Family is important

Since we live so far from family here, we have extended family, like Denise and Lisa, and all those would be 'cousins'-ish, and Mr. Michael and Coach Jim, etc. But, family is still important. Blood relatives. T has been talking a lot about GG these days. We want GG to know that T still loves her Kiki--blankie, that GG made 6 years ago. Kiki is T's friend through good times and bad, and there is a connection with T and Kiki. So, here are some pics of T with her Kiki for GG and another pic of T and J with Uncle Buck. We're looking forward to the holidays with Buck, Jen, MaMaw, PaPaw, Grammy and Aunt Noelle. Cheers, Folks!

What a week!

Drink Diet Coke (or Coke or Sprite or anything carbonated made by Coca-Cola)!! Coke's 'sparkling' beverages need a push in the current market-here is T wearing (proudly) her Diet coke shirt in the backyard sprinklers last Sunday, promoting the Coca-Cola sparkling beverages. This week has been a crazy one in this world of ours. At our home, however, we had a nice birthday celebration in honor of MaMaw and the kids were so glad to see Uncle Buck again, even though J did ask (before saying hello), "Where is Aunt Jen?". Sorry U.Buck. T came home from school Monday with the SECOND top tooth gone, so the tooth fairy visited her again for the second time in two weeks (but admittedly almost forgot and almost got caught slipping in early in the am). While snapping some pics of toothless T for this blog, my J insisited that I take some of him, so here they are--those blue eyes and sweet faces-gotta love 'em. How can you just not want to squeeze them and kiss them?!

Adorable face, even with remnants of ice cream on the lower lip

All she wants for Christmas are her two front teeth (yeah, right!-and lots of toys)

And, as a proud mom, I must include that T is making nice improvements in her soccer game--she ran like a champ last Saturday up and down the field and was really in the game. In addition, her tennis instructor said that she is really improving her hand-eye coordination and swing (all this I am sure is because she is now banned from Wii tennis which actually hurt her game).

J has taken a BIG interest in baseball, much to the delight of his Dad and PawPaw. He wants to play on the field at the rec park, and wants to swing that bat every chance he gets. Should we have named him Ted?? Only time will tell. How cute is this pic? Let me answer....VERY CUTE!

Who has time to blog when there is Facebook??

Well, its been almost two months since my last post. And since school started, it has been busy (and I discovered Facebook a few weeks ago-if you are on there, you know what that is like), so here is a top 10 list of what has been going on and some pics:



1. T started tennis lessons-fun for the whole family and we've enjoyed this ammenity that we never took advantage of in the neighborhood.


2. After a sort of rough start (T bumped into a few walls and really injured herself-two calls from the school nurse in 3 days), the adjustment to the new school is going well for T. She seems like such a big girl. I'm proud of her zest for learning (do you like that word?)-she can't wait to do homework and read every night. Frankly, its tiring for me.

Toothless T-she tugged the tooth out during rest time at school-awesome. It was in there pretty tight when she left that morning, so I know it wasn't easy. One of the boys in T's class told his mom, "T is so cool because she can turn her tooth sideways!". That is cool if you are in Kindergarten. I think she looks like the Wicked Witch of the West. haha, I'm kidding, of course.

3. J-Not much has changed for him, except he just gets bigger and is learning A LOT at school (daycare). He jumped up two classes when school began and got to keep the same teacher, so the small change suited him well. He is too funny-I asked him to vacuum the bathroom floor (and he willingly accepted) and about two minutes after he finished he saw a speck of something on the floor. His response, "WHAT IS THAT, I JUST VACUUMMED HERE!". Who does that sound like? hahaha I cracked up.

4. I flew home Labor Day weekend for my Dad's 60th birthday. I also enjoyed lunch with my dear friend Kelly, saw my Grandmother, and hung out with my mom Friday while I was there. Laura threw a really nice party for my Dad and it was great to see my Aunt Debbie, Uncle Richard, and a bunch of big boy cousins. Really big boys.

My 60 year old Dad and my Aunt Debbie (his sister)

5. A week later, I turned 35 with a bang. A bunch of the neighborhood girls, plus Aunt Jen (who was visiting with Uncle Buck) went out for too many margaritas and beers. The next day of work was a little rough, was my actual birthday, and it was SIX FLAGS NIGHT for Coca-Cola. This is when Coke rents out the park for its employees from 6pm-12midnight. We took the kids and Uncle Buck and Jen, and left the park at 11pm exhausted. Still fun though. Did I mention what a great company I work for? The weekend continued with get-togethers with friends and a baseball game Sunday.

Aunt Jen, T and J. Love this pic.

T at Six Flags-J even rode a pretty fast roller coaster that night-he continues to impress me!

6. T started soccer the day after the Six Flags outing but was so stinkin tired after being up until midnight, that she didn't do so hot. Week 3, however, and she is finally showing improvement.


7. And more about Coca-Cola....on 9/11 they launched a new partnership between Vault - Montgomery Gentry - and the USO to support our troops. So, in true Coca-Cola fashion, they threw an awesome lunch party where Montgomery Gentry stopped in to the couryard at HQ and sang us a few songs----it was AWESOME. How many people get to watch a concert at lunch and call it work!? Montgomery Gentry is a country band for those of you not familiar with their work. Of course, there was free food, too.

8. John's BF at work quit and lucky John absorbed 6 more sales people. The good news is that USF is down one DSM by attrition instead of downsizing, the bad news is John is so busy!! He takes it all in stride. We continue to see job loss in this area and are thankful for our jobs and health. Lets hope it continues.

9. I went out last Friday to celebrate my dear friend Lisa's 30th birthday and overdid it. I am not the rockstar I once thought I was, but boy did I have fun trying. I haven't danced like that since college and I haven't felt those muscles in my thighs in that amount of time either, even during Chris' toughest agility drills class at the Y. I haven't seen the pics yet, and frankly, I'm scared to.

10. We haven't sold our house and it will come off the market in about 3 weeks. Although we really thought we wanted to be closer to our jobs, a fun summer, uncertain economy, and our wonderful funloving friends here make it so desirable for us to stay put. I'll admit it is sometimes tiring to live in a subdivision filled with people ready to put together a party (get-together) at a moment's notice or for any reason, but boy is it fun. For now, it just fine with us to continue commuting (I mean I only do it 3 days a week).....that is....IF WE COULD JUST GET SOME GAS IN ATLANTA WE'D BE IN GOOD SHAPE. Sadly, we really depend on our gas here-with no means of good public transportation and most people have sizable commutes, Atlanta is a gas dependent city. Hopefully the latest shortage will teach us some lessons. I know my wonderful boss told us we could work from home all last week in order to conserve. Did I mention that Coca-Cola is AWESOME?!!



So, thats it. Our life over the past two months. Hope you enjoyed it. :)


ps. I just got DVR and am so excited to use it tonight to record Greys Anatomy!!! Thank God good TV is BACK!

Elementary School and The Beach (post below)

Thats right, folks, today was the first day of Elementary School. Kindgergarten for T. T was very excited to have people she knew in her class. I think she'll have a great year. I just hope she learns something. I know that summer had barely begun for the kids up North--believe it or not we are not the first school system in Atlanta to go back to school.

Here are some pics of the big kid....my camera isn't taking the best pictures in low light....I have to get out the manual to figure out what setting to use, but you get the idea....

Pensacola Beach, Florida

Beautiful scenery pics first...........



We had a fabulous family weekend at Pensacola Beach, FL this past weekend. It was only about a 4.5 hour drive, and a very drive at that. T loved the beach (J liked it OK), and J loved the pool there-it was very kid friendly. We didn't realize there was a Bushwacker Festival going on-apparently this drink is big in Pensacola Beach, so we went over to the Boardwalk to check it out (think Fells Point, Baltimore crowd, on a Friday night + a beach)-lets just say we got some pizza and brought it back to the hotel veranda and ate it while looking at the beach-the Bushwacker Festival was not the best place for kids. This was a great end to the summer for us. Thanks for the recommendation, Denise!

John and T being silly after Saturday's pizza dinner at the hotel

J sticking his head in the fountains in the pool. I didn't get a picture of the 'booty dance' he was doing. And, no, I had nothing to do with it-I don't know where he gets these things!

My blue eyed-babies have a hard time seeing at the beach--this pic was taken at sunset-late sunset at that and they are still squinting (but still cute)

What's up Cuz

This giant fellow is my little cousin Justin. I don't know Justin very well, since he is 12.5 years younger than me and grew up in New Hampshire whereas I lived in Maryland. My dad has 7 brothers and sisters (Mom has 4) and therefore, I have many, many cousins (at least 19 cousins on Dad's side alone). So, you can imagine that the cousins I knew best were the ones closest to my age. Anyway, I heard that this one was working for the Washington Nationals and traveling with the team, so when John and I went to the baseball game last night, I decided to give Justin a call just to see what he looked like. Last time I saw him, he was probably a Freshman in high school and I guarantee you he wasn't this big. So, when I asked him how will I spot him in a crowd (other than the fact that he is 6'5" tall), he said, "I'm very good looking". Funny kid. It was great to see him, catch up for a few minutes. It is probably the most I've ever talked to him in my life, but nice to see a cousin that I never really knew. I'm hoping we can catch up with him when he comes back to town in September. Anyway, tell me....do you see a family resemblance??? Haha. I really got the short genes, huh? I have many cousins that are this tall, so for those of you who wonder how I deal with such a tall husband, well, I've been around it my whole life. I have a few female cousins in Utah that are WAY over 6'.

Tired girl and Tater the clown

Last week, my friend Denise called to ask if T could spend the night....uh, let me think about it....yes! T was so excited to have a little change in routine. She says her life isn't as fun as it used to be before I started working. Well, she had a great time hanging out with the girlfriends, as Denise likes to call them, so much so that the next evening, this is how she looked (picture taken at 6:36pm).

Today we attended a birthday party at the local pizza place for one of J's buddies from school. They had a very talented clown who painted faces and did a magic show. Take a look...

We have so many wonderful friends here....I have been left wondering so often lately-why are we trying to leave? No matter-our house hasn't sold yet anyway!

Beautiful Kids

Here are some pics (I took them, and yes, I think they are quite good) of my beautiful kids while we were up in Maryland. Yes, the little boy is a bit of a pain in the you know what some times, but he is darn cute.

The girl....well, she is a pleaser. So sweet. And, she wouldn't be mine without a little sass. She has that too!

Oh, and the husband....I like him, too. I don't know what I'd do without him!!!

Thank God for my beautiful family.

10 Things I love about Maryland

1. Crabs, Crabs, Crabs-Yes for those of you that don't know, Maryland crabs are blue before they are steamed. Now, this is what I call art!

2. Snowballs-Frozen Ice/Sugar water for $1.25. Keeping cool on a hot summer day-priceless.

3. Water and The Cheaspeake Bay. The 'Paradise Ain't Cheap' sign in the kitchen is right! But boy, is it beautiful.

View from Dad's yard below-awesome entertainment built in watching the boats and jet skiis go by all day.

Thomas Point Lighthouse-Near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-we took a cruise there the morning of July 4.

4. Indian Food with Mom-yummo.

5. Hunan Manor Egg Rolls

6. Crab Bomb from Jerry's Seafood-Crab soup from Jerry's, heck even the bread is awesome.

7. Old friends

8. Family

9. Kevin's dad's pool-what a setting!

T enjoying the waterfall and hot tub at Kev's dad's house.

10. Wave Runner rides and Crusing on the boat at Dad's

T and Grampy on the wave runner. Very fun-couldn't take her fast enough.

4th of July boat ride

We had a great visit home-got to see some great friends, visit with family, relax and in case you didn't notice, we ATE all our favorite things. A visit to the Washington/Baltimore area would not be complete without enjoying some (or a lot) of the local food. I think I actually got to everything on my list. Thanks to all who hosted us and made time to get together. It was great to see all of you.

Updates....

Further to my earlier post: We went to Augusta to visit my in-laws last weekend. It was hot and I couldn't find a cheap blow up pool at Target, so in the spirit of being 'frugal' (which I am not as good at these days), I picked up this tub on clearance ($4.96). I figured it would have multiple uses....toy storage, beer cooler (can you guess how many beers this thing could hold?), and swimming pool / water fun for this past weekend. It worked! We had a great visit with the in-laws just relaxing around the house and playing with the kids.

Work is keeping me very busy these days, John, too. He has been dealing with an issue with an employee that hopefully is over, but has been draining him for almost two weeks. We've decided to try to go visit family soon so if you are in MD-be on the lookout for us around July 4.

Other than that, everyone is healthy. J has FINALLY started to go on the potty, so he goes to school in underpants....that is the only way he is going to learn. He has only had one accident each day so far this week, which is pretty good for a kid that seemed like he would never go on the potty. He is still very nervous about it-not sure why, but all we can do is reassure him and give lots of CANDY. Whatever works!

Redneck swimming pool

'Nuf said....

Its Summertime...

and in HOTlanta that means its hot. I am actually glad that I don't have to slug the kids around in this heat this summer-we're already having a whopping 97 degree day as of 1:30. They say we may hit 100 today. If this is what June looks like, I cannot imagine August.

School is out-I think this was the second week (last day was Friday before Memorial Day). We've been enjoying the pool, Vacation Bible School, and the normal Summer stuff. T and J are finally at the same place for 'daycare' (for T they call it camp), which is nice when it comes time to pick them up, only one stop. I am working 'summer hours' at Coke, which means an extra hour M-Th and 'off' by noon Friday. Love it. Last week, John and I saw Jimmy Buffet Thursday night, and I spent my Friday afternoon at the movies-Sex and the City was great. I still got to pick the kids up early Friday, but convinced them that we didn't need to go to the pool that evening because we were all exhausted, so we enjoyed the evening with some munchies, beers (no, not for the kids!) and an early bedtime. I thought it wouldn't feel like summer since I am working, but I'm just fine with it. I think it would be great to only work 4 days/week, but the summer hours thing is working great for me. John has had a successful few months at work, being named District Sales Manager of the month two months in a row. He would have won again this month, however, he missed it by just a bit.

For those that are curious, we did list our house on the market 3 weeks ago. Not much activity at all. The $400K range isn't exactly common 'round these parts. We do have a beautiful home and we are not anxious to leave it, but if we're going to make a move, we had hoped it would be before school starts (Aug 6). It hasn't left us too pressured to keep the house clean all the time, because we rarely get lookers, but that, too is OK. As John put it, "I'd be more unhappy if we had lots of lookers and no offers". Good point, John. We'll just let fate take over here. We have seen price declines in the area that leave us a little concerned, but not too much, as we still see this as a very nice place to live....just far from our work. Since I work from home two days a week, and John is somewhat flexible with his hours, though, it is tolerable.

The kids are adorable. Well, T is toughening up, but she needed to...a little. She is still a great kid, I think a lot of her problem is not enough sleep. She is a total fish in the water--wants to swim for hours--reminds me of myself in the pool at that age. Sometimes, the sassiness wears at us-she says things like "I want a step Mom" and "You are horrible parents" (things I think she must have heard at school or 'camp'), but I don't feel guilty. I just try to tell her we are working hard to provide for her and we are parenting her the best way we know how. I hope she knows that-I think she'll look back, just as John and I do and think that our parents did a good job. Heck, parenting isn't easy.

J has surprised me-the structure of daycare has been good for him. We give him the countdown to 'family day' and he looks forward to our weekends filled with family activities. These days that includes cookouts with friends, and casual meetings at the pool for the most part. Today, J decided he liked swimming and had a blast in the pool. He is really talking up a storm, and cracks us up with the things he says. He is a very particular kid-example: yesterday at a birthday party, he waited for 15 minutes at the table for the cake. when it came out, it was hard as a rock ice cream cake. I tried to cut it into pieces and the kid threw an unexpected fit. He wanted the cake back in one piece! I finally had to shove some in his mouth and only once he tasted it did he decided that it was too good to miss. Another mistake this 'horrible' parent will never make again-I should NEVER have tried to help him. "I do it myself" is big with him these days.

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks:

Taylor Nicole's birthday party--can't believe she is 7! The party was a luau theme at the neighborhood pool . That is the party where I created the ice cream cake disastaer.

The kids in the bath last night--this brought forth those awesome belly laughs for hours! The kids at the pool-no, neither kid is looking at me. I tried, but it is impossible, and the bright sunshine didn't help these blue-eyed kids.

J in his froggie towel. Too cute.

I'll try to blog more....I don't know where the month of May went.

The boy is 3!

We celebrated J's 3rd birthday yesterday by going to the Braves game (his first) and having some friends over for pizza and cake. It was a fun, yet exhausting, day. I think J had a blast. We're so lucky to have such good friends to share the day with--I just invited those that were specifically requested by the birthday boy. See if you can guess what the theme was.....

Here is the entire crew:

And the siblings:

All else is well....we're about to put the house on the market in an attempt to move north of the city to be closer to our jobs and around some good schools. No big hopes of actually selling (but hoping), and the whole process is going to be a pain, but we'll see if it was meant to be.

Busy, busy!

A weekend away, and yet still tired....

Congrats to Kelly and Richard. We wish you many years of happiness...... We went to see a good friend get married last weekend...in St. Petersburg, FL. It was a long drive, but beautiful weather and a beautiful wedding. We had a great time visiting with the groom, catching up with the bride (who we hadn't seen in years) and enjoying some relaxing drinks with some of the Baltimore Orioles (how ironic, since we were there with friends from MD) into the wee, wee hours of Saturday night. I don't know who we think we are staying up until 3am, but we did. Funny, that all kinds of people were right there with us-the picture of John with Kevin Millar from the Orioles (below) was taken at a ridiculous 2:12am, another with Jim Palmer at 12:23.