Summer Visit - Day 4

 

Summer Visit - Day 3

Singin' in the rain!

Julian was not at all interested in the outdoor activity :)

On the menu: pork loin, cranberries, and rolls

Summer Visit - Day 2

Today was full!  The boys had camp, lunch, and playtime,

We were rained out from the pool, so we headed to Kidstation for a few hours.

Next was Roadhouse for dinner.

The boys ate and ate and ate!

Everyone is fast asleep and I'm on my way.

Summer Visit - Day 1

Ben's cousins arrived last night and he has been VERY HAPPY since!

                                                                                     

This morning, I dropped the boys off at day camp and they had a wonderful time!

Then we headed to the movies...candy makes for very happy boys.

Now all 4 boys (including Greg) are playing Wii and having a ball.

 Julian had some funny things to say today...

"It's like home...but with better food."

"I want to live here."

"Your schedule makes it feel like school."

Summer, where have you gone?

Isn't it just flying by?

I can't believe Ben's "back to school night" is in just a few short weeks!

Therapy, activities, and play dates have kept our days very full.  That's the way I like it.

I don't know what Sadie will do without Ben's daily entertainment.  He is the only one who can really make her belly laugh.

Miles and Julian will be here soon.  Ben is beyond excited!  We are going to have such a good time together.

Groceries have been purchased and an activity/menu schedule has been created.

Did you know I'm Type A?

Yesterday, we had a wonderful visit at home with our friends Tricha and Emily.  I can't believe I didn't take any pics.  I was running my mouth the whole time!

Greg was working on the playhouse at Windridge.

When he arrived home last night, we headed to Dudley's Cajun Cafe for dinner.  Ben calls it the "mardi gras" restaurant.  The food on our table included: fried oysters, catfisth, crawfish enchiladas, the BEST coleslaw, a shrimp poboy, homemade fries, and bread pudding.  We tackled it easily.

Everyone has their mouth full in these pics ;) Who knew Sadie would love fried oysters?  That girl always keeps me guessing.

 

Anyone tired of this view of Sadie yet?

Greg replaced the particle board base with solid pine.  These parallel bars will be lasting a long time now!

  
 

Tuesday

We headed to Tyler for therapy.

Sadie played with her new 6 ft caterpillar best friend (courtesy of the Simms family: Michael, Lisa, and Julian)

Sadie went a few rounds with eye patch...and won

  

And Ben came to me with a bloody towel in one hand and a tooth in the other.

Ben hid his tooth in a custom-made lego box with a note to the tooth fairy.

The tooth fairy must be a man because he tricked Ben into thinking he had not come.

The money was hidden under the note and the tooth has been replaced with a tiny lego that sounded like the tooth when the box was rattled.

Tears flowed until Ben realized he had been "tricked".  Men are sly like that.

Just a typical day :)

 

Hodgepodge

This is a post of this and that.

 

1.  This weekend was spent doing a lot around the house, including outside work, closet thinning for the kiddos (sheesh), and general cleaning.

 

2.  Today, I scheduled an annual Terminex inspection for termites and pest treatment. Yay for no evidence of termites!  Gross that they found some rat droppings in the attic and laid some bait.  Not bait that will kill rats, but will only dehydrate them and send them on their way.  In all fairness, the workers may have been lying to me.  I think they could tell I am not into killing animals after our initial "interview".  In other news, the pest guy told me he left the attic stairs down (because they wouldn't go back up), and I completely erased it from my mind and went to run some errands with the kiddos.  While backing out, I watched the garage door hit the attic stairs and completely go off line.  Not good.  My common sense is seriously lacking.  I can admit that.  Needless to say, my husband actually repeated it back to me when I called him with the news:  "You're saying you knew the attic door was down, backed out anyway, and watched it hit the attic stairs?"  "Yes, sir.  That's what I'm saying."

 

3.  Yesterday, I made a tie blanket for our sweet friend, Ashley, who is battling rejection of her bowel.  Please follow her blog at http://www.ashleyadamsjournal.blogspot.com/ .  Please continue to pray for her.  She and her family are so strong.  I know she will pull through.  I know it.

 

4.  I'm excited about Sadie's upcoming 2nd birthday!  The planning has begun!

 

5.  Today, Ben and I had "board game day", which consisted of: Sorry, Hi-Ho Cheerio, Candyland, Creationary, Rhino Rampage, and more.   We had a lot of fun!

 

6.  Yesterday, I went to the gym, warmed up on the elliptical, and then actually ran for 10 minutes straight.  I think I could have gone longer, but I just had to stop because I don't run.  It just couldn't be true.  Was I actually running?  It may have been a dream.  Updates to come...

 

7.  Sadie's left eye strabismus has returned.  We called the optho last week, but played phone tag with the nurses.  We knew she needed patching again, but when we tried it x 2 yesterday, sister just ripped it off.  Good for her! and not so good for her... We will try again for a few days, but if she absolutely will not tolerate it, we will have to move to drops (boo!).

 

8 And lastly, I'll leave you with a short video of  Sadie during our daily am therapy session.  I have to be super quiet while filming anything.  If she hears me,  she starts to whine.  So funny how she lays her head on the parallel bars in defeat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Saturday

Thanks for letting me have my pity party yesterday. Your comments meant so much!  Today is a new day.  There was LOTS to be done around the house.  We were soooo incredibly lazy yesterday.  I would like to say that we did "nothing", but hanging out on the couch all day with your family watching movies is sometimes needed. Greg and I watched a double feature last night, and it was so nice:  Couples Retreat and Valentine's Day.  We are so far behind on movies, but they were both so good!  I even sent the babes to bed unbathed last night!  That is a rare occasion in this house.

Today, Greg tackled a few things off his never-ending "honey-do" list, including re-doing the front flower bed and front fountain.  He's not quite finished with the fountain, but it is HOT outside, so I gave him a break ;)  I went to the grocery store on a Saturday (torture), did a little shopping (not torture), and cleaned a bit.  I didn't quite have it as hard as he did.

Mr. Funny refuses to take a normal picture (just like mini-Greg)

Greg and Ben are at a monster truck show this evening.  Never thought I would type that.

 

Can't wait to hear his exciting stories.

I grilled some stuffed jalepenos: turkey bacon, farmer's market peppers, and low-fat cream cheese.  So very good and plenty left for breakfast!

 

Tomorrow, we are headed out for another day trip!

She's Got A Way

 

It's been a hard week for Greg and I.  We are just sad for our little girl.  She is doing well, but as her 2nd birthday approaches, we are filled with grief and anger and a lot of "why's".  This is just true honesty.  We hurt for her.  We want so much for her.  And yet we know we are so lucky to have her.  She is an amazing, beautiful, ornery princess.  I wake in the night with panic, but her sweet smile warms me every morning and makes everything ok again.  She is doing so much more this week than she has ever done.  God is good, and I know this life on earth is short and imperfect.  There is so much more to come. That is what gets me through.

Family Love

Oh, how I love when my husband is off, and we can take day trips together as a family!  Today, we travelled to Canton to visit the original Splash Kingdom waterpark.  We had so much fun! I even rode the "Royal Flush" - a very fast slide that dumps you into a bowl where you spin around until you fall through the middle into a pool.  I screamed like a little girl :)  Sadie did not sleep the entire day!  She knows when Greg is off and she cherishes every moment. Sweet girl fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.  Ben couldn't wait to take me to Dairy Palace for dinner.  I wasn't too excited, as it sounded like a Dairy Queen to me, but I was pleasantly surpised.  Ben's favorite is the hand-dipped ice cream at the end.  Sadie reached out and grabbed Greg's cone from him over and over.  So funny!  Of course, I have no pics of the family, but here are a few from the website.  It was truly a wonderful day!

The Royal Flush (my favorite)

My second favorite

Greg and Ben's favorite

Sadie's favorite - Greg slid down with her time and time again on the baby slides.

We are all worn out, but in a good way!

I Love Babies!

Today, we hosted a shower for our friend Christy, who is pregnant with her fourth sweetheart.  Isn't she a beautiful momma?

Good friends, food, and goodies for baby Micah!