2 fun Sons

Hair Prayer

2012-02-04T05:02:00.000-08:00

Lately Chase has been sporting a spiked up mohawk (really more of a faux hawk but don't tell him that). He is a totally cool tween these days, and is over the top because he earned an MP3 player by improving his grades this six weeks.
Last night when Noel was in the tub he asked Chris to give him a mohawk, and Chris explained he did not have enough hair to have a mohawk. Noel became somewhat distraught and asked "Why didn't Jesuse give me hair for a mohawk?"

Forgiving Friday

2012-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

I don't make New Year's resolutions but I have decided to try to be more forgiving of myself this year. Maybe not forgiving but less rigid. For instance, if I blog erractically and don't have the perfect photo to go with my blog, that is o.k. If I buy cookies for the School Christmas party rather than homemaking them, I am not a bad parent. You get the idea.

So, therefore, I decided to pick up the blog again. And what a perfect time, as tonight marks Noel's first trip to the Emergency Room. He is actually there as I type this entry. After we finished a marathon game of hide and go seek, and were preparing the boys for bed, Noel took a big ol' swig of peroxide. Now, I am sure you are wondering how he accessed said peroxide. Well, of course there is a story there. Chase busted the inside of his lip on the trampoline and has been using the proxide he left the cup next to the bathroom sink. Noel has a terrible habit of drinking first and asking questions later.

To add some extra fun to this mix, I had just taken a presrciption muscle relaxer for a headache. Chris called Poison Control, who said to make him drink and that he would likely throw up (which he did several times) but if he did so repeatedly and was in a lot of pain to head to the ER. Since we are a good thirty minures away from said ER, we erred on the side of caution.

So there ya go. I am back, at least for today. And if it is only today, well, that is okay too.

2 out of 3

2011-05-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

So, I had planned to write three funny Noel stories, as it turns out I can only think of two of them now that I have a spare moment to myself. So without further adieu or forgetfulness...

The first happend on Good Friday where, as Catholics, we venerate the cross. We do this by going forward in a line to kiss the feet of the crucified Jesus. As we went up Noel wanted to know what we were doing, so I told him we were kissing Jesus' boo-boos just like I did for him to make him feel better. Noel went up and dutifully kissed the feet of Christ, and as we walked back to our pew he loudly stated, "Jesus got bad boo-boos! How did Jesus get such bad boo-boos?"

The other little tale has been ongoing. Chris' sister is expecting her first baby any minute now. Everytime Noel sees her and we talk about the little boy in her tummy, he states that he has a little boy in his tummy. He has gotten more and more adamant about his little boy and the last time we were all together he insisted everyone be careful around his belly. He also told his Nanny that his baby was named "little Noel".

Hopefully, I will think of the other little funny and have a spare second to write it down. If not, there are plenty more where these came from.

An Easter Surprise!

2011-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

If you knew me well, as the four people who follow this blog do. You would know I am the last person who would welcome a rodent into their house. So, I can honestly not explain what possessed me to decide to get the boys a bunny for Easter. Even more unlikely is the fact that Chris agreed to this wacky idea. So much so that all Chase could say all day is "I can't believe you got us a bunny, but I really can't believe Dad let you!"

Nevertheless, I became slightly obsessed with the notion of greeting the boys with their very own rabbit on Easter morning. So, a few phone calls and some internet research later and on

Saturday afternoon I picked up this little girl. I wanted to name her Maisy. Chase did not care for that, but offered Daisy. Noel wanted to name her Parker (coincidentally, his best friend's name).

The boys are totally infatuated. Buddy is not amused. And I am no longer the only girl in the house. Well, sort of, Daisy lives on the porch but comes in to hang out.

We had a wonderful Easter even though Chris' dad ended up in the hospital. We had much to be thankful for as his chest pain was not a heart attack but a warning sign of a blockage and as of this post he is recooperating at home.

And so it begins...

2011-03-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday night Chase ran from the back of the house into the kitchen with a dramatic announcement. He has a mustache. Now, what he really has is the fuzz that every other person has on their upper lip. He insisted his was getting darker though and couldn't we see it? He then proceded to manuver his head around to try and catch the light just so. I finally admitted seeing "something" so the child would go to bed. Fast forward to Saturday when the family was preparing to head to the Mexican restaraunt. Chase comes from changing clothes into the living room with a look that can only be described as a mix of triumph and mischief. I immediately smell Chris' cologne. Yep, my nine year old was wearing Victoria's Secret's Very Sexy for Men. The next morning while getting ready for church he and his Dad argued over using the hair gel and once again I had a very good smelling son. Monday, being Monday, Chase barely managed to get out the door clothed much less go through his new grooming techniques. Alas, today though when I called for load up out ran Chase hair gelled into a faux hawk and smelling, you guessed it, Very Sexy. What the heck, two weeks ago I couldn't get the kid to take a bath!!! I am managing not to despair too much about this new found sense of maturity because Chase has taken to calling himself "Kid Cologne". As long as there is still "kid" in the title, I guess I will manage.

No One Likes Homework, but This is Ridiculous

2011-03-15T06:14:00.001-07:00

I pulled Chase's homework folder out of his backpack last night to find this as his assignment. I immediately laughed until I cried. Fortunately, Chase was at soccer practice. Most parent's might be angry and alarmed at this, but I was certain it was just a spelling error. Chase is pretty sheltered at his little Christian school and is a notoriously bad speller. Sure enough, when he got home and I asked him what his reading homework was he said a "reading sheet".

The funny thing is his teacher checks to make sure they have written their assignments down, and has signed off on his paper. She has a great sense of humor so I sent her a funny note and am looking forward to her response.

I guess it is only a matter of time before I have to worry about language like this used on purpose. He is definitely getting bolder using "fart" instead of our preferred "toot". And then passionately arguing there is nothing wrong with that. I told you he was sheltered. He has also been nonchalantly throwing around the correct term for the male anatomy. It is incredibly hard to keep a straight face when your child is telling you that penis is a "biological term". I finally explained that, biology aside, it isn't a term you randomly bring up in conversation. And the adventures in the rearing of boys continues...

I Have it in Writing.

2011-03-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

Noel is officially potty trained! I say officially because it is now on the potty chart at daycare. He has been doing a great job going to the potty for the last two and a half weeks. All it took, was peer pressure. His best friend is the other child who is potty trained on the chart. The week he came to school in big boy underwear, Noel demanded to start wearing it too. It was as easy as that. He is still sleeping in a diaper at night, and wakes up wet about half the time. I can live with that. So far we have had to pull over on the side of the road once and made Chase late for school once, but I suppose that is a fair trade to be finished with diaper duty.

The really strange thing is, unless Chris has a major change of heart or God totally intervenes, I may be done with diapers for good. I can't decide how I feel about that. Not the literal diapers part, but the fact I may never have another baby. Noel makes it very clear he is a "big boy" even if I am just lovingly calling him my baby. However, I am not so sure how he would truly feel about having that position usurped. The truth is, it is not mine to worry about, and I am sure God is shaking is head at me after teaching me that so clearly 3 or so years ago. So, for now I will enjoy my big boys and my respite from purchasing and changing diapers.

Family Photos and I am a "didiot"

2011-02-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

We had a BLAST having family photos done on Sunday! Here are a few. Chase, who really dreaded the entire thing became America's Next Top Model striking poses before being asked. Noel could occasionally be bribed to stay in the shot with gummies. I can't believe how grown up and handsome my two fun sons are.

I fully intended the photos to be the bulk of the blog today, but on the way home, out of the blue, Noel said, "I can't talk to you mom you're a diditot." As I was thinking to myself 'did he just call me an idiot', he repeated "you're a didiot, mom". After some gentle correction, I was informed that Little Foot (character on Land Before Time) says it all the time, but I have my doubts.

More Profound Wisdom from the 9 yr, old

2011-02-16T19:03:00.000-08:00

We are in the thick of potty training at our house. This is version, oh, 4.0 at least. Noel is doing great this go round, peepeeing very consistently and 3 poopoos in the potty, thank you very much. He should be, the entire thing has been on his terms, but I digress.
The real motivator of late is the big boy underwear. This morning Chase was supervising as I was getting Noel dressed. When it was underwear time, Noel became ecstatic and began to dance and chant about his drawers. Chase turned to me and matter of factly observed, "Give a kid some big boy pants, and they think they rule the world."

Snowy Forecast

2011-02-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

Well, the forecast is calling for snow-AGAIN. So, in honor of that I am posting some photos from Snowpocalypse 2011. Our week of snow was a lot of fun. However I am fairly certain Chase will lose his mind if they have to make up another day of school. His school decided to go on MLK day and he pitched such a fit, you'd have thought HE marched in Montgomery! He is all for a snow day, but totally does not get the concept that those days have to be made up.

Speaking of Chase, he did his vision therapy tonight without complaint and spoke of the times when he complained about it for hours on end as far in the past. We had such a great conversation together during the therapy that it brought tears to my eyes because he was talking to me so maturely. I am totally amazed he was in such a good mood considering today was "Red Day" at his school and in his words he was the "only person at his school who was not wearing red." Oh well, he was at school, dressed and on time so I don't plan to lose any sleep tonight.

A no good, very bad day (week, month)?

2011-02-02T05:38:00.000-08:00

The plague swept through our house the past week and a half. It started with Chris having the flu, the mid-point was Chase contracting strep, and lastly I came down with the flu and then a secondary bacterial infection. As is usually the case, mom got it the worst and the longest. I was literally in bed from Tuesday through Friday, and still wasn't too hot the entire weekend.
It was a horrible feeling on top of feeling horrible. Noel, who thankfully escaped the germs, was constantly trying to sneak into the bedroom where I was. He is currently obsessed with all things dinosaur, including The Land Before Time, and at one point I could here the characters singing a song about missing their families. In a matter of minutes, Noelly is trying to sneak into my bed. Chris and to come get him and he sobbed and sobbed like his little heart was breaking, and, of course, so did I.
Now that I am on the road to recovery, I am having a really hard time getting back on track. So is the family. At least I hope that is our problem. I am not, by nature, a positive person. I have to make a concerted effort to see the glass as half full. I have, in my adulthood, just come to recognize this as my personality and I do make that concerted effort. I fear Chase has inherited some of the less desireable traits of my personality and this is one of them. One "off" thing, no matter how minor can throw him into a downward spiral.
Last night the thing was he had written the date as 1-32-11 on his paper. I told him this couldn't be correct as no month has more then 31 days. Who would think this minor, really cute, little error could lead to a major meltdown? It did complete with tears, threatening punishments, etc. It seems his teacher did not change their classroom calendar, and he just could not admit or accept his responsibility and change the date. Have a I mentioned he is strong-willed? Remember those less than desireable traits from me...
Once we FINALLY got past the fact the date was February 1st and it would indeed have to be changed on the paper, Chase proceeded to throw a full-blown pity party about everything he percieved to be wrong in his life, including but not limited to: his vision therapy (another post), homework, the brevity of his summer vacation, the fact we do not spend enough time together as a family, and him mom is the only one who works outside the home. Ultimately, the discussion and fallout was ended by bedtime and things were back to semi-normal this morning.
I will admit it did open a floodgate of guilt, emotion, and questions. I will also admit this is one of many similar incidents. Am I raising a brat? Should I quit my job and stay home? Is Chase's rotten attitude my fault somehow? Or, is it what Chris suggested, just a bad day?

A Tale of Two Beds

2011-01-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

So, sometime in, say, mid-September, we finally took down Noel's crib. This was NOT a lightly made decision as Noel loved his crib and slept in it so well. But let's face it, the kid is huge and he had totally outgrown his crib. We pulled the molded firetruck bed out of the basement, Noel was thrilled, and the first few days went deceptively well. Then reality set in. The child would not stay in his bed. And we aren't talking sit in the floor and look at books or play with toys. We are talking constantly getting up and traipsing into the living room. If he heard us coming, he would sprint to his room and slam the door. This would go on until late into the night, way past when Chris and I would want to go to sleep.

Eventually, we just started letting him sleep with Chase, as I am a big believer in whatever works for everyone to get a good night's sleep. They both seemed happy as clams with the arrangement so we decided to invest in a set of bunk beds. Finally we were able to pick them up in early December, and to say the boys were excited is a total understatement. Even now, more than a month later they switch from top to bottom bunk until they finally settle down in one. Nevermind, the fact we chose a twin over full model thinking they would at least sleep downstairs if they chose to sleep together, they are always two peas in a pod.

I am not naieve enough to think this brotherly love will last, but for now it warms my heart.

Semi-Silent Saturday

2011-01-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

My resolution is not off to a banging start. I had decided to at least try to post one blog a week which makes this one a day late. Today we finally transferred our Christmas photos from the camera to the computer so today's theme is: Christmas Retrospective.

Noel turned three! We had cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday, but his big party comes in May when we celebrate his adoption.

I am fairly certain Noel's favorite part of Christmas was the cookies. He had one in had constantly for approx. 4 days.

Chase was thrilled with most of his gifts this particular one was a new Wii game from Grandma and Papa.

Santa was good to the boys as usual bringing new bedding for their bunk beds, which were an early Christmas gift in a way. Noel asked Santa for Dinosaur toys and a big shark for the bathtub. Chase wanted Legos, a new DVD player for the van, and surprises. Santa came through. And the last and most exciting Christmas surprise was a white Christmas. It snowed all day, huge wet flakes. Our Christmas dinner turned into a Christmas lunch so my brother could and Chris' family could come and go safely.

Semi Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Given this is the third snow day in a row, I had to do a little extra thinking about what day it was. This will be my first attempt at uploading a video to the blog. It is a little long, but if you hang on until the end you will see some totally sweet dance moves by one Noel Lammers at the end. This is our Gingerbread House attempt a few days before Christmas. You will have to follow the link because blogger would NOT let me upload here ; (
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=580905479112&saved

Resolutions

2011-01-06T18:25:00.000-08:00

My New Year's Resolution is to bring back the blog! I do not usually make New Year's resolutions, but I have been feeling super horrible about my blog neglect. I have so much to report. Obviously the holidays, and Noel's big 3rd birthday. Anyways, I am glad to be back!
Just before Christmas I had an experience that led me to resolve to blog. So here is the story:
Noel is obviously becoming more self-aware. One day he saw a photo of a black man holding a child and said, "that is Noelly and Noelly's Daddy." I just laughed and told him his Daddy was in the bedroom. A few weeks later, at his parent teacher conference I shared the story with his teachers and encouraged them to be open about his adoption and race. A few days later, his teacher told me he had said one of his black schoolmate's father was his daddy.
On the way home Noel said to me, " I want to change colors." Immediately, my mind began to race with worry. I probed Noel and asked him why he wanted to change colors, and he said it was because Daddy wanted him to. Extra panic. Finally, I asked him what color he was going to change to and he said yellow. I was so upset at this point. I was thinking about pursuing counseling, and was nearly in tears that my sweet baby thought he needed to change colors.
I even went so far as to tell Noel that he was perfect and the we loved him no matter what and he never, ever had to change colors. I am telling you, I was beside myself. I am not sure why, but something made he think to ask Noel what color I was. The answer, pink. So then I asked what color Daddy was-green. Chase? Brown
So as it turns out we are just one colorful family and all is well in the world.

Yo Grabber Grabber

2010-09-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Noel's new favorite show is Yo Gabba Gabba. His new name should be Yo Grabber Grabber. No matter how well I think I have put things far out of his reach, he seems to be able to easily grab them. Tonight was no different. I intentionally moved Chase's new shampoo out of the tub and onto the back of the toilet thinking Noel wouldn't really notice. I am so delusional. I was straightening up the bedroom just outside the door when I smelled the strong aroma of Mango. The brand new bottle of Woody's Giddy Up and Go Mango Shampoo had been dumped into Noel's bath. I was wildly frustrated, but ultimately could only laugh, and take pictures.

Say Shampoo!

You can't stay mad at this face!

Turbulent, Terrific Tuesday

2010-08-31T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today my firstborn turns 9. How on Earth can it be nine years ago that they placed that tiny bundle in my arms? I had only intended to drop off his requested cookie cake to be served for desert at lunch. Last night, however, I was shocked when Chase was quite affronted that I was not going to be there to serve his birthday cake. He then accused me of never coming to school for his birthday. (Last year, I not only came to school, I came dressed as a tiger in my University's mascot outfit). So, even though he is likely to forget it, I did indeed eat lunch with him at school, serve his cookie cake, and then checked him out early to spend one on one time to boot. That was the the terrifice part.

The turbulent part was mainly the morning. Noel and I walked Chase in to school, because I wanted to make sure the cake was there in case something came up at work. I caught up with Chase's teacher in the hallway and chatted with her for awhile about Chase's schoolwork. I thought Noel had walked into the classroom with Chase. A few minutes later Chase and his classmates filed out of the room with no Noelly. A brief moment of panic led to him being found in the computer lab using copious amounts of hand sanitizer. Then as we made our way to the office we turned around to avoid a traffic jam only to be right smack dab in another.

By the time we got to daycare, Noel had made a stinky. I went to change him and then made him go ahead and peepee in the potty. The operative word being made him. At daycare they sit down to do all their business, so to be consistent I sat him on the potty. Well, let's just say things weren't pointed in the right direction and he soaked his shorts, socks, and the floor. I really think he wanted to tell me, " I told you so", but he doesn't quite have the smart alec vocabulary down pat.

I am going to have to watch that one though. He did not eat enough supper to get leftover cookie cake, but his naieve mother left the cake on the counter. I walked into the kitchen to find him licking icing off his fingers. I closed the container and told him he could not have any then went back out of the kitchen. The second time I returned to the kitchen he had a handful of icing. I moved the cake completely, but also started cleaning off the table and mess from dinner. After he licked the icing off his hand, he came up behind me and tried to push me out of the kitchen saying "leave" and looking to where the cake had been.

Just another day in the life of a mom and her two fun sons!

Chasecation

2010-07-23T11:28:00.001-07:00

When Chris and I arrived home from our anniversary trip, Chase informed me very bluntly that he and Noel needed a vacation too. When I asked him what he had in mind he said, "I don't know. Six Flags or a trip to Granny's." Boy was I relieved, because if you know Chase he could have just as easily requested Tahiti or a Round the World cruise.

After looking at, what turns out to be a quickly vanishing summer calendar, the 2 fun sons and I headed up to Charlotte to see my mother for "their" vacation. I was super anxious about sticking Noel in the car for a 3+ hour road trip with only Chase to assist, but he actually was way more patient than Chase. In fact our only mishap was when we took a pit stop at one of the peach houses in South Carolina. I was making a b-line for the restroom when I glanced down to see that Noel had just helped himself to one of the peaches for sale as we walked by.

Saturday Chase, my brother, Rus, and I headed for Carowinds for amusement park fun. I don't think I have ever been so hot in my life. Chase was tired and whiny, and Rus was well, Rus. He and Chase really butt heads because not only do they look alike but...well, you get the idea. So all in all, not a super "d" duper kind of day. We had, however, bought 2 day tickets. I could honestly not face going back the next day so a new plan was formulated that included Noel's first trip to an amusement part on Monday.

He was only mildly impressed by the Merry-go-round, the Choo-Choo train, and all the other rides for the kiddos, but his reaction to the water park made everything worthwhile. He could have literally stayed in the 4 inch pool with it's variety of water squirting mechanisms forever. I have never seen such a content child in my whole life. He would leap, as though jumping from a high dive, into that for inch water over and over, and never tired of running through the same little water splasher.

That evening while we were putting dinner on the table Noel looked at Chase, and with as much conviction and seriousness as he could muster declared, " You'll never get elected!" The things he comes up with! We all cracked up so it has become his latest catch phrase.

Chase's vacation or Chasecation as I like to call it, continued as he convinced me to stay on at Granny's the rest of the week while Noel and I made our way home. True to form, Noel did great on the ride home too, for the most part, and has quite enjoyed being the only child at home for a while.

You are likely asking yourself why I have no pictures to go along with this post and Noel's first amusement park trip. Well, in my glamorous Puerto Rico post, I neglected to mention my brain went on a major vacation the last day of our trip and I left my purse in the resort parking lot!!! Long story and about an hour's worth of sickening panic later had me with purse (and wallet with all important contents in tact) in hand but the camera long gone. That is why there were no pictures of Old San Juan in the other post. Oh well, that wasn't the worst thing that could have happend. Hopefully, we will get a new camera soon and I will do a better job of blogging on the joys of 2 Fun Sons!

The Enchanted Isle

2010-07-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

That is what they call Puerto Rico, and how could I disagree? Puerto Rico truly has it all big city, tons of history, mountains, and gorgeous beaches! We were lucky to celebrate our 10 year anniversary trip here.

We splurged on renting a Jeep while there, and that was the best thing we could have done. We plugged in beaches to the GPS and hit the road.

The one lane road, that is, for the most part. The views were gorgeous and the beaches mostly empty.

Not that we weren't tempted to stay at our amazing resort pictured here from the water taxi.

Old San Juan was neat, but touristy. We toured one of the two large forts there and the History nerd in me really enjoyed that.

We had a blast at the Bacardi distillery and sampled some of their fine products!

This was the view from our balcony.

We had the trip of a lifetime and I am so thankful my mom came to stay with the boys. After 10 years and 2 kids, it was great to spend some quality time with my "boyfriend". We have been home for a couple of weeks and the children are beginning to come off their Granny induced sugar high. Chase informed me I had to take him on a vacation, and when I asked where he wanted to go he said I don't know, Six Flags. I think we can swing that.

My 2 and a half month absence, explained

2010-06-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that the past two and a half months have been, perhaps, the busiest for our family yet. We have celebrated a wedding, a First Communion, the end of Chase's 2nd grade year, Mother's Day, Noel's adoption day, 6 birthdays, and our anniversary. Oh, and we took a weekend trip to the Aquarium in Atlanta. Without further adieu, here are some photo highlights.

Noel really enjoyed the Olympic Park Fountain.
Both boys loved the Aquarium, which was a surprise for Chase to celebrate the end of his school year.

They also enjoyed staying in the "big" city in the Hyatt.

Chase was on the honor roll and was given the "Excellent Infering" award in his class.

Noel very much enjoyed his A-day cupcake I brought to his daycare class. We has a dinosaur themed adoption day party. Which was overshadowed by Chase recieving his first set of stitches. He cut his finger while trying to make a dinosaur costume out of cardboard for the party.

He has a wonderful 1st Communion and was able to celebrate with two of his besties, Patrick and Christopher.

I have lots more to report and once I get my hands on some of Chris' sister's wedding pictures I will devote an entire post to that.

The Easter Bunny is Dead

2010-04-04T18:24:00.001-07:00

This past Easter weekend began with us missing Holy Thursday Mass due to soccer, and ended with Chase finding out the 'truth' about the Easter bunny. Here's what happened in between.

Chase had his monthly eye therapy appointment in Marietta on Friday morning and I had planned to take him to see How to Tame Your Dragon as a treat. Chris suggested we meet up to see it and that started the domino effect that resulted in our not only missing the movie but Mass that evening as well. It is a long, frustrating story, that also resulted in Chase seeing the Easter basket goodies in the van without me knowing.

As it turns out, it was likely a blessing we missed church because Chase's complained of a tummy ache right before bed, and woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. This changed all our Easter plans including the most important, Mass. Chris needed to make an announcement at our church so that meant I would go to the 2 hour and 45 minute vigil on Saturday night putting me home, exhausted, at 11:00.

Here is where things start to go really wrong, and I made the fatal errors that lead to the loss of the Easter bunny. First, I use the same candy in the baskets as the eggs. Second I use some extra candy we had in the candy bowl because they honestly don't usually pay that much attention, and we decided to hide more eggs than usual since we weren't attending the family egg hunt. Third, we decide that rather than get up at the crack of dawn to hide the eggs we will wait and do it in the afternoon, again because we don't plan to go anywhere, but I write the bunny a note to leave the eggs for us to hide later.

Here are the innocent looking baskets that lead to the discovery.

Noel is quite pleased with his basket, especially the jelly beans!

Here is Chase saying, "I saw this in the van. Mom, do you make our baskets?" I figure I am busted at this point and so I just confess. That yes, I make the baskets but the Bunny d0es the eggs, and this year instead of hiding them we asked him just to leave them and we would hide them later. He is not impressed, but grudgingly accepts it.

This photo is taken right before Chase puts two and two together after finding the same gummies that were in his basket and some obscure candy that only he knew we had in our candy bowl. He angrily asked if I was the Easter bunny, and because I am a terrible liar, and well he is 8 years old, I gently say yes. He sat down in yard and cried, we sat down in the yard and cried.

Later on, we decided to take in How to Tame Your Dragon and this time we made it. Noel loved it and sat riveted the entire time. Chase told all his grandparents he knows the truth. And, well, I have recovered from the tragedy as best I can, and am working on keeping Jolly Ol' Saint Nick alive and well.

It's a Pity(riasis)

2010-03-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

I currently have a harmless, but most unattractive skin condition called Pityriasis Rosea. I look like I have a cross between poison ivy and a bad case of Chicken Pox. Being the overachiever that I am, I have an atypical case because unlike normal strains mine is on my face, below my knees and on my hands. While I never considered myself a vain person, but this little predicament, which can last up to 16 weeks in some cases, has really made me question that. I am trying not to have self pity (get it), but I am a bridesmaid in my sister- in- law's wedding next month and I so don't want to look like a leper. Anyhoo, I said all that not to whine, but to convey the following about my dear oldest who is getting into the "embarrassed of my parents" stage.

Chase has been monitoring my condition closely and everyday greets me with a grimace and informs me I have more spots. The other day he was quite taken aback to see I had spots on my face. He actually asked if I knew I had spots on my face now, which oddly enough I did. The look on his face was pure mortification and he asked, "How long does this last again?" I told him it could last up to several months. I asked him if he was embarrassed by me and his sweet, priceless response was, "not on purpose". Now he will just walk by and shake his head and mutter "more spots".

The good news is Noel remains oblivious to the fact his mother needs a Bur'qua. He is content to walk around chanting, "Licka Licka Loo Loo". Don't bother asking, we have no idea where he picked this up. I asked his teacher and she said she was wondering if it was something we said at home, ummm no. He says it all the time! He has also taken to adding the 'y' sound to the end of every word. For instance he asks for "juicy" or "milky". He is very two these days and doesn't hesitate to express his opinions, but then he smiles that incredible smile and you just have to kiss him. And when you do, he giggles and says, "Licka Licka Loo Loo."

The Sacrifices of Lent

2010-02-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

Again no pictures, but in the famous words of Chase, "it's not my fault." Our laptop is on the fritz so Chris pulled all the pictures to an external hard drive. Great if the laptop does indeed crash, but bad for my blogging which is already lagging way behind.
Speaking of Chase, this year, becasue he is making his first Communion, we have really encouraged him to give up something for Lent. I decided to give up diet soda which is a pretty big deal for me. Chris hasn't decided yet, but Chase after weighing several options has decided to abstain from soup. Yes, that was his much deliberated choice, and I honestly don't believe he chose it to be funny. He really thought long and hard about his decision. We both agreed candy wasn't a good choice because there was so much in the house from Valentine's, so his next choice was soup, and yes, he really enjoys soup though we don't eat it that terribly often.
After boldly embracing soup as the thing to give up, he then said, "now how long will this last?" I told him 40 days to which he made a horrified face and said, "I might really want some chicken noodle before then." The sacrifices we make...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

2010-02-10T05:26:00.001-08:00

I know I am way overdue for lots of photos and updates, but I had to share this quickie before I forget it. Last night as I was cooking dinner, Chase was trying to get a VERY grouchy Noel to sit on the couch with him. At one point Chase says, "Noel, I have to tell you something very important. I am your brother. Since I am your brother, I think you should treat me with the respect I deserve." In response Noel probably either hit, kicked, or pulled Chase's hair and the chaos resumed.

Taking a Stand

2010-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

I do not consider myself a political person. Don't get me wrong, I vote, but I do it because too many have fought and died to make sure I have that right rather than my real interest in the political process. However, last Friday the entire family took part in what, I have to say, was one of the most powerful things I have ever done, the annual Together for Life rally at the State Capitol. The rally marks the anniversary of the passing of Roe vs. Wade, and begins with a gathering on the Capitol steps and ends with a one mile silent walk through downtown Atlanta.

Our family had a very special role in the program. Because of Noel's involvement in the Face of Personhood contest one of the directors at Georgia Right to Life asked if we would be interested in participating on stage and beginning the march. Our portion of the program involved representing our birth year since Roe was passed by holding a sign with an abortion statistic as the information was read. I represented 1976, Chase 2001, and Noel 2007 (Chris got to carry Noel). I was so proud of my boys! And a little anxious as you can see below.(Chase was somewhat unsupervised)

The experience was moving and reinforced so much what a miracle Noel is. He is literally one in a million that was adopted and not aborted. And while the media did not find this event, that drew thousands to walk silently through the middle of a major American city, worthy of their coverage, I felt as though we were making a difference. Choose Life!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T07:54:00.000-08:00

Our big Snow Day January 7, 2010

Toys!!!

2010-01-09T18:40:00.000-08:00

That was Noel's one word response to the haul under the tree Christmas morning. We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. All Chase wanted from Santa was a drum set and Star Wars Legos. He said he would know Santa was real if he brought him a drum set because there was no way his parents would get him that. (Truer words have ne'er been spoken.) Fortunately for all involved, my Grandmother came through with the drums, and Santa with the Legos.

Noel is now the head chef at Elmo's Restaraunt Kitchen thanks to the Jolly Old Elf, and by the end of the evening he actually said no when asked if he wanted to open more presents. He is now officially 2, and, well, he acts like it. We hear a lot of "mine" and "no" at our house. We made an effort to recognize Noel's birthday but are still trying to have the big celebration centered around "A-Day".

We rang in the New Year with some great friends playing The Newlywed Game. We had all been married at least 9 and a half years, so it was quire entertaining. Chris and I came in a respectable 3rd place. And while this post is belated, like most of mine are these days, happy, happy New Year to you!

A Months worth of Fun Sons

2009-12-15T12:01:00.000-08:00

Ok, so who am I to let a serious case of writers block deprive my loyal reader(s) of photos and updates on the 2 fun sons. So here goes...in chronological order:

Due to several extraneous circumstances, and mostly just because that is how our fall seemed to go, we carved a Thanksgiving pumpkin this year. It was just as much fun as it's overdone Halloween cousin and the leaf pattern provided a lovely decoration for dinner at Chris' parents.

Here we are in a rare shot that includes the entire family, and in this case, pumpkin guts.

Around the time of Chase's first Christmas, Chris' parents began a great tradition of celebrating the feast day of St. Nicholas with a stocking exchange. Chase's aunt Steph got him a booklet of 350 temporary tatoos, which he applied the first, oh, ten percent of that evening. I have to come up with an appropriate way to thank Aunt Stephie for that.

Noelly was especially excited about his 'pop' which is Noel for Lollipop.

Noel got his very own tree this year which he loves to take the ornaments off and put them back on. He actually does this very carefully and for the most part leaves the trees alone.

At last it was time to post for our Christmas card photo. Chris snapped this picture of Chase while I was running after Noel in the backyard. I had to include it in the blog because when I popped up on the computer for the first time I gasped and got tears in my eyes. Look at how grown up this kid is!!!

And lastly the shot that most of you have gracing your Christmas card holders as I type...

And just in case I hit another blogging dry spell, may God bless you and yours this Christmas and in the year to come.

Silent Saturday

2009-11-14T19:47:00.000-08:00

Belated Halloween

Bear With Me

2009-11-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

So I know that I am way behind on posting cute photos of the boys and updates on them in general, but get a load of this. I arrived home from a business trip last night just in time to tag in for Chris to head out on one himself. I was positively exhausted from having driven all day and had just about dozed off on the couch when I heard a strange noise. I was afraid because I was "home alone", but gathered my courage to investigate. I had a sneaking suspicion what I might find ...
The noise continued and I bravely flipped on the carport light. No more than five yards in front of me was a big ol' bear. Big, huge, ginormous, if you will. He( yes, I have decided it is a boy) did not even seem to notice his pursuit of the garbage bag had now been illuminated. After my initial shock, I ran back to Chase's room, and woke him up so he could see the bear too. By the time we got back all Chase got to see was the white trashbag disappearing into the woods.
I called Chris to give him the breaking news and while we were talking the trees started shaking and I could tell the bear was looking back toward the house(or me as I was convinced of at the time) because I could see his tongue licking every so often.
I got Chase up yet again, but he was never able to see the actual bear. Eventually he said, in a very underwhelmed tone, that he was going back to bed. The same could not be said for me. I was totally keyed up, and spent the next several hours alternately trying not to think bear thoughts and generating survival/escape plans in the event the bear were to somehow get in the house. I never claimed to be a rational thinker, but if you need a bear plan, I am your girl.

Orange you glad it's fall?

2009-10-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

We sure are, because it brings so many of our favorite things! One of those being Clemson Football. The weather forecast called for sunny and 60, perfect football weather, so we decided to let Noel attend his first game. The weather reality was cold and rainy and we aren't so sure it cracked fifty up where we were sittting. We still had an absolute blast, though we stopped two times between home and the stadium to secure proper attire. Noel got all snuggly warm wrapped in a fleece blanket and a poncho (that was slightly thinner than a grocery bag) and slept throught the better part of the second quarter.

Here is our crew. Die-hard Tiger fans and (hopefully) Bulldog converts!

I am a little biased but, no matter the weather, I tend to think it is always a beautiful day in Clemson!

Other things do happen in the fall besides College Football, and we manage to fit those in as well. Noel had his very first field trip to the Pumpkin Farm. You will see Noel is sporting the latest in Halloween fashion courtesy of his amazing daycare teachers. I am so blessed to have him at such a great facility.

We enjoed a hayride (and throwing hay).

Looking at all the BIG pumpkins.

And trying to bust up into the chicken coop while "cockadoodledooing". Noel also stayed very busy making sure none of his fellow classmates borrowed his mom while we were there. Everything to Noel is "MINE" especially his mommy.

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-10-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Wild Things are at a local Wildlife Preserve in these photos. It is a really neat place that allows you to see the animals up close.

They had tortises in a fence. Noel was terrified of them which is why he is on his Dad's shoulders in this photo.

Noel was fond of the "birdie" but we were so afraid the emu was going to peck his fingers.

The volunteer was kind enough to let the boys pet a lemur.

"What are we looking for PeePaw?"

I'm Back!

2009-10-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Top Seven Indications your Monday morning is off to a bad start...

1- After you get out of the shower you walk through the darkened kitchen to start the coffee, through a puddle of what turns out to be dog pee tracking it through said kitchen.
2- Mopping the kitchen floor takes up the time you now weren't able to spare by hitting snooze.
3- Your child will not wake up and everytime you leave the room thinking he is up and getting dressed, you return to find him sound asleep.
4- Upon walking to the laundry room to "iron"(i.e. throw dampened shirt into dryer) your son's shirt, a mouse (the most frightening thing in the world) crosses your path.
5- You speed to school like a raving maniac only to find you are already tardy. The office is a ten mile trek from the parking lot and you have to unpack your toddler and head through the chilly mist to check your oldest in.
6- While checking in, a fellow mom mentions returning to school to take photos of "crazy sock day", and you realize your child will be the only one without crazy socks.
7- You finally arrive at your desk frazzled but glad to have made it to work. When you sit down and pull up your electronic calendar, you realize you should have been at the dentist 15 minutes ago.
Perhaps these are not across the board indicators, but if you find any of the above happening I highly reccomend going back to bed. I certainly wish I had.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-16T18:02:00.001-07:00

Just a couple of guys hanging around.

What we've been doing

2009-09-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

The past month has kind of been a blur at our house, but here is a sampling of what we have been up to.

Celebrating Chase's 8th birthday with a mystery birthday where he and all his friends solved clues to find where the "birthday bandits" had hidden the birthday loot.

Chase got his mini-bike which he had saved for and we made up the difference for his birthday.

.
Noelly really likes wearing his brother's helmet, and truth be told, covets his brother mini-bike.

And Chase pulled the second of his front teeth making him"toofless".

These things and many, many more have kept us running around in what feels like circles and craving normal. Whatever that is

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-02T19:05:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning cuddles.

Hand, Foot, and Mouth (arms, legs, and throat)

2009-08-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

This week is the busiest of the year in my professional life. Orientation/new student check-in, is huge at any university, but at a small private college it can make or break you. On the second Monday of Noel's daycare career I got the dreaded sick phone call. He was running a fever and generally miserable. I picked him up and kept him in my office until Chris could come get him to take him home. The long night we spent convinced us to head on in to the doctor where he tested positive for Strep throat. Glad to have a diagnosis and some medicine we endured our second sleepless night confident the drugs would kick in and we would sleep soon.
How wrong we were. Wednesday evening, the rash that had been mild on his legs was spreading all over his body and in his mouth. To be honest, we thought it was mild but with Noel's dark complexion it is very hard to tell. Thursday found us at the Pediatrician's office once again where he was diagnosed with Hand, Foot and Mouth syndrome. A viral infection that manifests itself in the form of blisters on, you guessed it, the hands, mouth, and feet. They can spread to the calves and fore arms but that is actually where Noel's started.
I am happy to report we got our first full night of sleep last night and I didn't find any new blisters this morning. I am so thankful my sons have an amazing father who takes such good care of them when I just can't miss work. Noel should be fully recovered by Monday and we will in all liklihood have to begin the daycare readjustment process all over again.

A Letter to my Youngest

2009-08-17T10:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Noel,
One week ago today you began daycare, and while you won't remember this week, there are a few things I want you to know. It broke my heart to drop you off with virtual strangers. And though you marched in like a big boy and fought to get out of my arms, I so did not want to leave. I looked out my office window every other minute hoping to get a glimpse of you on the playground. I laughed out loud when I say you dumping the playground material on your teacher's head with a sand shovel. My heart nearly burst when I went to pick you up and you came running as fast you could.
I also need you to know that when you cried the following few days, I went to the van and cried too. I called to make sure you were ok, and I was a distracted mess all day long even though when I saw you out the window you were happy as a clam.
I have had to do a lot of soul searching and guilt analysis this week. It is no secret that I never put your brother in daycare. I have really been beating myself up over that fact. So here's the deal, I can't give you the same experiences I gave Chase, and even if I did I couldn't guarantee the same outcomes. I can only promise you to give you the absolute best I have to offer you at any given time and try not to make value judgements on whether that is better or worse than what your brother had.
I think somwhere in my heart of hearts I am terribly afraid if I don't do things exactly the same you will think that choice was made because you were adopted. In fact, one of my greatest fears is that you will somehow feel inferior because you did not grow inside of me. I feel deeply guilty about this whole daycare thing, if you can't tell. I guess this letter is a little bit of therapy for me. I guess I want to put into words you can understand later how I am feeling right now, since at 20 months, you are only a marginal conversationalist.
I could not love you more, son. The one thing I can promise to be the same between you and Chase is the fact I love you both more than I ever thought possible and nothing can change that. Your dad and I will always try to make the very best choices for you, and whenever I see you cry, I will feel like crying too.
Love,
Mommy

Back to the Grind

2009-08-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Chase kicked off his 2nd grade year today. Had I been blogging faithfully, you would have known how completely underwhelmed he was for school to be starting back. He made several impassioned speeches on the topic of how very brief his summer had been and that is seemed to have begun only yesterday. I cannot say I didn't agree with him, but I am the parent so I tried to be positive and encouraging about the start of the school year.

Last week I took a day off to spend with and for Chase. One of our goals for the day was to acquire a new backpack and lunchbox. While driving I asked if he had thought about the kind he wanted. He proceeded to describe a messanger bag style though he did not know that was the term. When I told him those were called messanger bags he said, " Well, that is what I want because I think that would just be more appropriate for second grade." Appropriate as it may be, once Chase tried one on for size he couldn't get past the fact it looked like a purse. So after checking out every backpack in town he settled for a traditional GI Joe backpack. The next challenge was to find a lunchbox which, at some point during the course of the day, he decided needed to match his backpack?!?!?!? Mission finally accomplished at Publix, of all places.

As it turns out, I think he was pretty excited. He certainly rushed me out the door this morning.

What a Wednesday

2009-08-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

Prepare to be amused and disgusted.

Last night we went out to dinner with friends and I changed Noel into his PJ's in the van, in the dark. He was stinky, so it was extra challenging. At one point the dirty diaper fell into the floorboard, but it didn't fall face down so everything was o.k., or so I thought. We got home, I put the bag with offending stinky diaper into the trashcan. Chris even asked if I had gotten it out to make sure.

This morning I thought my van smelled kind of stinky. I knew for a fact the diaper had been thrown out so I thought it might just be Chase's dirty sandals that were in the van, or Noel's clothes that I had lazily just let in there last night. I drove to work with the windows down to get some fresh air.

At lunch I got into the van and thought the stink was very stubborn and I was very confused. I decided to go investigate the scene of the change, and there was a big poopy just laying in the floor of my van. Needless to say, I was mortified, but then I just started laughing at my self. I mean who drives around with poop in their car? I seriously debated whether or not to blog about this, but then I thought you guys could probably use a good laugh, and if you ever want to go for a spin in the poop mobile just let me know.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Noel's Dad powered sports coupe....

This photo is not meant to endorse texting while driving in any way shape or form.

Noel parks his new car for the evening.

Call me Dramatic

2009-07-17T06:24:00.001-07:00

So, Chase has been at my mom's house since Sunday. Every night we call and check in on him, tell him we love him that sort of thing. I mean he is only 7 and I did give birth to him. So last night, my mom had left her phone at her house when they went out to dinner. She mentioned to Chase that she bet I had tried to call (which I had). His response was " I don't know why my mom has to call every night. I mean that is a little dramatic."
I cannot tell a lie. My feelings were hurt. He did talk to me when she called back, but only to say this; "I just want to say I love you, but it is a little dramatic." I reacted somewhat childishly and said "Fine, here is your Daddy" and gave the phone to Chris.
Is this the first step in that long march to the tween then teen years? Is this the same little boy, who once, when I was nursing him through a nasty virus, looked up at me and said, "Thank you for keeping such good care of me, Mommy."? Am I over-reacting and being a little dramatic? In my heart of hearts, I know the answer is yes to all of the above.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-07-15T10:20:00.000-07:00

Rub-a-dub-dub. Two boys in the tub. (Doesn't happen often because Noelly likes to pee in the tub and ,well ,you can imagine Chase's reaction.)

Reunited and it feels so Good.

2009-07-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, Chris come from a very large family, and on Saturday, July 4th, we drove straight in from vacation to join the family reunion in full swing.

Chris' and Noel's combined expressions really display what I was thinking when we arrived better than I can covey in words on the blog.
Here we are for the big family photo. Keep in mind this is just the matriarch, Grandma Ruth, and her kids, grand kids, and great grand kids plus applicable spouses. You should see this event when the extended family is involved. Amazingly, all fourteen kids were here this year and most of the grandchildren. You can find Chase front row center fighting with his cousin Warren whom he has spent the week with and they had mutually had enough of each other.

Here we are assembling for the annual photo. This year I would estimate it only took 20 minutes from beginning to end. Believe me, that is record time for this crew.

Here is our tired, little, festive family. I thought it would be so cool to have our festive 4th of July shirts, but this is the only time all of us were together from the time we arrived until we left that evening.

Each of the original 14 were required to learn to play a musical instrument. That musical interest has trickled down to future generations including my son, who asks at least once a week for a drum set. One of the cousin's band put on a concert for our dinnertime entertainment and once they were finished Chase got to check out the drums first hand.

All in all, it was a loud assortment of children, grown-ups, and dogs with tons of food, water balloons and fireworks. I have to admit, though I find it hard to get geared up for this event every year, that I can't think of a better way to celebrate Independence Day. I feel like our country's four fathers might look down on our motley crew smiling and say, "Yeah, that's what we were talking about right there." We are blessed by the courage they had so long ago and our brave Service men and women still have today.

Vacation Re-Cap

2009-07-07T05:57:00.000-07:00

The jury is still out on whether or not a trip with 12 kids and six adults can be called a vacation. Considering we have been home since Saturday and I still feel exhausted, I am definitely not sure which way to vote. In case I have failed to mention it before, my husband hails from a large, Catholic family. So the other four adults in the equation were the youngest aunt and uncle of his 13 aunts and uncles. The additional ten children are their 2 boys and 2 girls and 6 girls, respectively. I will wait while you pull out your calculator.

Our adventure was set to begin early Saturday morning when we planned to leave early and meander our way to Hilton Head Island, SC. The true adventure began on Friday night, however, when Chase began screaming and crying because his ears hurt so badly. I called the Pediatrician first thing, but we could not get an appt. until 10:15. Once we were finally seen the doctor diagnosed swimmer's ear and recommended Chase stay out of the water for 4-5 days in addition to antibiotic ear drops. You should have seen the look on that doctor's face when I said, "You have got to be kidding me." I went on to explain how my husband and other son were waiting in our fully loaded van to head to the beach. The sweet doctor gave me a "just in case" oral antibiotic prescription and permission to carry on using wax ear plugs.

We arrived at our amazing rental home well after dark but since it had a pool the kiddos were easily amused. Bright and early the next morning we checked out the canal behind the house and then hit the beach.

Also on this monumentous first day we rented bikes for the entire crew. I think riding the bike behind his dad was Noel's favorite part. The little seat had a set of handle bars and he held on like he was on the real thing. Here he is trying on his helmet.

Actually as I view this photo I realize I lied about his favorite part. It was climbing up and down those stairs you see him sitting on.

You are probably wondering why there are no action shots of Noelly on the bike. Well, you see, long about day 3 of vacation our camera was lost. It was found again on the very last night as we were driving to dinner and so I snapped these.

The morning of July 4th found us headed back home to join that large, Catholic family's reunion already in progress. And that, is a post unto itself.

Blogging from the Beach

2009-06-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few scenes from our first full day on Hilton Head. We are in an amazing house that backs up to the bay and is a short walk from the beach.
Are there any fish in there? Chase and his cousin Warren, only two weeks his senior, were determined to find out.

Noelly digs the beach...get it? Holy cow is that a handsome kid or what?

Being a totally cool beach dude makes you very thirsty.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-06-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

Baby got Back!

Our 9 year Anniversary

2009-06-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Chris and I celebrated nine years of marital bliss. Well, mostly bliss. In honor of this auspicious occasion I decided to present the top nine reasons Chris is still the man of my dreams.

#1 He is my knight in shining armor.
#2 He is an excellent dancer!
#3 He makes me feel like the queen of our castle.

#4 He can fly.

#5 He is still a kid at heart.

#6 He indulges my holiday madness.

#7 He enjoys losing at wrestling.

#8 He and I share loads of love.

And #9 He is a wise old owl.

I am lucky to have him for all these reasons and many, many more.

Bad News Quota-Met for a long time!

2009-06-08T12:09:00.000-07:00

Warning: This is not my typical funny stories about the kids blogpost.

I have gotten to the point that I am almost afraid to check facebook, read e-mail, or catch up on blogs. I can't think of another time when I have been so inundated with bad news from friends, family, or even strangers whose stories have somehow crossed my consciousness. I keep saying I have met my bad news quota but the breaking news keeps on coming
I feel so powerless when I hear stories of sick children, broken homes, miscarriages, sick or dying parents, and soldiers killed defending our country. I am such a problem solver at heart I cannot stand being unable to do anything. I want to physically do something to help. Maybe it is in my good Southern genes, but upon the hearing of bad news I almost always mentally inventory my pantry for ingredients to a casserole. Even if I can't do anything else, I can feed you.
I had to take my Grandfather to the ER on Friday night (everything turned out ok and he was released at 3:30 a.m.) While I was there I couldn't help but notice a young man with a full laundry basket that he carried around with him. I filling out Papa's paperwork and he came to check in right next to me. He told the clerk he could not read or write and asked her to fill the forms out for him. When she asked what was wrong he told her he was suicidal.
Now maybe, it was because the majority of the bad news I received came through on Friday or maybe I was just tired, but as we sat in the waiting room with that young man I very nearly started weeping. I was also compelled to offer to take his laundry and wash it for him because that was something I could do to help his life just a little bit. My logical mind knew this was an absurd thought, but my action oriented heart felt that if someone could just show him some kindness his life would improve.
Instead, I took the only action that I realistically could take. I prayed. And, that is the action I am taking for all the aforementioned situations I referenced. I invite you to pray to. Pray for the Pethel family, the Longs, the Jenrettes, the Page's, the families whose names I withheld for privacy, and the stranger in the ER.

Baby He-Man

2009-06-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

I am raising a baby He-Man. Noel's newest word is meat. That's right, he asks specifically for meat when being fed. I noticed this when he was eating spaghetti last night. If he was offered a bite with noodles, he looked at me plaintively and said "meat, meat." So I picked out a chunk of hamburger, and he gobbled it right up.
After he finished his meal o'meat, we headed outside to water the garden. Mr. Independence was following me around the house. I looked back over my shoulder to make sure he hadn't decided to go somewhere else, and there he went with a plastic chair completely extended above his head walking along like he was getting paid to move the pool furniture. Granted it was a child -sized molded plastic chair, but still! That was one of those "wish I had my camera" moments because I swear that was the funniest sight. I started laughing, he threw the chair off to the side and made for his talking lawn mower leading the way to the garden.

A-day celebration

2009-05-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

This is my only decent photo of our weekend A-day celebration. We had a great party complete with an awesome homemade Elmo cake, the picture of which I seemed to have deleted. I can't tell you how disappointed I am by this, it was really great, if I did make it myself. Complete with enough red dye to send sensitive kids to the moon and back. It is probably best the 4 Silly Sisters weren't able to make it, though they were sorely missed.

Right in the middle of the A-day party, Chase coincidentally decided it was time to pull his second tooth (an attention getting ploy if ever there was one). There has been much discussion at our house regarding the value of subsequent teeth since the first one brought a whopping $5. Considering some of his classmates have pulled in $10 and $15, the value of a tooth to the tooth fairy is a hotly debated topic at our house. I told him I was pretty sure you got a good bit for your first one and less from there on out. Well, he got $2 for this one and has thusly developed a new tooth theory. You get $5 for the first tooth and then the amount of money equals the order the tooth was pulled in. This was his second tooth, so he got $2. Considering the amount of money we have already invested in those teeth, maybe Chase is on to something in trying to recoup that cost???

Noel got a really cool water table which will hopefully keep him busy this summer and some great sand/dirt toys. We are definitely summer ready, now all we need is the sunshine. There has not been much of that to be had around here. Sunday we went to a cookout at the lake, and Noel got to take his first boat ride. It lasted all of five minutes until we got rained out. He was not impressed. Monday was fairly nice but Noel was so beat from his adventurous weekend he napped all afternoon and missed playing outside. And while it is pouring down rain as I type this blog, I feel confident there will be ample water-table, sand toy opportunity in the days to come.

Happy "A" Day

2009-05-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

What is A-Day, you might ask. Well, today is the day it became officially official, Noel was legally adopted (photo above). The State of Georgia recognized what God had ordained, that we were Noel's family. We have a big A-day celebration planned for Saturday. We are making a big deal out of A-Day from here on out since Noel has a Christmas Eve birthday. He is an awesome kid, but it is hard to compete with the baby Jesus. It was so funny because my Grandma asked me yesterday if they have cards for adoption days. I told her I didn't thinks so, that we kind of made the holiday up.
A-day falls in what Chris refers to as the most expensive month of the year for our family. We have both our Grandmother's birthdays, both our mother's birthdays, my birthday, and Mother's day. Not to mention, end of the school year teacher gifts, but this celebration is well worth it. As Noel grows up, I never want him to doubt for a second how wanted and loved he is and always has been.

Farmer Noel

2009-05-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

I distinctly remember when we bought our house it had a full garden. That was very appealing, but Chase was not quite a year old and the draw of the garden was far out shadowed by worrying about my toddler. I mean there was no telling what he might get into. Can you tell I have lightened up? Noel loves the dirt and I love to watch him play in it.

Happy Belated Mother's Day

2009-05-12T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ever noticed how most of my posts have belated in the title? I have. Oh well, that is an accurate reflection of the author.

I had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend. The University where I work granted over 700 degrees in ceremonies on Friday and Saturday. I have in the past avoided graduation ceremonies at all costs because I tend to get attached to my students, and so if I don't go it is like it never happens. Not logical, I know, but most coping mechanisms are not. So yes, as I watched some of my favorite little darlings marching in to receive their degrees, I shed a few tears. Here I am pre-ceremony handing our programs with one of our fine Grad students.

Those emotions were quickly put aside as Chris and I entered the challenge of our lives...trying to get decent pictures of the kids (especially one very busy toddler) at the photography studio. Do you like the way I waited until Mother's Day weekend to tackle this overdue task, so everyone had to be on board without complaining? Chris has never been to get pictures made with the two fun sons before and had no idea what a stressful ordeal it is. Noel literally made laps around the studio and the photographer had to be like Quick Draw McGraw snapping the pictures. In the end we got some great ones.

This one is the most accurate of our experience though with Noel heading out of frame as fast as possible.

I hadn't really intended to purchase any individuals of Chase because between school and soccer pictures we are covered, but get a load of this handsome, grown-up kid.

And, of course, the shot that everyone wants, the two of them together so they can be fairly displayed in wallets and pocketbooks by grandparents far and wide.

On Sunday, I had not one but two meals cooked for me. Lunch by my dad and dinner by my husband. It had already been a most full day and the kids were way past bedtime when this happened.

Chase lost his very first tooth. It was long overdue. He is nearly 8 for goodness sakes but upon further inspection it became evident why the baby tooth hadn't ever gotten very loose. The permanent tooth had grown in well behind it. Yikes! Looks like we are going to be making an Orthodontist very happy in the near future. Speaking of happy, I hope each of you felt as blessed and content as I did this Mother's day.

Celebrate good times!

2009-05-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

I have a lot of celebration blogging to catch up on. The first of which was a huge surprise celebration given in my honor on the Thursday before Easter to celebrate a promotion at work. In a record amount of sneaky activity my wonderful coworkers managed to get family, friends, students and fellow staff members there and I was none the wiser. I even gave them great comedy when I pitched a royal fit about having to change a hair appointment for an "emergency meeting". I cannot stress how surprised and humbled by the event I was. If you cannot tell, by my very red face above.

Last weekend, I got to relive my college days at my first annual sorority reunion. There were only a few of us this go around, but we had a blast and already have people promising they will be there next year.

And last but certainly not least, Cinco de Mayo found me turning 33. And instead of doing this (only in a sombrero) like I did during my college days.

We did this.

But that was just fine too. Especially since right before the game my three guys presented me with my gift and sang Happy birthday. And this little fella's new favorite word is Mama. Which he says with such great inflection and draws out both M's so it is MMMMMaMMa. It sounds just beautiful to me. In fact, he woke up calling me in the middle of the night a few weeks ago, and while we usually only go in if he is really crying , I went straight in there. Hmm, maybe he should call me SSSSSuckerrrr.

William Chase, MD

2009-04-30T13:47:00.001-07:00

A week or so ago Chase was not feeling well. In, over the top, Chase form he resorted to great histrionics to make sure everyone knew just how poorly he was feeling. His pitiful faces and moans were getting on my last nerve so I sent him to lay down on the couch. Little did I know, Chris had left Fox News on the television, and the next thing I knew Chase comes into the kitchen nearly sobbing. That's right, he was convinced he had the swine flu.
I am in no way, shape, or form trying to poke fun of the swine flu (or whatever it is being called at this moment so as not to offend any pigs), but at the time there were only cases in California and Texas. I asked Chase if he had been kissing any pigs or had snuck away from me to a secret trip to Mexico. Since he had not, our swine flu fears were somewhat eased.
The next day he was still not well. He found me in the laundry room and proclaimed he had strep throat (Honestly, I hadn't been ruling that out but several kids in his class were suffering the same symptoms so I was in wait and see mode) . The following is the resulting exchange:

Me-Is your throat sore?
Chase-No (said in a "that was a very stupid question" tone.)
Me-So, why do you think it is Strep?
Chase- My back hurts. ( A reference to our last bout of strep)
Me-Does it hurt like the time when you had strep before?
Chase -Well no, but I am sure that is what I have.

At this time our conversation had moved back into the kitchen where Chris was. I told Chris that I guessed I would go ahead and take him to the doctor to see if he had Strep. Chase looked totally shocked and said with great indignation, " I don't have Strep!" Never mind the fact he had spent the last five minutes trying to convince me he did. "Well, your running a temperature and have back pain maybe we should get it checked out so you can start getting better," is my response. To which my son, who obviously has taken on some advanced medical training in addition to his first grade course work, responds, "don't worry mom it is only a common fever."

And as it turns out it was. We did end up in quick care because his best friend did have Strep so I thought we were bound too as well. If only I had trusted William Chase, M.D.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-15T05:25:00.000-07:00

Our Easter in Pictures (in no particular order)

This is usually the one family photo-op of the entire year. Please note Noel's hand on Chase's head no matter how hard I tried to hold it back...this is where is hand was going to be.

The cousins compare their haul after the family Easter egg hunt.

Noel raids the Easter baskets.

Noel and his chin very much enjoying some Easter chocolate.

The Easter bunny came!!!

He hid then eggs outside this year despite the chilly temps.

Noelly and Dad chill before church.

Chase poses for Easter pictures before Mass.

Noel pauses for a millisecond before Mass.

Here's hoping each and everyone of you had a blessed Easter. He is Risen!!!

A Fine Day to Dye

2009-04-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday's main to-do's were enjoy the gorgeous spring weather and dye Easter eggs. Chase has been begging to color eggs since at least St. Patrick's day so needless to say he was super excited. As you can see in the photos below and from previous quotes in the blog, Chase is an artist and this is serious business. As is the eating of the Easter candy the remains of which can be seen on his face.

Noel's first egg dying experience began with him holding his first egg, saying "ball", and then chucking it into the floor as hard as he could. He was in dire need of a nap at that point so we put him to bed while his brother, the artist, worked his magic. We set one egg aside for him and one cup of color to minimize the chances of utter disaster. After playing outside in the dirt (previous post) we stripped him down for one more messy photo op. As you can see, he is an artist in the making just like his big brother.

Blog Backlog

2009-04-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems that life is just moving much faster than I am, as you will have noticed by my lack of true blogging and only a sporadic picture post here and there. So last night, I dutifully uploaded a ton of pictures from the laptop and will give a brief overview of what we have been up to lately. I know in one fairly recent post I mentioned Chase was playing Spring soccer but I failed to mention that Chris is coaching said soccer and Momma is fighting tooth and nail to keep Noelly from joining them on the field. Thus I have very few soccer pictures but here is one of the coach and the kids scoping out the competition. I don't know why it is so small.

Noel's fifteen month check-up went very well, but can you believe this belly needs extra calories?
Well, it does. Noel has been in the 95th percentile for weight since birth, but he was so sick in December that he fell to around 5oth percentile and now he is so BUSY he hasn't put that weight back on. (Could have fooled me). So we are now sneaking in extra calories everywhere. Mr. Noel isn't complaining as one of his most used words is "eat".

As usual in north Georgia the spring weather has been hit or miss, mostly miss. A friend of mine put it best when he said, "Only in Georgia can you get sunburned on Sunday and frostbite on Tuesday." I will say we had some exceptional weather this past weekend to make up for it all. Noelly got to play in the dirt to his heart's content and Chase even conned us into breaking out the water hose and spraying him as he jumped on the trampoline.

We also colored Easter eggs on Saturday, but that definitely deserves it' s own post.

On Sunday this little mischief maker went to send the week with my mom. He comes home today and boy have we missed him. After Noel goes to bed the silence is deafening. So, there you have it a very brief synopsis of the goings of the 2 fun sons and their 2 tired parents.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

Blackmail Material

Rock the Vote

2009-04-02T13:33:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I am pretty passionately Pro-Life! So, I entered my little miracle man in the Georgia Right to Life's Face of Personhood contest. If he wins, he will be THE face of life in Georgia. The voting is on now. Each vote is $.50 (a minimum of $5.00 to vote on-line). As of this posting he is in the lead! Please consider voting for this face.

Just follow this link under the picture.

https://www.communitynewscontest.com/index.php?contestid=61

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Nostalgia

Chase at approx. 1 year

Noel at approx. 6 months

Two Dollars Well Spent

2009-03-31T18:48:00.000-07:00

I found this exercise Elmo at a Consignment Sale for $2. Noel loves Elmo and that is actually one of his most clear words. I had even contemplated purchasing an Elmo live, but felt like he might be too young to get enough out of it. Anyhoo, I brought this home and when Elmo started to sing little Noel's face lit up like the real thing had moved in. That was pretty cute but the best thing was the sight of him holding Elmo's "hand" and dragging him down the hallway like a little playmate. Welcome to the family Elmo!

15 months old today

2009-03-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

Mr. Big Stuff's personality is really starting to come through, and boy is he stubborn! His favorite activity of late is finding the donkey in his farm animal book and barking. No matter how many times we say donkey and make the donkey sound he will bark. It is almost as though we have an animal sound argument. He will not eat any vegetables and manages to find them even when they are camoflaged in other foods. Yep, another strong willed young man on my hands. Nevertheless, he is just an absolute joy, and we look forward the next milestones and misadventures.

Silent Saturday

2009-03-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

Noel cleans the refrigerator.

He Shoots...

2009-03-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

He Scores!!! Chase scored his first goal at the first soccer game of the Spring season. He actually scored 2 goals, but one was for the other team. He came within inches of scoring several times in the fall, but never quite made it.

I was ecstatic. Chris said he thought I was going to run out on to the field. I have to admit...I got chill bumps and teared up. I was so proud of him. When I tucked him in a few minutes ago I asked him if he could hear me cheering. He said yes, and then I asked him if he was embarrassed. He said not too much but he was trying not to smile and that made it harder. Good thing I wasn't trying that because it would have been totally impossible.

Minor Chaseism

2009-03-16T19:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight Chase was inspecting the food I had set aside for the food drive going on at his school. He came to a muffin mix and pulled it out laughing a little condescendingly. "Mom, why did you put this in here? I don't really think poor people have ovens." Chris and I tried to convince him that in most cases they do, but I am not sure he believed us.

Woo Hoo!

2009-03-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

We are feeling better! Thus the smiles in this picture.

And in Noel's case the food from dinner which he actually ate but also made it on his shirt.

Noelly has it too

2009-03-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, he is just as pitiful as he looks.

Mystery Diagnosis

2009-03-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

The patient: Chase, age 7
The symptoms: Back pain when active, paleness, cough when he first woke up, asking to take (and taking) a nap for the first time in his life
The diagnosis: Strep Throat????

Yes, over the weekend Chase would stop his wild banshee actions to complain that his back hurt. He would then stop that particulart action and do something else. I thought it was a little odd but decided to just keep an eye on it. Sunday afternoon after playing at the park with friends from church he asked to take a nap. This was a huge red flag. Literally, every nap that child has ever taken has been a battle of wills between he and whomever tried to impose it.

I told Chris I was going to take him to the doctor and the entire time my mind was thinking it was something bizarre or I was totally over-reacting. I was really leaning toward the latter and thought the doctor would think I was a nut case, but my gut told me he just wasn't quite right. I sent him on to school, however, and made an appointment for late that afternoon.

We proceeded to sit in the well waiting room because in my mind we were there for bizarre, unexplained back pain, and I didn't want to pick up some other ailment. Immediately after listening to Chase breathe, our trusty Pediatrician did a strep test. She explained to me that Strep has a certain smell and she caught a whiff right away. He was, of course, positive. I was shocked. He had not run a fever or complained of a sore throat. I had sent him to church, Sunday school, the park with friends, regular school, and sat him in the well waiting room. I felt like "Typhoid Mary" from the history books. Our family has single handedly spread strep across three counties.

So, accept my advance apology if your child has crossed our path. We aren't sure if the back pain was associated with the strep or just an odd coincidence, and I will continue to monitor that. The doctor did say she had strep a few weeks ago and her back really hurt. Now I am just watching and waiting for Noel to exhibit his own weird symptoms, but maybe he will mysteriously escape the germs the same way Chase mysteriously presented them.

Across the Frozen Tundra

2009-03-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

Let me begin this post by saying I will never again pray for, wish for, or revel in snow without saying a hearty prayer for those trying to travel in it. We went to Augusta this weekend to celebrate our God daughter's fourth birthday.(As usual, I forgot my camera.) We had a great time though the weather was cold and rainy. We had heard a rumor of snow so we checked the weather before we left and saw there was a Winter Weather Advisory. There was no snow where we were nor, where we were headed, so on we went.
This picture from the Athens Banner Herald is a dream compared to the conditions we drove through, as our route home is on a very rural state highway.

The normal three hour trip home took us six hours and for the majority of it we were praying. I have never seen such snow fall in my very southern life. At one point, which on a normal day would have been an hour from home, I called my dad to put he, and his 4 wheel drive truck, on standby to come get the kids because I literally thought we might be stranded on the side of the road. I think he thought I was nuts because the first flake had not fallen in our town, and I thought he was messing with my head because it felt like we were driving in Alaska.

Alas, we finally began to drive into some rain/snow mix and were able to pull off at a gas station. Noel, who thankfully had slept pretty much the entire trip, got out and started pointing at the falling snow as if to say, are you guys seeing what I am seeing? He missed all the excitement. Chase was not so fortunate. When I had to break it to him that there was no snow at our house , he said that was fine with him, he had had enough snow for one day.

Let's hear it for the Girls

2009-02-23T18:32:00.000-08:00

This mom got some much needed grown-up, girl time this weekend. Every other Thursday I participate in a bible study with women I have known for pretty much my whole life. Sadly, for quite some time life got in the way, but it has been such a blessing to reconnect with them over God's word. We took our show on the road this past weekend and though most of us are blogging moms didn't manage to come home with a single picture.
We had such a wonderful time doing a whole lot of nothing. Between the company, laughing until my stomach was sore, and sticking my toes in the sand for the first time in several years, it was a balm for my soul! My guys at home didnt' seem to miss much of a beat without old Mom around, so that seems like a good enough reason to do it more often.
I will say I think Noel was a little ticked at me for leaving. He was fine this morning before I left for work, but when I arrived home he would not let his Aunt Jessica go. He normally runs to the door to greet me, but tonight made it very clear he could do without me. Of course, he came around fast once I started cooking supper. He definitely proves the adage about the way to a man's heart. He also signed for the first time. I gave him his first sample bite and he did his normal squeal/whine for more. I signed more and gave him some. I was busy cooking but then I looked down and saw him signing away for more. I could have just burst I was so proud. Chris and Chase were at soccer and did not believe me when they got home, but sure enough he signed more for them when I gave him some crackers. Chase was so cute, I think he might have been more proud than Chris and I.

Mr. Big Stuff and the Country Singer

2009-02-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

I love this age! Even though Noel is into EVERYTHING, pitching temper tantrums often, and loves making people say, "OW!" (more on that), I love this stage of development. Don't get me wrong, little babies are wonderful and stay where you put them, but I prefer the energy, curiousity and sturdiness of a toddler any day.

I love that he comes running to the door when I get home from work and stands on my feet grunting for samples while I am cooking dinner. I love that he knows what doggies and cows say and when he's babbling you can often catch the tune of "Elmo's song". I love that he goes and gets his blanket out of his crib and lays his head on it when he is tired. I even love when he pitches little tantrums at the dinner table until you find the object of his desire and then they stop immediately.

In short Noel is just one big source of joy. It is even comical (though I know it won't be later) when he looks at you, screams "OW!', pulls your hair until you say "OW", and laughs. As I read that it doesn't sound cute or funny but trust me, it is.

I have always thought Chase inherited his PeePaw Lyle's musical ability. Not that he plays an instrument or anything but he is constantly making up songs or trying to pick songs out on his keyboard, guitar, or drum. Last night he was playing the drum in Noel's room and here is the song he sang:

Well I'm a big strong man

Doin what I can

But you took my heart away

Well, don't mess with me

Or I'll destroy your property

Looks like I may have to pack up and move to Nashville.

Noel's New Shoes

2009-02-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

The Crocs outlet was having a great sale when Chris and I went out the other night (and by the way we realized our last real date was actually November for his birthday). Anyways, we bought the boys matching Crocs for summer, but couldn't resist trying Noel's on. He wasn't really sure what to make of them as you can see.

My Sweet Boys

2009-02-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the spirit of Valentine's Day is in the air because my guys have been especially sweet lately.

This guy, who got to spend the better part of the weekend with his Granny, was totally bummed when she had to leave on Sunday afternoon. To cheer him up I took him to pick out his Valentine's for his class. While we were at the store, he bought his brother a book and his dad a pack of gum as an early Valentine with his own money.
Thanks to my mom being in town, this guy took me on a date. It was well deserved because as best we can remember, the photo above was taken on our last one...for my birthday in May! We had a wonderful time and he even helped me shop for work clothes. He valiantly offered to see Bride Wars but I didn't torture him that much and we compromised on Taken. I thought it was very good, but I obviously don't get out much, so don't necessarily take my word for it.
And this little fellow is always sweet but is even cuter now as when you pucker up and make the "mmm" sound for a kiss he responds with a "buh" sound and comes and gives you one! We have decided he hasn't quite mastered the 'M' sound because he also says that cows say "Boo". As of one week ago, he has not had a single bottle (good thing I snapped this shot at Christmas time). I can't believe how fast he is growing, and I am so thankful to constantly be reminded that the sweetest things in life aren't things.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-02-04T05:35:00.001-08:00

MMMMM Ribs.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-28T12:00:00.000-08:00

Daddy's wake-up call.

(Side note: I am humbled by and thankful for all our service men and women who miss out on moments like these so my family can experience them in peace and freedom)

Chinese New Year

2009-01-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Year of the Ox! Yesterday was the Chinese New Year, and in an attempt to be festive, I prepared some chicken fried rice. Chris, a tiger, looked up each of our animal signs while I cooked. I am a dragon. Chase is a snake, and Noel is, no surprise here, a pig. We got a real kick out of that, but Chase was a little concerned because snakes should avoid pigs. When we sat down to eat, Chris made some comment about them being lucky I was so cultural.
I am not sure that Chicken Fried Rice qualifies as cultural, but I'll take it. I said that if I had time I would have made dumplings as that is the traditional meal for the new year. Chase said, " I bet Grandma and Papa had dumplings...chicken and dumplings." Maybe so, but I somehow don't think it is quite the same.

Noel's newest accomplishment

2009-01-27T05:53:00.000-08:00

After a few weeks of Chris and I feeling relieved Noel was not a climber like his older brother, look what Mr. No accomplished last night. He has long been fascinated with the dishwasher, but he finally got that chubby little leg hiked high enough to climb on in. He promptly grabbed a clean spoon out. Within seconds he realized this also gave him access to the microwave, which he promptly began to whack with the spoon. I then picked him up from his hard earned perch and got whacked with the spoon myself. Thus loading and unloading the dishwasher will be added to the long list of chores that cannot be accomplished while baby Destructor is awake.

New guy at the office.

2009-01-26T08:22:00.000-08:00

I brought Noel by work after his check up on Friday. He got to meet my coworkers giant purple tiger named Petunia and , of course, got his picture made. Happily he was healthy enough to recieve his vaccinations. He had lost some weight, but condsidering he had six sick visits in a month, neither the doctor nor I were too concerned. She felt like he will have caught back up by his 15 month check-up. And the way he is eating lately, I tend to agree.

Two Bears in the bed...

2009-01-21T05:43:00.000-08:00

and the baby bear said, "does this thing have a weight limit?" Lately if Chase is dispatched to entertain Noel when he is still in him crib, Chase takes it upon himself to climb on in. This is the scene from a few mornings ago. I am not sure this is what Noel wanted to wake up to.
In Noel news, we are now on our third antibiotic in a little less than a month. And when we go tomorrow for what I hope will be his one year well visit, that will make the third office visit in 3 weeks. Don't even get me started about the number of times we were there in December. Anyways, three weeks ago it was ears and sinus infection that had never cleared up. After a week on antibiotic he was still running a high fever at night and I just felt like something wasn't quite right, so in we went. They ran several tests including a strep test which the doctor assured me would be negative because kids his age don't get strep and he was already on antibiotic. Well, Mr. Exceptional proved her wrong.
As I post, I am thinking we are on the road to recovery, but to be honest, I am quite afraid to speak ( or type) those words. I guess we will see tomorrow.

Ten pounds of Me

2009-01-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

Chase's newest catch phrase is "Did someone order ten pounds of me?" He usually says this after running into a room. Last night he ran into the kitchen and asked if someone ordered ten pounds of handsome? I have no idea where he came up with this one, and since he obviously weighs more than 10 pounds I don't know if you only get a part of him if you say yes. He cracks me up.
There has been an ongoing debate at our house about whether or not Chase will play soccer this spring or try some other venture like scouting or karate. Chase finally made the difficult choice of karate, but then began to waffle when Chris explained karate wasn't something that ended like a sport did. He would have to make a commitment and stick with it. This really bothered Chase. He wanted to have an end date. Chris kept trying to explain that that martial arts were something that you could always practice and constantly improve upon. (I personally thought this concept was a little over Chase's head but kept my mouth shut.)
Finally, yesterday while Chase was eating breakfast the ultimate decision had to be made would it be soccer or karate? Chase said, " I am going to take Karate, but I quitting after I get my black belt and that is final." Fair enough. So look forward to exciting updates regarding Chasey-san.

Worthwhile Wednesday

2009-01-14T05:40:00.000-08:00

Ever since coming back to work from the holidays, I have felt inadequate on the home front. Call it working mom guilt, stress, frustration at my inability to "get it all done", or all of the above. Whatever it is, I have had a bad case of it. To be perfectly candid, sometimes I just feel like I suck at life. Maybe not life in general, I mean I am not a mass murderer, but I suck at my life. I often feel like one of those circus performers who tries to keep all those plates spinning on the sticks, but mostly I have broken plates. Yesterday, however, all my "plate-spinning" was affirmed.
It was pajama day at Chase's school, and way back in August when we signed up for our classroom days, this seemed like an ideal time for me to volunteer. In reality, the second week after students return to class was probably not the ideal volunteer day. Alas, all that was required of me was to bring in a special snack. I brought in muffins still warm from the oven and read the class "If You Give a Moose a Muffin". This put me at my office around ten and sent my day into a tailspin, so when I arrived home after 7 I was exhausted.
Before putting Chase to bed, I asked him if the class had liked their snack. He said, "Sure, everyone loves muffins." "Well, good, " I said and turned back to whatever I was working on. Then Chase ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and said, "I love you, Mom. I am glad you're my mom." I told him I was glad to be his mom and thought to myself, 'now that is what makes it all worthwhile." And it is.

You asked for it...

2009-01-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

I was doubly tagged to participate in this fun "MeMe" by Ms. K and the mom of 1Big Brother 1 Little Sister. I am so loved!

I will admit my ignorance to having no idea was a Meme was so here is a simplified version of what Wikipedia has to say: The term may refer to the content that spreads from user to user, the idea behind the content, or the phenomenon of its spread.

The directions are as follows: Open a document or photo folder and choose the fifth folder and then the fifth photo in that folder. Next, post the photo with a description about it and then tag 5 friends to do the same.

So here goes be prepared to be underwhelmed.

This was a photo of our really cool, quaint, and very German hotel room in Rothenberg ob der Tauber. This was taken on ironically enough the fifth day of our stay in Germany which took place in September 2007. Rothenberg is a medieval walled town and is far and away one of the most charming and romantic places I have ever been. www.rothenburg.de

And I tag...

Tara at the Rowell Family

Stacie at Rowdy Rowleys

Brandi at the Cash Clan Chronicles

Lindsey at Family Oliver

And, Jelly Ham and Cheese

Wordless Wednesday

2009-01-07T10:55:00.000-08:00

Enjoying moments like this while I still can...

He-Man

2009-01-06T08:08:00.000-08:00

I know I keep alluding to the fact Noel is really strong, but this takes the cake. Last night he was tired of sitting in his high chair. He was fussing and getting mad but we weren't ready to get him out because we were still eating. All of a sudden he gave a big, angry push and broke the tray off the seat part. He managed to rip the holder thing off the tray part, if that makes any sense. Then he just grinned at us and started banging the now ripped off tray around. All I could think of was he reminded me of the Hulk. However, I am already worried about those lovely tantrums 2 and 3 year olds love to pitch. Heck, he will probably pick me up and give me a spanking if i don't do what he wants in a few months.

A Tale of Two Sickies.

2009-01-04T18:12:00.000-08:00

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Just kidding. We just cannot seem to get over the yuckies here at our house. For the fourth New Year's in a row, we found ourselves home sweet home. Last year, of course, we were the parents of a newborn. However for the other three it has been due to illness. This year Chase started running a fever New Year's eve afternoon and Noel began New Year's day. A trip to the doctor found Chase's antibiotic he was taking didn't ward off and ear infection and Noel's ears and chest looked and sounded great but he had likely picked up some other strain of cold. Lovely. So we have new antibiotic for Chase but he still woke up at 5:00am with a 103.8 temp this morning. Noel's fever remains low grade but consistant, and Mommy has to be at work tomorrow to run Orientation for our incoming students.

Noel's first haircut

2009-01-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

Here is the before picture. My dear friend Valerie helped me find a barber who was especially kid friendly. Additionally, she volunteered to come along for the fun. I lamented the loss of his curls before we went but Valerie reminded me it was a real stretch to call them curls. I really did not think this was going to be an easy endeavor but I was pleasantly surprised.

During, what a big boy I have.

And after, my little baby looks soooo grown up ;(.

Brave or stupid???

2008-12-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

Probably a little of both. Nevertheless, my best friend (brave mother of triplets plus one) and I spent Saturday afternoon making cookies or cackies (according to Kate). It actually went very smooth condsidering. Though it is hard to narrow it down, I think everyone's favorite part was Sprinkles.

Belated Christmas post

2008-12-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

Santa arrived on schedule Christmas morning and while he had a hard time competing with the boys' Grandparents and Great-grandparents, I think they were pleased. Chase was at least. Noelly only wanted to play with Chase's stuff and take the ornaments off the tree. Fortunately, they felt much better that day. We spent Christmas eve morning in the Doctor's office where Noel got steroids added to his regimen and Chase was diagnosed with a severe sinus infection.

Ain't no party like a birthday party...

2008-12-23T06:20:00.000-08:00

Essentially, the photos in this post are backwards, but I am blogging from our laptop at home and it is too difficult to make changes.

We celebrated Noelly's birthday a little bit early this past Sunday. I was somewhat hesitant to follow through with it given his sickness and grumpiness, but I didn't really know when else we would have it so we carried on. He did great. He completely smashed his cake, opened his first present and only wanted to play with it, and was his incredibly cute self. He didn't really eat any cake but as you can see he kindly offered me some.

The Albuterol Blues

2008-12-21T18:49:00.000-08:00

that is what we are singing at our house. After a really rough night on Friday, I took Noel to the doctor first thing Saturday morning. I honestly thought they would tell me he had a cold, at worst, a sinus infection. I am soooo glad I took him because he had a double ear infection and bronchiolitis. The doctor did not like the way his chest sounded. She gave him a breathing treatment right in the office and sent him home with a nebulizer to do breathing treatments 4 times a day. The good news is he is much better as of this posting on Sunday night. The bad news is the side effect of Albuterol is nervousness and agitation. He doesn't want to be held or put down. He doesn't want to sleep but he is soooo tired. It is a little frustrating but all that matters is that he is on the road to recovery.

A Different Child

2008-12-19T11:40:00.000-08:00

I was just scanning over some of my past posts and read the one about Chase's disasterous last shopping trip. I feel I owe him his due to report on the kid I took shopping yesterday. I took a vacation day from work to take Chase to the dentist, attend his school party, and then finish my shopping. I always have a multitasking agenda. Chase had the opportunity to stay home with Aunt Jessica but chose to come along instead. I made the parameters of that choice abundantly clear to him before he decided.

He was an absolute, helpful, witty, charming angel of a kid the entire day. When my mother in law asked what was making him be so good, he said "Well, it is getting close to Christmas." When I was contemplating a pair of mittens for Noel he suggested I write him a note to put his hands in his pockets (a line he had heard in "It's Christmas time again, Charlie Brown). We both decided that wouldn't be practical considering he can't read. And lastly when I asked him if he wanted to pick out something special for his dad on his own, he said " No, I really want you to save your money...Long pause...then you can buy more presents for me." He actually hugged me at one point and thanked me for taking him shopping. Me thinks he was craving a little one on one time.

Unfortunately, Mr. Noel is a bit of a different child himself. He has a terrible little cold that is making him quite short tempered. Hopefully he will feel better for his big birthday party this Sunday!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T07:04:00.001-08:00

Santa and his helpers.

A'camping we did go.

2008-12-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

What is the most logical thing to do after getting over a 24 hour stomach virus on the coldest weekend of the year so far? Take your family to join five other families camping in the mountains, of course. Ok, so that is actually the opposite of logic, but that is exactly what we did this past weekend. For a couple of months several families from church have been planning this grand adventure, so who was I to let a little fever, vomitting, and diarrhea hold us back.

I was actually feeling much better by the time we left on Friday and wasn't running a fever so I did not contaminate the entire party, and to clarify we were in campers and cabins. In fact, we were in the (around 23 of us in the 3 room efficiency style) cabin the majority of the time because it was so cold outside.

Noel, I decided is a warm weather baby because every time we got him bundled up enough to go outside he was not excited.

The main event of the weekend was a community Christmas tree lighting, caroling, hay and train riding extravaganza. The hayrides began at 4:30 with the evening to culminate in the tree lighting at 6:30, not one member of our party managed to brave the elements and see said lighting. The above picture is the point (at I would say 4:45) when Noel had had enough.

That night after dutifully eating my bland Chicken and rice soup the whole time I decided I could partake in a hamburger. How wrong I was, and as I write this on Monday afternoon I have to say I am still not feeling great. But, here is what made the whole experience worthwhile:

Chase had the time of his life in the "wilderness" as he called it and got to be with his best buddies for a full uninterupted weekend.

Wordless Wednesdays

2008-12-10T12:52:00.001-08:00

We don't "do" mornings.

What is this?

2008-12-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when I ask Chase to get the pillowcases off his bed to be washed.

Busy Mom/Happy Mom

2008-12-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

This picture was intended to grace my Thanksgiving post in which I expostulated on the many, many things we as a family count as blessings. I mean doesn't that look like the face of one lucky mom? Well, it is (the face) and we are (blessed), but considering I am posting this one week from the intended day I will just offer up a brief re-cap.
First of all Thanksgiving feels like it was a month ago, not a week. I think I feel that way because I have accomplished a great deal in one short week. Thanksgiving was a blast spent with Chris' extra large family (over 55 people in attendance). One of the highlights was watching Noel interact with his cousin, Joe, only a few days his senior. The event was held at Joe's house and I think he was less than crazy about this bruiser taking all his toys away.
That night, rather than take my tired bones to bed, Chris' youngest sister and I plotted then executed a serious Black Friday shopping plan. That's right, we arrived at the Outlet mall at midnight and then hit each store as it opened. At first I questioned my own sanity, but one of Chase's must haves was $40 off at Target so I felt like it was worth it. We actually had a blast and spent most of our time laughing at ourselves. I then spent the rest of the weekend decorating the house for Christmas and am happy to report I was completely done by Sunday night.
This week at work has been sheer madness as it is the last "normal" week before finals begin. That translates into several late nights for me, not to mention the days being even more insane than usual. In addition to that we have a mission going on at our church, so by the time Friday rolls around we will not have been home one evening this week. That, in itself, puts me way out of sorts. Somewhere in all this, I also managed to take Chase to the dentist, get Noel's 1 year pictures made and take the boys to see Santa.
Noel's pictures mainly consist of his backside going out of the frame. He was not interested in staying still. The photographer accused me of giving him sugar before the appointment, but I assured her that he is just a busy boy. I , of course, forgot my personal camera when we went to see Santa and we don't have a scanner. So you will have to take my word that Noel did really well and sat very calmly on Santa's lap.
You will also have to take my word that I nearly died of embarrassment when Chase knocked over a hanging display of sweaters in JC Penney. Lucky for him, his life was spared because a kindly older couple kept telling me it was an accident and accidents happen. I knew they would probably call DFCS had I given him the beating he so richly deserved. Seriously, I was so angry and mortified I couldn't really do anything. I made him take all the hangers that were broken to a saleslady and apologize. That didn't really drive any lessons home though because she went on and on about how sweet he was to bring them to her and apologize. I was afraid she was about to pull out some kind of treat to bestow on him. Grrr. The curse of having a cute kid.

So, that is what we have been up too, and why this post was so long in coming and long in length.

Fabulousness

2008-11-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

Ok my BFF MaryBeth awarded me. I figured I might as well accept the award and confess my addictions as well.

Here are the rules to receiving this award:

1. You have to pass it on to 5 other fabulous bloggers in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

Here are my five addictions:
1. My morning coffee. I am not sure when I became a coffee drinker ( I am guessing when I went back to work after having Chase) but now it is a must first thing in the morning! It has to be strong coffee with lots of cream and Splenda.

2. Kissing Noelly under his double chin.
3. Laughing at/with Chris and Chase. Comedians those 2.
4. Bargain shopping. I pretty much refuse to buy anything that isn't on sale. This is a double edged sword because if I find something to be a great deal I simply cannot resist.
5. Books on CD. Between a full time job and full time motherhood that is the only way I read. If I find myself at the end of book without time to go by the library, I am totally out of sorts

Sadly, I could go on and on.

Here are the blogs I nominate:

Stacie at The Rowdy Rowleys

Gilly at JellyHamandCheese

Lindsey at Family Oliver

Amanda at Bonded in Byerly

Tara at Family Rowell

Eleven Months!

2008-11-24T04:51:00.000-08:00

Mr. Noel is eleven months old today. I cannot believe how big he is and all the things he does. He is and has been so physically advanced my Grandmother complains he was never a baby but has acted like at least a 6 month old from the time we brought him home. So therefore we should put in our request for another baby right now (preferably a girl). Now with him running around, waving bye-bye and playing patty-cake the point is driven home even more.

He scoffs at being put into the exersaucer and walker, and baby food has been out of the question for 2 months. Last night we had pizza and I was tempted just to hand over a whole slice because he was getting so frustrated at my pinching off little bites. Other than not getting fed fast enough, he remains totally laid back and happy. And he actually has the hunger problem figured out too. I have noticed that when he is hungry he goes to the drawers where his food and formula are kept and starts pulling the stuff of the top. Even though his eating has not slowed, his weight and height are definitely more proportionate.

I can't believe a year has almost come and gone since we got that wonderful phone call. Chris and I were discussing Christmas gifts this weekend and when I commented that I had no clue what to get Chase he said "Well last year he got a Wii and a little brother. How do you top that?" I guess you don't.