Road Trip!

   Today I'm getting ready for C's first road trip.  The boys and I are heading back to Virginia for the first time since last November.  Can't wait!  I am, as usual, over packing.  I am so afraid of needing something and not having it that I always pack way too much.  I'm having to think differently as far as the weather goes.  We'll be staying where the air conditioner is on more often, so warmer jammies for the boys.  It's not as humid there, so different outfits will be needed there.  I need to make more lists!  I love me some lists.  Our bed is covered in clothes.  I've got them laid out by person so I can be sure there's enough of everything.  Toiletries, baby furniture, toys, chargers.....  I just know I'm going to forget something.  At least the Goodwills there have better pricing if I do forget something. 
   I will be working at the nursery, so expect pictures of beautiful Nelson and plants galore!  I can't wait to get up there and spend time with family again.  Baby C has yet to meet so many people that mean so much to me and Da.  We leave tomorrow afternoon for Knoxville where we'll stay overnight and then head to VA in the morning with my dad while Da heads back to Memphis.  I'm trying to get the house in order so he won't be overwhelmed.  Got a list for that too.  :-)

BuckbuckbaGAAAWWWWWW!

Baby C loves his big brother

Ima gonna get you!

Playing with brother wears me out

   Speaking of playing with brother.  It gets a little hectic with two babies so young but I'm always seeing positives.  I had baby C in his swing while I was washing dishes and he was a bit fussy, I was keeping him moving but he still wasn't too happy.  J comes over, looks at C and then pulls down the bar with the animals on it so C can see them.  Whaddya know, that did the trick!  I haven't been putting it down since the last time I tried C got mad at them.  Guess J knew that he would like it now.  C spent the next few minutes reaching up trying to grab them and giggling.  Made washing dishes bearable, hearing that sound.  Then he got tired of them...  

Captain Jack

   This is going to be a photo post cause I wanna get to watching Harry Potter.  The latest movie hit the Redbox today and I immediately reserved it.  Can't wait to see it!!!!!

Captain Jack!  I sense a Halloween costume idea, just need the wig to go on sale!

J with his new glasses

Da with his... (the things this man puts up with)

It's an epidemic!

Just try not to laugh...

Person of Wal-mart.  Dude had a side fanny pack.  Wowzer.

Did they have car phones in the 50's?

Da got some glasses.  He keeps commenting on what he can finally see.  "I just thought we had a crappy tv, it was just that I couldn't see!"

My new glasses, you like?  It's taking me some getting used to.  Downside of picking out glasses is you can't see what you look like before you buy them.

Spilled Milk

   You know, whoever said to not cry over spilled milk apparently never spilled a feedings worth of breast milk.  That's something to cry about!  Can you guess what happened to me this morning?
   I left a little bit of orange juice on my bedside table yesterday after my breakfast in bed.  When I went to bed last night it was filled with ants!  EWWWWW!  I almost drank it too!  We've been finding ants all over the house, not surprising since our backyard is about 90% ant hills.  At least they're not fire ants, but these little guys are still annoying.  We first noticed them by our big window in the dining room.  J was over there giggling one day and when I went to check on him he was playing with the ants.  After a while they stopped coming in there and started showing up in our master bathroom and closet.  Apparently they're after water since they're not in the kitchen at all.  Our house also has more than it's share of spiders.  I killed a black widow that was in our mailbox and I've lost count of how many I've killed that were in the house.  No black widows in the house, thankfully.  Gotta be careful with J this year, playing outside.  I've hated spiders ever since I had a dream where my brother was a massive spider.  Ew.
   I'm getting ready to head to Virginia for a nice visit, leaving next weekend.  I can't wait to see everyone again!  I'm getting to work a few days at the nursery thanks to the grandparents and their babysitting skills.  I also plan to have a work day at our house to see what I can do to make it more appealing to prospective buyers.  Anyone wanna help me paint?  I have a feeling our orange room might be a bit jarring to some.  I can't wait to get up there and let everyone meet baby C and to see my friends and family again.  I also hope to be able to make it to North Carolina so my granma can meet her newest great-grandchild.  I just need to either find a car or a travel buddy who has a car to make the ride with me.  We shall see!  The boys and I will be gone for a couple of weeks and I know that Da will use this opportunity to catch up on his sleep.  He's not going to know what to do with himself!
   I hope you all have a wonderful day!  Just wanted to write a bit of newsie news for youse guys.

   This is my birthday present from Da.  Just wanted to share cause I think it's super cute!  Now, on to cleaning and thank you notes!

My moo-moo

   My mother's day was spent, ironically enough, taking a break from being a mother.  Well, as much of a break as you can really take from motherhood.  The card that Da gave me said to put my feet up and relax cause he was gonna be the mom for the day.  Who was I to argue?  We discovered that if Da were a full time mom the house would be a wreck!  The furniture was rearranged to make a fort and there was evidence of the days cooking all around the kitchen.  They had fun though & I got to be lazy and eat and be waited on.  Pretty sweet deal!  How was your Mother's Day mommies? 
   Now, where would we be without our mothers?  Not here, that's for sure!  Here's my momma:

She's a tiny thing for having had 4 kids, dontcha think?

Wasn't I cute?

 My momma's purty.

   My mom helped make my childhood super memorable and I can only hope to make such wonderful memories for my boys.  Now that I'm a mother I can better appreciate all that she did for us and what she put up with.  I remember I used to think it was her fault when we were late going places but now that I have children of my own I realize that if she didn't have 4 kids to get ready she would have been on time!  I'm lucky to have clothes on that match when I get out of the house with just two babies to get ready, so I can only imagine how I would look with more.  I would most likely never change out of my pajamas.  It's amazing the clarity you get about your mother when you become a mom.  The things that seemed unfair at the time now make perfect sense and can sometimes even seem lenient! 
   Thank you mom, for having the strength to be the bad guy and say no.  Thank you for knowing when I had truly suffered enough and needed a hug more than a punishment.  Thank you for loving me even when I acted bratty and said hurtful things.  Thank you for putting us first.  Thank you so very much for trusting my judgment when I came to you at eighteen years old and told you I was going to get married to the only boy I ever dated.  I know you had to have been worried that I was making a mistake, I can't even imagine what I would do if one of my sons came to me at that young of an age and said they were getting married.  Thank you for your support, it meant the world to us.  I am blessed to have you as my moomoo and my sons are lucky to have you as a Granma.
   I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my mother in law.  Without her I would not be a mother now and that would be very sad indeed.  Da is a loving, smart, responsible man and I am thankful that he had a mother who raised him to be that way.  Thank you Beth, your son is a most fantastic husband and father and you are a wonderful mother in law and Grammy.
   I realize this is a lot of mom love, but it's Mother's Day!  Father's Day will be here soon enough...

Quarter of a Century

   Today I turned 25.  Yesterday I was down about my first birthday away from my family and friends in Virginia, thinking it would be just another day.  Would you like to know how my birthday was?  If not, stop reading! 
   Da woke me up with caramel rolls (I picked them for my birthday breakfast, they were Pillsbury and they were eh) and coffee this morning after washing all the dishes.  That was a super present, I hate washing bottles.  For lunch he brought home a hamburger Happy Meal, yay!!!  I got a super cool toy that looks like a ball but you push a button and it turns into an animal!  How old am I now again?  I got a package in the mail with an etsy.com return address.  I got super excited cause I had no idea what it was!  Opening it was so much fun, I loved the suspense and surprise once I got it open.  It was from my super terrific sister and her husband.  Thanks you guys!

SQUEEEEE!

  For dinner our friend Pete took us out to the Genghis Grill and it was awesome!  You get a bowl and you go through a buffet line of raw meats & veggies, spices, sauces & a choice of starch.  As long as it fits in the bowl, no matter how towering, it's good to go.  You give it to the people at the grill and they give you a number and cook your food then bring it to your table.  I had shrimp, crab, thin sliced beef, carrots, sprouts, snow peas, pineapple, broccoli, red & green peppers, mushrooms, onions and a honey soy sauce over fried rice.  It was faaaantastic!  I wish I had more of it to eat right now.   Today is also Kaye's birthday, she is Pete's girlfriend and has been a good friend to us since we've been here.  We both got a brownie with ice cream along with a birthday song with a big gong at the end from the servers.  blush.

   We then went to Yogurt Mountain for dessert, or second dessert in Kaye's & my case.  My first time there and it was pretty yummy!  I got cake batter & cotton candy frozen yogurt with maraschino cherries and some sour worms.  Hmmmm.....  It was my birthday, I'm allowed to eat junk food all day.  :-)
   This ended up being a lovely birthday, much better than I expected and I am so happy, full and ready for bed!

A year older with a super awesome necklace and earrings

   On a side note, think I should cut my hair?  

Thumb Sucker and Iris

   My son is a thumb sucker.  I guess it's good since it helps him to calm down.  He won't take a pacifier, at least I'd be able to take that away.  Sigh.  J has his two fingers and now C has his thumb.  It is pretty cute though.  :-)  By the by, his hair is getting some serious red in it!

   On another note, another one of my iris is blooming!  It looks like this:

 

   It's supposed to look like the tag in this picture:

   Yeeeeah, that's pretty close...  It is very pretty and fragrant though.  You can't tell too well from the picture but it has pretty yellow tongues and a splash of yellow at the base of the petals and a pretty coppery color too.  I love iris!  What's your favorite flower?
   On a side note, I really need to take off my old nail polish.  Eww.

Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes

Head

and shoulders

knees

and toes.....

   Now see if you can get the song out of your head!  Once we can get him to cooperate I'll add the rest of the poses.  :-)

Awwww

   Baby J just said Love You.  Best Mother's Day gift ever.  That is all.

Baby J turns 2!

Ten four good buddy

    My baby turned 2 today.  I can't believe it's been that long and that I already have another!  Two years ago today at this time I was laying in a hospital bed in awe of the strange creature in the bassinet beside me and wondering if I would ever be able to change that teeny tiny diaper.  Motherhood is a wonderful thing and I'm so glad that I've been blessed to experience it.
   Here is a picture of J on his last night before he turned 2.

    After J went to bed I got to work on his birthday cake.  We went with the tractor since it complimented the farm decorations.  I made a yellow cake from The cookbook (those in my family know which one I'm talking about) and I added some sprinkles to make it funfetti.  Turned out pretty nice if I do say so. 

Ready to go!

Mixxx

My darling mixer

Da getting the pan ready

Funfetti!

 

  









   Da made J some banana pancakes in fun shapes for his birthday breakfast.  He was a happy boy when he saw his breakfast and ate every bit, much to our surprise.  (Mama was hoping to snag a bite when birthday boy wasn't looking, no such luck.) 
 

The 2 year old and his special breakfast

Matchy match

Before

After some fabulous decorating by Da.  I don't do decorating.  I make beautiful things ugly when I decorate.

Party table

For me???

Balloon!

Ready for my burger!

Happy Birthday to youuuuuu

Blow out the candles!

Yayyyy!

  I am definitely my mother's daughter.  I made sure that the piece of cake J got had lots of black icing on it so I would get a good picture.  :-)

Presents!

From Aunt Donna & Uncle Glenn

My first football!

From Pa & Gram

Just my size!

From Ma & Da (It CLIMBS!!!)  We may or may not have gotten this so we could play with it too.  J now expects all of his toy cars to be able to crawl up walls.

El Toro Loco tattoo that came with his monster truck

 

   We spent a small portion of J's birthday in the closet, he didn't mind though, he had his new toys.  He was dragging his new chair all over the house, whether it would fit or not!  I think J had a good birthday.  He had yummy food and fun gifts and the majority of Mama & Da's attention.  (Baby C slept most of the day.)

This is how baby C spent most of the day. 

    To end, a video of J's awesome new climbing car.