  It was lovely.  Catching up with an old friend is so much fun.

Sadly, her mother passed away about a week after she left and went back to NC.  I was able to be with her again and enjoy her family along with her dad!  I'm so grateful for a relationship that picks up where it left off, no matter the distance or time or space or life that gets between it.  God was able to use our bizarre reunion for a connection that was needed.  

I love my friends.

NC 1

In honor of Buddy and LeLe coming to visit us this weekend, I thought I would FINALLY get around to writing about our journey to North Carolina back in June.

Oops.  

In June we spent a ridiculous amount of time in the car and drove to see my sister and brother in law.  We loaded up everything but the kitchen sink and traveled to the tiny town of New Bern NC for a few days.  On the way up there we stopped at CFA in some random spot in SC or NC and had dinner.  Our first stop was Charlotte and a visit with some dear friends who we used to babysit when they were MY kids' ages!  

My girls.

Morgan--who was barely a year old when we first met her.

So sad and so happy she's all grown up!

Our dear friend Brandon had QUITE a time with Spencer.  She is so friendly and he was happy to help entertain while she played!  He made us an awesome breakfast of s'mores french toast, bacon, eggs, coffee, etc.  It was FABULOUS!  Charlotte was our halfway point and we spent the night with the Hess crew before we made the rest of the journey to New Bern.

Clearly Elizabeth enjoyed herself...

2 months later....

The best aunt who lives in Georgia turned 30 in February.  We happened to be on a break from school on her actual birthday, so I began plotting a long time before that week to arrange a date with her for lunch on her bday!  I had to do some intense internet stalking to FIND the office where she worked in Atlanta.  I knew there was a website, but there are SO MANY offices that share the same name in the Atlanta area, it was a bit of a challenge.  I didn't want to ASK her for help because I wanted to be able to surprise her!  After about 3 hours of calling and internet research I finally found the office.  I emailed her boss and proposed my plan, she agreed and I began or orchestrate the master plan!  The day of the event we went to Sams and bought cookies to share.  We stopped by Chick fil A and got lunch.  After that we drove to her office.  

Let me please explain that taking 3 kids out in public where multiple events and stops are on the agenda is a bit challenging.  Like, insanely difficult.  I only started to sweat about 1/2 way through the bathroom stop at her office.  The office building has fountains and ducks, well.... geese, as Hayes would say.  They have a revolving door and well, its an office.  You're supposed to use an office voice.  3 year olds don't have an office voice or office behavior.  We survived the bathroom, the revolving door, the fountains (thank you God, because it was REALLY cold), and lastly, the elevator to the floor where she works.  

We made our way into the front conference room and set up lunch.  All of the sweet ladies Kathryn worked with came in to greet us and wait for her, so we could surprise her!  Kitty rounded the corner and began to get teary (never happens) so I knew she was surprised and I was FLOORED!  Y'all know that anytime you get to actually surprise someone, you get pumped, right!?  

We don't get to see her nearly as often as we like to, so this was a super special treat for us this day!  Hopefully we will get to see her again some this summer and we can have outside lunch dates by the geese and the fountains!  

Love you Kitty!

Happy we can celebrate 30 years of YOU!

Date

I made reservations for these two to go to Chick Fil A a few weeks ago for a Daddy-Daughter Date.  I believe she had more fun than she thought she would!  I let her pick her own outift and supervised, just to make sure she didn't look like a colorblind person who has no concept of pink.  I also let her wear this sweater, which she loves.  She was SO excited to go on a date with her Daddy and even more excited when they gave her ice cream.  I hope that they spend lots of time 'dating' in the years to come.  I know that he will be able to teach her lots of things about how all the men in her life should treat her.  I pray daily that she embrace the qualities God gave her.  I know that her stubborn attitude will one day come in handy.  One day when peer pressure is strong and she's being asked/told to do things I'm not happy with.  Her 'I do it by myself-leave me alone-I can make up my own mind' attitude will be beneficial to her. 

Right now, that attitude is trying for my parenting... but I'll take it. 

Party Animals

Occasionally, the kiddos have parties at their school.  The ELC has done a wonderful job this year of trimming back the excessive parties for the kids!  They have celebrated minimally this year (with only major holidays) and I'm quite thankful for it!  I wasn't able to make the Christmas party with Hayes' class, so I sent BeBe in my place.  She sent me the following pictures.  

I know you would never be able to tell this from the photos, but Hayes has party anxiety.  He hates having a crowd of grown ups around him or in his space.  At school they have 12-14 kids per class and 1-2 adults per kid at the parties.  For poor Hayes that's a lot of grown folks in a room where there are normally just 2 grown ups and his friends in class.  

Hayes is also the world's pickiest eater.  EVER.  His class ordered a Chick fil A nugget tray for the party and I forgot to tell mom so she could bring him yellow sauce, that's what he calls Chick fil A sauce.  It is his most favorite thing ever.  But he shocked us ALL at his party and ate his nuggets with Polynesian sauce!  I was delirious with laughter because I knew it was a huge deal for my Sheldon Hayes.

We might need to work on the silly faces with BeBe and Hayes.  They both look hilarious here.  Hayes typically prefers to make silly faces.  He would rather skip the serious photos and have fun!  I know he had a blast at this party and I got a SUPER cute calendar for 2014 that he made in class as my Christmas gift.  I love it!  

I'm so thankful that my mom (who my kids call BeBe) is part of the village raising my littles and helping me with parties and other miscellaneous parenting duties.  She is truly a blessing for my family and my siblings!  

Baby bit my nose!!!

Tonight while I had a successful mom/wife night, I heard a familiar screech from upstairs.

I managed to make dinner for tonight AND tomorrow night.

Record breaking success here!

Hayes yelled down, 'Baby bit me!'

I know he is usually telling me the truth, so off I went to investigate.

I discovered that, Baby did, indeed bite his nose.

Thankfully this time she did not leave teeth marks.

Or break his skin.

Off to the bath she goes....

She didn't get a nap today, so bedtime at 6:57 p.m. is nothing short of necessary.

And yes, she will sleep until tomorrow morning.

She will likely sleep later than I would like her to on a school day.

That is also part of our normal routine...

Sleeping late on school days and rising early on those days when I just want to wake when the sun rises.

But, the reason I wanted to blog tonight was to write Hayes a note.

I was thinking about all the little things that I love about him...

and I'm afraid that one day in my Mom Brain I'll forget.

And I never want to forget.

Hayes,

You wake much earlier than I even dreamed to be awake most days.  I wish I could bounce out of bed the way you do, with more excitement and curiosity than most.  You greet each day with an eager attitude and a heart to seek fun each hour.  You bounce (literally) from your bed to the potty on your toes.  Your calf muscles are something to be envied by all people!  I think part of that is genetics (thank your mommy, daddy, and PawPaw for that) but part of it is also the fact that you have used your toes as your mode of transport since you discovered that you could walk and run instead of crawling.  You didn't toddle for long, you ran.  I often tell people you have two speeds, asleep and wide ass open.  Forgive me, there is not a better way to say it.  You bounce from your potty break to the designated location.  Sometimes I let you play downstairs while I snooze/watch tv upstairs until your sister wakes.  You have always liked to play by yourself and I'm grateful for that.  I am very thankful that God blessed me with a child who can entertain himself, most of the time.  You greet me each day with the same phrase, 'Mommy, I'm hungry/thirsty.  Can I have milk and a brown poptart?'  As long as I provide both of those and a tv or some toys you will happily let me enjoy some more quiet until at least 8 am.  Praise Jesus.  This past summer you learned to dress yourself, but you still have a hard time putting things on the right way.  Occasionally you will complain that your underwear isn't right, it is usually backwards.  You also hate to sleep in underwear, naptime or bedtime.  Most people don't get that, but I do.  You also love to go 'mando' as you say.  I have a battle each day to keep socks and shoes on you, but not like your sister.  You just don't want to put your socks/shoes on until we are 'about to weave the house right now.'

You will happily eat poptarts all day every day if we allowed it.  You enjoy anything that is processed food and I'm sad that I created such a picky child.  Oops.  One day... You are a bit like Rain Man/Sheldon Cooper when it comes to routine.  If something is different with your day or different than you anticipate it to be, you get upset.  Today BeBe had to take you to school because PaPa was sick and we thought you might have a bit of a hissy fit, turns out you were fine.  You like to eat food bars (granola bars dipped in chocolate) and gummies.  You drink almond milk and you love it.  You also like watered down apple juice.  And lemonade from chick fil a.

When you hope to avoid any activity that you know is necessary you say, 'I not feeling too good.'  I silently laugh at you.  You have just learned to sniffle and you do it a lot.  If your Aunt LeLe was near by she might cause you physical harm.  She doesn't like sniffles, just ask Buddy.  Speaking of, you love your aunts and uncles.  You enjoy being able to see them often via FaceTime and I'm very glad Apple has the technology for us to do so.  You like to 'see' them when you talk to them and you tend to think that any conversation without an iPhone is useless.  You say your prayers each night and thank God for every single person you love.  I'm glad to say that they all make the cut.  You also thank God for Walker at school and for your favorite color red.

Hayes, you are so sweet to your sister about 95% of the time.  The other 5% you are trying to wrestle her to her death or roll her over with your head.  For some reason, this is fun for you... not so much the rest of us.  This is usually why she bites you... back to the beginning...  You and Libby love to watch Charlie Brown, any holiday movie will do and that makes me a little bit crazy.   I'm over watching 'spooky Charlie Brown' and I'd like to watch the Thanksgiving or Christmas episodes, but I've learned it is not all about me.  You and Libby also love to watch Disney movies.  I am beyond thrilled that you love to sing along with every song you have learned.  It makes me happy to think that you love music as much as I do.  You know words to songs that I don't even know!  You are meticulous and play for hours with puzzles, blocks, and your mens.  Yes, mens.  You will also sit in front of the tv with your mouth hanging open just like your Daddy.  You don't like to take naps in your 'real clothes', you prefer your pajamas.  Can't blame you there.

You think that anything edible is better with yellow sauce (chick fil a sauce) and you would dip any food in that if I would let you.  You don't like to be bothered with a nap or the potty or a meal because you are too busy playing.  If I could feed you while you played you would be thrilled.  Your manners are getting better and you have turned into a snuggly little boy here lately.  I spent 2-3 years wondering why you didn't like to snuggle, but now you are quite a lovebird.  You like to share your affections and snuggle with me.  It makes my heart so happy.

Hayesface, I love you so.  You are growing up too fast and I'm not happy that you will be 4 in about a month-ish.  You are going to be a great help with Spencer Brynne in April.  I apologize that this is random, but I had a lot to share.  PK would say this is a 'thought thread'... mostly I think its scattered MomBrain.

Love you lots,
Mommy

Tuesday Spring Break

Chick fil A day.
My baby sister works at corporate office so we got to take a field trip!
YAY!

We met the cows, fondled the cows, loved on the cows, and kissed them bye.

She was a bit hesitant of the cows.

But she LOVES to put on a show for everyone.

We had to carefully watch her because she almost climbed into the fountains!

One more grunt and she might have managed to hoist her hiney right over the stones into the water.

Wouldn't even surprise me ONE bit.

She is my adventurous child.

She has no fear and lovingly dares us to chase her as the runs off to another adventure.

This boy, however, is overly cautious.

He is very hesitant to try new things and doesn't want to be directed to do anything he doesn't choose to do.

He's a very careful little guy.

Curious, but cautious.

This is their BFF at the gym.

We cannot make a trip to the gym without stopping to take a picture with Armstrong the frog.

Cheer Conference 2013

Last week I got to go with our coaching staff to a conference at the Ritz Carlton.

Um, yes.

It was that gorgeous.

The view from our cottage was amazing.

The lodge itself was amazing.

It made for a lovely run on Saturday afternoon.

The scenery was gorgeous.

The food was even better. 

See? 

Dinner on Friday night was steak with yummy vegetables and delicious sauce.

I die.

And dessert was this crazy chocolate lava cake thing...

It didn't get a picture because I inhaled it.

This was my breakfast leftovers.

Fresh orange juice and my fruit cup.

I finished it off though.

I'm not a quitter.

No sir.

I also had about 14 muffins, grits, eggs, and some more asparagus.

Makes your pee smell funny, but I love it.

While I was at the fanciest hotel I've ever been to in my life...

these guys went to play at the mall with their dad.

Ignore her mullet hair do.

Dad hair.

Minus one coach, but I love my girls!

Good looking bunch of ladies!

Disney Arrival

Our trip to Disney was broken into several legs.

We started Saturday night in Macon and drove from Macon to Vidalia.

We got to visit with some of our family in Vidalia before we jetted out of there Sunday morning.

Had breakfast with some of our favorites from Toombs County and then hit the road!

Sunday morning Daryk drove until we hit the Florida state line.

We stopped at the rest stop and had some fresh oj and a snack.

Kids loved it.

Stopped for lunch in Jacksonville, at a McDonalds... bad idea.

Our final stop that night was in Eustis with some family for another family sleepover.

Monday morning we got up, finished laundry, and headed out.

This was baby girl in transit to Disney World.

She was so excited to wear her glasses.

Before we headed to property we stopped at Target for some groceries.

We stopped for lunch at Chick fil A (since we wouldn't be eating that alllll week).

I survived without it for 5 whole days though, aren't y'all proud?
Playtime was necessary to make sure we got a good nap in the car before our time with Mickey.

My kids were thrilled to be going to Disney World.

After lunch they both napped in the car on our way to Disney.

Well, actually everyone napped in the car.

Daryk slept from Eustis to Orlando.

It took us about an hour with all the tolls.

Pretty sure it cost us $20 to drive to Disney just in tolls....

Lets not even discuss how much the gas was...

I literally almost cried when I pulled onto property and saw that sign.

I glanced around the car and saw that everyone else was asleep.

I was all alone in my happiness at that moment!

It was so exciting for me!

As soon as we found our resort I checked us in and got these amazing buttons for us!

Thanks Disney for making this a whole package deal!

My baby is all gone

He is.  

He's all gone.  

Occasionally I catch a glimpse of him in a picture I snap.  

Like this one.  

See those chubby fingers and that fat little boy hand?

Those are things that are left from my baby boy.

But there isn't much left these days.

After all, he's almost three.

**gulp**

Three.  

Golly gee.

Is this real?

How is this possible?

When did my baby get to be almost three?

My sweet boy that arrived 22 days earlier than I had him scheduled into my busy life...

The little guy who was determined to get here before I was ready...

The one who was a 'premie' weighing in at 7 lbs. and 12 oz... that one?

He's halfway to high school these days.

Telling me what to do and where to go and what he wants to eat.

He even orders his own food at the restaurants lately.

Granted he's usually yelling at the drive thru mic or the lady at Chick fil A, but still.

He's all sorts of independent these days.

He goes potty without being told.

And he doesn't need my help to eat anything anymore.

He can color and talk and tell you all about his day at school.

He is well on his way to prom king with the list of friends he's acquired.

I think the worst part of being a mommy to an almost three year old is letting him get a hair cut.

Those haircuts just remind me that the baby is slowly fading away.

Every trim is just a reminder that he's not a little one anymore.

Mind you, he'll always be MY little one, but he's not so little lately.

I'm a little bit sad to watch my baby go.

Father/Son Football Fan Night

Thanks to my sweet friend Stephanie for taking these photos for me. 

I missed their night because I had to coach my girls at the football game!

I know they had a GREAT time!