Sick Sundays

So for the last two Sundays we have been spending quite a lot of time (and money) on healthcare. Last Sunday we took the kids to the Vanderbilt Clinic because they both had strep throat. Yesterday Darrell and I woke up to a crying child who couldn't breathe. I thought maybe he was out of breath b/c I had not heard him crying. Oh no my friends, apparently he just had croup.

Oh how I wish I had made Darrell take a picture of us last night. I thought about it, but decided that asking my sleep deprived (borderline OCD) husband to rummage through a cluttered diaper bag after midnight was not the smartest thing in the world.

So picture this:

Two wet (from sitting in the shower for 30 minutes) people:

Me (with a long dress coat, hiking boots, pj's and Linley's hat)

Jackson (pj's, blue kidnapper stocking hat and blankets all around)

Yes, we looked AWESOME so we went on the back patio to sit outside-it was a glorious sight and I am hoping that our neighbors did not take that time for a midnight bathroom break!

So on a much happier note, I wish I was doing this right now:

Picture Post

So, I love to ignore email forwards, facebook invitations and anything else where I am SUPPOSED to do something, but I am bored and it is Friday so here it goes. I was tagged by Jennifer to take my 6th picture folder and the 6th picture (a great variation for those of you who have recently done the 5th) and then explain it. Since I am at work you get a work picture! I am then supposed to tag 6 other people.

Where here it is: I can't remember exactly where this was, maybe gallatin. I took a group of our residents to a tea room and we had a very girly tea. I hated it. I normally love going out to eat for free, but cucumber sandwiches ( or any sandwich with mayo on it for that matter) and too sweet desserts was just not my thing. Our chauffer gave me all of his cheese so I would have something to eat and I gladly gave him all of my chicken, tuna and whatever else salad sandwiches-YUCK!

So now I tag: Holly W., Kate T., Jess P., Claire W., Christine N. and Jennifer G.

Let's see it ladies.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

I Cannot believe that my sweet firstborn is already 5! So here are five things that I adore about Jackson:
1) His super smile with the attached dimples. How can you not love this face?2) That he is loved by all not because he is the most athletic, the funniest or smartest; but because he is truly kind to everyone around him. Praise God for this trait (he did not get it from Darrell or me)
3) That he is keenly aware that HEAVEN is a real place where we all want to be.
4) He has a wild imagination and big dreams that are far to pleasant to be snuffed out by realistic parents. I say if my son wants to be a horse when he grows up (not a cowboy, an actual horse) then let him be. That desire is followed closely by being a train engineer.
5) He is the sweetest big brother and guards his sister from anything that may harm her. What a supreme example of love I get to witness every day.
Oh and one to grow on: 6) He LOVES all things DONUT!


So here is the Haunted House cake that Jackson was dying to have for his birthday. Thank you Ms. Ricci for the great House that actually lit up on the cake! Making a haunted cake in January is not the easiest task, but at least the internet provided me with some great tools. Saturday morning, the cake was assembled with a group effort. Uncle Jim and Aunt Cake provided creative support and flagstone cut outs for the walkway. The cake got quite a few stares at Chuck E. Cheese. While everyone else had princesses and trains our special birthday boy had skeleton heads and tombstones.

I was not thrilled that Jackson chose Chuck E. Cheese for the celebration so a few of our friends came along to ease the chaos. It seems they had as much fun as the kids.

Ready to use those tokens!

Mandi and Winn in a little b-ball shoot out. It doesn't really matter who won since I beat them all later with a score of 37:)

Uncle Paul desperately trying to hit the bonus tickets. Don't worry he got enough for a beautiful princess wand all for himself.

Jackson saw this picture and said, "I don't even remember smiling with Mandi, mommy." Guess that strep throat daze started sooner than we thought.

Of course Linley is sick in this picture too (bad mommy award goes to....Dianne-for taking two children with Strep Throat to Chuck's.)

And after a long day of play and an illness yet to be named at this point. Jackson crawls onto his favorite lap and takes a little rest!

Not a Superhero

So here are my thoughts only so don't be offended. I believe that going from Zero to One kid is an adjustment. The obvious late nights in the beginning and making sure the restaurant has high chairs, but it is still manageable-I mean you are double teaming something that is a fifth of your size.

I do believe that going from one to two is dramatic and life changing. All of a sudden you are having to do man on man defense and if you are alone with the two it is surely crazy. Any mom loading and unloading multiple kids at multiple stores will understand this. Oh and eating out is pretty much out of the question for their first 4 years or so.

So here is Darrell playing with both kids at one time. Of course you can't lift one kid up and throw them around without the other wanting to join in. Who needs a gym membership when you have kids around?

Now that being said, we are not superheroes. I reserve that title for any parent sporting a permanent zone defense and having three or more children (and even moms having two or more at the same time-I mean really how can you nurse two hungry children at the same time). To all of you parents out there with 3 or more (living-because we will not forget our Samuel) children here is your superhero award and God bless you for it-I do not intend on accepting that award!

Extreme Comforts

Really, could life be any better than a good day at church, a cozy car ride and falling asleep with your hand in the box of your favorite snack?I of course would choose to fall asleep with my hand inside a 2lb bag of peanut m&m's. What is yours?

Slugs and a 30th Birthday

Sorry Claire that your birthday blog post is getting grouped with slug pictures, but hey you are in the hospital with a beautiful baby boy so you will probably never know:)

So I will start by saying Happy Birthday to Claire and Tyler only 8 days apart! I love that Claire decided to wear a giant sombrero to her own birthday party. I mean regular birthday hats are soo out of date. It even matched her maternity shirt. And Trent, who said you weren't a party planner-I thought it was a great idea that the Birthday girl ordered her own birthday cake with her name on it! The night was really fun, even though I was secretly praying that all of the pregnant women around me wouldn't touch my stuff and accidentally get me pregnant.

On to less exciting news: Jackson salted his first slug this weekend in Memphis. I of course said "Oh look a caterpillar" and mom kindly pointed out to me that "that isn't a caterpillar, it is a snail." Well, we were both wrong and apparently needing more sleep and glasses. After we told Jackson it was a slug and that salt would make it shrivel up-he ran inside to ask grandaddy for a salt shaker. The first picture he just sprinkles a little on it, but then he goes all out and practically dumps the whole bottle on the poor fellow.

And please no animal rights comments folks-the things ruin your plants.