Behold the Cuteness

Meet Cosette....AKA "Cozy". Yes, she's named for the Les Miserables character. And yes, I'm still that much of a musical theater nerd.

She's a Great Pyrenees. She's HUGE. The picture really doesn't show her size well...hold on....let me post something else that will give you a better idea of how gigantic this 6 week old pup is...






There we go...that's better. The other pup is her brother, Montana. (Yes, he was named for Joe Montana, football icon, and hero to my 10 year old nephew.) He was brought home by our nephew and will now happily live next door.

Right now, they are big bobbles of fur. They are still shy. A little confused. But doing well. Very sweet, very quiet, and very fluffy. We love them.

And before anyone starts saying the inevitable "Do you KNOW how BIG those dogs get???!!!" Yes, we KNOW how BIG those dogs will get! We have a neighbor 2 fields away that has one who seems to think that he lives with us. It's kind of a joint custody situation...every few days, he comes over to our house and hangs out until his owner comes and picks him up. Then he shows back up a few days later...the cycle continues. Here's a pic of Luke (AKA Jo Jo) meeting the pups for the first time....


That's the approximate size that they will get. Notice Cooper standing there, thinking about how he'll get a saddle on at least one of them in the near future.

Used and Loving It!

So, I've been in the world of Consignment for the last few years. When my oldest child was born, I refused to even think about the concept, other than to donate to Goodwill. I would have never, ever bought her anything there. No, I was one of those insane mothers that would trek her way to the mall every week to buy cute little 6 piece outfits for the little princess. Top, capris, hair bow, sweater, purse, shoes...all in the same pattern so that they could be mixed and matched. I thought it was slightly ridiculous to spend $80 on an outfit for a toddler, but I wasn't the one that set the prices. They were what they were. What could a mom do?

Momma of today wants to go back in time and slap some sense into momma of 1999. Seriously! What was I thinking?!

Once my second child was born...in the midst of my husband being laid off, injured, and moving into a freshly built house...I had no choice. I began with Ebay. I sold everything that wasn't actively being used or eaten. Going....Going...Gone was the cute little Gymboree outfits! SOLD! And in some cases, for more than what I paid for them. Nice.

Later, I discovered some local consignment stores. Michael Jon would drag me in those stinky, unorganized places looking for work jeans. He would point out the kids' sections and the women's section and I would stick my nose in the air and run away. It wasn't until I mistakingly went into a kid's consignment store in KY that I fell in love with it. It really should be referred to as a consignment "boutique". Clean. Smells good. Organized to the inth degree. Only clothes in very good condition. And since the store...ahem....boutique was in the same area as a mall with all those wonderful brand name stores, it was filled with all those wonderful brand name pieces. In my first trip there, I bought enough clothes for all 3 munchkins for the entire Spring/Summer. I spent a whopping $187. Sounds like a lot when I type it out, but when you break that down...it's a little more than $60 per kid for his/her entire wardrobe! Yeeeeehawww! I was a new believer!

Now I actually enjoy it. It's like a treasure hunt! You never know what you're going to find. I've even started doing some shopping for myself from time to time. Just today, I got 6 new shirts, a dress and 2 pairs for shorts for the summer for less than $30. Not too shabby. OK...we'll call it shabby chic.

That's right. I am Rachel and I wear consigned clothing. I just dread the day when Chloe figures out what "consigned" means. That'll be a whole new mother/daughter mine field that will have to be detonated. After all, I am now a tried and true consigner. I can't go back to paying full price. Just can't. Sorry Chloe.

Trying To Find the Words

It's not as easy to spill your guts online as I had once thought it would be. For that matter, it's not easy to just talk about the day to day business of life. One thing that some friends/blog critics like to point out is that I generally suck at getting my blog updated. So, once again, I find myself shamed into trying to make the time to do this. It's just been such a crazy past 6 months in our family that I find it liken to bathing....enjoyable when you can get around to it, but only necessary when it's truly necessary. TMI??

So, I suppose that I should just start at what's been eating away at most of my time and energy...turns out that we're one of "those families". You know the ones...we're the ones that have to come up with new and original excuses as to why our child isn't speaking more than a few words at almost 3 years old...the ones that get to be thoroughly embarrassed in front of friends/family/strangers/innocent bystanders/rude bungholes when our child starts tantruming in public when he isn't able to make it through a grocery trip without hitting the sensory overload threshold. Yep. We're parents of a dear wonderful, beautiful, smart, talented, intense boy on the Autism spectrum.

The diagnosis has not been officially made as of yet, but his psychologist is currently referring to his form of Autism as "Pervasive Developmental Delay, Not Otherwise Specified". In other words, "He has some major signs of Autism, but not all. Therefor we really don't know what it is, but we're going to call it Autism, and treat it the same." It's also jokingly referred to as Autism Light.

The last 6 months have been a roller coaster of ups and downs. He's made remarkable progress. He's using several words now in proper context, however they are what's commonly known as Echolalia. Several therapists strive to teach these kids how to respond properly to questions..."yes, no, please, thank you, etc", and it is helpful for them to know how to respond to questions. And it is amazing to have your otherwise voiceless child to be able to tell you something. But it definately knocks the wind right out of you when you have a doctor look at you and say, "You know he's just repeating...like a parrot...he's not really communicating." Sigh....that one comment, after months and months of 3-4 therapies a week knocked me into a funk that I wasn't sure I'd come out of. In fact, it hit me so hard, that I refused to even repeat it in full to anyone. This is the first time I've used the full quote....and it still stings. Like a parrot. Ouch.

Nonetheless, I can see the progress made with each week. The eye contact is much better. He's listening more. He looks at me now when I call his name (70% of the time, anyway). He called me "Mom Mom" and I really think he meant it. The tantrums have lessoned significantly. However, we still have to watch in over-stimulating circumstances...too much light, too much noise, too much chaos can drive him into a major freak out session, just as it would any over stimulated toddler. But for a kid with Autism, a grocery store trip under bright florescent lights, with lots of piped in music and noise from customers and speakers can be more than he can stand. A simple shopping trip is no longer simple. I can count on one hand the number of times he has come with me to the store. Looking back, even his first year, I was compensating for his symptoms then. Able to ignore the signs with a quick and easy excuse for whatever symptom was showing up at the time.

Still, there are days when one of the therapists will refer to something he's doing as "stimming" (a repeated motion that an Autistic person will do to self stimulate or self sooth) and I think to myself, "Is that stimming? Or is that just a 2 year old kid that likes spinning around?" There are days that I look at him and think, "He's fine. He's just slow to talk." But my gut knows that there's something else happening.

I thank my lucky stars that he's not showing the same nightmarish symptoms that I have read about...seizures, completely losing himself in his own mind, violent outbursts, complete loss of communication skills... We thankfully caught it early enough to slow down the progress significantly. But I can't help but wonder if there will come a morning that I will go to get him out of bed and find him there, but gone. Lost. It scares the living daylight out of me.

So, it is my hope that this can become a new way of me getting out some frustrations and stress when needed. I tried keeping a journal, but I hate my handwriting. It's horrid. So I think I'll give this another try. I also vow to talk about the happy things in our family as well. In fact, I'm about to leave this blog to go out and play with my 3 beautiful children. That way I can come back in and tell you all about the fun we had in the Springtime sun.

"Big Church" and kids

So Chloe is officially too old for Children's Church. Actually, she has been for a year, but since no one stopped her from going, she just kept the status quo. Well, the children's programming director sent word that any child over 2nd grade should stay upstairs. Totally understandable and totally ok by me.

Here's the predicament. She learns more in Children's Church than she does in "big church". We have a new minister who has lengthened our service a half hour. There is a lot of "high church" pomp now that is difficult for even the adults to sit through for an hour and a half. And his sermons, while beautiful and very educational, are very grown up. Not much for an 8 year old to be interested in. And everyone knows what happens when you get an 8 year old bored.... T-R-O-U-B-L-E!! She ends up squirming, whining, begging to go to the bathroom 3 times, wanting to lay down in the pew, wanting to sit with her friends....which ends in many, many confiscated Webkinz.

So, what to do?? It has been suggested that we allow books to be brought in to read. But I really would rather her pay attention to the service. At the same time, I'm not sure if she's capable of "getting it" yet. I remember playing tic tac toe as a child in church. So I suppose if the preacher's kid was allowed to goof off some during the service, it's not all bad.

I'll take any and all suggestions, friends and family.

Mommy Time

So, because of my parents' love and kindness, I had only one of the three children to care for all weekend. Chloe and Cooper spent their time with Grandmama and Poppa, being properly spoiled and exhausted.
Yesterday, I found myself with a quiet afternoon. Older kids were still out of town, Brody was down for his nap, and Michael Jon was planning on taking a nap himself. I decided instead of using that time productively, I would waste it by being a "lady of leisure". I went to the pool. By myself. With a book. A cheap, tawdry novel, to be exact.
I can't explain what a thrill it was to get into the vehicle without first having to strap it a car seat and two boosters. My heart was pounding! The windows were down...my hair was flapping in my face. (OK that's not true. My windows stay up! It's July in the South, people. Unless it's after midnight, the AC is required). My iPod was blasting all the music that I can't listen to with the kids in the car...that's right....I was listening to Prince! (Or is it still "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince"??? And is all that supposed to be capitalized?)
So I arrived at the pool and found that there was only one family there. Nice and quiet. Heaven! I settled in to a lounge chair and started arranging the iPod, the book, my towel, my beverage, my cell phone (in case the kids need me) and start relaxing. But my earbuds weren't right. So I adjust and readjust them for about 5 minutes. Then I start to read the book, and just as I'm getting to a good part, my phone rings. Kids are checking in. Everyone's good. Going fishing. Eating out. Went to Chucky Cheese. Yikes. 30 minutes later, I have lost almost an hour of my two hour reprieve.
About the time I hung the phone up, I hear the sound of laughter and joy. Ah, yes. Kids. One of my best friends and her family, three kids and husband in tow, to be exact. "Miss Rachel! Miss Rachel!! I got $174 for my birthday!" "Miss Rachel! Will you swim with me?" Miss Rachel! Can I have a drink?"
And so my afternoon of quiet bliss was done. But I have to admit, I had much more fun talking on the phone with my babies. I miss them when they're not around, little heathens that they are. And playing with our friends was much more enjoyable than the plans that I originally had.
All's well that ends well.

A Name Change...

So, after much nagging, complaining, and general unpleasantness from friends that have NO IDEA how difficult it is to keep a blog up (because they won't step up to the plate and do one themselves...hint hint hint), I have decided to not only add a post tonight (although a fast and boring one), but also to rename my lil' Blog to something more appropriate. Since daily blogs are really too much to ask of any one human being, much less a stay at home mom with a busy summer schedule, Semi-annual Rachel seems much more achievable.

Therefor, I present a new blog with new, much lower expectations. Ta Da!

In Awe

So, I've given birth three times now. Without delving into "TMI" land, I will say that I had all basic birth scenarios. First birth was a long, 18 hour, pitocin dripped nightmare that ended with a c-section. My second birth was a "marathon labor" that started 3 weeks before I actually went into hard labor, and it still took 12 hours of that before I was able to give birth with the help of an epidural. The third and final labor came close to being a "blurb" about a woman giving birth in the McDonalds drive thru. Once my water broke, I had little Brody 47 minutes later. No drugs!!! A real, natural birth. The doctor almost didn't make it in the room.
Now, I dealt with labor the way that most women on those reality birth shows do....lots of moaning, crying, rocking, walking, screaming. I remember certain points where I was hearing myself making noises that I didn't know was me. I was a vocal one for sure. But after finding this on Youtube, I feel quite inept. No warnings needed. There's no anatomy on the video. No worries.



I sing. I sing all the time. I sing to relieve my stress. I sing while I clean, while I cook, while I drive. I sing to my kids. I sing to my pets. I just sing. But I never, ever would have thought to sing during labor. And this lady's beautiful voice and the song choice just gets me all weepy. And now I almost ALMOST wish that I could experience birth once more just to try her theory. Singing through the contractions. It's a concept that I would love to try. But I'm not going to. My birthin' babies days are done.

A New Frontier

So, I've always been somewhat notorious for my...er....lack of concern about diet and exercise. I have a good friend who used to love to hassle me about my eating choices. "Rach, you gonna put butter on that burger and fry it or just go for the straight lard? What about the fries? Should I grab the cream cheese for a dip?" It just amazed her that I could eat complete crap and never gain an ounce. I am a much more rounded cook these days. We eat salad on a regular basis and I rarely fry anything anymore. But at that time, I rarely ate veggies at all..unless they were smothered in butter and boiled with bacon to a point that they would melt when the fork touched them. I started off our marriage as a "kill it, skin it, fry it, eat it" cook. We ate fried foods almost constantly and never even thought about doing anything more active than walking around the grocery, shopping for dessert. Don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed a good game of volleyball or a nice walk. I enjoyed being active...dancing around the house with the kids....or back in the day, at a dance club or party with my friends. (I don't care if you snicker, the way I danced completely counted as exercise!) But I've never been the type to worry about how many calories I've burned or what my heart rate was. I've been known to utter the words, "I don't jog. I only run if someone is chasing me with a blunt object." But I've never been one to worry about weight, unless it was to feel self-conscious about being too skinny. I know, people hate girls who say that, but it's true. Being too skinny is actually something that girls can be worried about as well.
Of course, that was all pre-baby # 3. I don't know if it was the HUGE amount of weight gained...I told them not to tell me how much once I hit 60 pounds, "Don't ask, Don't tell" is a popular policy where my weight is concerned ...but the last 15 pounds of it has hung on waaaaaaaay past the time that it took me to lose the baby weight with #1 and #2. Maybe it's because I'm no longer in the "18-32 demographic". Once again, don't ask don't tell. So, I did a a 2 month period last summer when I worked out daily at home. Stability ball, light weights, cardio. It was not my favorite way to spend my time. After all, when you have 3 kids plus extra kid friends and kid family always around, it's hard to really concentrate on whether or not you're working the right muscle group. And to add insult to injury, after working out DAILY for an HOUR for 2 MONTHS, I actually GAINED weight. I know, I know. Don't say it. I gained muscle tone. But by golly, when a girl works out that dadburned much, she ought to at least lost a few freakin' pounds!! Grrrr.... So with that ultimate let down, I stopped working out. Plus the holidays were coming on and life was way to busy to take that time away from the kids.
Then a friend of mine asked me to join her at the local all women's gym. I really didn't think I'd enjoy it at all. I had visions of me spending money that would go to waste because I would be too busy to go. But I am proud to say that I have been going and have loved it! It's a great outlet for my stress and even though I am still not losing weight (am I forever stuck??), I don't mind as much because I am enjoying it. Michael Jon has been wonderful about handling the home front as I slip away for an hour or two every few days. So I don't have the kids toddling around as I try to balance on a stability ball, that's a huge plus! And I get some wonderful "girl" time with my friends, something that I have been missing the last few years.
And here's the kicker! I've started a running program! I actually LIKE running! Who knew? In elementary and middle school field days, I was always a sprinter. Quick and fast. But never long distance. And I never entertained the thought of track in high school. So to find myself running on the treadmill, listening to my "workout playlist" on the iPod and loving it, is surreal to say the least. I doubt seriously if you'll ever catch me running down the road in a headband, sports bra, and Lycra, but still, I am RUNNING! What a scream!

The End of the Bunny...Correction....ALMOST The End of the Bunny

So, this is edited for a correction...Read all of it and then I'll update down below....

Sigh. It was bound to happen at some point, I know. But it's really struck me a blow. Chloe, at the ripe old age of 8, has busted the bunny. She found the loot hidden away in the closet. Of course, she said nothing to daddy or me. No, instead she tells her cousin, and most trusted confidant, Cade, with the news that she intends to see what the bunny brings and if it's the same stuff that's in the closet, they'll know for sure if there's an Easter Bunny or not! Cade, in turn waits until Easter morning to tell their mom Beth, who then calls Michael Jon, who then sits me down for the let down of the year. Sigh indeed.
So, all the reporting happened Sunday morning as we are getting ready for church. So as I brush and curl Chloe's hair, I ask her if there's anything she'd like to ask me...because I'm cryptic like that. "Uh, nooooo.....I don't think so...." was her reply. So I try again..."You don't have any questions about anything this morning???" And she of course said, "Momma, no." So finally I just had to come right out and ask if she'd found anything besides eggs this week. "Oh, yeah, I...uh....I think I found some bags....uh....well, I was looking for a shoe box to make a craft with and....uh...I saw some Easter stuff...." So I neither confirm or deny. I just tell her that she shouldn't have told Cade that there's no Easter bunny. She says that she didn't say that, just that she was going to wait and see what the bunny brought. So I just tell her that she shouldn't say that to anyone since it upsets people.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. She's growing up so fast! I remember when she was tiny and would get so upset on those holiday mornings when she would see the stuff sitting out because it wasn't her regular routine. I'll take this as my opportunity to teach her more in depth what the holiday is really about. It's always been part of her understanding, but we can go deeper now. That's a good thing.

Correction and update....

OK. So Chloe came to me earlier this afternoon asking me when she could open the "Easter surprises from the closet". MMMMmmm....well...."what surprises??" I asked. Apparently, in her rushed sneakiness and curiosity, she only saw a few things in the bags, and none of them were actually "bunny loot". So she walked away from the little bunny test thinking that she actually proved the existence of the long-eared one. It seems that my laziness has payed off well in that I had left her "big" basket thing (a new Webkinz and Webkinz Tote) in the back of the mom-mobile. Since the only other stuff she saw was candy that I also used in various school/church parties, she is assuming with wide-eyed magic that the Bunny is the real deal. Whew. I just tucked her into bed and told her that from now on she shouldn't sneak, just ask momma or daddy when she has a question about that kind of thing. I asked her what her little experiment had made her think and she said that she still believes, but that she still wonders how one Bunny or person can make it all across the world in one night. I told her that as long as she wants to believe, then she should. I'm sure that left the door open for doubt in her mind. But I think that was the healthiest way to handle it. I don't want to outright lie to her about it either. Yikes! This parenting thing is tricky.

So, on to happier things....pictures of the kiddies all dressed up in their Easter best!

Long Time, No Post

O.K. Yes, I do see the irony in the name of my blog and the amount of time spent away from it. It's been awhile, I know. No excuses, just life in general. Kids, illness, busy days and nights. But I'll try to do a "2008...thus far" blog now.

So, first things first, the kids....

Chloe has been playing basketball for the first time this year! She loves it! The season ends this weekend, and I really think that she'll miss the practices and games once it's over. She won many team stars over the season for making baskets and defense. In fact, because she did so well in her first game as a defense player, she didn't even try to shoot the first 3 games. Finally, on the fourth, as she came over to us during a break, one of the other players dads told her to "not be scared to shoot if you have a shot". She went out in the next quarter and scored 6 points in a row! Her team is The Mountaineers. Here's a rather grainy, dark picture of her with a few of the girls on the team, but I'll try to post a new one once we have the team pic back this weekend.
She also won "Most Christ Like Behavior" on her team on awards night last week, which yielded her a big, tall trophy! Yay!! She was extra proud of that award!
Chloe has also been doing well in school, making it to the 5th grade reading level this year. She's had many sleepovers with her friends and trips to the movies with mom! She's really growing up quickly! (Complete with teenage-ish attitude at times...eeeeek!)

Jon Cooper is enjoying preschool! He loves learning to write his name and singing all the songs! He's no longer the only boy in his class, and he's happy to have some boys to play with too! His personality gets bigger everyday! He's quite sure of himself and even (dare I say it??) cocky at times. But with all that attitude comes quite a charming kid. It's hard not to smile as he gets punished and looks at me saying, "Momma, I'm gonna make you live somewhere else if you're not nice to me." Just so matter of fact! He recently had his first dentist appointment. He did so well! He smiled the whole way through without a single tear!















On to little Brody Carter. He's a bigger handful every day! I can't tell you the times that I hear from church nursery workers, friends and family, grocery employees, bank tellers, post office attendants, strangers on the street....that he's a busy, busy boy! He's just one of those kids that has two speeds..."Off and Overdrive"! He has recently found the joys of running and playing outside! And he is speaking his "native tongue" of jibber jabber fluently. No one else really understands him, but BOY OH BOY, does he have something important to say!! It mostly consists of "Ahhh gabagabagabagaba....Ohhhhh ticaticaticatica......" With the occasional "Momma" or "Dada" thrown in just to keep us on our toes. If I can get him to stay still and relax for a minute or two, his relaxation method consists of watching Little Bear while pulling my hair and sucking his thumb.


Now on to Michael Jon and me...We're doing well! Michael Jon had a bout with a bad tooth awhile back that had us worried with an incorrect diagnosis, but he's much better now! He has some stuff on his "honey do" list for the spring as a storm knocked down the kids' swingset last month. Of course, those 12 hour shift at the plant keep him busy still.
I have been staying busy with the regular stuff. I have also started at a local women's gym and try to go 3 times a week. It's been a lot of fun, really! I have a good friend that is my workout partner, so we get some girl talk in while we are on the treadmill and the weight machines.

I guess that's it for right now. I'll try to keep up with stuff better in the future, but I won't promise. ;-)

Brody is walking! Fourteen months old...a little late by some standards...but he's doing it! Yay!! Now I really have to babyproof this place. Oh, and ignore the mess...he started walking in the middle of laundry folding. We cleared him a path and let him go!

Hannah Montana Baby!!

So, just for the record, I was NOT one of those crazy parents that paid $1000 to take my spoiled kid to the Hannah Montana concert. No, I paid door price for my tickets, that I got only because I am fortunate to have a friend who's daughter is in the fan club. So I was able to take my spoiled kid for a fraction of the price.

That being said, I am so glad that we went. Chloe had a wonderful time! She jumped and danced and sang for 2 hours straight! So much fun!! Here's a few of our favorite pics!

Getting ready for the opening act, The Jonas Brothers!


It's HANNAH!


Woooooooooo!!


Hannah in her "Old Blue Jeans"!


What a set! What a show! Is that Lola?!

The Goings On of the last few months....

Where to begin? I do believe I promised a Holloween picture of the kiddies during my last post. So I'll finally deliver that now...sorry for the delay. Life has been busy and it's been a long while, and as my old friend Jarrod pointed out, Fall is no longer here!

Picture to the left is the big kids pic. Cousin Cade was the Grim Reaper. Unfortunately, his mask broke. Chloe was a pink witch, who also unfortunately lost her hat. And our friend Carter was Darth Vader who was too hot to wear the mask. 8 year old...what are ya gonna do?



Second picture is Cooper as Batman and friend Sophia as Batgirl. Aren't they CUTE?! They have become the best of buddies this year at church, preschool, and playdates when their moms need emergency babysitting.








And #3 is the only photographic evidence that Brody indeed wore a costume. Immediately after the click of the camera, he ripped the lion mane off and proceeded to chew on it for the next 3 hours. Oh well.









Moving right along to the next day in the life...
Our church had it's annual Chili Cook Off and Fall Festival. As per tradition, the adult Sunday School classes all have to come up with a theme and decorate/dress up accordingly. Votes are tallied by money donated. Bills are votes for and loose change are votes against. My class, the Alpha Class, was FALSELY accused in the 2006 cook off of stealing votes from other classes to pad our own tally. GASP! Of course, it never happened and they can't prove it anyway. Bwahahahaaaa.... So this year, we decided to play along and make our class theme "Fulton First United Methodist: Most Wanted". Fortunately, we have law enforcement connections and were able to borrow our costumes from the real deal!



We drove home our theme by having both Misdemeanor and Felony Chili (Mild and HOT!), a cake (with a file), mug shots of each class member and the preacher hanging up on the way, jail house tattoos, and Bubba teeth...just for the fun of it.

Can you believe we didn't win?! Sigh....we was robbed!





Other fun at the Fall Fest included Karaoke, booth games, and gigantic inflatable slide that was enjoyed by young....
and slightly more mature!

Fall Is Here!

So, it's the day before Halloween, and although my dream of having all three kids in theme-matched costumes never came to fruition, I'm still excited to do the trick or treating thing! I was hoping to convince Chloe to do something fun and different...Cat in the Hat for her with Coop and Brody as Things 1 & 2. I thought it was funny and original, anyway. Much to my dismay, she wasn't crazy about the idea. She much prefered "Pink Witch" bought at WalMart. But then Cooper chose Batman and my theme hopes arose once again...I was seeing Chloe as Batgirl and Cooper as Robin! YES! Perfect! Even Chloe found a Batgirl costume that met "cool" requirements! So the quest then came down to finding Brody a toddler sz 1-2 Robin. Much more difficult to do then you'd think. Found a few, but they were out of our budget. Then Chloe's school had the Halloween party/dance on Friday night and she decided to wear the Pink Witch ensemble afterall. Hopes dashed once again. Afterall, I wasn't going to buy her two costumes in one year! Stay tuned for pictures of our mismatched gang of trick or treaters in the next few days.

Today was Cooper's preschool Halloween party and hayride. I got there just in time to hitch a ride with Brody. He was quite perplexed, but finally took the oppurtunity to nap in the snuggly, warm sunshine. Thanks to the party, we have 2 whole bags of candy already! I'm thinking we will be using that as our giveaways if we have any kiddies out here. Normally, we don't get many kids out here...too far out in the country...but you never know.

Bo-Bo's Big Birthday Adventure!

Brody turned 1 this weekend! We weren't quite sure that a party would happen for a little while. He got sick Friday. The doctor said that it was red ear and red throat and sent us on our way. No fever for him. Whew.

Saturday came and brought a fever to Cooper. Poor kid. His fever came down by Sunday, but the coughing started for both boys. We called around to the invitees to warn them of the possible germies. People were kind and decided to attend anyway.

Sunday afternoon, we had BBQ, hashbrown casserole, broccoli salad, macaroni salad, slaw, and Batman birthday cake! We all ate ourselves silly and then watched as Brody had his first whole piece of cake to eat on his own! What a mess! But a FUN mess! He is a lot like his momma....he loves chocolate!!

After the party, we cleaned while the kids played with Macade. We got the boys down for bed and Chloe and Cade stayed up for a little while. (Macade stayed the night...they just weren't ready for the party to be over!) Chloe went to brush her teeth and found yet ANOTHER loose tooth ready and ripe for plucking. After a bit of protest from her, I finally was able to yank the tooth out! It's a strange hobby, but I have learned that it's quite enjoyable; kind of like popping someone else's pimples or peeling sunburned skin off someone else's back. (Don't act like you've never done that! OK, back to the tooth....) So, here I sit, waiting to see what the toothfairy brought her once again. It's a good thing this one came out. She just went broke on her latest purchase of yet another Webkinz!

Anyway, it looks like we'll be headed back to the doctor's today with

It's been awhile....

Quite awhile since my last posts. We've been busy with the daily drudge, but nothing overtly exciting, I'm afraid. So I'll just take this opportunity to give an overall "here's what we're up to" update.

First off, we had a family reunion recently. It was alot of fun and we enjoyed spending the day with everyone. Here's a few of our favorite pics from the day...




Notice that both Memaw, about to turn 86 November 8th, and Chloe are both wishing for their two front teeth from Santa!

Michael Jon has adjusted to his 12 hour shifts well. He's enjoying the nights off each week and we've been able to spend more family time together as a unit. We are loving that! Cooper had a rough time the first few weeks of the new shift. Before this, Michael Jon didn't leave for work until well after the kids were asleep for the night, so Cooper really never realized that his daddy wasn't here. Having to watch daddy drive away right after supper was far from easy at first. We spent the first few nights sitting on the porch waving goodbye through tears and screams. It's gotten much better though. Whew...

Chloe is doing well in 3rd grade! I just had the first parent/teacher conference for the year and she got raves from all her teachers! She got all A's and B's (the B's were all 1 pt away from being A's!) and the teachers all agreed that she's doing well with her studies and with her behavior. Only 2 more games for cheer leading and then we'll probably start basketball. I'm looking forward to watching her learn the game. She has a natural knack for hitting baskets.

Jon Cooper is doing wonderfully in preschool! He's learned his shapes and colors! Still working on the name writing, but it's coming along. He's waiting patiently for Halloween to arrive so he can wear his Batman costume and "get candy"! He has found the joy of play dates and loves going to his friends' houses for a few hours. Actually, I think he'd just move in if we let him!

Brody is about to turn one!! This completely blows my mind! He's pulling up and cruising the furniture. No complete steps yet, but I'm sure that it's right around the corner. As much as he stays into on his belly, I can't imagine what he'll be like on two feet and upright! Watch out!! We're planning a birthday dinner on Sunday, so we'll have some new pics to share. He's got a red throat and ear, but no strep according to the ped, so hopefully he'll be feeling better by the big day.

Me?? Well, I'm watching kids...mine and others'. I'm doing the church thing and the mom thing. I'm trying to plan a mom's only slumber party for November. My friends and I don't get much time together anymore with all the kids' activities and housewife stuff to get done. So I decided to throw a party for the mom's to come to. Talk and hangout like we used to "PK" (pre-kids). Looking forward to the fast-approaching holidays! They'll be here before we know it! I'm a little worried about finding toys that aren't lead painted!! So we may be getting a big family gift instead of lots of toys for each kid. Still thinking on that one. Michael Jon is wanting the Nintendo Wii...He says the kids would love it...I think he'll love it!

So until Brody's birthday...have a nice weekend!

Close Call

I should have known. I should have known better than to mention to a friend how this was the first summer in 3 years that we hadn't had a trip to the ER for our little daredevil Chloe. I should have knocked on wood or crossed my fingers or wished upon a star or something to keep from jinxing us. We didn't actually end up at the ER, but it was dangerously close.

So, rewind to earlier this evening...

Michael Jon was mowing. I was grilling and cooking supper. Brody was sitting in his highchair enjoying some white grape juice. Cooper was playing soccer in the yard. (I still have no idea where that soccer ball came from....) Chloe was riding Cade's 4-Wheeler. (You can see where this is going now, can't you?)

So as I'm checking the baked potatoes and dancing to Vacation by The Go Go's to keep Brody mildly entertained while I continue cooking, in runs Michael Jon carrying a screaming Chloe. Truthfully, it didn't even freak me out. I've gotten somewhat used to Chloe's varied injuries over the years. She's not that clumsy. She's just a tomboy and full of "Anything you can do, I can do better" attitude with her best buddy/cousin Cade.

Apparently, she decided to drive Cade's 4-wheeler and he decided to ride. Apparently, she's not too hot a driver. She flipped it into a dirt mound. Leg is burned pretty good. Shoulder scraped, hip bruised, face scraped. She'll probably wake with a black eye. Ain't the first, won't be the last knowing her. Cade's ok. Bruised a bit, but it seems Chloe got the worst of this one.

It seems that she scared her Daddy enough this time to ban the 4-wheeler riding all together unless she's with him or another trusted adult family member. And anyone who knows Michael Jon knows that he's not the over-protective type. So she's not going to be motocross riding again anytime soon.

5 Girls and a Baby

Well, we had Chloe's first slumber party last night. Cooper was sent for his own fun sleepover at "Lynn's" house so Chloe wouldn't have to worry about her kid brother wanting to play with her friends. Brody ended up being the hit of the party until his bedtime though.

So the girls arrived at 6:30 and we proceeded to eat pizza, dirt cake, and ice cream. Once we were done with the food, we got out the crafts and party favors. The girls made fun little purses and picture frames to go along with the theme of the night, "A Fashion Show". All the girls brought their favorite dress up outfits, play makeup, and accessories. They got all gussied up and we planned our big fashion show! Each girl was photographed in her favorite outfit and the best photos were put into their homemade frames for their party favors. Our audience and judges were Beth, Caela, Cade, Amber, and Ethen. I think Cade was having much more fun then he'd allow anyone to think...especially when he got some blue streaks put in his hair by Lexi!
And although he was loyal to his cousin and best buddy, Chloe, and voted for her outfit, he was clearly smitten with one of the other girls!

After the fashion show was over and the extra guests went home, we snacked on chips and salsa and popcorn and then the girls started doing their thing with their favorite Hannah Montana and High School Musical songs! Just click http://s163.photobucket.com/albums/t304/minimomma3/?action=view&current=Picture345.flv to see how much fun they were having!

I think that they finally gave up and fell asleep sometime between 3:30 and 4:00 A.M. For little things, they can hang for a party! I'm exhausted and going to bed ULTRA early tonight. So, goodnight all....and be thankful they didn't stay at your house.

20 to 0 South Fulton Red Devils 3rd Graders WIN!

So I get to be a proud aunt and momma last night! Chloe cheered the team, and cousin Cade, on to victory tonight in the first 3rd Grade Football game against the Dresden 3rd graders! Wooohoooooo! This was the first year for the team to wear full pads and play tackle. And they did great!

Unfortunately, it rained most of the night, so I didn't keep the camera out for long. The girls did a great job! And those of you who know Chloe first hand, know that she's usually quite reserved and shy in public. Cheerleading is bringing her out of her shell! They even cheered in the rain! Standing with umbrellas didn't seem to last for long and they decided to toss them aside and just play in the rain! There was no thunder and lightening, but it was a hard, steady rain. And everyone was wet by the end of the game.

SURPRISE CHLOE!!

Chloe turned 8 years old today!! She was born on 9-9-99 and it's been eight years already! I did the math, so I know it's true. But it's still so hard to believe.

We decided to let her believe that we were too busy to have a party today. Hahaha! We had church this morning of course, and she had cheerleading practice in the afternoon. That gave me exactly one hour to prepare! Fortunately, I had the help of the Robertson clan! We all made a dish or two, I went and got some balloons and party supplies, and poof! Suddenly we had a party!

The kids were armed with silly string when she came in the door. She was attacked!

Of course, we then had dinner, cake, and ice cream (and Caela's pie!! MMMMMmmmmm...) And then it was time to open presents....


Which lead to playtime with Chloe, Cade, and Carly. Cooper was a little shy, but he and Brody had some fun too...


We had so much fun! Wish you all could have been here too. Now to get ready for her "real" party...a slumber party for 6 girls on Saturday night...y'all can start praying for me now.