This blog was created to keep our friends & family up to date on what is going on with our family (& by family, you know I mean Wyatt, Baby Chase & Morgan.)
A couple of months ago, I took Wyatt to have his picture taken at Portrait Innovations. They have a variety of backdrops and props that you can use in your pictures and you get them in about 30 minutes - nothing fancy but the pictures turned out super cute and they aren't expensive. One of the backgrounds they used was a beach scene complete with the ocean and sand. With this age, it takes lots of encouragement during the photo session and we made a big deal about him getting his picture taken at the beach. Well, bless his little heart, Wyatt thought he had been to the actual beach. He told my MIL: "I go to the beach!" and told her about how he played at the beach with the beach ball.
I decided that it was time for our first family vacation to the REAL beach and made plans for us to stay at Seaside. We had a great trip with all the usual ups and downs of traveling with a 2 1/2 year old. I think restraining them in a car seat for 7 hours is a mild form of torture even though I know it is necessary. We wouldn't have made it without the DVD player even though we were going crazy listening to the Wonder Pets save the day...over and over and over again.
Wyatt loved the ocean and the beach which I suspected he would. He definitely had more fun at the real beach and I managed to get some pictures of our fun times - enjoy!
Jeremy opens our store on Saturday mornings so it is just me and Wyatt at home. This Saturday started out as usual when I heard Wyatt open his door at about 6:30. I closed my eyes knowing he would be in to get me up any second. When Wyatt did wake me up, I noticed that about 20 minutes had passed.
Me to myself: Rock on - I got an extra 20 minutes of sleep. Wy is so good about entertaining himself. Wonder what he has been doing?
Then I noticed that his little hands were ice cold.
Me: Wyatt! Your hands are ice cold! What have you been doing?
Wy: Um...I crack, crack, crack.
Me: You crack, crack, crack? What do you mean you crack, crack, crack?
Down the hall we went and this is what I found:
Now by the time I got my camera out to video this, I had already done the whole "OH NO YOU DIDN"T" speech. Seriously, I was so shocked that I actually entertained the idea that someone had broken into my house and trashed the refrigerator. The conversation went something like this:
Me: Oh Wyatt! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! What have you done?!?!?
Wy: Um...cracked the eggs.
Me: Why did you do that?
Wy: Um...they're rellow (yellow)?
I now know that 2 year olds can't answer "why" questions. You can tell in the video that he is trying his hardest to come up with an answer that matches my question.
I quickly put our geriatric dog Phoebe in our room after I noticed her lapping up the raw egg. Jeremy was quick to point out later that you can give raw egg to a dog b/c it is good for their coat. I did notice she had an unusually good hair day today.
Anyways, raw egg (especially a dozen raw eggs) is nearly impossible to get up with paper towels or a wet cloth. It is so NOT absorbent. It just kind of slides back and forth. And it stinks.
I really did make Wyatt help me clean it up. Yes, it would have been easier and faster for me to just do it myself but I was trying to teach a "life lesson". He picked up the egg shells and the shredded container (what is up with that?) and put them in the garbage bag. Then, after I mopped the floor, I let him take a wet rag and do a final wash. He ended up soaked but he was getting a bath anyways. Here are a couple of pics from that morning.
"Look what Phoebe did, Mama."
Post Clean Up
Overall, I think I handled it pretty well. Life lesson learned, no tears were shed, and it gave me an excuse to drink before noon. (I'm kidding Mom and Dad.)
Wow - I can't believe September is already here! August was a busy month for us: Wy started his new Mother's Morning Out program and we sold our house in New Market (yay!). We officially closed on our house last Wednesday. Roxanne Cooke with Re-Max was our agent and it only took her 3 months to get us a buyer which I thought was great! We have been busy getting bids on our new house plans. We hope to start building in the next couple of months. We are so blessed to be able to live in a home that my FIL owns so we don't have to rush the building process - even though it is in Egypt.
1st Day of "School":
Wy is going to a Mother's Morning Out program in Fayetteville two days a week. The first day he took one look at the kids in the classroom and turned around and ran down the hall. Great start, huh? Once I pried him off my neck, I left feeling awful and guilty - the typical mom things. The teacher called me later that morning though to tell me he had been playing non-stop all morning and was having a great day. By the second week, he was confidently walking back to his classroom on his own while carrying his little bag. That little mental image warms my heart every time I think about it. So of course I had to take pictures of him before we went that first day.
For some reason, he was clasping his little hands in front of him like he was praying. Probably praying that he didn't have to go. So I said "Wy, put your hands behind your back."
And this is what he did:
Have I mentioned how much this child makes me laugh? So then I told him to put his hands in his pockets since he wasn't quite grasping how I wanted his hands behind his back.
"Just gotta lift my shirt up here so I can find my pocket"
Success!
Of course J snarled up at the outfit I had chosen to put him in. He said "he looks like he is wearing something from the Baby Gap." Like that is some kind of cardinal sin or something.
So moving on....
Wy was in desperate need of a hair cut which we had been putting off as that is another activity he doesn't always want to participate in. He has this annoying habit of stating his opinions on every possible activity and most of the time, he is telling me what he is not going to do - like he has a choice or something. "No Mama, I not get my hair cut." "No Mama, I not go to Wal Mot." to which I reply, "I don't want to go to Wal Mot either but it is the ONLY place within a 30 mile radius that sells groceries so we have to." But I digress - back to the needed hair cut.
Here is a pic when the bangs were getting down in his face:
It got to where I was pinning his bangs back with a bobby pin while he ate so he didn't get food in it. Even at this age, he some how knows that he shouldn't be wearing pins in his hair but I managed to get a pic while he was chowing down on some peepa (pizza).
So J took him to get his hair cut as he somehow listens better to Dada than Mama. The pics below show the hair cut and also his ability to get into "trouble" faster than Britney Spears!
On this day, I was in the process of getting him dressed. The PJs were off and I walked to his room to get a shirt and pair of shorts. In the time it took me to do that, he crawled up on the kitchen counter, rifled through the cabinets for random items, and proceeded to shove them all in the microwave and shut it before I got back in the kitchen. The only reason I even looked in the microwave is because I noticed the bread was missing - and because he had a devilish grin on his face.
He is a little pack rat just like his Didi!
Well that is all for now. Have a great month and I hope to post another update soon!
My friend Leslie introduced me to this website: http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ and it is hilarious! Everyone who blogs has to go this site, save their pics, and post them so we can all enjoy!
Jeremy and I were horse laughing at ourselves! Here are our "favorites"...
Jeremy:
circa 1956 - reminds me of Darren from Bewitched
circa 1974 - I don't even know what to say about this look!
circa 1988 - I remember this look on the high school boys
Emily:
circa 1952 - looks like I could have been a "girlfriend" on The Andy Griffith Show
circa 1960 - I have seen this exact picture of my mom
circa 1966 - I believe this is called "the bouffant"
circa 1984 - my Cyndi Lauper phase
Now be a good sport and post your own Yearbook Photos!
This is a long over due post from an outing I went on in July with Wyatt, my SIL Erica, her two boys Carter & Jack, and my mom, Didi.
I took them to the Harmony Park Safari which is a wild life refuge located on about 30 acres near New Hope. I had heard about it through a friend and had been with J and Wy on a previous occasion. Basically, you stay in your car, drive on the path they have created, and feed corn to the animals that you see. Windows are to remain up unless you are throwing out food (corn) and then they should only be lowered about 6 inches. You also sign a release at the entrance that releases the Park from any liability for damage to self or property. They remind you these are wild animals, blah, blah, blah.
The "wild" animals consist of emus, deer, goats, rams, sheep, llamas, ducks, geese, turkeys, buffalo, bison, one zebra, one evil pony, and one large camel. They also have alligators and crocodiles in a penned in area and another separate area where you can get out and feed turtles.
It is important to share my previous experience at the Animal Safari for comparison reasons. When J, W, and I went, it was obviously field trip day as there were several school buses and vans filled with little children from a daycare going through ahead of us. Now these animals have learned a thing or two by living at the Safari. Thing One: The bigger the automobile, the more food you will get. Thing Two: will be shared later.
The animals were gathered around the vans and buses and they really didn't come over to us in the beginning. The camel literally had his head inside the school bus going from window to window to eat corn out of the hands of screaming children. So much for not lowering the windows. We followed behind and watched and had the occasional emu come up for some food. You are allowed to circle the main field as many times as you want so we went around a couple of times and eventually the "cool" animals like the zebra and camel came over to check us out. Wy loved the experience as he was free to roam the vehicle and throw food to animals. Here is the best pic from that first trip.
Yes, that would be my sunroof that the camel is sticking his head through.
OK, so we had a fun experience and I wanted to immediately tell all my friends with children about it. I knew that Erica and her boys would enjoy it so we scheduled a time to go with my mom so we could all ride together in her van. I volunteered to drive Didi's van since I had already been through it once and knew the ropes.
So we get there and we are the only ones there! So that is just the coolest, right? We have the whole place to ourselves and I confidently explain to the employee at the gate that this isn't my first time at the park and I got all the rules down pat. Doors closed, windows up, drive slow, and don't sue them - got it, piece of cake.
As we drive in, the animals are alerted that someone has finally come to feed them. We get maybe 10 feet into the wooded area, which is not even the fun part, and our car is surrounded by hungry emus and deer. Windows go down, emu heads come in, and children scream and duck for cover. I panic, punch the gas, and allegedly hit an emu which my SIL finds hysterically funny. Didi throws out tons of corn to keep them busy as I keep the van at a slow going pace to get through the initial swarm.
Now, have I mentioned how excited I am for my nephews to see the "cool" animals? Because I just know they are going to think I am the coolest aunt for taking them to this park. So we finally get to the field and here they come - right on cue. The zebra, pony, and camel aren't shy and immediately try to figure out how they can get in the van with us. Now my SIL and I tend to "scream" a little when we get excited and children don't always understand the difference between a "this is so fun" scream and a "this is a scary situation" scream. One child, that will remain unnamed, decides maybe this isn't such a fun place after all since all we are doing is screaming which must mean the animals are trying to hurt us. I hear the unnamed announce "I don't like the Animal Safari" and he moves to the back of the van. So we have one unhappy camper and two others diligently rolling down the windows faster than I can control them and watch where I am going. I now allegedly run into the zebra which sends my SIL into fits of laughter and more screaming.
I quickly realize it isn't so cool after all to be the only ones there. There is such a thing as too much animal attention at the Animal Safari. All I can think about is how long it is going to take us to get through this park since we are literally unable to proceed at times since there are so many animals in the way. So I decide that the fun is over - no more windows down and no more food. That should make them go away, right? And here is where "Thing Two" comes into play. Apparently the evil pony decides he hasn't gotten his fill of the corn and he proceeds to KICK the side of my mother's van to get our attention. Window comes down, corn goes out, and more screaming occurs. My mom is unfazed by the kicking and shrugs it off. All I can think of is how fortunate it was for the pony that he didn't throw his fit the day that J was with us b/c I know J would have gotten out of the truck and killed the pony. Seriously.
Unfortunately for my mom's van, it gets a second dose of kicking from the psycho pony before we can escape. My mom, in addition to being hot for 60, is totally cool about the damage. Which is a good thing because I signed her rights away at the entrance. So, as alluded to earlier, "Thing Two" is: repeatedly kick the automobile if you are not being fed.
Now for some pictures and video clips...
My cutie pie nephews Jack & Carter
Wy still talks about the Emus
E feeding the Zebra
Meet the Evil Pony
Didi and the boys feeding the turtles
Erica and her boys
DISCLAIMER: Parts of this story may have been exaggerated to increase reader satisfaction. There were no animals harmed in the making of this story.
Well, I now know that my gallbladder is functioning at 70% which, in the world of gallbladders, is sufficient. I did manage to get in this afternoon and see my family doctor. Fortunately she worked me in even though I had not been to see her in over a year. That just goes to show that I am usually a very healthy person. Anyway, it was late in day which prevented her from getting any additional tests done. Based on what I was able to tell her about my week, she decided to treat my symptoms at this point b/c she can't pinpoint the exact problem either. She said she would have ruled out the gallbladder as well and since I had already done that, she is guessing it is "muscle/skeletal" related. Could have something to do with my 4 wheeler accident but no real way to tell. She gave me some anti-inflammatory (sp?) meds and a prescription for pain pills if I run out. If I am the same or worse by Tuesday then I am to call her office and more tests will be ordered. SO I am asking everyone to pray that the pain will go away and I will chalk this experience up to sleeping well at night knowing I have a functioning gallbladder.
ON A MUCH BRIGHTER NOTE - I totally forgot to tell everyone the really good news that we learned this week...we have a contract on our house in New Market and are scheduled to close on August 27th! YAY!!! That was all happening at the same time that all this medical stuff was going on. So needless to say we are so excited to be closing on our house. Please say a prayer that all will go well with that process as well.
Thanks for all the concern about my health. Please keep a dear friend of mine's husband in your prayers. (I am asking for lots of those today.) His name is Eddie and he has been in pain for 2 weeks now and they have not been able to determine what is wrong with him either. Take care everyone...
So much for the weekly updates! I will try to be a better blogger. Of course, having Internet access is a must in order to do so and I have been without it since last week. My sweet husband spent over an hour on the phone today with BellSouth getting it back up and running.
Jeremy and I went to New Orleans this past weekend to celebrate my birthday. We met our friends Jan and Dale down there late Friday night and spent the day hanging out together on Saturday. We made a stop off at Margaritaville for a "Perfect Margarita" and ended up staying there all afternoon watching the Cubs game. Then that night I gave my money away to Harrah's but had a good time doing so. It was a quick trip but a fun getaway with dear friends we don't get to see often enough.
The past couple of days I have noticed some pain in my right side and I thought it was just lingering pain from my lovely 4 wheeler accident that I had on the 18th. Long story short, I am scheduled to get an ultrasound done in the morning to see if it is my gallbladder. My Dr. thinks I had a gallbladder attack today and I may have to get my gallbladder removed. I will post an update as soon as I know something definitive. I actually hope it is my gallbladder b/c I have no idea what else it could be and I really don't want to go through multiple (and costly) tests.
Sorry for the quick post but I am heading off to a drug induced night of sleep.
