It's Magical, Y'all

Oh my goodness.  This Christmas has been the most magical, chaotic, crazy, wonderful one yet...and its only Christmas Eve!  This is the first year that both kids have understood the magic of Christmas.  Of course they are thrilled to tears that Santa is on his way, and it was ca-ray-zee trying to get them to go to bed tonight (Andrew was wanting to stay up and watch Santa's journey on NORAD) but we finally convinced them to both go to sleep.  Now, I sit here watching a movie (Water for Elephants...never read it or seen it) and thinking about how awesome it is to see Christmas through the eyes of a child again.

Have I lost my cool, wanted to throttle them a few times over the past week?  Yes!  Lord knows they have gotten too hyper  and LOUD with the excitement of it all, but...I understand.  Its magical!

Today we had our "family Christmas" and opened presents from each other.  We thought the kids might be too overwhelmed with all the presents AND the Santa gifts, so we thought we'd spread it out.  They got a chance to play with their presents and put out the reindeer food before we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service.  Afterwards we came home to bake cookies for Santa.  Andrew even offered up his Star Wars plate for us to use.  SO cute. I simply cannot wait to see their faces when they wake up in the morning and see what "Santa" brought.

In the midst of all the Santa stuff, though, I hope we've done an adequate job of making sure they understand what Christmas is REALLY about...the birth of God's Son, Jesus Christ.  As a Christian, I want my kids to know Him and share my faith.  I want them to understand that we give gifts as a symbol of the greatest gift ever given, the Son of God sent to live and die among us so we might know God and have a relationship with Him.  Tomorrow, after the excitement of the morning, we will sit the kids down and read them the story of Jesus' birth so they remember why we do all this...why this season gives hope to so many.

Whoever you are, wherever you are...I hope God blesses you this Christmas with love and peace, and most of all, JOY.

Pomp & Circumstance

I can't believe it!  My baby boy is all grown up and officially done with preschool.  He'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall!  What in the world happened?  Wasn't he just born last week?  Didn't we just bring him home?  Where did the last five years go?


I am so proud of my little dude.  He is so smart, so tenderhearted, and so unique.  I hope he never loses the wonderful things that set him apart and make him so special.


This has certainly been an emotional week, what with me getting the Essure done (therefore shutting down the baby factory for good) and Andrew graduating from pre-K...I just can't wait to see what God has in store for the next chapter of our lives!  I guess I'd better buckle my seat belt, 'cause I'm sure that, no matter where He takes us, it'll be one amazing ride. 

Kitten Watch 2011

Can you tell I'm on Spring Break?  Can you?  Huh?  I'm blogging, like, every day!  So, since I have all this time, its either clean the house of blog while the kids are napping, so...obviously, I'm blogging. I mean, DUH.

Anyway, remember Maggie, the new kitty, the one that showed up around Feb. 1st on our doorstep, starving and sweet and so very cute?  Well, she stuck around, got named by Andrew, got taken to the vet to get checked out and get shots, and promptly got knocked up before she could get spayed.  We noticed it around late February when she started gaining weight all of a sudden and eating like ca-RAY-zee and all that weight was only in her tummy.  She had all the signs of pregnancy.  Sigh.  So, here we are, officially on "Kitten Watch 2011."

Every night Maggie wakes me up @ 4 am snuggling and nuzzling and purring like crazy.  When I pet her, I can lay my hand on her belly and feel the kittens kicking.  Its insane. (A good friend of ours who is a vet says that this is a sign that she could deliver any day now!)  She is so very affectionate, which I guess is a sign of her nurturing instinct kicking in, or perhaps she is starting to feel some labor pains and needs some comforting to get through the pain?  Who knows...Its all so fascinating to me, though.

In a way, this whole cat pregnancy thing is kinda pacifying weird baby fever I didn't even know I had!  I am so d-o-n-e with pregnancy (I even have my mind set on getting the Essure procedure done as soon as school is out for summer), but I will always miss that feeling of a little life moving and kicking inside me.  That's the one and only thing I will *ever* miss about being pregnant.

I've never owned a pet that wasn't neutered or spayed, so this will be a brand-new experience for me and I am sooooo stinkin' excited.  Yes, I know kittens are the very last thing we need to deal with right now, but honestly, I just don't care.  We're not keeping them.  We already have our feelers out, and have several people saying they want a kitty, so I have faith that we will find very good homes for them.  I am just so excited and the kids wake up every morning asking if Maggie's babies have arrived.  Its so cute.  I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they're finally born...I think my face will have as much awe and wonder as theirs!

Ready to be Home

What a great week.  Sure, we had our ups and downs, and ohmygoodness YES we did get a bit tired of each other from time to time in this one condo, but overall I am going to have a lot of very fond memories of this vacation.  I hate that I had to leave my job & students to come here (taking three personal days and one day of leave without pay to do it)...but when we got hit with Snowmaggedon in January and lost a whole week of school, winter break was taken from us.  I could have stayed home and worked while the rest of the family came here to Myrtle Beach, but I am so glad I didn't.  Yep, there's gonna be a lot of work to do to catch up with what was missed while I was here, but its worth it.
Andrew turned FIVE years old on Thursday (the 24th). Celebrating his birthday at the beach was just wonderful for him.  He was so excited and is still talking about how he's "a whole hand" now, and "so much bigger than Hannah."  We spent the day at the Aquarium here, then went to lunch at Sticky Fingers (yum!).  Thursday night (after naps, of course), we grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and enjoyed his birthday cake (a cookies & cream ice cream cake from Wally World).  Side note:  I think I have gained back all the weight I had lost before coming here.  Jillian stayed in the suitcase the entire time.  I have been a bad girl and I have a feeling Jillian will not be happy with me.  I'm scared to get the DVD out again.

I do have to say, though...I am so ready to be home.  I miss my bed, I miss my dog, I miss my three kitties.  I miss my messy house and all its imperfections.  I miss my routine.  Its HOME.  Dorothy really hit the nail on the head when she said, "There's no place like home."  Its nice to take a time-out from the day-to-day routine and enjoy a vacation with extended family, but home is where the heart is.  (Man, I am full of cliches today, huh?)  Anyway...
For now, I am enjoying the peace and quiet (Chris and kids are napping, and both of his brothers have headed back to their respective homes) and looking forward to a quiet evening of dinner, movies, and getting packed to head home tomorrow.  Its been fun, but home is waiting.

That's What She Said.

Oh my gosh.  If I had a dollar for every time I've heard (or said) that phrase in the past few days, I would have PLENTY of money to go blow at Kohl's.  (Kohl's is my own personal Disneyworld.)  Seriously, my brothers-in-law are hilarious, but Jason has had me laughing more this week than I have laughed in a long, long time.  Man, I love to laugh...


So, anyway, Myrtle Beach is great so far!  We haven't done a *ton* of running around, but we have sure had a lot of fun.  We got here @ 6 pm on Sunday night, so we basically just hung out, got settled, then put the kids to bed.  We watched a little TV, talked to Jason & Lesley (Chris' brother and wife), played with Reese (their 1-yr-old son) for a bit then hit the sack ourselves.  Jane & Wayne (Chris' parents, aka Mamaw & Papaw) are not staying here with us...They drove their camper down so they are staying at a local campground which is really nice.

Since it was all a bit new to Andrew (and Chris was snoring), I slept in the twin bed next to Andrew in his room.  Chris slept in our room near the pack-n-play which held Hannah.  I did not sleep well, being that it was the first time I'd been in a twin bed in I-don't-know-how-long, so Monday was long and tiring.  We went out to the lake (pond?) here at the condo complex to feed the ducks, geese, and swans, which the kids loved.  The kids and I went to the playground, Chris, Jason & Wayne went to the tennis courts to play for a bit, then it was time for lunch and naps.  Woot!

After naps, we all went to Jane & Wayne's campground to visit their indoor pool.  The kids LOVED it.  I *so* need to get them swimming lessons this summer so I can not be as worried while they are splashing and enjoying the water so much.  After wearing ourselves out swimming, we drove around and checked out the strip.  We have seen (not gone in, but seen) all kinds of interesting places...Dirty Dick's, The Gay Dolphin, Captain Poo's, Big A$$ Sandwich Station, Suck Bang Blow (this is apparently a biker bar...nice.), and The Beaver Bar.  We were told Myrtle Beach was a family-friendly place, but I'm not so sure!  (Just kidding!)  That night, after the kids were in bed, we all stayed up to play Give & Take (one of our favorite card games), and we laughed more than we actually played, I think.  I swear we broke the record for the number of times a person could actually say "that's what she said" in a couple of hours' time.

On Tuesday, we drove around some more and ate at a great little out-of-the-way place -- just us and Mamaw.  It was a beautiful day so afterwards we went to play on the playground at Jane & Wayne's campground. The kids had a ball and, once again, wore themselves out!  Naptime was nearing, so Chris took the kids back to the condo and I took Jane & Wayne to Kohl's for their first.ever.visit.  It was awesome.  I racked up on summer clothes for Hannah, a couple of last-minute birthday gifts for Andrew, and a couple of things for myself.  Jane racked up as well and is now just as enamored with Kohl's as I am!  Yay!  A convert!

 
Today we went to a local zoo...just me, Chris, and the kids...and we had a great time.  Uncle Timmy (Chris' brother) arrived late this afternoon, just as we were pulling up, so Andrew is beside himself with joy.  Uncle Timmy is great at fighting and playing with Andrew, so he loves him to death.  It was hard, but we finally got the kids down for a nap.  Now Chris & the guys are out on the town at an awesome place called The Beaver Bar.  I am worried they may not make it home. :)

Reasons to Smile

 1.)  Hannah's silly little self.

Hannah has finally discovered the joy of hair bows.  For two and a half years I have been trying to control her unruly hair with a bow or two, and she has steadfastly refused.  Today a good friend gave me a huge bag of bows that her girls had gotten too big for (or their hair had gotten too thick for), and when Hannah saw them she went crazy.  She LOVED them and insisted that I put as many in her hair as possible.  I just LOVE this girl's strong will and creativity (for today, at least!)...

2.)  Andrew's love of snuggle time.

I love when he cuddles up in the bed with us after his bath, in those moments when Hannah has already gone to bed and he has the two of us all to himself.  I love the way he props himself up in our bed and chillaxes with us for a bit before he heads to bed himself.  GAAAHHH, I love that kid.







3.)   A new kitty who fits in as if she's always been here.  Despite the potty issues we've had, she's a sweet kitty who is so patient with the kids and has been a good companion to our black kitty, Buddy (who still misses his best friend, Toby).  We have a LOT to be grateful for.  Life is GOOD.

New Addition

Before anyone freaks out, NO I am NOT pregnant.  Heck no.  If something like that were to happen I wouldn't be able to post because I would be passed out from shock.

No, the addition I am speaking of has come to us in feline form.  She appeared on our front porch last night, much to the delight of the kids (especially Hannah).  We fed her, of course...poor thing was starving and so skinny.  She ate and ate, and we fixed her a soft blanket for a bed on the porch to help her stay warm.  Go ahead and say it...We are SUCKERS.

The cat is certainly no fool because she stuck around through the night and when I woke up this morning (I stayed home another day to try to get over this crap) the cat was in the house.  Uh oh.  Once the cat gets inside there's no going back.  Our other pets were curious but have so far gotten along with her quite well.  Andrew called her Maggie this morning, and the name has stuck.

She is currently curled up on our king size bed next to my husband.  I guess its official.  She's now a part of the family.  Welcome, Maggie.

Random Ramblings

What a crazy week!  Between attempting to teach math to 6th graders whose hormones are starting to kick into gear and coming home to a little boy who needs me and a little girl who's like velcro, I am worn out.  My body and mid are both exhausted and sore.  I am hoping to get a call from the eye doctor telling me my glasses have come in so I can maybe get some relief from these headaches.  I gotta say it, though...Between Zumba and Jillian, I honestly feel better than I have in a long time!  I feel a definite difference on the days I don't do either of the two.  I haven't taken second measurements to see if I've lost anything, but I plan to do so on Monday.  I can feel a difference in the way my jeans fit (in a good way!), so that's cool.  I haven't lost any weight according to my scale, but I can tell my body is changing so I am okay with that. :)

Hannah continues to baffle us with her roller coaster moods.  She's happy, she's mad, happy, sad, happy, mad.  Its exhausting.  I got a HILARIOUS email from Chris this week that pretty much summed up how crazy she can make a person.  I printed it out and taped it to my wall at school so I could have a good laugh when needed.  Heehee.  By the way, is it wrong to kinda hope your kid gets laryngitis so the volume of their voice will decrease?  Just asking...

Andrew is getting really excited about his upcoming birthday.  He will be FIVE YEARS OLD on Feb. 24.  FIVE.  I cannot believe it.  When did that happen???  Life is such a whirlwind these days.  Some days I am *so* ready for the kids to just grow up already and not be so dependent on me and Chris...other days, I just want to freeze time and make them stay little, to keep them my babies.  Sigh.  So anyway, we're planning his birthday parties already.  I say "parties" because he will have two this year.  One will take place on his actual birthday while we are in Myrtle Beach with family the week of Feb. 19-26.  The other will be the "big" party here at the house on March 12.  We already have the invitations printed up and we're so excited.  Here's a picture:

We found these on eBay for a good price and got them personalized of course.  Andrew can't wait to give the "tickets" to his friends at preschool. :)  He is *still* obsessed with Star Wars, obviously.  His past three birthday parties (2nd, 3rd, 4th) have had the Star Wars theme, so this will be birthday #4 with the same decorations.  Saves us money, for sure!

Anyway...there are lots of household chores to get done but I am just sitting here with Hannah on the couch, watching Finding Nemo for the billionth time.  Who cares about laundry?  If you need me, I'll be here with my girl.

Snow Days Rock My World.

This morning we awoke to a winter wonderland!  Georgia got a big snow/ice storm late last night (well, ok, big for us...probably something my friend up north would just laugh at) and of course schools all over were canceling classes, much to the delight of students and teachers alike.

Last year we had a couple of snow days and I remember taking the kids outside and they were not thrilled.  I was a bit skeptical about their opinion this year, but oh.my.gosh.  They loved it!  You know, I really think I love this stage of their lives more than any other so far.  Yes, they fuss and fight, and there's plenty of whining to go around (by kids and adults alike), but oh my goodness.  Christmas was amazing this year because they truly had the "wonder" of the season, and now, with the snow...its just incredible.

Most of our accumulation was from ice mixed with snow, so it wasn't "snowman-making snow" or anything.  Andrew enjoyed stomping around to make footprints, though. :)

We brought Kitty B (our old, fat cat) outside to see the snow, but she was not too impressed.  Hannah sure did love snuggling her to try to keep Kitty B warm, though!

 

Chris played with the kids while I took pictures...He even slid down the slide and had a pretty funny crash landing, which I was lucky enough to catch on film.  I did manage to get in one one picture with my little "snow angels, though. :)

They had so much fun, and it was so much fun to watch them!  We kept finding too many slick spots, though, and Hannah kept falling down.  Needless to say, I decided to bring her inside while the boys attempted sledding down our driveway.  I think this last picture shows exactly how she felt about that!

Stomping around in the snow must have worn them out, because they are snoozing soundly while Chris & I are relaxing in front of the fire.  Plans for this afternoon include watching a movie and making cookies!

Yeah, life is pretty darn good.

2011...wow!

So its here!  January 1, 2011 is here!  I thought by now we'd be riding around in spaceships and/or teleporting from place to place.  Big Brother would be watching us, and all that stuff.  Not that I was hoping for Big Brother, but man it would be nice to just be able to "beam" myself from my house to my parent's house when I'd like!  We are currently in Nashville with my parents.  We arrived yesterday at @ 4 pm after a 6 hr drive from the A-T-L.  It doesn't normally take us 6 hrs, but we did stop to walk around Wal-Mart, eat at a Chinese buffet, then visit the Goodwill store...where we found a barely used Buzz Lightyear -- the ones we had JUST looked at while walking around Wal-Mart that cost $36 there -- for only $2.99!  I was one happy momma!  Hannah is currently obsessed with Toy Story so she has driven us crazy with the Buzz...but seeing her so happy is just awesome.

Anyway, we arrived, got settled, and then my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew arrived to have "Christmas" dinner with us!  My mom and stepdad had been on a cruise and only arrived back in the states on Christmas Eve, so they didn't get to do the traditional dinner of beef burgundy, scalloped potatoes, pea casserole, baked apples, and collard greens.  I *so* love my mom's cooking.  We ate, then opened presents....the highlight of the kids' evening!   After playing with all their new toys for awhile, we got them in bed and enjoyed some time just hanging out and talking to my family.  I sure do love them.  My brother and his family left early (they're old, too) and I think we were all in bed by 10 pm.  I know.  We party so hard its ridiculous.

We all kind of had a lazy morning just playing here at my mom's house with the kids and their new toys, but since I had gotten a $50 gift card from my mom, we went there today to spend it!  I got a jacket, a shirt, a pair of boots, Lego Star Wars PJ's for Andrew, and a small gift for my dad for $1.84 after using the gift card.  Awesome.  I totally love me some Kohl's.

Tomorrow we are supposed to spend the day with my dad and stepmom, who just arrived home tonight from a Christmas trip to their condo in Florida.  Andrew, however, is not feeling well and went to bed tonight with a fever. :(  I am praying he feels so much better after a good night's sleep.  II really want to be able to go see my dad and stepmom and let them play with the kids!  Not to mention that later on, my brother and his wife are coming up to eat dinner with us.  So anyway, I'm gonna sleep with him tonight in case he needs me. 

Here's to a fabulous 2011 full of family, fun, and good health (especially good for Andrew right now)!

Best.Christmas.Ever.

I believe we just had the best.Christmas.ever.

It was quiet, there wasn't a lot of "excess"...It was just me, Chris, and the kids...and his brother, who spent the night as he was passing through GA on his way to AL to see his kids.  It was low key and PERFECT.

I kept feeling this twinge of guilt that I wasn't able to give the kids this HUGE Christmas with some awesome, major toys or big surprise from Santa, but you know what?  My kids loved their gifts.  Andrew truly felt the wonder of Christmas this year and it was so much fun to watch.  Hannah was so cute, enjoying her My Little Ponies and baby dolls...she didn't care that most of her gifts came from a yard sale or thrift store.  Andrew didn't care that his 20+ Star Wars action figures came from ebay.  They loved their gifts and played hard with them all.day.long.

We had scrambled eggs, bacon and cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  We talked about Jesus' birth while the kids played with the Little People nativity set Hannah had gotten from Mamaw & Papaw, and then we all watched Toy Story 3 together.  (Hannah then watched it no less than three more times.) We all had a fantastic nap and then woke up to news of snow on the way!  Its been over 100 years since there's been snow in Atlanta on Christmas, and by bedtime it was here.  What a magical day.

Hannah-bear's reaction to her gifts this morning:

And Andrew's reaction:

Oh, of course we missed being with our parents, siblings, nephews, nieces, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...but sometimes less really is more.  Its special.  That's the kind of Christmas we had around here.  If anyone out there is reading this, I sure hope your Christmas was just as wonderful as ours.  As Tiny Tim said, "God bless us, every one!"